College chat

Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch April 5, 2016

Diverse Conversations: Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders

Colleges and universities all over the United States play an integral role in shaping tomorrow’s leaders. At Saint Leo University they take this charge to heart, infusing visionary leadership into the curriculum. I recently sat down with, Arthur F. Kirk, Jr., president of Saint Leo University to discuss his approach to leadership preparation.

Q: Saint Leo is known for its commitment to developing leaders. Would you tell us about your university’s approach to developing future leaders?

A: The notion that leaders are born and not made was once widely accepted. However, this belief is fading, as research suggests that much can be done to help grow leaders to their fullest potential. That certainly has been my experience as a university president for nearly 30 years.

When students arrive on our campus, they quickly realize that much will be expected of them. The days of sitting in the back row of a classroom and going through the motions as a college student are no more. That type of attitude is unacceptable to potential employers, and eliminating it while on campus is the first step to cultivating future leaders.

For this reason, our classes are intentionally small (our student-teacher ratio is 15:1) and students do not get lost in a crowd or back row, rather we engage them assuring greater opportunities to develop their skills and prepare for leadership roles.

At Saint Leo, all first-year students must take SLU 100, a foundational course upon which freshmen can build their leadership skills throughout their education, and long after. The course focuses on understanding and applying the university’s core values of excellence, community, respect, personal development, responsible stewardship, and integrity. The only way to cultivate leadership qualities among our students to ensure each of these values is thoroughly explored as principles of leadership—and followership.

Q: How does the curriculum at Saint Leo prepare students for future leadership?

A: One thing we know for certain is that the 21st century manager will need to know more about leadership than the 20th century manager. The world is changing at an ever-increasing rate, so we knew Saint Leo’s approach to leadership development would need to keep pace with and anticipate those changes.

Saint Leo’s new liberal arts general education program (the core of all our undergraduate degree programs), University Explorations, is designed with an emphasis on topics of special interest to the 21st-century student. The curriculum takes a cross-disciplinary approach to teaching students to think critically; to read, write, and communicate effectively; to act ethically; to appreciate beauty and exercise creativity; to develop a capacity for reflection; and to work in teams. Using a problem-based learning approach, students develop the skills they will need to be thoughtful citizens of the world and responsible leaders in their communities.

Additionally, woven throughout all our classes is Saint Leo’s Quality Enhancement Plan, A Model for a Challenging World: Critical Thinking + Core Values = Effective Decision Making, which requires students to apply critical thinking and our university core values to solve problems. Saint Leo University also offers a 12-credit Certificate in Leadership as well as an 18-credit Leadership minor that includes a capstone course in leadership, as well as an internship. Additionally, 17 sophomore student athletes picked by their coaches, representing each of our intercollegiate athletic teams, take a year-long leadership course.

Q: What are the needs of the nation and how should higher education address them?

A: There is no shortage of problems in our country at the moment. Challenges abound in all sectors—economic, political, environmental, militaristic, etc., because current “leaders” don’t lead responsibly and pass from generation to generation, problems that grow worse over time.

But the pass-the-buck mentality is not sustainable, and our nation’s young people will be faced with grave challenges to keep our country great. It is our responsibility to ensure that the future generation of leaders is equipped with the tools to confront in ethical and courageous ways.

Q: How does Saint Leo respond to this need?

A: I hear from many employers that our students are not only qualified with the practical skills necessary to hit the ground running in an entry-level position, but that they also have the ethics, critical thinking, problem solving, and decision-making skills to take on more responsibility within their first year on the job and move quickly through the ranks; they tell me that recent graduates from other institutions, in effect, start slower or hit a brick wall. Our students go on to become leaders in their fields and in their communities.

As an example, after Hurricane Sandy hit the east coast a recent alumnus in Florida reached out to fellow alumni—both those in need and those who might offer assistance or resources—to figure out how he could help. Within days, he coordinated the donation and delivery of more than 20 pallets of supplies and was soon helping to distribute those items in Staten Island and New Jersey with other alumni. So, again, I believe instilling values and challenging students to think critically to solve problems ethically is essential to educating the people we want to become our future leaders.

Another way Saint Leo responds to this need is to understand that one particular source of future leaders too often goes untapped. Our active duty-military members and veterans return from their service to our country having already received leadership training. And yet too often they are not given the support necessary to translate that experience into the civilian workforce or their communities.

Military members are resilient. They know how to be a team member. They have a clear understanding of the mission and how to achieve objectives, and many times over have demonstrated courage and skill under high-pressure situations.

These are all skill sets that will make them effective in the workplace, especially when partnered with a degree in their field. Putting that package together in the workplace and in the community is a powerful dynamic. They have already made a tremendous contribution to our society through their military service, but their potential for greatness at home too often goes unrecognized.

Q: What does the future hold for Saint Leo University?

A: While we already offer our students many opportunities to study leadership and leaders and to practice leadership skills in classes, clubs, and athletic teams, we are engaging more students in the study and practice. Leadership seminars, retreats, and non-credit short courses for fraternity and sorority leaders, student government representatives, and club leaders will soon be offered. Virtually all of our classes in our school of business require students to solve problems in teams. Many other disciplines are also emphasizing team approaches. There is so much more we can do.

