College chat

Matthew Lynch published in Equity, HBCU's, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

Retirement in Presidential College Ranks Opens Diversity Door

College presidents must be able to multitask. Though not in the official job descriptions, these administrative leaders must be figureheads, court the general public, delegate effectively and always keep an eye on the horizon to guide their ships to bigger, better waters. It is a tough job and like many high-profile ones, comes with its share of scrutiny in the public eye.

As the latest wave of college presidents looks towards retirement, the higher education community has the opportunity to promote a more diverse presidential core. The next five years will set the tone for college leadership at the highest level for the coming decades and really for the entire student population too.

Just the Facts

• 61. Average age of college presidents in 2011.
• 92. Percentage of college presidents aged in the mid-50s to mid-70s.
• 14. Average number of years retiring college presidents first serve in the role.
• 40. Normal number of new college presidents in the American Association of State Colleges and Universities every year.
• 109. Actual number of new college presidents from April 2011 to August 2012.
• 6. Number of new college presidents this school year in the California State system alone.
• 13. Percentage of college presidents who are racial or ethnic minorities, as of 2012.
• 14. Percentage of college presidents who were racial or ethnic minorities in 2006.
• 26. Percentage of women college presidents.

Qualified Prospects

In the past, college presidents from other schools and college vice presidents have most often ascended the ranks to fill empty presidential seats. While this still happens about 19 and 25 percent of the time, respectively, other leaders like provosts and deans are increasingly being considered to fill the college president vacancies. Some schools even search outside the college community to find leaders from other industries that fit the bill. There is really no hiring formula that applies to all college president spots and a “qualified” candidate could feasibly jump several levels of hierarchy to claim the spot.

Encouraging Diversity in Presidential Ranks

The first step to building diversity at the highest college administrative level is simply recognizing the opportunity at hand. American institutions of higher education often consider how a diverse student, and even faculty, population should look but do not extend that to top-tier leadership roles. Colleges need to rethink that strategy. I believe the trickle-down diversity effect works well in college settings. Instead of starting with the largest group (students), start cultural change at the top of the pyramid. If a school has a well-balanced student population already in place, chances are that the faculty and administration reflect that fact too.

The next step is to actively include diversity in the search process. I’m not saying that white men with the right qualifications should be excluded from the running; I just mean that colleges with open president seats should make sure the short list of candidates has some variety in experience, ethnicity, sex and race. The Rooney Rule, established in 2003 by the NFL, mandates that at least one minority candidate be interviewed for all head coaching spots. I think colleges need to do that same with their academic leaders.

Those in lower to middle-level leadership roles in colleges that have presidential aspirations should get ready now. Make sure your name is associated with talks about the future of the college by getting yourself involved in the action. Get published. Envision yourself on the same plane as the college presidents that went before you but realize that you have a unique voice to lend to the college community you want to lead. Embrace the turning tides. Be an active part of the changes in college administration and you will in turn be part of the progress.

  • no reactions
0
Share
Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

Retirement in Presidential College Ranks Opens Diversity Door

College presidents must be able to multitask. Though not in the official job descriptions, these administrative leaders must be figureheads, court the general public, delegate effectively and always keep an eye on the horizon to guide their ships to bigger, better waters. It is a tough job and like many high-profile ones, comes with its share of scrutiny in the public eye.

As the latest wave of college presidents looks towards retirement, the higher education community has the opportunity to promote a more diverse presidential core. The next five years will set the tone for college leadership at the highest level for the coming decades and really for the entire student population too.

Just the Facts

• 61. Average age of college presidents in 2011.
• 92. Percentage of college presidents aged in the mid-50s to mid-70s.
• 14. Average number of years retiring college presidents first serve in the role.
• 40. Normal number of new college presidents in the American Association of State Colleges and Universities every year.
• 109. Actual number of new college presidents from April 2011 to August 2012.
• 6. Number of new college presidents this school year in the California State system alone.
• 13. Percentage of college presidents who are racial or ethnic minorities, as of 2012.
• 14. Percentage of college presidents who were racial or ethnic minorities in 2006.
• 26. Percentage of women college presidents.

