Higher Education is good

A recent article titled: “Better Higher Education Leads to a Better Regional Economy, Report Says” (http://chronicle.com/blogs/bottomline/better-higher-education-leads-to-a-better-regional-economy-report-says/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en).

“Findings released on Wednesday by the Milken Institute corroborate a view many in higher education have found themselves defending in recent years: A college education pays”.

This seems logical too me, what do you think?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

For-Profit Group's Report on Veteran Education



Today I am posting this report because I feel it should not be overlooked (download from link)

“A task force convened by the Association of Private Sector Colleges and Universities, which is the primary trade group of the for-profit sector, today issued a report on how colleges can better serve students who are veterans or active-duty members of the U.S. military. The recommended "best practices" touch on career services, pedagogy and student recruitment. Steve Gunderson, the association's president, said the report should be useful to all of higher education. The association plans to release three other reports on quality standards in coming months, he said” (http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/02/27/profit-groups-report-veteran-education).

Please and chime in because this should be an important higher education topic

 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Higher education and sexual assault



As a campus administrator, I recall every year having to fill out the crime data of the year for publication as per federal requirements. Fortunately, there were little or no instances on campus, just a few fender benders; I credit that with the fact that the campuses were non-traditional (no dorms, social life was elsewhere for the most part).

Have you counted the number of articles that are discussing unresolved (badly handled cases) sexual assaults on traditional campuses? One is too many, but there are enough reported cases that we should be worried about the real number of unreported assaults. This violence is happening to young women, in the prime of their lives, and as the father of a daughter who will be college bound, I worry about her safety.

It seems that campuses are more worried about covering up the issue rather than solving it definitively.  No campus wants those stats on their crime report, but covering it up does not make the problem go away. Case in point and article I read today titled “slaying the messenger” (http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/26/unc-charged-student-honor-code-violation-discussing-her-rape-allegation).

 “Landen Gambill took an unusual step after she was sexually assaulted. She reported it. Unusual why? Because the vast majority of rapes go unreported. But now Gambill is the one on trial. The student-run Honor Court at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill informed her last week that it’s charging her with violation of the Honor Code under a statute prohibiting “Disruptive or intimidating behavior that willfully abuses, disparages, or otherwise interferes with another…. so as to adversely affect their academic pursuits, opportunities for university employment, participation in university-sponsored extracurricular activities, or opportunities to benefit from other aspects of University Life. In other words, as the court told Gambill, she could get expelled for saying she was raped”.

What is wrong with this picture?! Everyone is entitled to due process; victim and perpetrator. However, since when has retaliation been the norm? This is not the first case like this, and unfortunately, it will not be the last. Students and parents are not asking for anything special, just a safe place where people can learn. We should be beyond the stage of flippantly accepting these sexual assaults; we should all be feeling rage.

It is about the student right?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III    

The ETeam

The benefits of online education

 

I was just thinking about this very subject, when I came across and article titled “Who Benefits From Online Ed?” (http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/25/study-finds-some-groups-fare-worse-others-online-courses).

This is not a for or against blog, however, it would be good if we all took a closer look at this subject because it is important to know exactly how minority students are being helped or how we could do better.

What are your thoughts?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Charter Discipline: A Tale of Two Students

I thought I would share this article today about some charter school discipline and leave it for you to decide: http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/02/20/21charters-student.h32.html?tkn=QOTFQqke6FRabQsb4tJah%2BvA%2BLJHDmuZjg3D&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2

 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

 

Scholarships and colleges

I do not claim to be an expert on college sports, but what I do know, is that better care could be taken towards the well-being of the athletes (and I mean beyond strength and conditioning). Graduation rates need to go up, especially in athletes of color, and how do you expect kids to understand all the NCAA rules if the rules are subjective?

“Wrestler Loses Scholarship for Posting His Music Online” (http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/02/21/wrestler-loses-scholarship-posting-his-music-online), and from what I understand he posted his own original music, made no profit, and was trying to inspire people. It seems sometimes that the athletes who do some really bad things (can we say sexual assault) get protection, and the wrong ones get punished. What is going to happen to this student now? Will he graduate from college or was this his only shot?