I would like to thank Dr. Kirk for consenting to this interview and for all that he does to develop America’s future leaders.

Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education April 4, 2016

Report: Marijuana use rising on college campuses

A new survey released by the University of Michigan shows that marijuana use with college students is on the rise.

For the first time since 1980, more college students are getting high on a daily basis.

“Daily or near-daily marijuana use was reported by 5.9 percent of college students in 2014 — the highest rate since 1980, the first year that complete data was available in the study. This rate of use is up from 3.5 percent in 2007.”

Even for students who only use it socially or just occasionally, there has been an uptick in the numbers.

“The percent of students using marijuana once or more in the prior 30 days rose from 17 percent in 2006 to 21 percent in 2014.”

Without the study actually saying it, I’d guess this rise in use is an indicator that marijuana is no longer viewed so negatively and as a dangerous drug.

But if one views this is as bad news, there is a silver lining attached. College students no longer smoke as many cigarettes as they used to. Just 13 percent of college students said that they smoked a cigarette in the last thirty days.

While this information is certainly good to know, it is not necessarily an indicator of bad behavior with college students, if you put the use aside.

If cities continue to decriminalize the use of marijuana, use of the drug is likely to continue to increase on college campuses. How we view and measure the drug’s impact on academia would certainly serve as a fascinating follow-up study down the road.

Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch April 4, 2016

Diverse Conversations: The Failure of Higher Education

Growing up, many Americans are told that education is the doorway to happiness and a way to break the cycle of poverty and anti-intellectualism that pervades the country. However, when many college graduates complete their degrees and hit the job trail, their faith in conventional wisdom is often tested. Many of them have a hard time gaining professional employment, and subsequently end up unemployed or underemployed.

Because of this, many people are beginning to question the viability of obtaining a higher education. I sat down with Peter Stokes, Vice President for Global Strategy and Business Development at Northeastern University, to find out if they have a legitimate argument.

Q: More than half of college graduates are unemployed or underemployed. On top of that, many are bogged down with massive amounts of student loan debt. Because of this, many people are beginning to question the viability of obtaining a higher education. In this day and age, is college worth it?

A: According the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), in April of 2013 the unemployment rate for individuals aged 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree was 3.9 percent, compared to an overall unemployment rate of 7.5 percent. That ought to be viewed as good news for those pursuing a college degree. The situation for recent college graduates, of course, is not as rosy. As Anthony Carnevale of the Georgetown Public Policy Institute’s Center on Education and Workforce points out in his May 2013 report “Hard Times,” the unemployment rate for recent college grads is 7.9 percent – not good, but not dramatically worse than the case for the population overall. However, Carnevale also notes that unemployment rates for recent college grads vary significantly by major, with nursing majors facing a 4.8 percent unemployment rate at the low end, and with information systems majors facing a 14.7 percent unemployment rate at the high end. Likewise, naturally, earnings vary considerably by major, on average, and this affects graduates’ ability to manage their debts. Whether college is worth it depends on a number of factors, including the debt required to finance college and the career earnings one can reasonably expect subsequent to attaining a degree, among other matters.

Q: Many also cite the high cost of attending American colleges as a hindrance to attendance. Is this concern justified, or just an excuse?

A: College pricing varies considerably, and potential debt levels will vary as well. Without question there are cases where individuals have paid significant sums, and incurred significant debt, to acquire a degree that lacks sufficient market currency to make managing that debt easy. And while college prices are rising faster than inflation, there’s little evidence yet to suggest that not going to college – any college – is a better economic decision than going to college for most prospective students.

Q: Are there just some students who are not college material, and for their own sakes should be counseled to pursue other avenues, like vocational schools?

A: The college participation rate has never been 100 percent. The national rate in 2012, according to BLS, was just over 66 percent, though there can be considerable variation by state, ranging from about 46 percent to 77 percent according to data from 2008. For a variety of reasons, higher education is unlikely to ever be universal. Most of the people who question whether or not attending college is worth it are analysts and commentators. How does the traditional, college aged population feel about the viability of college attendance? It’s difficult to generalize. Personally, I spend more time talking with parents of college-aged children than I do speaking with prospective students, and I live in a state where there is a very high participation rate in postsecondary education, so my perspective is limited by those and other factors. The spectrum of awareness about college costs among today’s graduating high school seniors is likely to be broad. But again, the costs of attending college can vary considerably by type of institution. I know more parents are stressed about college costs – not only from what I read, see, and hear in the media, but also from conversations with my neighbors. There’s certainly evidence that many parents are looking to economize in a wide variety of areas, including their education investments for their children. But college participation rates are not yet falling, so by and large the populations you would expect to go to college are going to college.

Q: If you had 3 wishes and make three changes in higher education, what would they be?

