Universities Weblog

http://chronicle.com/news/article/4718/starting-in-2010-students-can-select-the-sat-scores-that-reach-colleges

June 21, 2008
Starting in 2010, Students Can Select the SAT Scores That Reach Colleges
The College Board is going to increase the amount of control students have over which SAT scores college-admissions officers can see, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The new policy, which was announced on Friday and is scheduled to take effect with the high-school class of 2010, will let students take the test multiple times and select those scores that they want to reach admissions officers. Now colleges get all of the scores but are supposed to take into account only the highest ones. Laurence Bunin, a senior vice president of the College Board and general manager of its SAT program, said in a letter to members of the organization that colleges could still set their own policies on whether to require applicants to send all of their scores.

Critics say the new policy will stack the test in favor of students from families with enough money to take the test repeatedly. But Mr. Bunin said the new flexibility was intended to make the testing experience less stressful for all students. -David L. Wheeler

Posted on Saturday June 21, 2008 | Permalink |

The University of Missouri-Columbia has decided to stop taking applications from potential freshmen for the 2008-09 school year, according to University Business.

Mizzou's freshman class for next year (students who have already been accepted and paid their deposit) has reached a record size of 5,860 incoming students. That's about 850 more than last year. Mizzou decided to close the doors on Monday.

© JayBuffington

According to the Associated Press, Chancellor Brady Deaton said it was in the best interest of the incoming class to stop accepting applications.

The size of the incoming freshman class will put new stress on the campus dormitory system.

http://www.educationindex.net/schoolsblog/2008/05/27/common-college-application-mistakes-to-avoid-when-applying-to-college

Common College Application Mistakes to Avoid When Applying to College

Common College Application Mistakes to Avoid When Applying to College

Your college application is supposed to tell the schools that you want to go to about the reasons that they should want to accept you into their programs. However, many students make mistakes in their college applications which actually tell the school that you probably don't belong there. Avoid common college application mistakes when you complete your application process so that you put your best foot forward and straight into the door of the colleges of your choice. Here are some of the big mistakes that many students make:

Typos.

It should be obvious by the time that you get to the point in your high school career when you're doing college applications that typos are bad, bad, bad. After all, you've been through all the red pens and learning of lessons. But many students are so concerned with the pressure of the college application itself that they neglect to edit their work. Always make sure to double-check everything you include in your college application and get a second person to edit it as well. Typos make you look sloppy and unconcerned about your education which is NOT the way to get in to college.

Casual attitude.

Many students take on an informal tone with their college applications, using slang and addressing their college admissions team with less-than-formal jargon. You should consider your college application to be on par with a formal job interview and act appropriately throughout the application.

Being too formal.

On the other hand, you don't want to be so formal in your college application that your voice doesn't come through. Many students make the mistake of using "big words" in their applications which aren't natural to them. Yes, you should avoid slang, but you should convey yourself using language that you would use with a respected elder in your community, not language that you would use if you were writing a dissertation for a college journal. Be yourself, just be your best self.

Trying too hard.

Along those same lines, many students make the mistake of trying too hard in their application to be impressive. They not only list every single small accomplishment they've ever made (really, your admissions team doesn't care that you lost all your teeth before anyone else in your kindergarten class) but they also use their cover letters to try and stroke the egos of the school. Be genuine in your application and let your strengths speak for themselves.

Incomplete applications.

You have to answer every item on the application. You have to send all required transcripts and letters of recommendation. You have to read through essay questions completely and answer them thoroughly. If you're cutting and pasting portions of essays from college to college, be sure you read through them carefully to make sure that every single thing you've said in each one applies directly to the question being asked on that specific application. If the college can tell that you don't care where you're applying to get in, they are probably going to let someone else have you.

Incorrect application information.

The most common area of mistake here is the GPA. Different colleges use different information for this so check carefully about the rules for "weighted" and "unweighted" GPA before you fill yours in. Similarly, make sure that the numbers you input for things like SAT scores are correct since discrepancies make you look sloppy.

Sending the application to the wrong location or in the wrong format.

College campuses can be big places and you need to get your application to the right person in the right place. Double-check addresses, suite numbers, PO Boxes and zip codes to make sure your application goes to the right place. Also, make sure that you know if you can send the application in via fax or email before you do that.

Missing deadlines.

If you miss the deadline, you don't get in. That's it.

You've done a lot of work already to get into the colleges of your choice. You studied and took the right classes, you practiced for and completed the required exams, you engaged in afterschool and club activities, and you researched the colleges and programs that interested you. Don't let the work be for nothing by making common college application mistakes that turn the school's eyes away from you. You're in the last stretch now so give it your all!

© kalexnova

http://blog.scholarships.com/?p=244

House of Representatives, White House Agree on College GI Bill
June 19th, 2008 by Paulina
The House of Representatives plans to vote today on the latest version of the GI Bill, a law aimed at increasing the college financial aid awarded to veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The Associated Press stated that Congress and the White House have reached an agreement on the bill's provisions, and that approval by the House and the President is expected.

Initially, the members of the House expressed disapproval of a major provision that would pay for not only veteran needs, but also for the war in Iraq. Rather than pass both portions of the bill as was done by the Senate-based on its version-the House ignored the Iraq allocation and agreed to set money aside for veterans pursuing a college education.