Qualified Prospects

In the past, college presidents from other schools and college vice presidents have most often ascended the ranks to fill empty presidential seats. While this still happens about 19 and 25 percent of the time, respectively, other leaders like provosts and deans are increasingly being considered to fill the college president vacancies. Some schools even search outside the college community to find leaders from other industries that fit the bill. There is really no hiring formula that applies to all college president spots and a “qualified” candidate could feasibly jump several levels of hierarchy to claim the spot.

Encouraging Diversity in Presidential Ranks

The first step to building diversity at the highest college administrative level is simply recognizing the opportunity at hand. American institutions of higher education often consider how a diverse student, and even faculty, population should look but do not extend that to top-tier leadership roles. Colleges need to rethink that strategy. I believe the trickle-down diversity effect works well in college settings. Instead of starting with the largest group (students), start cultural change at the top of the pyramid. If a school has a well-balanced student population already in place, chances are that the faculty and administration reflect that fact too.

The next step is to actively include diversity in the search process. I’m not saying that white men with the right qualifications should be excluded from the running; I just mean that colleges with open president seats should make sure the short list of candidates has some variety in experience, ethnicity, sex and race. The Rooney Rule, established in 2003 by the NFL, mandates that at least one minority candidate be interviewed for all head coaching spots. I think colleges need to do that same with their academic leaders.

Those in lower to middle-level leadership roles in colleges that have presidential aspirations should get ready now. Make sure your name is associated with talks about the future of the college by getting yourself involved in the action. Get published. Envision yourself on the same plane as the college presidents that went before you but realize that you have a unique voice to lend to the college community you want to lead. Embrace the turning tides. Be an active part of the changes in college administration and you will in turn be part of the progress.

 

 

 

 

  • no reactions
0
Share
Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

Standardized Testing for Colleges: A Necessary Evil?

Standardized testing in K-12 education is a perennial hot button issue. Proponents feel that measuring knowledge in these rigid ways helps lift the entire educational system. Critics say the measurements do nothing but encourage “teach to the test” methods and narrow the scope of what instructors are able to teach if they want to have acceptable test results. These arguments are nothing new, but they are now seeing a new audience.

What if the same principles of K-12 standardized testing were applied to colleges and universities? Americans spend over $460 billion on higher educational pursuits every year, yet there is no official worldwide system in place to determine whether students are learning what they should, compared to other schools. In June, the

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development unveiled research on whether a global testing system for college students is possible. The group will continue to review its findings and decide later this year if it wants to push for implementation of the Assessment of Higher Education Learning Outcomes test, abbreviated as AHELO.

Right now the comparison system for colleges and universities lies in the many rankings that are released each year by sources like U.S. News & World Report and hundreds of bloggers who weigh in on the topic. The AHELO would be a “direct evaluation of student performance at the global level…across diverse cultures, languages and different types of institutions.” It would provide institutions feedback meant to help them “foster improvement in student learning outcomes.” In a nutshell, the test would not actually measure student achievements as much as shine the light on instructors that need some improvement.

To K-12 students, this sounds familiar. To college faculty, the idea is fraught with landmines. How can one test take into account so many variables in higher education across the globe? Would instructors be punished by the institution, or even worse held to some misguided accountability scale by peers, if students did not rank highly enough on an AHELO, or some other test? If college is a time for fostering critical thinking skills, would a standardized test take away some of that freedom?

College instructors and administrators are right to have doubts, and particularly before any testing mandates go into effect. Take the classic college entrance exams – the SAT and the ACT. Though research has found little correlation between results on these tests and actual knowledge or intelligence, they are a standard part of college admissions. It is more difficult to reverse a testing mandate than to fight it off at the outset.

It is easy to see why colleges and universities are leery of standardized testing, but K-12 instructors should be too. Presently, K-12 instructors guide students through the formative education years, dealing with standardized tests and other demands of contemporary teaching. Success with those students is ultimately determined by two other numbers: graduation rate and college placement. At that point, a K-12 teacher’s job is done, at least in theory. Adding another layer of teacher testing (cleverly disguised as core knowledge testing) at the college level could have an impact on K-12 instructors too.