A: We do need greater transparency about the cost to families for sending their family members to college. Net price calculators are a step in the right direction, but we need more education to support financial literacy. I’d also like to see more analysis undertaken to examine what happens when higher education transitions from being perceived as a public good, as it was decades ago when as much as 80 percent of a public university’s expenses might be covered by the state, to being perceived as a private good, as it is increasingly viewed today and where public universities on average have only about 20 percent of expenses covered by state budgets. Sometimes those figures are in the single digits. Do economies perform better under one scenario or the other? We need a better understanding of this sort of question. And finally, I’d like to see the regulatory apparatus support increased innovation. Accreditation is – both in a good sense and a bad sense – a self-replicating process. That’s good because it sets a certain standard, but it’s bad because it limits new approaches. I’d like to see the U.S. Department of Education create a demonstration program that would allow a small number of unaccredited organizations to award degrees under close supervision to see what new models – potentially more cost effective and academically effective models – might emerge.

Well, that concludes my interview with Peter Stokes. I would like to thank him for taking time out of his busy schedule to speak with us.

Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch April 1, 2016

Diverse Conversations: Community Colleges, the Backbone of American Higher Education

Every since their inception, community colleges have always been viewed as the step children of higher education. Sure, anyone with a brain knows how significant they are and the important role that they play in America. However, many people can’t see past their perceived lack of “prestige” or “swagger” if you will. Without much acclaim or fanfare, they continue to be the backbone of America’s higher education system. I recently sat down with Dr. Alicia Dowd, associate professor of Higher Education at the University of Southern California, to talk about the importance of community colleges, as well as their problems and issues.

Q: Community colleges are often viewed as the step child of higher education, but they are critically significant. Would you explain why?

A: Community colleges are critically significant for the fact that they enroll about 7 million students; that’s more than half of all undergraduates at public colleges and universities in the United States.

Beyond that, it’s not an overstatement to say that community colleges are an integral part of the national narrative in the United States about the “American Dream.” Sandwiched between high school and four-year colleges and universities, they are an important rung in the ladder of our very stratified society and educational system. We are a “winner take all society”—we love winners, contests, and stories about elites—as the economist Robert Frank has pointed out. And you simply cannot have elites without having lower rungs of the educational ladder.

Community colleges may be viewed as step children by some, but they are the real deal to many who work and study there. And they’re often the one chance a person has for gaining social mobility. The idea that anyone can get ahead by hard work and smarts is important in the American psyche. Never mind that most students who start at a community college don’t finish and don’t end up with a degree or certificate. There’s a chance you’ll make it, it’s relatively cheap (compared to other colleges) and you don’t have to quit your job, move away from home, or be 18 years old to enroll there. Community colleges are a life raft for poor students and students who need a second (or third) chance to get an education or job skills.

Q: Aside from the lack of resources because of budget problems, what other pertinent issues affect community colleges ability to do their jobs?

A: It’s difficult to set aside budget problems, because these are very real. Students are getting turned away for lack of seats, classes are overcrowded, and it can be difficult to complete a degree program if you can’t get the classes you need. Plus if you would like help figuring out the requirements for your degree or to transfer to a four-year university, it can be a long wait. By most estimates, there are more than 1000 students for every counselor, or even as high as 1700 to one, as in the California system, which enrolls over 20% of all community college students today.

But problem-solving with the resources currently available (and continuing to advocate for a fair share of funding), it’s important to recognize that the biggest resource at any college or university are the people who work there. At community colleges, 80 percent of expenditures go towards personnel. With funding cuts, more and more faculty today are part-timers. So one big issue is being sure to give part-time faculty enough hours of teaching at each college so that they can get to know students and be a resource for them.

Plus they need to earn a living wage and receive benefits so they can feel good about teaching in these colleges. It is also important to involve part-time faculty in developing new instructional delivery models and curricula. There’s a lot of demand today for innovation, but one-size-fits all programs are not likely to work very well. Curricular and programmatic changes will need to be tailored by faculty at each college and faculty will want to feel ownership of the program before they commit to its success.

The second issue is that the diversity of the faculty doesn’t match with the diversity of the community college student body. When colleges hire they should be sure to recruit a diverse pool of eligible applicants and increase faculty diversity. Faculty demographics need to catch up with the student demographics. California, Texas, Florida, and New York have such large community college systems that they enroll over a third of all community college students in the U.S. These states also have large Latino populations and many of the colleges have been designated, based on their enrollment, as Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs). But the number of Latino faculty is still very small and colleges haven’t been intentional about developing their Hispanic serving identity, for example through curriculum development.

Finally, some argue that faculty unions and byzantine bureaucracies created by shared governance are major impediments to the types of innovations that are needed to do more with less in these times of budget cuts. There’s something to that, but that’s a smaller part of the problem. Faculty intransigence, such that it exists, reflects the actions of people who feel under siege. They have something valuable to protect—the community college’s unique role as an open access, “democratizing,” college—and they want to be sure to protect it. It’s important to understand their motivations and then really speak to them, as well as the community college role in promoting the public good, when attempting to institute changes.

Q: So despite their significance, community colleges have comparatively low rates of completion. Why is that, and what can be done about it? [Q: Community colleges will need to significantly increase their graduation rates for the Obama’s college completion agenda to succeed. Can they do that while many of them are fraught with severe budget crises?

