The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

NSSE Helps IHEs Improve Student Engagement

Those kinds of steps, however small, could be a key to helping undergraduates get the most out of their educations. Yet both schools might not have made those adjustments had they not participated in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), an annual questionnaire by Indiana University researchers that helps colleges assess and improve student learning. In the 10 years since it was first administered, NSSE (pronounced "nessie") has developed into something of a movement. Nearly 1,400 four-year colleges and universities have participated at least once. Read more at:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-11-09-nsse09_ST20_N.htm?csp=34

College Enrollment Hits New Record Level

Almost 40 percent of the nation’s 18- to 24-year-olds in 2008 were enrolled in college, a record number, according to a Pew Research Center report released on Thursday. The rise was driven almost entirely by a surge in students attending community colleges. Enrollment has been rising at two- and four-year colleges alike for decades. And most young adults still prefer four-year colleges, even though they are more expensive. But the increase in the rate of students going to college reflected in the Pew report was attributable almost entirely to increased community-college enrollment. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/education/30college.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

Insights Into Prospective Students And Their Parents

The Princeton Review conducts our College Hopes and Worries survey of college applicants and parents of applicants to gauge their expectations surrounding the college admissions process.  Respondents are readers of The Best 368 Colleges and users of our website. During the months of January through mid-March we collected 15,722 responses - 12,715 from college applicants and 3,007 from parents - representing all 50 states, DC, the Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.  An abridged summary or the full report is available at: http://www.princetonreview.com/college-hopes-worries-2009.aspx

Survey Reflects Anxiety About College Affordability

The poor economy is ratcheting up anxieties about college affordability at a time when more Americans than ever say a college degree is essential to success, a report says today.  Those findings, based on a survey of 1,009 Americans in late December, are hardly mind-boggling, but they represent dramatic shifts in public attitude in a short period of time. National Center president Patrick Callan says the survey points to "a growing sense of unfairness" and anxiety about the economy and American society. Read more at: http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-02-04-college-costs_N.htm

Retention Rates Down Except At Two-Year Colleges

First-year college retention is slipping among the nation’s four-year, public and private institutions, while retention rates are increasing at two-year public colleges, researchers say. Retention rates among four-year institutions are at the lowest level since researchers at ACT, Inc., a national testing service, began gathering such data 26 years ago. According to the latest results of an annual survey conducted by ACT, the percentage of U.S. college freshmen who return to the same college for their second year of school hovers around 66 percent. Part of a three-year downward trend, the number of college students retained overall by postsecondary institutions declined 3 percent from 2005 to 2008. Read more at: http://diverseeducation.com/artman/publish/article_12217.shtml

IHEs Investing Less In E&G Spending

Most of the nation's colleges are gradually paring back their investments in classroom teaching, an analysis of federal data shows. And all colleges have in recent years been spending a greater share of their revenue on expenses other than instruction, including computing centers, student services, administrative salaries and lawn care. While instruction remains the largest share of education and general spending at most colleges, much of the revenue raised by increasing tuition is not going to that core function of higher education. Read more at:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-01-14-college-spending_N.htm

This Country Doesn't Measure Up When It Comes To Graduation Rates

When it comes to competing globally, the United States not only needs to get more students into college, but it also needs them to actually earn their diplomas. Despite improvements since the early 1990s, the US ranks 15th of 29 developed nations in terms of degrees granted: For every 100 students enrolled, countries such as Switzerland, Japan, and Australia award 26 degrees, compared with the 18 in the US. The report card, called "Measuring Up 2008," also puts a spotlight on lower graduation rates for segments of the population that are growing. Read more at:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/1204/p02s01-ussc.html 

More Women Are Earning College Degrees

Researchers who analyzed Census Bureau data say more women than men are now earning college degrees. The study by IU's Indiana Business Research Center shows that at both the state and national level more women under the age of 45 have earned at least a bachelor's degree than men under 45. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/chi-ap-in-women-degrees,0,7081484.story

College Education Has Had Big Payoff For Women

The relevant question is how much of a return women have gotten on their college education. And the answer isn’t especially subtle. The return has been enormous.  Armed with college degrees, large numbers of women have entered fields once dominated by men. Nearly half of new doctors today are women, up from just 1 of every 10 in the early 1970s. In all, the average inflation-adjusted weekly pay of women has jumped 26 percent since 1980. And men? Their pay has increased about as much as their college graduation rate — it’s up just 1 percent since 1980. Women would have made almost no progress in narrowing the gender pay gap over this period if they hadn’t been so thoroughly trouncing men in the classroom. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/21/business/21leonhardt.html?_r=1&sq=bachelor&st=nyt&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&scp=1&adxnnlx=1211396626-zAqT5u3aARaBlR977b57zA

College Education Improves Learning And Lifespans

Life expectancy has been steadily rising for Americans, but only better-educated people are enjoying longer lifespans while those with high school diplomas or less are falling further behind, a Harvard study says.
A 25-year-old in 1990 who had 12 years of education or less could look ahead to living until not quite 75, according to the study in the current issue of Health Affairs. At the same point, a 25-year-old with at least some college education could look forward to reaching 80. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/health/blog/2008/03/life_expectancy.html