When the bill came back to the House for revision, a new agreement was settled upon, and approval of Bush's request for an additional $162 billion to pay for the wars is expected. As before, the House has agreed to offer veterans who participated in the war for at least three years enough money to cover the costs of tuition at the most expensive college or university in their state, with additional funds to cover living expenses. The value of maximum benefits will more than double the current contribution for each veteran's college education, reported the Associated Press.

Though most agree that some additional funding should be awarded to keep up with the increasing costs of a college education, ones that are rising at rates that outpace inflation, some worry that too much was being allocated for the cause. Conservative Democrats have expressed concern that the bill could not be covered by cutting funding to other sectors, and that the bill was irresponsible considering the nation's financial circumstances.

http://chronicle.com/news/article/4760/congress-may-require-colleges-to-repay-loans-for-students-called-to-military-service

Congress May Require Colleges to Repay Loans for Students Called to Military Service
Washington – While the Senate was preparing to pass a much-heralded GI bill on Thursday, committees in both chambers of Congress were quietly considering a veterans-benefits bill that is far less popular with colleges.

The legislation, which is supported by veterans groups, would require colleges to refund loans and out-of-pocket costs to students who are called to active military duty in the middle of a semester – and to give students the right to sue colleges that fail to do so.

College lobbyists say the requirement would conflict with existing rules and would be difficult to carry out. On Thursday the American Council on Education and several other associations sent a letter voicing concerns about the bill to the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs. The letter suggests that the federal government discharge the loans, rather than require colleges to repay them.

"It's kind of outrageous to expect institutions to repay loans" that were taken out by their students, said David S. Baime, vice president for government relations at the American Association of Community Colleges. "If a student took a loan out, it's their responsibility."

The groups are also unhappy with a provision that would require colleges to re-enroll veterans at the same academic status they held when they departed. The groups say most institutions already do so, but want to be able to make the decisions themselves, on a case-by-case basis.

Patrick Campbell, legislative director for the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, said the requirements were a matter of fairness. He said he had heard many horror stories from veterans who struggled to get refunds or to re-enroll at their original status.

"Deploying students are being put in a worse position because of their service," he said. "When veterans come home and their schools make them jump through hoops, some students will not go back." -Kelly Field

Posted on Friday June 27, 2008 | Permalink |

http://chronicle.com/news/article/4751/long-awaited-veterans-bill-heads-to-presidents-desk

June 27, 2008
Long-Awaited Veterans Tuition-Benefits Bill Heads to President's Desk
Washington – The U.S. Senate gave final approval on Thursday night to a bill that would significantly expand veterans' education benefits, sending the measure to President Bush for a signature.

The legislation would provide veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who have served for at least three years with enough aid to attend the most expensive public institution in their state, plus a monthly stipend for housing costs. For veterans attending more-costly private colleges, the bill would match, dollar for dollar, any aid that the institutions provide above the cost of the most expensive public college in the state.

Last night's vote came a little over a week after lawmakers and the president reached a compromise on the bill, ending a monthlong impasse over the measure. President Bush initially opposed the bill, saying it would be too expensive and could make it harder for the military to retain troops in a time of war.

To answer his concerns about retention, Democratic leaders agreed to add a provision to the bill that would allow service members to transfer their educational benefits to their spouses and children. Service members could make such a transfer to their spouses only after having completed six years of service and committing to serving in the military for at least four more years. Benefits could be transferred to children only after a service member completed 10 years of service. -Kelly Field

Posted on Friday June 27, 2008 | Permalink |

University Business is among the blogs covering this today. A settlement has been reached between the Commonwealth of Virginia and the families of most of the Virginia Tech shooting victims. According to UB, "A Virginia judge on Tuesday approved an $11 million settlement from the state to the families of victims killed or injured in last year's Virginia Tech shootings."

© shizhao

The settlement covers 24 of the 32 victims on the April 16, 2007 campus shooting spree at Virginia Tech. It also compensates 18 people who were injured that day.

West Virginia University President Mike Garrison resigned to after weeks of pressure of the Heather Bresch affair, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Garrison's resignation is not effective until September 1st, so he has about 12 weeks to aid the university in it's transition to new leadership.

The Post-gazette describes garrison's resignation this way:

It capped six months of turmoil sparked by the revelation that top WVU administrators falsified records to retroactively grant a master's of business administration degree to Mr. Manchin's daughter, Mylan Inc. executive Heather Bresch.

The tangled web of relationships involved in this story made suspicion of corruption almost impossible to avoid. Bresch and Garrison are long time friends. According to the Post-Gazette story, Garrison reported to Bresch when he worked as a lobbyist for Mylan Inc., the drug company that Bresch now leads. And Milan Puskar, the chairman of Mylan Inc., is WVU's biggest donor.

Garrison had been asked by faculty bodies at least twice to resign in the past few weeks. The resignation comes just days after the university's board of governors voiced support fro Garrisonn.

© mr_t_77

In an emergency session on Friday, the west virginia University Board of Governors "found nothing to suggest that President Mike Garrison influenced the awarding of an unearned Executive M.B.A degree to Mylan Inc. executive Heather Bresch." This, according to an article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The Bresch controversy has plagued WVU since the post-Gazette broke the story six months ago. Bresch is the daughter of West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin. She was awarded an Executive MBA in October without actually completing the MBA program, according to an independent panel set up to investigate the controversy.