A: In part it’s because some students who go to community colleges are not interested in completing a degree or certificate or they quickly move on to another institution, where they do complete their studies. Other students test the waters and decide that college is not for them. Others, including the majority who are placed in non-college-credit developmental courses after taking assessment tests, can’t get past certain gatekeeper courses, such as algebra. The students who complete degrees tend to be those who are savvy about enrolling in the right courses, self-directed, resilient, and well supported financially and emotionally by their parents, families or significant others. Even though community colleges have relatively low-cost tuition, finances do matter especially when you consider the impact lost earnings have on a low-income household. Community college students are typically working a lot of hours and of course that slows up their academic progress.

One thing that’s being done is to create more detailed data bases of student academic progress to see which students are truly being lost from community colleges (and higher education more generally) and which are “stopping out” or “swirling” for good reasons, for example taking a higher paying job or taking classes at another college closer to their home. A number of accountability strategies are also emerging, like President Obama’s College Scorecard and college completion agenda, which is backed by major philanthropies such as the Gates and Lumina Foundations, to hold colleges accountable for doing a better job in serving the students who do want to earn degrees and credentials. Redesign of financial aid, matriculation, and transfer policies to “incentivize” highly directed student enrollment behavior is also taking place, at the state, federal, and institutional levels.

Community colleges have been a focus of these initiatives because of their low completion rates. The colleges should use the new, detailed data systems that are being built up in many states to tell their success stories better as wells to identify the gatekeeper courses that are blocking student progress. Those gatekeeper courses are then ripe for reform. These should become the focus of curricular and pedagogical experiments with new course structures and culturally inclusive curricula. College leaders, faculty, and policy makers should acknowledge that faculty will need professional development and the tools for inquiry to engage successfully in these transformative change processes. At the Center for Urban Education at USC, we’ve created the Equity Scorecard to assist colleges in using their data to set equity goals for completion and design action plans to achieve those goals.

Another strategy is to redefine completion in terms of short-term, modularized, or “stacked” credentials that students can build on over a career span of lifelong learning. It might be possible to make progress towards President Obama’s goal for 10 million more graduates through this strategy. But, it would be a shame to over-rely on this approach. The considerable rhetoric that the college completion agenda has created will generate real and equitable change only if it leads to improvements in the quality of education available to all students at community colleges. Beyond the rhetoric, policy makers, funders and college leaders should make resources available for experimenting with new teaching and curricular strategies, learning from successes and failures, and participating in professional networks to evaluate and improve on new ideas.

Q: Many incoming freshman at community colleges end up taking remedial courses that are designed to prepare them for college level work. However, these courses do not count towards graduation and end up putting a band aid on academic deficiencies. What is being done about this problem? What is the role of high schools in reducing the need for remedial college courses?

A: The number one task is to improve schooling in primary and secondary schools. Number two is to vastly improve the capacity of schools and colleges to validly assess student knowledge and academic abilities. Too many assessment and placement tests are unfair and result in inequitable educational opportunities for African American and Latino students, who are disproportionately placed in and lost from remedial courses. Number three is to rethink how we teach adults and young adults who weren’t taught well the first time around. There are quite a few new models of instruction being developed, such as the Carnegie Foundation for Teaching’s Statway and Quantway curricula, various accelerated learning approaches, better curriculum alignment and clear pathways to careers and certificates.

Well, that concludes my interview with Dr. Alicia Dowd. I would like to thank her for taking time out of her busy schedule to speak with us.

Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch March 27, 2016

Diverse Conversations: College Life, Military Veterans, and Mental Illness

Thousands of veterans are returning home each month and transitioning back to civilian life. For many, this includes going back to college or taking college courses. As they reintegrate into the routines of civilian life, special attention should be paid to easing the transition process and providing a supportive environment.

Dr. Victor Schwartz, Medical Director of The Jed Foundation, a leading not-for-profit organization dedicated to promoting emotional health and preventing suicide among college students, answers a few questions regarding the mental health and transitional issues many U.S. veterans face and what college campuses are doing to address the issue.

Q: Is mental health and/or suicide an issue among military veterans returning to college?

A: Many veterans coming to college show great maturity, discipline, motivation and focus. Nevertheless a significant number of returning veterans have reported mental health challenges. These “hidden injuries of war” are not surprising given the challenges of serving in a combat zone. It is important that veterans struggling with emotional health issues get the support they need as unaddressed problems can lead to serious consequences like substance abuse or suicide. With the right support and treatment, veterans dealing with mental health issues can still have a smooth transition and a healthy future.

Q: What challenges do many veterans face when returning to daily life as a college student?

A: Challenges many veterans face can range from a missing the camaraderie from their troops or dealing with misunderstanding university faculty members and classmates to physical, mental or emotional wounds of war. These issues can magnify barriers and challenges that make earning a college degree difficult.

Q: What can the student body do to help a veteran acclimate back to daily life on campus?

A: There has been significant news coverage of the emotional and physical injuries that veterans deal with as a result of serving in a war zone. There are significant assets veterans bring because of their experience and training. If you know or attend school with a veteran, the best thing you can do is help them have a normal experience: let them decide how much they want to discuss or emphasize their service, and be patient as they acclimate to their new routine.

Q: What boundaries must we follow to respectfully communicate with student veterans?