If the AHELO is designed to “foster improvement” in the higher education schools that are tested, who is to say that those ideals of improvement will not then be extended to the K-12 schools that came beforehand? A student who demonstrates below-college-level proficiency in language or math would in theory not be the product of college that failed him or her – that student’s incompetency would be a result of a previous school, or schools. Could a global test for college actually negatively impact the K-12 schools that preceded it?

As with any measurement of teaching and learning, the AHELO and other similar initiatives need close scrutiny before becoming global law. I am not sure of the necessity of such a system and it will take some hard arguing by the other side to convince me otherwise.

Are you in favor of standardized testing in colleges and universities?

  • no reactions
0
Share
Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's

HBCUs face peril under proposed education plans

From President Obama to Hillary Clinton, both Democrats have or will face backlash for their plans to make education more affordable.

Sounds crazy on the surface but the criticism has merit.

According to The Huffington Post, Clinton’s education plan would undermine the funding of some HBCUs and would likely force a few to close.

“Free tuition to any community college and reduced tuition to public institutions, will expedite the extinction of several HBCUs. Without federal and state investment in public historically black campuses which lack unique programs, modernized facilities and marketing resources, students of all races will flock to larger, more developed predominantly white colleges.”

In essence, plans presented by Clinton and other candidates who lean left would take federal and state money used to aid HBCUs and refocus the dollars towards a general fund that will help schools that traditionally serve the general population.

Hypothetically, schools that aren’t necessarily in need of more federal assistance would receive extra dollars and some HBCUs would be left in the cold.

This is likely an unintended consequence of ensuring that more low-income students have proper access to higher education. In doing so, Clinton and other candidates may end up isolating a voting bloc that they desperately need.

Read all of our posts about HBCUs by clicking here.

  • no reactions
0
Share
Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

Report: For-profit institutions source of most student loan debt

According to a new report by the Brookings Institute, a good chunk of student loan debt is held by students who attend for-profit institutions.

“The so-called student loan crisis in the U.S. is largely concentrated among non-traditional borrowers attending for-profit schools and other non-selective institutions, who have relatively weak educational outcomes and difficulty finding jobs after starting to repay their loans.”

That’s a fairly significant finding, I would say.

Students who attend non-profit private schools or public universities do not face the same debt issue because their job prospects are much higher upon graduation.

Borrowers at for-profit institutions have a harder time finding gainful employment, and when they do, their average earnings barely creep over $20,000.

[T]the median borrower from a for-profit institution who left school in 2011 and found a job in 2013 earned about $20,900—but over one in five (21 percent) were not employed; comparable community college borrowers earned $23,900 and almost one in six (17 percent) were not employed.”

The report also finds that students who attend the University of Phoenix hold the most debt. In 2014, students there held over $35 billion dollars in student loan debt.

If anything, this report shows that the government has to inflict tougher regulations on for-profit institutions in the higher education sector. College students work hard to make a better life for themselves and their families — but student loans can have the opposite effect, at least in the immediate. Tuition at these private schools is astronomical, and if students cannot find jobs to pay their loans back, attaining a degree from these schools is pointless.

  • no reactions
0
Share
Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

Best Resources and Tools for a College Freshman

This guest post is written by Robert Morris, an educator from New York. He is passionate about edtech, education and literature. His articles appeared on Lifehack, Edudemic and Bigthink. Circle Robert on Google+!

So you enrolled in college and your first term began successfully? Congratulations! You have a lot to celebrate since the following four years will probably be the most memorable ones in your life. However, college also brings many responsibilities.

You will face unexpected changes that can shake the foundation of your self-esteem. To help you go through this revolutionary year of your life like a champ, we have created a list of essential resources that every college freshman should know.

27 Money Tips for College Students – Before you apply for a college credit card, you need to learn how to take care of your finances by yourself. Budget planning may not be your idea of college fun, but you have to tackle the new responsibilities as a grownup. This article featured at GetRichSlowly.org provides valuable tips on money management for students.

Ninja Essays – If you thought academic writing was difficult when you were in high school, wait until you start college! You will need to write essays, term papers, case studies, research papers, and dozens of other types of content for all classes you take. A freshman can easily get frantic when there is so much work to be done. Bookmark essay writing help site NinjaEssays.com, since you will definitely need its assistance during college. At this website, you can hire professional writers to help you with any academic project you get stuck with.

