Vinh Nguyen
Most people have had a professor who just makes the materials so much harder than they are because of his or her accent. If you have never, consider yourself lucky. For instance, "a University of California at Berkeley sophomore wondered why she never heard of the term 'mersify' before." It turned out that the professor was referring to multiply as she found out three weeks later when the professor finally wrote an X sign on the board. According to this particular article, "the problem continues -- and may even be increasing, some experts say." Having nonnative professors surely adds to the diversity of the campus; however, it sure is a big problem when students do not gain anything from the lectures. One University of California at Berkeley sophomore Sophie Khem said, "It bothered me a lot. I forced myself to go because I thought, `I'm paying so much,' but once I got there, I couldn't make out anything he said." So as I am closing this post, I am leaving you with one thought, "Should professors with heavy accents lecture hundreds of students?"
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Do I really have time for this?
Michael Sandt
As you've probably already noticed this blog post is a little late but I'm going to have to live with the deduction. The first thing about college that really stood out to me as an incoming freshman is how much more dedicated I have to be towards time management. Between classes, sports, and somehow attempting to get that laundry done it occurs to me that this could be quite difficult. Luckily enough my time management skills aren't the most horrible and as such things have not worked out too poorly, aside from this blog post that is. Are those without this skill doomed in college? Perhaps that’s the true beauty of college. It puts you through hell to create a more efficient and professional person. Well, enough blabber, I've got to get to studio. Thoughts?
Saturday, August 29, 2009
College Tuition: What is it Worth to You?
Ryan Kerns
How much money is a quality education really worth? Many would agree that in this era of depleting jobs and non efficient work programs, a college education is top priority to most high school graduates. But, how many students can really afford the outrageous tuition payments that come with the education? And why do they have to spend that extra money in the first place? What many students and parents do not realize is the superiority of education that they are getting for their hard earned dollar.
College costs have been steadily on the rise for years now. This past year, according to College Board, the average tuition for a private college has gone up 5.9% to $25,143 and the tuition for public four year universities rose 6.4% to $6,585. We also need to consider that this is only PER SEMESTER! Multiply this by eight semesters, the normal amount of time it takes to receive a bachelor’s degree, and prices get up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for private schools and almost fifty thousand dollars for public schools. And this doesn’t even take into consideration meal plans, costs of books, and other basic amenities for the rooms that college students live in. As you can see, colleges can be extremely expensive.
Now, most people (students and parents alike), would consider this to be a bad thing especially with the economy in the shape that it is in now. However, looked at from an educational perspective, you can also see some good that comes out of spending so much money. For instance, now that parents are investing so much into their kids and their education, they are more likely to keep the pressure on their kids to keep good grades and to use their money wisely i.e. to graduate. Also, most of the extra money goes into the classrooms. This allows for very technologically advanced utensils that are used to better educate the students. Most college classrooms (or lecture halls) have computers linked to projectors that allow teachers to share information directly from their computer. Most professors also use advanced scantrons that are used to grade exams efficiently and accurately. Also, computers are extremely commonplace in classrooms and technology buildings which give students access to incredibly fast internet connections that can be used for countless researching opportunities. All of these things were never thought possible when college tuitions were somewhat cheaper. However, now that they are increasing at an alarming rate, people tend to focus more on the strain the cost puts on their wallet than the ever increasing quality of education. Now, I ask again, what is a quality education worth to you?
How much money is a quality education really worth? Many would agree that in this era of depleting jobs and non efficient work programs, a college education is top priority to most high school graduates. But, how many students can really afford the outrageous tuition payments that come with the education? And why do they have to spend that extra money in the first place? What many students and parents do not realize is the superiority of education that they are getting for their hard earned dollar.
College costs have been steadily on the rise for years now. This past year, according to College Board, the average tuition for a private college has gone up 5.9% to $25,143 and the tuition for public four year universities rose 6.4% to $6,585. We also need to consider that this is only PER SEMESTER! Multiply this by eight semesters, the normal amount of time it takes to receive a bachelor’s degree, and prices get up into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for private schools and almost fifty thousand dollars for public schools. And this doesn’t even take into consideration meal plans, costs of books, and other basic amenities for the rooms that college students live in. As you can see, colleges can be extremely expensive.
Now, most people (students and parents alike), would consider this to be a bad thing especially with the economy in the shape that it is in now. However, looked at from an educational perspective, you can also see some good that comes out of spending so much money. For instance, now that parents are investing so much into their kids and their education, they are more likely to keep the pressure on their kids to keep good grades and to use their money wisely i.e. to graduate. Also, most of the extra money goes into the classrooms. This allows for very technologically advanced utensils that are used to better educate the students. Most college classrooms (or lecture halls) have computers linked to projectors that allow teachers to share information directly from their computer. Most professors also use advanced scantrons that are used to grade exams efficiently and accurately. Also, computers are extremely commonplace in classrooms and technology buildings which give students access to incredibly fast internet connections that can be used for countless researching opportunities. All of these things were never thought possible when college tuitions were somewhat cheaper. However, now that they are increasing at an alarming rate, people tend to focus more on the strain the cost puts on their wallet than the ever increasing quality of education. Now, I ask again, what is a quality education worth to you?