A: It’s sometimes easier for veterans to talk to each other than to civilians who may not fully understand their experiences, however, on campus, it’s important that civilians and veterans communicate as members of the same college community. Sometimes, civilian students can feel uncomfortable talking to veterans because they don’t know what is appropriate and what is off limits to discuss. Below are some tips for respectful communication from the Jed Foundation’s Half of Us website:

• Welcome them home
• Offer to help with their transition to (or back to) campus
• Support with patience and listening
• Understand that the transition home is a process and can take time

Q: What signs should administrators or students be aware of regarding mental health of veterans?

A: Veterans who have experienced trauma in war and combat might suffer from Post-Traumatic Stress (PTS), depression, and suicidal thoughts. It is important to know the warning signs of these conditions and, if there’s a problem, how to get involved in order to help your friend or family member cope and begin to get well.

Common warning signs of a problem include:
• Hopelessness about the future
• Difficulty concentrating or making decisions
• Jumpiness and constant over-alertness
• Troubling dreams, memories or flashbacks
• Increased heart rate and rapid breathing
• Insomnia and constant exhaustion
• Increased smoking or alcohol, drugs and/or food consumption
• Feeling nervous, helpless, fearful, sad, shocked and numb
• Irritability or agitation
• Self-blame, negativity or withdrawal

Q: How can I become an advocate for the student veterans on my campus?

A: There are many organizations that focus on making sure student veterans succeed in post-secondary programs. The Jed Foundation and the Bob Woodruff Foundation have created a training tool that helps campus health professionals understand the student veteran perspective, engage with them on campus, and provide the resources they need to succeed. You can support our troops by participating in The Bob Woodruff’s ReMIND movement. You can also become an advocate by joining IAVA’s (Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America) action network. There are also great resources available from Student Veterans of America and American Council on Education’s website for military students and veterans.

Q: Where can I go for more information?

A: For more information, visit https://www.jedfoundation.org/professionals/programs-and-research/helping-our-student-veterans-succeed or http://www.halfofus.com/veterans/.

This article originally appeared on www.diverseeducation.com

Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch March 27, 2016

Seven Biggest Mistakes Parents Make in Saving or Paying for College

Note: The following guest post comes to us from Jack Schacht, the founder of www.MyCollegePlanningTeam.com, a Wheaton, Illinois based organization that brings together experts from both the academic and financial services communities who work in coordination to help families find the right college for the right price. Contact him at [email protected].

As tuition costs continue to skyrocket, families can no longer afford to make any mistakes when it comes to paying for college.

Making mistakes can drive up your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) causing some families to pay thousands more for college than necessary. If they only knew the many rules that affect EFC, they could save money.

Here are the seven most common mistakes families can make when saving and paying for college:

1) Saving in a student’s name.

Not everyone knows that savings in a parent’s name (that is in excess of their asset protection allowance) is assessed at 5.64% in calculating the EFC. The asset protection allowance for a typical college family is around $45,000.

Savings in a student’s name, however, are assessed at 20% or 25%, depending on the methodology the school uses to calculate EFC. Accordingly, if Grandma gives your child $30,000 to put in his own college savings account, you have just added at least $6000 to your Expected Family Contribution.

To make matters worse, the student does not have an asset protection allowance. So never have assets in the student’s name.

2) Paying for college with a Grandparent-owned 529

Some financial advisors have actually recommended this as a strategy to reduce college costs. Make sense, right? If neither the parent or the child are holding the asset, what could possibly be the problem?

While it may be true that there is no assessment on either the parent or student’s assets, there is still an assessment—and it’s much worse. According to FAFSA rules, money paid out of the Grandparent’s 529 is considered untaxed income to the student. And the assessment on student income is a whopping 50%

While students don’t have an asset protection allowance, they do have a small income protection allowance. Currently, the student’s gross income protection allowance is about $6300. What this means, however, is that every dollar over the income protection allowance is assessed at fifty cents on the dollar. Accordingly, if Grandma sends $16,300 dollars to the college for your student’s first year’s tuition, you will be have raised your EFC by an additional $5000.

3) Using or borrowing Retirement Funds

Many parents make the mistake of thinking they are getting a break from the government when they pay for college out of their IRA funds. After all, the government waives the 10% penalty for funds withdrawn that are used for college.

What parents forget, however, is they are adding to their income when they withdraw funds from an IRA and parent income is typically assessed at 47%. It’s another very bad move.

4) Missing Important tax deductions & tax credits

Parents sometimes make an error in paying their entire college costs out of their 529s only to find out that they can no longer claim the American Opportunity Tax credit.

Because the parent has already received a tax benefit from the tax-free distribution from their 529, the federal government considers that claiming a $2500 tax credit would be “double-dipping” and that is not allowed. So work with your tax advisor on this one. You don’t want to miss $2500 in free money from the government.

5) Being unacquainted with EFC reduction strategies

Before parents figure out how they are going to pay for college, get a good book on the subject. One of the best books out there dealing with EFC reduction strategies is written by Kalman Chany and called Paying For College Without Going Broke.

Knowing the material and implementing the strategies yourself, however, may not be a wise move for everyone. Families are encouraged to seek the help of a college planning specialist . Just using your regular CPA can hinder your chances for financial aid.

6. Knowing the different methodologies for calculating EFC

A parent recently followed his accountant’s advice to cash out his $150,000 in stock funds and pay down the mortgage. He was told it would save a bundle on college.

