Buffalo, N.Y. - When he heard that every student in Buffalo Public Schools might soon qualify for a no-strings-attached college scholarship, Sam Radford’s reaction was predictable. “No way,” thought Radford, president of the school district’s Parenting Coordinating Council.
Columbus, Ind. - Marwan Wafa thought he knew what lay ahead four years ago, when he was installed as vice chancellor and dean of Indiana University Purdue University Columbus (IUPUC).
To reach the apartment Damaris Ortiz shares with her boyfriend and their young son, you drive partway up a mountainous road, then trudge up four flights of stairs. The steep ascent could well be a metaphor for the climb Ortiz has faced daily since moving to California from Chiapas, Mexico, in search of educational advancement and a better life.
South Bend, Ind. — Every month, $64 is withdrawn from Tony Havens’ checking account to pay off his student loans. For him, it’s both a financial hit and a grim reminder that he spent five years in college and left with approximately $15,000 in debt … but no degree. What makes it even more painful […]
State College, Pa.- Just before 4 p.m. on a frigid Friday in mid-December, Quanisha Smith boards a Blue Loop bus on Penn State’s University Park campus. She’s heading to a place she’s visited more times than she cares to count: the bursar’s office. She’s hoping to resolve the hold on her account, which shows an […]
One problem with the college credit hour, for those who would like to eliminate it, is that it is not just a measure of supposed student learning, but also a gauge of faculty workload. Does that distinction make it a barrier to innovative teaching? In the opinion of policy experts Jane Wellman and Thomas Erlich, who have studied the subject, if the credit hour does not stifle innovative teaching, it may at least make it more difficult.
In 2005, the Association of American Colleges & Universities (AAC&U) started surveying institutions around the country, asking employers, faculty, staff and alumni a fundamental question: “What qualities and skills do you want in college graduates?” It took several years—and a surprising amount of discussion and debate—to arrive at the answers. But the list that AAC&U […]
Better tools for assessment are key in ensuring quality By Susan Headden Layla Quinones, a bright, vivacious 19-year-old, has an unusually impressive Web page. She has posted an attractive photograph of herself, an engaging biography, and a personal statement about her passions and interests. She’s included a page of modern artwork that she likes, with insightful […]
Worcester, Mass. - Quinsigamond Community College (QCC) student Kwame Ofori will present an impressive list of achievements on the transcript that will be sent to the Worcester State University admissions office along with his transfer application to begin classes there next fall.
Houston, Texas - The quarter-mile separating the commuter parking lot from the main campus of the University of Houston- Downtown (UHD) is not an insurmountable distance. Still, given Houston’s famously oppressive humidity, most students choose an air-conditioned shuttle bus - or a trip on the city’s light-rail system - over a stroll to class.