Investing 101 Course – If you want to save money and be financially stable, you need to learn a thing or two about investing. If your college doesn’t offer an investing course, then you should definitely consider gaining such knowledge through an online course. Investing 101 is an easy program provided at TheCollegeInvestor.com. It will help you understand the principles of investing and start getting into the market through safe steps.

Discover it Card – This is one of the best credit cards for students in terms of beneficial fees, rates, and cash back incentives. You will get 5%-20% cashback bonus through the company’s online shopping mall, as well as other bonuses that will inspire you to use the card responsibly. You will get through the entire application procedure within minutes.

Dorm Room Checklist – Moving into a dorm room is more difficult than you can imagine. You will have to create an entirely new living space from scratch, and many things you were used to will be missing. This checklist provided by DormSmart.com will help you prepare all essentials for campus and get your baggage ready on time.

The College Crush – How to Actually Date In College – Your love life will drastically change as soon as you start college. TheCollegeCrush.com is a valuable website that will teach you how college dating works. There are plenty of useful articles you can read before the first semester starts, but you should start with How to Actually Date In College.

How Much Do The Top Income Earners Make – Even if you are not motivated by money, you surely want to choose a rewarding career that will ensure a bright future for you and your family. This article featured at FinancialSamurai.com will help you determine whether your interests are worth fighting for or you should consider going for a more promising major.

The most important tip is: Don’t forget to have fun!

Being a college freshman can be a frightening experience if your expectations are too great. You will have to study a lot and write endless pages of academic content before the end of the term. However, that shouldn’t prevent you from meeting new friends and having fun as every other freshman should. You don’t want to remember the best years of your life by spending the entire time with your computer and piles of books. There are many adventures waiting to be experienced, so don’t forget that you need to have fun along the way.

  • no reactions
0
Share
Matthew Lynch published in Equity, Higher Education, Matthew Lynch

Diverse Conversations: You Can Go Back Home

“You can never go back home.”

These famous words by Henry David Thoreau began to ruminate in my mind as I prepared to conduct an interview with President Francis L. Hendricks. You see, President Hendricks is a 1979 graduate of Mansfield University and he recently returned to the university as it’s 28th president. Apparently, “you can go back home” and to much fanfare and excitement. I recently sat down with him  to see what life is like for a former student returning home to run his alma mater. Without further ado, let’s begin the interview.

Q: What are your impressions of Mansfield University since your return to campus?

A: This is a magical place; it was when I attended here and it certainly is today! Students have always come here to learn, delve into interests and discover unknown passions. With a strong Liberal Arts base, in a beautiful rural setting, Mansfield University is able to offer professional programs in fields in which students are interested. Mansfield University has remained true to its commitment of outstanding instruction in an intimate classroom setting, where you are taught by professors who know you personally and care about your preparation for your life’s journey. The pride and commitment of our campus community is as strong now as it was when I was a student in the 1970s. From our grounds keepers who want a parent’s first view of campus to be one of beauty, to our faculty and staff who realize we are our students’ family away from family, their dedication is to our students. One of our employees just celebrated her 64th year as a dining services staff member and is valued by all.

Q: It must be exciting to come back as President. How did you react when you were offered the job?

A: I was ecstatic! I care so deeply about Mansfield University and welcomed the opportunity to come back and “pay forward” all the university has done for me. As a non-traditional candidate for University president, I truly had no expectations of being offered the position. I did however know that Mansfield University prepared me well for my future and gave me the foundation needed to be successful. At Mansfield, I was able to build relationships with professors, staff and even the President, all of whom mentored me and provided me sound advice when needed. I wanted to be able to do the same; to connect with students and serve them as those before served me. I am a product of Mansfield University and truly humbled to have been chosen its 19th President.

Q: What made you want to apply?

A: It met the criteria of what my wife and I wanted to do after I retired from the military. We wanted a position where we knew we could make a difference in the lives of others. We wanted to, once again, be part of something that was bigger than both of us; and we wanted to use our experiences and contribute to the success of the team we would join. There was never any doubt that returning to Mansfield University would be the right step for us. It also would enable me to return to the region in which I was raised. In every way, it was coming home for me and my family.