While it’s true that this move could save him about $7500 a year in college costs, that’s not how it worked out.

Under the Federal Methodology, which most all public universities and a majority of private colleges use, this move could have achieved that result. That’s because under FAFSA rules, the equity in one’s home is not used to determine EFC.

This was not true, however, with all three schools their daughter was interested in attending. These particular schools used what is called the Institutional Methodology to determine EFC. Under that method, home equity IS assessed.

Note only did this move do little to bring down EFC, but the stocks the man cashed out would have increased in value by about 25% if he held on to them during that two year period!

7. Not Understanding How to Use the Appeals Process

Again, many people do not understand that there is still money that can be saved even after their receive their final award letters. Awards can be appealed. Obvious examples would be when there has been a change in family income or if the family was suddenly incurring some unexpected medical expenses.

What really is news to parents, however, is that an appeal can also be made because another college, which is not your student’s first choice, made your student a better offer. You do not want to try playing one school against the other, however, unless the other college has a similar ranking to the college to whom you are appealing.

Most important, read up on how to write a good appeals letter before you act. You can also seek out of a college coach in your area who does this kind of work.

There is a lot to navigate out there when planning for college. Next to your home, however, college is likely to be your second largest investment in your lifetime. Take the time to do it right!

Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's, Higher Education March 19, 2016

HBCU Insights: Changing the Discourse on HBCUs

A column by Larry J. Walker

Ensuring every American has the opportunity to develop marketable skills is critical. After graduating from high school, completing an associate degree, GED or serving in the U.S. military aspiring engineers, scientists and teachers seek reasonably priced colleges with supportive environments. However, post-secondary institutions with prohibitive tuition, room and board and fees prevent students from low and moderate income backgrounds from obtaining a bachelors degree. Fortunately, recent state and federal proposals are attempting to make college more affordable while increasing the number of minority, first generation, low to moderate income college graduates. Throughout their history historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) enrolled more students from predominantly low income and minority communities in comparison to predominantly White institutions (PWIs). For this reason, HBCUs are equipped to support students in need of academic, emotional and social support. Unfortunately the recent struggles of some HBCUs tarnish their distinguished history of educating students.

In 2002, Morris Brown College, a HBCU located in Atlanta, Georgia lost its accreditation because of a plethora of financial problems. The African Methodist Church founded Morris Brown in 1881 to educate Black students. Since Morris Brown’s inception the institution educated thousands of students who may not have attended college. More than a decade after losing accreditation the college continues to graduate a small number of students. Morris Brown’s struggles foreshadowed the demise of St. Paul’s College, a small HBCU, located in Virginia. In 2013, St. Paul’s, encountered financial problems that forced the historic institution to close. Some pundits suggested the loss of St. Paul’s and Morris Brown’s financial exigency signaled an end to HBCUs golden era. However, upon closer examination several HBCUs are continuing to thrive despite a variety of obstacles.

Hampton University has a Cancer Research Center that focuses on closing disparities and developing new research. Recently, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded Hampton a $622,000 grant to increase the number of African-Americans in computer science. The grant reflects Hampton’s ability to compete with larger institutions to secure vital funding. Similarly, Morgan State University signed an agreement with the New York Academy of Sciences, which will create opportunities for science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) majors. The initiative is consistent with multiple partnerships the university has solidified over the last few years.

Several other HBCUs including Fisk University and Howard University have received funding to improve programs. For instance, a researcher from Howard was recently awarded a $1.1 million grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) while Fisk received funding to maintain their archives. Each institution has a legacy that extends beyond the classroom. Fisk and Howard alumni have made major contributions in education, politics and science. Despite the success of HBCUs, collectively, they face a variety of challenges. Recently, South Carolina State University had to convince legislators not to temporarily close the university because of financial difficulties. Closing the university would have led to dire consequences for students including transferring to other institutions. Moreover, legislators would have resisted reopening the state’s only public HBCU.

While the problems facing HBCUs including South Carolina State University are genuine. There are factors that contributed to the disparities between South Carolina State and other public universities including the University of South Carolina. Unfortunately the media focuses on the financial struggles at HBCUs without examining the issues from a historical perspective. HBCUs struggle to fund programs, rebuild facilities and provide scholarships because of inequities. For instance, during the 1800’s several HBCUs were founded because of Morrill Land Grant Acts (I & II) yet they are not funded at the same level as PWIs. The uneven support for land grant and other public universities has forced HBCUs to file lawsuits to counter years of inadequate funding. Regrettably, some HBCUs have struggled financially which reinforces misconceptions including: 1) HBCU faculty members are not as accomplished as their counterparts at PWIs 2) HBCU’s are not as rigorous and 3) HBCU’s mission of educating Black students is no longer relevant in a post-racial society.

Changing the discourse regarding HBCUs has been difficult but advocates, institutions and stakeholders have taken steps to counter the deficient oriented focus. For example, Hampton University hosted the AARP HBCU Awards Ceremony, which recognizes the contributions of administrators, faculty, students and alumni. The annual event is a showcase that allows sponsors to challenge preconceived beliefs regarding HBCUs. Some of the awards include best: marching band, student government association, research center, alumni publication as well as student of the year (male and female) and faculty member of the year.