Grades on the Rise
Brenden Duncombe-Smith
Grade inflation seems to be a growing trend in universities across America. Are the student's smarter, or are the grades just getting higher? Stuart Rojstaczer author of GradeInflation.com and a professor at Duke University, has compiled data showing that grades at a significant number of universities both public and private are on the rise,
Graph from Gradeinflation.com
some of the worst grade inflation occurring at Ivy league schools. Grade inflation got so bad at Princeton that the school is attempting to implement a plan to reduce the number of A's from 47 percent down to 35 percent. Rostaczer believes grade inflation is a result of the college system becoming more consumer based, that parents think that they are paying for their child to receive A's, and that professor's are feeling that pressure. Alicia Shepard author for the Washington Post and professor at American University, definitely feels the pressure to give out higher grades. In an article title A's for Everyone!, she shared grading horror stories about being harassed by students to have their grades improved almost immediately after posting them. Some of her fellow professors are so afraid of being harassed that they post their grades at the last possible second and then get off campus as quickly as possible. However, the most surprising part of this whole situation, is that the majority of students harassing their professors were B students, she even received one complaint from an A minus student. Some of her colleagues had even been harassed by parents upset with their child's grade. With this new shift to a consumer based view of college, parents are paying not just for their child to go to college, but to do well in college. Many parents will even jump in on behalf of their child when they do less than perfect. With all of the pressures facing professors today it's not hard to see that the grades are just getting higher.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Some Closure, Some Commentary, and Some Commendation.
It's been four days. The wound is still open and bleeding. But the healing begins today as we say goodbye to a Great American Senator: Edward Kennedy. Edward, or Ted, was a member of a legendary American family, plagued with untimely deaths, but blessed with the unique ability to unite the American people and inspire change. In the words of President Obama: "Our country has lost a great leader, who picked up the torch of his fallen brothers and became the greatest United States Senator of our time."
I am ashamed to admit I wasn't aware of the importance of Ted Kennedy until I started researching his life, after his death. I have come to learn that when one thought of Edward Kennedy, one primarily thought of health care reform, but that was not his only area of concern. He was also a supporter of civil rights, labor, energy and efficiency, and education.
As I was researching Ted Kennedy and his experience with higher education I came across http://www.tedkennedy.org. If you go to this page you'll notice that, with respect to Senator Kennedy's wishes, his family asks that you do not give flowers, but instead give a donation towards education. His work towards improving education spans such a long time period and entails so many Acts, and Bills, and What-Nots that I don't have enough words to mention them all, but one of his main goals when working with Higher Education and Job Training, was to provide quality and affordable education to all Americans. And this is what he did.
Ted Kennedy had a huge impact on higher education. Without him the dropout rate would potentially be higher, the schools less diverse and accepting, the opportunities for learning slimmer and slimmer. He got us started, this "Lion of the Senate", now we have to keep going, in honor of Edward Kennedy, we have to strive for that unattainable perfect system for which he reached all of his life.
Because of the efforts of this one man, our country is a little better. So Teddy, I thank you. R.I.P.
College: an Opportunity for Change
Bo Andrews
Could college actually be a place where normal students could find their way to realms of high class? The New York Times isn't very confident in the widening higher education gap and their exploitation of resources demonstrate their idea. In the last couple years the Brookings Institution in Washington has studied the expanding gap of higher education between the wealthy and the less fortunate and the whites and the minorities. Also, the Brookings Institution has shared that African Americans and Hispanics are struggling to gain ground on the number of degrees Asians and whites are earning. Unfortunately, this struggle makes it a lot harder to "better-out" someone with a degree or someone with more credentials. As this gap of higher education increases, the chances for a lower class citizen to work their way to the middle class becomes even harder.
As these graphs show, a college education is VERY valuable to students trying to achieve long term success.
Graph
The most positive and important analysis of this graph is kids. Kids, whose parents were in the bottom fifth of income, have a 19% chance of joining the top fifth class!-- if they earn a degree.
College is the epitome of a changing station. Children have the opportunity to outdo their parents and earn a college degree and make it to the top. Children have the opportunity to follow their parents or...negatively, they have an opportunity to let possibilities zoom past them. As Mr. Stuart Butler, VP of economic studies at the Heritage Foundation explained that the less fortunate kids who earn their degrees are likely to do better than their parents.
Could college actually be a place where normal students could find their way to realms of high class? The New York Times isn't very confident in the widening higher education gap and their exploitation of resources demonstrate their idea. In the last couple years the Brookings Institution in Washington has studied the expanding gap of higher education between the wealthy and the less fortunate and the whites and the minorities. Also, the Brookings Institution has shared that African Americans and Hispanics are struggling to gain ground on the number of degrees Asians and whites are earning. Unfortunately, this struggle makes it a lot harder to "better-out" someone with a degree or someone with more credentials. As this gap of higher education increases, the chances for a lower class citizen to work their way to the middle class becomes even harder.
As these graphs show, a college education is VERY valuable to students trying to achieve long term success.
Graph
The most positive and important analysis of this graph is kids. Kids, whose parents were in the bottom fifth of income, have a 19% chance of joining the top fifth class!-- if they earn a degree.
College is the epitome of a changing station. Children have the opportunity to outdo their parents and earn a college degree and make it to the top. Children have the opportunity to follow their parents or...negatively, they have an opportunity to let possibilities zoom past them. As Mr. Stuart Butler, VP of economic studies at the Heritage Foundation explained that the less fortunate kids who earn their degrees are likely to do better than their parents.
So is College a Changing Station? Yes, college provides a great opportunity to be prosperous as an adult. As recent years' trends have shown it is harder to get to college than it is is to do well.
Grants and financial aid are enourmously helpful to students who have the credentials but not enough money for college. If donors can continue to make contributions and government can draw out more aid, more potential students will be able to experience the oppurtunity to change.
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