Keith O’Brien, contributor to the Boston Globe, reports “you won’t hear this from the admissions office, but college students are cracking the books less and less. They come with polished resumes and perfect SAT scores. Their grades are often impeccable. Some elite universities will deny thousands of high school seniors with 4.0 grade point averages in search of an elusive quality that one provost called ‘intellectual vitality.’ The perception is that today’s over-achieving, college-driven kids have it–whatever it is. They’re not just groomed; they’re ready. There’s just one problem. On campus, the students aren’t studying.”
Posts Tagged ‘College’
What happened to studying?
Thursday, July 29th, 2010Finding applicants who plagiarize
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010Scott Jaschik, a contributor to InsideHigherEd.com, examines the use of plagiarism-detection software Turnitin.com in the college admissions process. ”Some admissions officials, like those at Penn State, welcome the service. They feel that the problem is serious enough that they need help. Others, however, are skeptical, saying that the push by Turnitin will shift the focus away from more serious issues in college admissions and suggests that colleges aren’t capable of uncovering plagiarism themselves.”
Do part-time professors hurt education?
Monday, July 19th, 2010Christopher Magan, staff writer for the Dayton Daily News, reports “as college costs and enrollment continue to rise, many universities are turning to lower-paid part-time professors to educate students. The percentage of full-time professors teaching college classes has plummeted nationally during the past 35 years from 70 to 50 percent. Unions representing professors characterize the shift as a staffing crisis that hurts student achievement.”
Four reasons the library should affect your college choice
Thursday, July 8th, 2010Jeff Greer, contributor to the US News and World Report, writes “if you talk to a college admissions officer or a high school guidance counselor about things to do when you visit a college campus, one of the first things they say is to visit the libraries on campus. Bring a book or some schoolwork, sit down, and soak up the environment. Can you see yourself there for four years?”
Here are four key questions to ask:
- What is the staff like?
- How much does the library system and its librarians interact and work with the faculty?
- What’s the atmosphere like?
- Check the library system website and digital resources. Do they offer enough resources at any hour of the day?
US colleges see highest enrollment jump in 40 years
Monday, July 5th, 2010The USA Today reports that “the nation’s colleges are attracting record numbers of new students as more Hispanics finish high school and young adults opt to pursue a higher education rather than languish in a weak job market.”
Dealing with the college transition
Monday, June 21st, 2010Selbe Potter Ruggiero, Director of Clinical Services at the New Learning Therapy Center, writes about the number one health concern on college campuses, clinical depression. ”Many times college bound students realize that their lives will never be the same again as they venture into the unknown. Once they get on campus their reality is different.”
Unable to write clear, cogent sentences
Thursday, June 10th, 2010Kara Miller, professor of English at Babson College and contributor to the Boston Globe, writes on the inability of college students to write clear, cogent sentences and its costly implication for the digital age.
Gifts for high school, college grads
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010Need some ideas for a graduate? Wendy Donahue of the Chicago Tribune gives readers a few ideas beyond the cash gift.
Three year bachelor’s degree gains popularity
Monday, May 31st, 2010Larry Gordon, writer for the Los Angeles Times, reports on the growing popularity of earning a bachelor’s degree in just three years.
Grade inflation at private colleges
Monday, May 17th, 2010New York Times writer Catherine Rampell reports on a recent study that finds college GPAs have been rising since the 1950s, with private schools fueling the most grade inflation.