The AARP HBCU Awards Ceremony is part of a growing trend highlighting the accomplishments of HBCUs, alumni and students. For instance, the HBCUstory symposium sponsored by Fisk alumnae, Dr. Crystal DeGregory, is an annual event that brings together scholars to examine HBCUs historical significance. This year the symposium titled “Reconstruction in a New Age Resistance: Respecting our Roots+ Restoring our Rights” will be held at Fisk University. Sponsoring events that change the narrative on HBCUs is paramount.

For more than a century HBCUs educated Black students from predominantly low and moderate income families with limited resources. While some students from HBCUs come from affluent backgrounds the majority of students are dependent on federal and state funding. Thus, ensuring HBCUs have funding to educate students is important. Historically, Black students have encountered a variety of barriers including living in substandard housing, limited educational opportunities and pathways to success. HBCUs prepare students to break down obstacles by emphasizing concepts related to shared responsibility and political empowerment. Without these institutions thousands of Black students would face a cloudy future.

Read all of our posts about HBCUs by clicking here.

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Dr. Larry J. Walker is an educational consultant focused on supporting historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). His research examines the impact environmental factors have on the academic performance and social emotional functioning of students from HBCUs.

Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education March 19, 2016

Report: 11 states spend more on prisons than higher education

According to a new report by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 11 states spend more money on correctional facilities than public research universities.

The report outlines how many states have cut spending on higher education while increasing budgets for jails and prisons.

Higher education spending didn’t start to fall once the recession started. Funding for higher education in many states begin toppling back in 1990 from 14.6 percent to just 9.4 percent in 2014.

Michigan, Oregon, Arizona, Vermond, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Delaware, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Colorado, and Connecticut all failed to make the cut. Each state has a higher budget for jails and prisons than public research universities.

Adjusted for inflation, spending on elementary and secondary education increased by nearly 70 percent while corrections saw an increase of over 140 percent between 1986 and 2013.

In Michigan, nearly 25 percent of the state’s spending from general fund expenditures went towards corrections compared to just 15 percent on higher education.

The percentages are much closer in other states like Rhode Island and Delaware but corrections spending still gets a larger percentage.

Oregon seems to be the worst defender. Less than 5 percent of general fund expenditures are dedicated to higher education but the state spends nearly 15 percent of that money on correctional facilities.

Bottom line is that too many states invest in faux rehabilitation methods and not enough on student engagement. Imagine if we invested that money upfront in our troubled youth instead of putting it towards locking them up. It takes a fundamental understanding that it NEEDS to happen though – something that generally is lacking in the U.S. education system.

Matthew Lynch published in EdTech & Innovation, Higher Education March 19, 2016

Diverse Conversations: MOOCs for University Administration

By Matthew Lynch

Massive Open Online Courses are often associated with topics that are normally taught within college classrooms and by college faculty. The untapped potential of MOOCs extends well beyond the basic academic reach though, and is showing promise to advance the success of university systems as a whole.

Austin-based digital marketing agency Tocquigny is launching a four-week MOOC that focuses on recruiting students for online learning programs. Instead of targeting the students themselves, the MOOC guides administration and admission personnel through smart marketing tactics to attract their audiences to their online course offerings.

The free Online Recruitment of Online Learners starts on October 15 and runs for four weeks. Enrollment is open by visiting https://recruitonline.eventbrite.com.

I talked with the company’s CEO, Yvonne Tocquigny, about the concept for this MOOC and the evolving role of online learning.

Q: These courses at Tocquigny are aimed at college administrators, as opposed to students, correct?

A: Yes, specifically the courses are aimed at admissions, enrollment and marketing staff responsible for acquiring new students within higher education institutions.

Q: How are colleges succeeding in online enrollment, and where can they improve?

A: Colleges are in fierce competition for the same students. Most colleges and universities are using the same strategies and tactics so there is very little discernible differentiation between the institutions. Colleges and universities can do a better job of creating distinctive brands that set them apart rather than “me too” brands that make them all look about the same. They can do a better job of segmenting their audiences and delivering tailored messages to resonate with specific groups of students. And, they can do a better job of using and optimizing digital marketing. Schools should have visibility into a quantifiable cost per acquired student metric, and they should have specific initiatives to consistently lower that cost through rigorous testing and by optimizing campaigns.

Q: Based on your research, what types of students are enrolling in online college programs the most?

A: Online learning is most popular with a group Tocquigny refer to as “career advancers.” These are people that are currently employed, but cannot advance because they lack the educational certification. Online education is also popular with mothers as they find more time to dedicate to their futures, as well as military personnel coming out of active duty.

Q: How important is a university’s digital branding when it comes to recruitment, particularly for online learning?

A: As students shop for their university of choice, they are likely to first investigate their options through online sources, often using their mobile device. The school must engage a student prospect effectively at this first touchpoint in order to move the student into the consideration phase and on to the submission of an application. Prospective students today will not only visit the school’s website, but will investigate the school through social media, videos and blogs. It’s imperative for schools to have an accessible, relevant differentiated brand online in order to engage prospects.

Q: How will online college learning evolve in the next 5 years and what are some factors leading to change?