Q: Have you spent time on some goal-setting or strategic planning?

A: Yes. From day one, I have been setting the tone for how we will build upon the university’s strengths, while simultaneously addressing the challenges we face. I work closely with the university’s strategic planning committee on our next Strategic Plan. The plan, which goes into effect in 2014, sets the foundation for where the university will be in 2020. In order to remain relevant to students’ needs and thrive in the “new normal” of public higher education, Mansfield University will take the appropriate steps to ensure our students’ success. We will embrace ownership of our University’s destiny. We will broadcast our excellence and we will strengthen and build partnerships within and outside of our immediate community.

Q: What’s your impression of the community and its interaction with the college?

A: The strong connection between the university and community dates back to 1857 when both the borough and the university came into being. Community business leaders serve on our council of trustees and other committees. Faculty and staff serve in leadership positions on local and county boards. The Mansfield community embraces ours students as their own and the University works hard to partner in community and economic development, events, and assistance. After all, Mansfield and its surrounding towns are where we live and raise our children. We are neighbors, friends and partners both in and outside of the work place. That connection led me to coin the phrase, “you can’t spell community without MU!”

Q: How do you imagine continuing the momentum that Mansfield University has achieved during the past decade?

A: We will continue to assess everything we do, from the programs we offer to the services we provide our students and their families. We will make adjustments based on those assessments which is the key to remaining relevant for current and future students and our alumni. We are key producers of leader-ready individuals in their chosen fields of study. Mansfield University greatly impacts the local community, region, Pennsylvania and beyond with its graduates and its presence. We must constantly look at how we can improve upon our delivery of education and services.

Preparing students for their life’s journey, must remain our primary focus.

Well, that concludes my interview with President Hendricks. I would like to thank him for consenting to this interview. Good Luck!

 

  • no reactions
0
Share
Matthew Lynch published in HBCU's, Higher Education, list, Matthew Lynch

3 Quick Facts about College Dropout Rates

There are a lot of metrics in place that gauge the effectiveness of P-12 schooling in the U.S. and shine a particularly bright light on public schools, particularly when they are failing students. Dropout rates are just one of the factors taken into account when these numbers are calculated and tend to weigh heavily on the schools and districts who have low percentages.

The same does not seem to be true once the high school years pass though. Compared to P-12 institutions, colleges and universities seemingly get a pass when it comes to dropout rates – perhaps because in the past, higher education was considered more of a privilege and less of a right. A college dropout was simply walking away from the assumed higher quality of life that came with the degree, but still had opportunity to excel without it.

That’s not the case anymore. As of 2013, 17.5 million students were enrolled in U.S. colleges and universities.  More than ever, colleges and universities have a responsibility to not simply admit students, but ensure they are guided properly to graduation. In other words, institutions of higher education should not be able to just take their student’s money and say “good luck.” They should provide the tools necessary for students to successfully achieve a college education and anticipate the issues that could prevent that.

Authors Ben Miller and Phuong Ly discussed the issue of the U.S. colleges with the worst graduation rates in their book College Dropout Factories. Here is some information about those schools—it may shock you.

  1. Some colleges have graduation rates as low as 8 percent. Washington Monthly that ranked the U.S. schools with the lowest six-year graduation rates among colleges and universities, including public ones like the University of the District of Columbia (8%), Haskell Indian Nations University (9%), Oglala Lakota College (11%), Texas Southern University (13%) and Chicago State University (13%).
  2. Several of these schools have high percentages of underrepresented minorities attending. A quick scan of the University of the District Columbia’s official page shows graduation rate numbers through the end of the 2003 – 2004 school year (the past nine years, strangely, are nowhere to be found). The school boasts 51.2 percent underrepresented minorities in the study body, including 47 percent that are Black.

In the case of Chicago State University, the latest statistics show some improvement from the 2010 ones. The six-year graduation rate is up to 21 percent – but the transfer-out rate is nearly 30 percent. The school has 92 percent underrepresented minorities that attend – 86 percent who are black and 70 percent who are female.

But good are those numbers if these students are not actually benefitting from their time in college because they receive no degree?

