Posts published in December, 2013

Scorecard Provides Data About Specific Community Colleges

Community Colleges Grades
Prospective students in California can now call up a scorecard for a variety of community colleges to see how they rate by such categories as persistence, completion, remediation, average length of time to accumulate 30 credits, and career technical information. Student profiles also are offered by gender, age, and ethnicity/race. This is one of the best summary data tools that I have seen for community colleges.

Credit Agency Issues Warning on Declines In College Net -Tuition Revenue

ARE COLLEGES READY TO ADJUST TO A NEW HIGHER EDUCATION LANDSCAPE?
Moody’s Investors Service on Friday released a report with grim news, particularly for public institutions: In a survey, 28 percent of public institutions, compared with 15 percent the year before, said they expected declines in their net-tuition revenue, increasingly the lifeblood of many institutions. For private institutions, the news was not quite as dire. Nineteen percent expected declines, compared with 18 percent last year, but that finding should come with a caveat: The Moody’s survey included only the institutions the credit-rating company evaluates, which means they are probably among the more financially stable private colleges out there. One has to wonder if American higher education is the proverbial frog in a slowly warming pot of water, not realizing that it’s about to be boiled alive. The post is from The Chronicle of Higher Education’s Bottom Line blog.

High School Senior Slump Will Not Change With Only Incremental Policies

Given the long standing and deeply rooted tradition of a high school  senor slump for students, the following clip from ECS suggests  only minor incremental steps are being taken:

Seven states and the District of Columbia have implemented initiatives for transition-to-college courses in high school: Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, according to this brief. The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) is working with its 16 member states to embrace a college-readiness agenda and has developed model transition courses available online to everyone. Tennessee offers a bridge math course, which this year is expanding to 9,000 students who will then be eligible to take a tuition-free math class for dual credit. Since 2006, California students have been able to take an Early Assessment test; all those deemed college ready are guaranteed enrollment at any California State University and 70 community colleges. Nationwide, the least has been done for students with the greatest needs. (Jobs for the Future)

For-Profit Colleges Fail To Deliver Code Of Conduct

FOR-PROFIT CODE OF CONDUCT NOWHERE TO BE FOUND
In 2011 for-profit higher-education companies unveiled plans to develop a voluntary code of conduct—a response to critics who argued for reining in an industry they considered prone to abuses of students. Today hardly any trace of the effort can be found. The Foundation for Educational Success, which was coordinating the effort, no longer exists, said Stephen White, vice president for communications at the Kaplan Higher Education Group, in an e-mail. Mark Spencer, director of corporate communications at the Career Education Corporation, also said the foundation does not exist. Both companies were original members of the foundation

Source: Carnegie Foundation

States Unsure About Algebra 2 For College Prep

States Aren’t So Sure High Schoolers Should Go to College
New laws in Texas and Florida de-emphasize Algebra 2, the math class required for admission to four-year colleges, placement into college-level math at two-year institutions, and an indicator of college readiness under the Common Core standards. Still, the advantage of state requirements that require advanced academics is that they clearly communicate what top colleges want. ECS’ Jennifer Dounay Zinth is quoted in this article. (National Journal, 11/21/13)