As I said, I do not claim to be an expert, but something seems off to me here. What are your thoughts? Did they do the right thing?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

When is it too much?

“Florida Atlantic University has agreed to name its football stadium for a company, GEO Group, that runs private prisons, The New York Times reported. University officials are defending the deal, saying that they need private money for athletics and that GEO officials have strong ties to the institution. A number of groups have over the years raised questions about GEO Group's management of prisons, and some say that the university should not be using a major facility to promote the company”. (http://www.insidehighered.com/quicktakes/2013/02/20/stadium-be-named-company-runs-prisons).

United States currently incarcerates about 25% of the world’s prison population. Is this really what we want to be known for? Educational institutions do need money, but at what cost?  What about the long-term perceptions of our students?

Private prisons like it or not, are part of American business. However, do they belong as part of education institutions?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Librarians getting sued?

Librarians are a dying breed right now due to budget cuts, especially in K-12 education. Personally, I think they are severely undervalued and that they can offer students so much if there is access to them.

Anyway, have you noticed the recent stories about librarians being sued for libel? The latest being “librarians and lawyers” (http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/15/another-publisher-accuses-librarian-libel), “With the proliferation of scholarly journals – particularly open-access Internet journals that charge author fees – some librarians consider themselves on the front lines of the fight to preserve quality publishing”. “Some publishers have taken up their own arms – including threats of lawsuits – in defense, raising questions about academic freedom and librarians in the Internet age”.

United States tends to be a very litigious society as it is; but suing librarians? I wonder if there might be a better approach for those who feel slighted, at least initially?

Librarians help students, we need to preserve them and allow them to do their jobs.

 

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Hip-hop courses in college

This article makes some interesting reading:

http://chronicle.com/blogs/conversation/2013/02/15/colleges-love-hip-hop-but-do-they-love-black-men-too/?cid=cr&utm_source=cr&utm_medium=en

“Institutions of higher learning are failing to address the most problematic irony of hip-hop studies: The explosion of hip-hop in the academy has not coincided with positive educational gains for black men. While colleges race to analyze the street-born music, body movements, art, and poetry, the people whose images are most associated with hip-hop—young black men—continue to be left behind”.

What are your thoughts on these courses? Can they be used to make a positive impact on young black males or are they something else?

Look forward to hearing from you all on this.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Expanding Preschool

Recently, universal preschool has been mentioned multiple times in political speeches and debates, and as a parent, it got me thinking. I personally remember the cost of preschool since both of us had to work, but I also saw the results of the preschool experience for my children who are excelling in their grades (I like to think some of it was we as parents as wellJ).

Do you know any preschool teachers? Do you know how much they earn per year? I will not tell you, but I suggest you find out for yourself.

Whether you agree or disagree with universal preschool for all, why can’t we just talk about it in a civilized manner without labels, insults, fear, and derision? Why does every potential education discussion have to be about politics? http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/15/us/politics/obama-visits-georgia-to-rally-support-for-preschool-plan.html?_r=0, http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130215/POLITICS03/302150353, http://www.salon.com/2013/02/14/why_expanding_preschool_is_a_no_brainer/, http://www.salon.com/2013/02/14/why_expanding_preschool_is_a_no_brainer/.

Yes, there will be cost involved; anything that is designed to help students will have a cost attached to it. However, we need also need to ask ourselves: what will the gains be and do we truly have children’s best interest at heart? It is ok to have a spirited debate about this topic, but at this stage in the discussion, let us leave the politics out of it and just talk as human beings with facts.

We are trying to help students right?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

It is possible to care too much…?



“Hyper-parents can make college aged children depressed-study” (http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/02/13/us-parents-students-idUSBRE91C18520130213).

A researcher, “Holly Schiffrin from the University of Mary Washington in Virginia found so-called helicopter parenting negatively affected college students by undermining their need to feel autonomous and competent”.

