Universities Weblog

Numerous studies have examined the effects of race, gender, and economic status on the potential for success in higher education. But a new study by looks at a previously ignored group: students who grew up in foster care.

The Institute for Higher Education Policy seeks to use the study to help university and high school administration implement policies to help these students deal with problems unique to their situation. The acceptance and graduation rates for students who grew up in foster care is significantly lower than those raised in traditional homes, so there seems to be a great need for this study:

The rates of college attendance and degree completion are dramatically lower for foster youth compared to their peers: a rate of college attendance of 20 percent compared to 60 percent, and a rate of degree completion of 5 percent or less compared to 20 percent.

These low rates are caused in part by the weak academic preparation of even those who graduate from high school and the lack of high expectations for college attendance by those responsible for the care and education of foster youth. These youth also are often not aware of the college opportunities available to them, and they do not have the practical knowledge and skills to successfully navigate the College application process. Foster youth
are disproportionately low-income, and there often is not enough financial aid available to them to pay the cost of college or they do not connect with available aid. These youth also often perceive the cost of college as a more insurmountable barrier than it is in fact.

You can read the complete study and policy recommendations here.

College brings the joy of freedom and stress of responsibility, which sets students on their way to becoming adults. But often, parents don't see it that way.

Going home during semester breaks can be a stressful time. Students are used to their independence, while parents are used to making decisions for their children. This can lead to an inevitable clash of wills.

There may be help: College News provides tips here designed to make visits home a pleasant experience for everyone. It's worth a try.

Certified Public accountant Rick Darvis is the father of five potential college students, but he doesn't let the looming expense scare him. In fact, he's tackled the problem of financing multiple educations head on, with some intelligent and creative advice for parents and students.

Solutions include employing children in the family business and setting up IRAs. ABC News has the full story here.

It's worth a read, because as every college student knows, every dime counts.

There's no doubt that the college years are a wonderful time, filled with joy and possibility. But they can also be a deeply troubling time, especially for new and overburdened students.

As a college professor, I see numerous students suffering from depression and anxiety every semester, in varying degrees. Whether you just need some help dealing with stress, or you need professional intervention for a more severe problem, there are resources.

Many college health centers now employ counselors and psychiatrists. Often, colleges and universities will sponsor stress-alleviation workshops.

A leader in the mental health industry, the National mental health Association, now offers the College Student & Depression Pilot Initiative. Their website can be viewed here.

There, students will find information on all sorts of topics, methods for dealing with difficult adjustments, and outside resources. Here's to bringing back the joy and possibility of college life.

(Source: Sampson Community college)It's a common path: Go to a community college for a year or two, figure out what you want to be when you grow up, and transfer to a four-year college once you do. In the meantime, you're saving money. Well, now you might not have to transfer. That's right—some community colleges are offering bachelor's degrees, and many more are planning to.

Is this just a classic case of mission creep, or is the trend actually beneficial to students? Consider this from the New York Times:

The shift at Miami-Dade [College] is part of a broad rethinking of the role of the community college. So far, four of Florida's 28 public community colleges have begun programs to grant baccalaureate degrees, mostly in teaching and health care. About 1,600 students are expected to earn their four-year degree from state community colleges by mid-2007, according to the Florida Department of Education.

Traditionally, community colleges have educated those who cannot afford to study elsewhere. The open enrollment policies and more flexible class schedules appeal to students who work or have families, and help to train the local workforce.Of course, not all agree this is a good idea.

[...]Barbara Townsend, a professor of higher education at the University of Missouri at Columbia, is among educators who oppose the shift. She said in an interview that community colleges would inevitably become more like universities, and that it could lead over time to the end of their mission as a low-cost alternative for students and an institution for helping local employers train their workforce.

"The community college was the greatest education invention of the 20th century," she said, "but it may be coming to an end in this century."Coming soon to a "community" college near you: doctoral programs.

(Source: Williams College)The debate, it seems, rages on. Scholars can't seem to figure out if attending an elite university pays off. Some claim it does, that going to an Ivy or Stanford or Amherst will afford greater dividends (read: you'll make more money). Others contend that smart people will succeed regardless of where they attend college. In other words, if you're smart enough to get into an Ivy, you're probably already on the road to a good career, so why pay the high tuition costs?

Check out this piece on MSN Money, which examines that very question and offers differing views. (It's actually an odd piece; it begins as a "journalistic" article but slips into first person halfway through.) Then draw your own conclusions.

But what always strikes me about these studies is the unquestioned link between money and success. Let's say you're eyeing an academic career. Will going to an Ivy help you get into a better graduate school and eventually help you land a faculty spot at a more prestigious institution? Probably. As an assistant professors at a top place, you'll pull in a decent salary, and you'll eventually climb into the comfortable ranks of middle to upper-middle class. Riches, though, likely will never come. Did going to an Ivy thus help your career? You could argue it did.

Yet would you have made more money had you attended a state college and chosen a different field? Would you be that much more successful? Stupid questions.