  1. P-12 schools rigorously track and hold themselves accountable for dropout rates. Colleges do not.

In all cases of college dropout factories, the P-12 institutions chalk up a victory on their end. They graduated the students and also saw them accepted into a college. What happens after that is between the students and their higher education choices.

This, to me, is a problem. The accountability for student success extends beyond the years that they are in P-12 classrooms. Graduation from high school, and acceptance into college, should never be the final goal of P-12 educators. That is not a victory. That is only halftime.

As far as the colleges and universities are concerned, higher accountability should be demanded from educators, students, parents and really any Americans that want the best economy and highest-educated population. Public institutions, in particular, should be subject to restructuring or take over if dropout rates are too high. The lack of delivery on the college degree dream at many of these schools is appalling, frankly, and has gone on long enough.

What do you think—should colleges be more accountable for the graduation rates of their students, especially given the necessity of a college education today?

  • no reactions
0
Share
Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

What higher ed can learn from healthcare

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest column by Edgar Wilson

Healthcare is undergoing reform in order to hold care providers more accountable for the quality of the care they provide. This is the emerging standard to replace volume-based service, whereby hospitals and doctors are compensated for how many tests and treatments they order, without any consideration of the patient outcomes that result from treatment.

Education needs to similarly move toward tracking academic outcomes to prove that it is actually worth the expense. Recent graduates offer a bleak review of the value they feel they are currently getting. Institutions should be held accountable for what academic and professional accomplishments their students are able to achieve. Whether it is proficiency at the next level of education, or employment in a career relevant to the student’s area of study, there needs to be a clearer link between outcomes and educational inputs. This may fall short of holding individual teachers and professors accountable for student performance, but it can certainly serve to better enable students and their families to evaluate prospective schools, programs, and balanced the associated costs against the opportunities.

 

Break Down Legacy Instruction

Doctors and nurses need more leadership training, better preparation to lead and participate in health teams. Technological disruption, breakthrough research, and a tenuous regulatory atmosphere mean clinicians are challenged to be nimble and adaptive.

Teachers, likewise, need better instruction and empowerment to not just cope, but to drive cultural change and innovation in the classroom. The world doesn’t just need more expert individuals in the classroom and ER, it needs collaborative leadership and creativity to ensure the delivery of these critical services continues to advance alongside the rest of society. Continuing Education standards for both classes of professionals emphasize the need to keep up with a dynamic, ever-changing field; leadership training would empower them to be proactive innovators, rather than reacting to the external forces at play around them.

 

Embrace Technology – Join or Die

The legacy systems and individual approaches to records technology in healthcare has made the mandatory shift to digital currently underway a long headache. While patients are enthusiastic and receptive to the new norms, many clinicians are still resistant to the change, and the gap is a significant obstacle to improving engagement. Patient health depends on their engagement with clinicians, and technology can help bridge the divide between clinical expert and patient.

Modern students are similarly more receptive toward emerging technology, from mobile to virtual platforms and tools. Teachers need more than instruction in the latest methods and tools—they need a combination of incentives and some amount of external pressure to become more proactive in integrating technology into the classroom, and leading student engagement with digital tools.

Students require the same sort of engagement to ensure comprehension, retention, and learning are all actually taking place. What is more, both doctors and teachers need to learn to get as comfortable with technology as their patients and students are, and use them to maximize engagement to reach the full population they serve.

This isn’t just a matter of rewarding the individuals who are proactive about learning, understanding, and communicating, but ensuring everyone who is access both education and healthcare is receiving the full value of that exposure. Learning and health maintenance alike continue well after such encounters, and telemedicine and distance learning platforms show a lot of promise to increase exposure, if not engagement.

 

Books are Drugs

Drug companies have too long a history of raising medicine prices without account or controls, and the doctors prescribing them to patients with no alternative are all captive to the choices of their care providers.

In academia, cadres of textbook publishers have a similarly captive market with no recourse and no obvious alternative. Not only should instructors be enabled and rewarded for taking advantage of lower cost digital, open source, or otherwise liberated resources through greater technology integration, but the schools and university systems that guarantee demand for books should exert greater pressure on publishers to stop taking advantage of the system. Students, like patients, are not positioned to be their own best advocates to control prices; the systems they patronize out of necessity must take up the role on their behalf, and challenge the status quo that has gone on unaccountable for far too long.