There seems to be a lot expected of parents in today’s educational environment; fundraising, sports, room parent, bank account, hotel, etc. However, are there things we could be doing to empower our children and make them more independent and secure in the world?

This is not an agree or disagree, just food for thought and discussion.

What do you think?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Interesting story…

What are your thoughts on this story? Not asking folks to take sides, just weigh in.

“Ex-Student Thanks Lehigh U. for Free Tuition With $1.3-Million Suit Over Grade”

(http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/ex-student-thanks-lehigh-u-for-free-tuition-with-1-3-million-suit-over-grade/55553?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en)

What do you think these kinds of issues do for higher education and student services?

        ??????

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III                                  

The ETeam

The Dissertation argued

I realize it is important that everyone, including myself, keep an open mind about this topic. Having survived the hazing, frustration, and final defense of the dissertation process, I personally feel like I conquered Mt Everest.

However, the question being asked in higher education now is is the dissertation process as it exists now truly necessary?

“The Dissertation Can No Longer Be Defended” (http://chronicle.com/article/The-Dissertation-Can-No-Longer/137215/?cid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en), discusses how the dissertation may be broken, and it is not the first article to do so.

What are your thoughts, even if you have no desire to go this route?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Sharing information 1/11/2013

So today, I thought I would share teaching practices from another educator. I also welcome hearing from others about what they are using to teach students. The more we share the better we become!

http://onlinescienceeducatorbylabpaq.com/2013/02/05/teaching-science-totally-online-hands-on-labs-labpaqs-and-softchalks-cloud-perfect-together/

By Dr. James W. Brown

”When I was the Dean of Science, Engineering, Health Science, and Human Performance at Ocean County College I learned about the wonders of using Hands-On Labs’ LabPaqs to allow us to teach laboratory-based science courses totally online using “wet labs” that could be shipped almost anywhere in the world. Additionally, SoftChalk LLC, allowed us to produce online courses far beyond anything we had produced before by adding interactivity to nearly every page of content. This changed our boring “death by outline and PowerPoint” approach into one in which we provided highly interactive content pages that were a work of art filled with learning exercises and games. We needed to produce both nursing courses and science courses to fulfill a $458,000 grant from the venerable Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which allowed us to produce a One Day per Week Nursing Program (now called the One Site/One Line Nursing Program). This program allowed students to attend clinical training one day per week while the didactic portion was delivered online. This opened up nursing to a whole new group of students who were limited by time, family commitments, work, or distance. It was an instant success and students from a much wider geographical area began coming to OCC to get their associate degree RN. This online education model addressed the hospital RN shortage crisis and has become a national model”.

I hope you will comment and join in the conversation.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

 

Nice story

 

Let us close the week with something nice shall we?

“In Ohio, Ex-Mechanic Keeps School Buses in Gear” (http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/02/06/20ltlf-simmons.h32.html?tkn=UVZFt4NPz2SDDDh97311H972nx8VBzUf0bf0&cmp=ENL-EU-NEWS2&intc=EW-LTLF13-ENL).

“In 2010, the 51,000-student Columbus, Ohio, school district considered cutting busing of high school students as a money-saving measure, just as most of the other large districts in the state had done”. It seems like this gentleman is finding ways to keep thing moving forward despite cuts. I know in my own kids’ district, buses are all but going the way of the dinosaurs, so well done sir!

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Rebranding

 

“U. of Phoenix Reboots Advertising and Rebrands in the Process”

(http://chronicle.com/blogs/bottomline/u-of-phoenix-reboots-advertising-and-rebrands-in-the-process/?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en)

“Phoenix’s new “Let’s Get to Work” campaign, showcased here on the university’s YouTube feed, reflects market research that found that many Phoenix students don’t enroll for a degree per se. “They come,” said Barry Feierstein, the university’s chief operating officer, for what the degree will do for them.”

The University of Phoenix is one of the leaders in the non-traditional education market, so whether you are a for-profit, non-profit, private, or a public institution, you still need to pay attention.