My father went to university in the 1950s. On some Friday nights they would go to a local "Speakeasy." This was an illegal gambling den where which they would enter by giving a password, and then spend the night playing casino games and betting on sports, far away from the public eye. Gambling, after all, was something you didn't tell people about in those times.

Well, times have changed, and these days the stigma that used to be attached to gambling just isn't there. Almost every state and province has a casino or a lottery, and there are hundreds, if not thousands, of betting options available on the Internet. But while it may be easy to be confident in your land-based casino, finding the right sports betting option is a bit tougher. Who do you trust with your money? How do you know you're getting fair odds? Is it legal? It's hard for the novice bettor to figure out where to start when looking into betting online. Most of the companies reside offshore, and once you send them your money you have to trust that they're honest. These same questions can also be challenging to the experienced bettor.

That's where BetBug.com comes in. While there are hundreds of online bookies, BetBug is the only software in the world that allows you to bet directly against another individual, removing the bookie entirely from the equation. It uses state-of-the-art peer-to-peer technology (similar to music file-sharing sites), whereby your computer finds the person out there offering the best odds to match against your bet. In other words, if the Spurs are playing the Lakers and you want to bet on the Lakers, BetBug will find you the person offering the best odds on them, then connect the two of you together. It's like a dating service for gamblers (LavaBet, perhaps?).

Betbug AdvantageThere are three chief advantages to letting BetBug.com handle your online betting:

1) The odds are on your side…

The best part about BetBug is the odds you get on each and every bet you make. By removing the bookie from the equation, BetBug users get better odds by betting directly with each other. In lieu of paying large odds, the winner of a bet only has to pay a small commission. The loser of the bet pays nothing.

Think of BetBug as the ultimate discount brokerage for betting. Just as in every line of business, technology helps to lower costs. Why should gambling be any different? With the use of superior technology, BetBug saves its clients money on each and every wager that they make. Stop putting money into your bookmaker's pockets, and start putting it into yours.

2) The money is in the bank…

Another advantage that BetBug offers its users is the safety it provides for your hard-earned money. If you bet with an online bookie, you have to first send the bookie your money. That's a big leap of faith that many are hesitant to make. BetBug has partnered with an online payment company that is licensed and regulated in the Isle of Man, one of the strictest, most regulated regions in the world in regards to online gaming.

Users never send money to BetBug; they send it to the payment partner who in turn sets up an account for each individual. Your money is always held in a client services account in Barclays Bank. Your balance increases and decreases with every bet you make, but your money is always there for you when you want it.

Why is the payment company there? Simply to facilitate a transaction between you and another bettor, and ensure that the winner of each bet always gets paid. When you want to withdraw your money, you simply request any or all of your funds and you get paid. It's as simple as that.

3) Nothing to see here, officer!..

In addition to value and security, BetBug offers the only truly legal way to bet on sports in North America. Every jurisdiction in the world has slightly different laws pertaining to gambling; in the U.S., there is something called the Wire Act. This law prohibits the act of running a bookmaking business — something the offshore bookies clearly violate. But it does not prohibit two individuals from placing a bet against each other. There is nothing illegal about two people placing a wager on a game. BetBug facilitates this activity by matching bettors up on the BetBug network. If legality is a concern to you, rest assured that BetBug is the way to play.

BetBug Promo:For a limited time, BetBug is offering a 20% bonus on all 1st time deposits. Please see the website at www.BetBug.com for more details.

What are you waiting for? Say goodbye to your bookie and hello to the future of online gaming!

The strike of NYU graduate assistants continues, after administration officials withdrew their threat that if the strike didn't end by December 5, protestors would lose their 19,000/year stipends.

These graduate students have been on strike since November 9th, after NYU refused to recognize their union. This latest victory is rather hollow; no real solution has been reached.

Metro reports:"This isn't an effective proposal. It's not anything that's enforceable or gives anybody any real protection."

With the numbers of college courses being taught by graduate assistants increasing every year, this is an issue every college student should be concerned about.

Do universities view these teachers as a 'cheap' solution to growth? Does the lesser salary mean lesser ability, even though students pay the same amount to be taught by a graduate assistant as they would to be taught by a tenured professor? Is quality being sacrificed in favor of quantity? The outcome of this issue could be far-reaching.

(Source: University of San Diego)College admissions offices, especially those at selective schools, face the daunting task of choosing the best students. Comparing the relative merits of applicants isn't an exact science. At least you can use standard barometers such as grades, class rank and SAT scores.

But what if an applicant has none of the above? What if he or she is home schooled? How do you evaluate learning and achievement in relation to that of peers?

As this article points out, home schooling is becoming increasingly popular. Already about one to two million kids learn at home, and that number has been growing at a rate of 10 percent per year. Colleges need to account for these students in the admissions process because many of them actually perform very well academically once they arrive at college.

Here's one example. This year's winner of the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology, the nation's premier high school science competition, is home schooled. The prize carries a $100,000 award, which this student could use for tuition. If you were an admissions officer, would you take a chance on him? I bet you would.