5 Myths About College That Must Die Immediately

March 12, 2015 by  
Filed under College Newswire

 
  1. “The Big Whopper” of a myth that is highly destructive to college outcomes: All colleges are basically the same.

    This one could not be more wrong. In the United States, the pedagogical differences between public research universities with 30,000 or more students and liberal arts or teaching-oriented colleges are vast. Not to mention the differences in campus cultures and the kind of students attending a particular colleges. Colleges vary in who they can best serve and not every college can meet every particular student's unique social, academic, and cultural needs.
  2. The more prestigious a school is, the higher the quality of education available.

    Again, this could not be further from the truth. Much of the prestige that a college acquires is due to the faculty... Read More »

    Fall 2014 UCLA Survey of Incoming Freshmen Shows Mental Health at All Time Low

    February 6, 2015 by  
    Filed under College Newswire

    The Higher Education Research Institute at UCLA has released the findings from their annual survey of incoming college freshmen. Sadly, this year's results show a continuing of the trend of poor mental health conditions amongst new college freshman. The average mental health score of incoming college freshman (100=high, 1=low) was reported at an all time record low of 50.7. Further, the survey finds that 9.5% of students reported feeling frequently depressed, the all time record high in 49 years of surveying. Common behaviors reported by those who were frequently or occasionally depressed were over-sleeping, frequent class absences, and far lower rates of engagement in social and campus... Read More »

    How To Prepare New College Freshman For Academics and Life On-Campus

    As you may have read in the media, like this from the Washington Post, most high school students are dramatically unprepared for life as a college student.  There are 3 weak-spots that standout as key indicators of a coming struggle in the first year(s) college.  First, as per the ACT survey of Educators: your high school faculty and staff are telling you that your child is well-prepared, but the truth is much different. Only 26% of college professors believe that their students are well or very-well prepared for college-level academic work!!  In practice, even less than that 26% are actually studying efficiently and achieving grades equal to their talents. Contrast... Read More »

    It’s a Rough Job Market for College Grads in 2014

    Accenture, a global leader in management consulting, has published their 2014 College Graduate Employment Report. The employment prospects for recent college grads are still quite bleak.  Even amongst those who graduated in 2012 and 2013, steady and fruitful employment has not yet been acquired by most. Here are some of the highlights:
    • 26% of 2012/2013 college grads are making less than $19,000
    • 13% of 2012/2013 College Grads have been unable to find a job since graduation
    • 46% of 2012/2013 grads are underemployed in 2014, a 5% jump since last year
    • 42% of 2012/2013 college grads are living at home w/parents
    • Only 21% of employed 2012/2013 college grads are earning more than $40k
    Clearly, the lingering affects of... Read More »

    Higher Expectations: Is a Master’s Degree a Requirement for a Middle Class Salary?

    Vox.com has a fascinating look into the changing domain of secondary and tertiary education over the last 50 years in the new post, "Master's Degrees Are as Common Now as Bachelor's Degrees Were in the '60s."  The post summarizes research done by the U.S. Department of Education on the rise of the Master's degree over the end of the 20th and beginning of the 21st centuries.  Here are some of the highlights:
    • 8% of Americans, approximately 16 million people, hold a Master's degree as of 2012, a 43% increase since 2002.  Is some of this educational attainment occurring as college graduates and young workers seek shelter from the poor labor market? One would suspect so, but increased domestic... Read More »

      Next Page »