Not taking sides here, but I am curious as to everyone’s thoughts on the rebranding effort. Is it a step in the right direction? Is more is needed? What are your thoughts?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts!

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Telling the truth

An article titled “Can You Verify That?” (http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/06/wake-reports-false-data-us-news-considers-new-way-promote-accuracy) got me continuing on the snobbery them in higher education I have blogged about this week.

It seems that some schools have been so desperate to get on the U.S News and World Report list, that they have been submitting false data to bump up their standing. What I find most disturbing, is that we have only recently found out but this, we do not know how long it has actually gone on. The schools, which are supposed to be traditionally ‘trustworthy’, are misbehaving and their excuses are weak (for example, one person accidently gave the wrong data, or the data was collated in the wrong way). The excuses continue by the way, and data that is even more false is being discovered as we speak.

“U.S. News is considering a plan in which colleges would be required to have a senior official -- someone outside of enrollment management and serving at the top rungs of administration -- sign a statement vouching for the accuracy of the information being submitted”. Do we think this plan would actually work, or will we get more sophisticated type cheating?

Everyone should be held accountable for telling the truth, let us sort this out quickly becasue students are watching.

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

FAFSA Rules

“Rule Barring Aid for Drug Convictions May Harm At-Risk Students, Study Finds” (http://chronicle.com/blogs/ticker/rule-barring-aid-for-drug-convictions-might-harm-at-risk-students-study-finds/55091?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en).

What do you think of the rule disqualifying a student from receiving federal financial aid if they have had a felony drug conviction?

What do you think is the purpose of this rule?

Why just drugs and not for example: embezzling or murder?

Any thoughts ?

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Snobbery is alive and well in higher education

The divisions that exist in higher education continue to be strong, unrelenting, and constantly being reinforced.  For example: a person may struggle hard and earn a degree, but if that degree is not from a particular ‘list’ of schools, some people may turn their nose down at that degree, even though it is 100% valid. There are actual ads for business jobs requiring an “MBA from top tier school only”, even though there is no guarantee that the top tier degree is going to make a better candidate. Of course, there is still the never-ending dispute between the various types of accreditation in higher education, even though they are all valid accreditation.  A lot of time, energy, and money continues to be spent on slandering other institutions abilities rather than on helping students. We seem to be wasting a lot of energy in creating/reinforcing divisions, not solving them.

Today’s blog came after reading an article titled: “Visiting Professorships Take On New Uses in Changing Market” (http://chronicle.com/article/Visiting-Professorships-How/136953/?cid=wb&utm_source=wb&utm_medium=en). This particular professor has worked hard all his life, has published, and has been productive. However, because he is not on the tenure track people have said, “he got typecast and couldn't get a real job”.

Who makes the determination as to whether something is good or bad, real or not real, and superior or inferior, in higher education? Who has the right to make that determination based upon esoteric and non-quantifiable facts? Tradition is good, but at some point tradition has to change (we would still be a colony of the British Empire if tradition did not change).

These continuing divisions do not help students at all; in fact, they could have severe detrimental effects in the future. Let us try to go beyond just biting our tongues before expressing a negative opinion. How about trying to have a truly open mind so that the negative thought is not there in the first place?

It is about the student right?   

              

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam

Good advice needs to be spread

I cannot take credit for this information below today; however, good practices need to be shared with others.

“Student Engagement in the Online Classroom” (http://chronicle.com/article/Student-Engagement-in-the/136897/?cid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en), this article has great simple tips that work in the online classroom.

·         Start with a good opening.

·         Be first whenever possible

·         Respond to all student queries within 24 hours

·         Be detailed and positive in your comments on their work

·         Respond to all—or nearly all—student discussion postings

·         From the beginning of the course, have ready a link to Frequently Asked Questions

·         Establish an "extra resources" section of your course

·         Require students to pitch in

·         Steer discussion threads in the direction of students' professional needs

·         Offer live chats on a weekly basis

Do you have good practices you wish to share? The more the merrier, because it all helps students!

Dr Flavius A B Akerele III

The ETeam