 

Maintenance is Key

In spite of the pace of change in the 21st century, the standard model for education starts in childhood, climaxes with impossibly-expensive universities, and then is relegated to the individual to acquire “on-the-job” training and mentorship. Resources are limited to the classroom, and after commencement, remain exclusive. That is like a diabetic seeing a doctor once and being counted on to successfully manage the condition indefinitely, and catch up with changes in science and medical technology independently.

In a perfect world, emergency medical interventions would be displaced by the tendency for people to take better care of themselves, prevent the escalation of minor ailments and conditions, and only visit their doctors for routine services, instead of reactive treatment. Instead, patients habitually neglect their health, postpone visits to the doctor as long as possible, and seek emergency care for conditions that started out as casual lifestyle choices.

Education, like health, is cumulative. Eating one healthy meal does not lead to weight loss, until it becomes a regular habit. Lifelong learning—or continuing education—is often relegated to a specific class of professional (doctors and nurses, as well as teachers, are all expected to keep abreast of best practices and emerging knowledge in their fields), rather than embraced across the spectrum of professionals. Given the intrusion of technology, communications networks, and globalization in virtually every field, few can claim that knowledge and skills in their profession has remained static, immune from these disruptive influences. Continuing education deserves the resources and public-private support to become standard for all skilled professions.

__________

Edgar Wilson is an Oregon native with a passion for cooking, trivia, and politics. He studied conflict resolution and international relations and has worked in industries ranging from international marketing to broadcast journalism. He is currently working as an independent analytical consultant. He can be reached via email here or on Twitter @EdgarTwilson.

  • no reactions
0
Share
Matthew Lynch published in Higher Education

Tips on getting middle schoolers interested in college

**The Edvocate is pleased to publish guest posts as way to fuel important conversations surrounding P-20 education in America. The opinions contained within guest posts are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of The Edvocate or Dr. Matthew Lynch.**

A guest post by Carol Miller

I went into our 7th grade Family and Consumer Science classes both yesterday and today.  The kids had just finished a research project on a career they were interested in.  It was great to be able to go into classes and talk with them as they have just finished their research.

I started by asking them several questions:

  • Who has ever been on a college campus?
  • How many of them have researched a career that requires some sort of training or college?
  • Can everyone attend college?  (Many “No” answers were given.)

I ended my questioning with:

  • What are some reasons you think people don’t go to college?

The answers they gave me included:

  • people can’t afford it
  • maybe they aren’t smart enough
  • they have disabilities
  • they don’t want to go

I then talked to them about how college can be affordable.  Even Cornell University (which is in our backyard) has a program where if your parents make under a certain amount, has a no loan program.  This makes it truly affordable for everyone.We also crossed off the list “not smart enough.”  Community colleges will accept everyone from the counties they serve.  You may not be able to get into a particular major right away, but you can take the classes that will help you to get there.”Disabilities.”  Some colleges have special programs for students with even significant disabilities.  Maybe students won’t earn a degree, but they will learn independent living skills and job training skills to help them find a job.”Don’t want to go.”  Really this is the only reason for people not to attend college.  My hope for them, however, is that they want to, and will help them get there.

From there we played College Prep BINGO.

I also had them fill out the I Have A Plan worksheet, which I have hanging in the hallway outside my office.

Just before it was time to leave I talked to them about this month’s College Spotlight (Marist College) and I asked them to write on a post it note one thing that they learned with me today.  I had them post it on an easel located by the classroom door.

These are my favorite responses:
  • You can go to college even if you don’t have enough $.
  • College is complicated
  • College isn’t a dream, it’s a plan.
  • That it is never too early to think about college.

How do you promote early college awareness?

This post originally appeared on The Middle School Counselor, and was republished with permission.
___________________
Carol has organized School Counseling Conferences for several years in Central New York through TACA and has presented at these conferences on College Admissions, Best School Counseling Programs, and Sharing Counseling Resources. She is a member and past President of the Tompkins Area Counselor Association, and  a member of NYSSCA and NACAC, and NYSACAC. Carol is a mom to three sons, a crafter at heart, and a soccer and basketball coach in her free time.
  • no reactions
0
Share