The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

'We're Losing Our Minds' Author Says Higher Ed Must Focus On Student Learning

An estimated 50 percent of people who receive a four-year degree from an American college lack the skills expected of a college graduate, which means U.S. higher education needs to fundamentally change the way they operate, say the authors of "We're Losing Our Minds: Rethinking American Higher Education." Their basic message: While national debate over the value of a college education has focused on the cost, the more critical issue is whether students are acquiring the skills that have long been associated with a college degree. That includes critical thinking and analytical skills, master of their field of study, and the development of a moral perspective and sense of personal and social responsibility. Read more at:
http://www.mlive.com/education/index.ssf/2012/05/us_colleges_put_low_priority_o.html

60 Minutes Grills Peter Thiel On His College Dropout Plan

 One of the wealthiest, best-educated American entrepreneurs, Peter Thiel, isn't convinced college is worth the cost. With only half of recent U.S. college graduates in full-time jobs, and student loans now at $1 trillion, Thiel has come up with his own small-scale solution: pay a couple dozen of the nation's most promising students $100,000 to walk away from college and pursue their passions. Morley Safer takes a look at Thiel's critique of college. Watch this 60 Minutes segment:
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7409142n&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CBSNewsGamecore+(GameCore%3A+CBSnews.com)

Also read transcript at:

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57436775/dropping-out-of-college-a-good-thing/?tag=currentVideoInfo;videoMetaInfo 

Student Loan Debt Crisis Will Lead To Higher Education Meltdown

What do I project will happen? Very simply over time the demand for college education in general AND 4-year private colleges and universities specifically is going to tail off. In the process, these institutions of higher education are going to get increasingly squeezed financially to make ends meet.Let’s further extend that thought. I think it is not only plausible BUT likely that over the course of the next decade we will witness a number of colleges and universities, primarily private, literally shut their doors. Read more at: 
http://www.senseoncents.com/2012/05/student-debt-bubble-impending-doom-for-colleges/#ixzz1uwsV59El

Room For Debate: What Can Be Done About The Student Loan Debt Crisis

Nearly every student is taking out loans to go to college, and as prices soar, many are borrowing beyond their means. More than $1 trillion in student loans are outstanding.The average debt per borrower is $23,300. Meanwhile, many have no prospect of a well-paying job to help them pay off their debt. What can be done to control the level of debt and protect young people from taking on an onerous financial burden? Read the debate at:
http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2012/05/12/easing-the-pain-of-student-loans/?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20120514

Graduating Into Debt: The Video

This video offers a preview of a coming New York Times series that examines the implications of soaring college costs and the indebtedness of students and their families. The big question for these graduates with big loans to pay off and low-paying jobs: Was college worth it?  See the video at:
http://video.nytimes.com/video/2012/05/11/business/100000001500508/graduating-into-debt.html?ref=business

College Still A Good Investment As Long As You Don't Mind The Crippling Debt

With more than $1 trillion in student loans outstanding in this country, crippling debt is no longer confined to dropouts from for-profit colleges or graduate students who owe on many years of education, some of the overextended debtors in years past. Now nearly everyone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is borrowing. As prices soar, a college degree statistically remains a good lifetime investment, but it often comes with an unprecedented financial burden. the extraordinary growth in student loans has caught many by surprise. But its roots are in fact deep, and the cast of contributing characters — including college marketing officers, state lawmakers wielding a budget ax and wide-eyed students and families — has been enabled by a basic economic dynamic: an insatiable demand for a college education, at almost any price, and plenty of easy-to-secure loans, primarily from the federal government. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/13/business/student-loans-weighing-down-a-generation-with-heavy-debt.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&hp

Colleges Are Rethinking Their Policies On Undocumented Students

Each year, about 65,000 undocumented students graduate from U.S. high schools, says a report by theCollege Board. The American Association of State Colleges and Universities estimates that between 5% and 10% go on to college. Most of the debate about illegal immigration and higher education has centered on whether undocumented students should be allowed to pay lower in-state tuition rates at public schools, but as undocumented students become more visible and vocal about their status, some higher-priced private colleges are being pressed to consider policies to make tuition more affordable for them. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/story/2012-05-07/college-policies-undocumented-students/54819830/1

Parent Of Prospective Student Asks What College Is For

There’s also a bigger debate raging that hovers over all our concerns. What exactly is a university education for? Is it, narrowly, to ensure a good job after graduation? Or is the point of a university degree to give students a broad and deep humanities education that teaches them how to think and write critically? Or can a college education do both? Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/05/your-money/career-or-deep-learning-pondering-the-purpose-of-college.html?pagewanted=2&ref=business 

 

Many College Grads With Few Job Prospects Turn To Unpaid Internships

Confronting the worst job market in decades, many college graduates who expected to land paid jobs are turning to unpaid internships to try to get a foot in an employer’s door.  Although many internships provide valuable experience, some unpaid interns complain that they do menial work and learn little, raising questions about whether these positions violate federal rules governing such programs. Yet interns say they often have no good alternatives. As Friday’s jobs report showed, job growth is weak, and the unemployment rate for 20- to 24-year-olds was 13.2 percent in April. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/06/business/unpaid-internships-dont-always-deliver.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss 

 

College Grad's Student Loan Debt Puts Dream Of Becoming A Nun On Hold

Nicole Ferko’s $60,000 in student loans made her put off her dream of becoming a nun for a decade. Ferko, who lives in Grand Prairie, Texas, graduated from a private Ohio Catholic university in 2002 and walked away with a huge loan burden. But she discovered that individuals looking to become priests or nuns need to be debt free. With the loans and credit cards paid off, Ferke, 32, is now on track to become a sister with The Sisters of the Holy Family of Nazareth, but she won’t reach her ultimate goal of donning a nun's habit until she’s 39 because the process takes that long. Read more at:
http://lifeinc.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/05/02/11488298-student-loan-debt-delays-dream-of-becoming-nun?lite