A: We at Tocquigny believe online higher education options will continue to evolve to offer more variations that are both paid and free for an audience that is not able or willing to attend a brick and mortar school. We are pioneering our own MOOC because we see the power this form of education has in the marketplace. Integration with emerging online collaboration tools such as SubjectMatter will allow more direct contact with instructors to give the student a richer experience. We expect that new curricula around niche learning topics may spawn new certifications created to enhance specific skill sets required for jobs. This may lead to a proliferation of alternative learning paths that blur the edges between a traditional degree and other certifications.

Q: What university clients have you taken on already, and what campaigns have been launched?

A: Tocquigny has a seven year relationship with Regent University to handle its online student acquisition. We are also in the process of launching a social media campaign for Rice University aimed at recent graduates. I serve as an advisor for the School of Undergraduate Studies at The University of Texas at Austin.

Read all of our posts about EdTech and Innovation by clicking here.

Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education, list, Matthew Lynch March 13, 2016

5 Things You Should Know about the College Gender Gap

If you have been following education hot button issues for any length of time, you’ve likely read about the nationwide push to better encourage girls in areas like science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The thought is that by showing young women that these topics are just as appropriate for them as their male peers, more women will find lasting careers in these traditionally male-dominated fields.

I’m all for more women in the STEM workplace but with all this focus in one area, are educators neglecting an even larger gender gap issue?

Nationally, over 57 percent of college attendees are female when public and private school stats are combined. Female students have been consistently edging ahead of their male classmates since the late 1970s when the percentages flip-flopped. Aside from all-female schools, there are others that have marked disproportionate numbers. Pacific Oaks College in Pasadena has nearly 96 percent females in attendance, and the University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center in Memphis has over 93 percent. At Indiana University Northwest, located just outside Gary, 67 percent of the student population is female.

I’m glad women are becoming more and more educated, but the gender gap is problematic. Here are some things you should know about the college gender gap.

The college gender gap is not an accident.

There are a few reasons why more young women than men are choosing a college education. The first is that there are more trades that do not require a college degree that appeal to men. The second is that economically speaking, women earn a better living with a college degree than without one in comparison to men. Though there is still a wage gap (in 2012, women earned just 80.9 percent of the salaries of their male counterparts), women see the value their earning potential can gain from achieving a college diploma.

I hear people asking this question all the time: What are K-12 educators doing wrong when it comes to preparing young women for STEM careers? It’s a valid one.

But based on the statistics I’ve listed here, shouldn’t we also be asking this question: What are K-12 educators doing when it comes to preparing young men for a college education?

This can lead to financial trade-offs for men down the line.

It all comes down to the weight we assign to the worth of a college education. If a diploma is simply a way to earn more money over a lifetime, then perhaps men are doing the intelligent thing by launching into the workforce early and without student loan debt. That logic is flawed, however, when taking into account the fact that blue-collar jobs are declining in favor of white-collar ones. A young man making a lifelong career decision today simply cannot predict what educational demands will be placed on his field in another 10, 20 or 30 years.

The educational disparity that results is bad for marriage.

Money aside, there are other pitfalls in a disproportionate number of men going to college. Statistics show that marriages where the couples have differing education levels more often end in divorce than couples with the same educational achievements. And even before divorce is an option, women who set college educational goals may not want to settle for men with less motivation – at least when it comes to academics. If this trend continues, social dynamics may be impacted.

The path to the college gender gap begins before college.

According to Dr. Leonard Sax, too many boys are struggling in schools today. Sax proposes that five factors are responsible for the decline in school performance among boys: video games, prescription drugs, endocrine disruptors, devaluation of masculinity in popular culture, and teaching methods. Sax and many others believe that video games disengage boys from real-world pursuits. Mind-numbing keyboards and flashing images have a seductive effect on the brain. Medication for ADHD may be damaging motivational centers in boy’s brains, and the harmful effects of estrogens from food and plastic containers are upsetting the balance of boys’ endocrine systems. The athletic, scholarly male TV heroes of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s have been replaced with Bart Simpson. These and other shifts in modern culture are responsible for devaluing traditional masculine strengths. Additionally, Sax claims that the ways in which children are being educated today simply turn boys off from schooling.

Men who are completing a four year degree take longer than women to do so, and tend to socialize more in college, study less than women, and have poorer grades. The difference in male-female college/university enrollment reflects performance differences that are evident well before college attendance.

Minority men fare even worse with this trend.

The problem escalates when race is taken into account. Recently, the Black Star Project published findings that just 10 percent of eighth-grade Black boys in the U.S. are considered “proficient” in reading. In urban areas like Chicago and Detroit, that number was even lower. By contrast, the 2013 National Assessment of Education Progress found that 46 percent of white students are adequate readers by eighth grade, and 17 percent of Black students as a whole are too. The achievement gap between the two races is startling, but the difference between the NAEP report on Black students as a whole and the Black Star findings of just Black boys is troubling too. It is not simply Black children in general who appear to be failing in the basics – like literacy; it is the boys.

We must ask ourselves why boys and young men seem to be falling behind academically. More importantly, what steps need to be taken in order to reverse this trend?

Click here to read all our posts concerning the Achievement Gap.