Author jmanley57

Author jmanley57

Jane Manley
February 23, 2013

The Crisis in Higher Education

Blog, Colleges, General, Information, News, Parents, Students

Higher education is a broken system, a problem that threatens the economic health as well as democratic fabric of our nation, according to Ethan Miller, a senior at American University – a well-respected student activist and blogger for the Huffington Post.  “Higher education… has reached the climax of a decades-long transformation from a system of intellectual exploration and learning, where degrees were measurements of achievement and creative thought was valued and fostered to a system modeled after corporations, fraught with grade inflation and worthless degrees, focused on career paths and earning as much money as possible.”   Miller proposes that higher education should be about one thing: the relationship between professor and student with the intent of the pursuit of knowledge – food for thought when thinking about college prospects.  [read more]

Jane Manley
February 23, 2013

Connection Between Student Debt and Teacher Shortage

Blog, Career, Colleges, General, News, Parents, Students

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is investigating the connection between student loan debt and the teacher shortage, both projected and current, especially in the areas of math and science.  “The National Center for Education Statistics estimates that the United States will need over 425,000 new teachers by the end of this decade to make up for the wave of retiring baby boomers. Despite this challenge, compensation for public school teachers has not kept pace with the private sector— according to one study, starting public school teachers in 19 states earn less than $33,000 per year.”  With the average student loan debt approaching the $30,000 mark, considering a career in education is becoming more and more difficult.  [read more]

 

 

http://www.consumerfinance.gov/blog/student-debt-and-schools/

Jane Manley
February 22, 2013

College Degree – the New Minimum Requirement

Application, Blog, Career, Colleges, General, Information, Students

“The college degree is becoming the new high school diploma: the new minimum requirement, albeit an expensive one, for getting even the lowest-level job. ” reports Catherine Rampell of The New York Times.  Many employers with positions that traditionally have not needed any education past high school are now requiring a minimum of a Bachelor’s Degree.  The upside is that these positions can be openings to much more lucrative opportunities within the company with little risk to the employer. [read more]

Jane Manley
February 21, 2013

Increased Technology in the Classroom often Equates to Increased Student Cheating

Blog, Uncategorized

All traditional, printed, classroom material should be replaced by a digital version by 2018 suggests the State Educational Technology Directors Association.  In fact Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education, asserts that “schools must go digital in order to keep the United States competitive in the global marketplace.”  As educators move toward compliance of technology directives they grow evermore concerned with the unintended consequences of this movement, such as an increase in cheating.  [read more]

Jane Manley
February 20, 2013

After the FAFSA…What Happens Next?

Application, Blog, Colleges, Financial Aid, General, Information, Parents, Students

Many colleges/universities post March 1 as the Priority Deadline for financial aid.  This designation usually means that the college has limited funds however they will usually be able to meet those established needs if all paperwork including the FAFSA are completed prior to the priority deadline.  Applications for aid are usually filled on a first-come, first-serve basis.  Federal Student Aid has put together a video to help students and parents what happens after the FAFSA has been filed.  [watch video]

Jane Manley
February 19, 2013

800+ Colleges on FairTest List – Not Quite Accurate

Application, Blog, Colleges, General, Information, Parents, Students

There has been a lot of press recently citing FairTest’s list of 800+ colleges/universities that do not require SAT/ACT testing for admission purposes.  Top Score, a test preparation service in North Carolina, has analysed the list and has found some very interesting issues.

“School after school turned out to be, upon closer examination, a school of the arts, a theological seminary or a for-profit institution…It seems that some schools are willing to let you opt out of submitting SAT or ACT scores if you submit your SAT II, AP or IB test scores instead…Let’s remove from the list those schools that are not “selective” …This leaves us with 20 or so schools. ”  [read more]

Jane Manley
February 19, 2013

Colleges that Produce Top Earners in First Three Years

Blog, Career, Colleges, General, Information, Parents, Students

Recent information provided by PayScale, a outsourced company that issues paychecks for millions of American workers, provides a window into the earnings of graduates from colleges and universities across the country.  So which colleges yield the highest post graduate salaries?  Anna Prior and Matthew Heimer of the Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch examined that questions.

“In an era of dubious economic milestones, it was yet another low-light.  This spring, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Americans’ total student-loan debt ballooned to more than $900 billion — higher than their total credit-card debt. And no wonder the debt is piling up: Over the past two decades, the price of tuition has risen 20 times as fast as the average college grad’s wages… Georgia Institute of Technology … deserves a higher profile — and some bragging rights. After all, it’s offering the best academic deal in America.”  [read more]

Jane Manley
February 18, 2013

College Visit Checklist

Blog, Career, Colleges, General, Information, Parents, Students

The college visit can be extremely helpful to both the student as well as the parent in the search process.  Try to visit only 1-2 colleges in a single day so that you have to time to visit with other professionals besides those who you will meet on the college tour and by attending informational sessions.  Make an appointment with an academic adviser, eat lunch on campus and take note of the students, visit with someone in the career services office to identify the programs that they offer to help the students decide on a major/career as well the mechanisms in place for securing suitable employment following graduation, etc.  [read more]