The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

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

Infographic Provides Data On College Students' Technology Habits

College students today are more tech savvy than ever before. Just how important is technology to their academic lives? More than 90% use email to communicate with professors and 73% say they cannot study without technology. Seven in 10 take notes on keyboards instead of paper, virtually all students who own an ereader and most use digital tools when preparing a presentation. This is all according to research compiled by Presta Electronics. Presta used material from the Pew Research Center, Chronicle of Higher Education, Mashable and other sources to put together the infographic below. Check it out for the full picture of how technology is changing college students’ lives. See the infographic at:
http://mashable.com/2012/05/06/tech-college-infographic/

Savvy B-School Students Start A Black Market For Their Own Graduation Tickets

Graduating business majors at Indiana University are seeing a real-life demonstration this week of the laws of supply and demand, scarcity and consumerism gone a bit wild. The hot product: tickets to the IU Kelley Friday graduation recognition ceremony, being hawked on a student-run black market. The prices: $150 to $995. The ticket-scalping brought a sternly worded email message this week from Kelley School Dean Daniel C. Smith, who pleaded with students who have extra tickets to turn them back in. The dean isn't amused with the entrepreneurial spirit he is witnessing in students perhaps overeager to start applying their four years of book learning. Read more at:
http://www.indystar.com/article/20120503/LOCAL/205030360/1013/NEWS04

Advice To Graduates From A Commencement Speech Writer

I became sick of commencement speeches at about your age. My first job out of college was writing speeches for the governor of Maine. Every spring, I would offer extraordinary tidbits of wisdom to 22-year-olds—which was quite a feat given that I was 23 at the time. In the decades since, I've spent most of my career teaching economics and public policy. In particular, I've studied happiness and well-being, about which we now know a great deal. And I've found that the saccharine and over-optimistic words of the typical commencement address hold few of the lessons young people really need to hear about what lies ahead. Here, then, is what I wish someone had told the Class of 1988. Read more at:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304811304577366332400453796.html?mod=djemWMP_h

Study Finds That Texting Students Learn Less In Class

Maybe it's no surprise that college students send and receive text messages during classes, and that it's a distraction from the lessons at hand. But a new study, to be published in the National Communication Association's journal, Communication Education, also links excessive texting to impaired focus and lesson retention. The students who frequently texted during class were less likely to sustain attention to their instructor. Multitasking doesn't prevent learning, but it has an impact on optimal retention. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/tribu/sc-fam-0501-education-texting-distraction-20120501,0,4792077.story

Programs Help College Dropouts Get Those Last Few Courses Needed For Graduation

The University of Rhode Island, reeling from a dropout rate among seniors that has doubled from last year, has joined a nationwide trend to encourage dropouts to return for a few last classes and finally earn a college degree. The school introduced a "Finish What You Started" program in recent months after discovering the dropout rate among its roughly 4,000 seniors had doubled to about 300 from 150 last year. URI joins several universities across the country with similar programs to bring back dropouts who had earned most of
their degree credits. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/topic/sns-rt-usa-collegedropouts-repeatl1e8g2pn6-20120502,0,6355827,full.story

Juggling Kids, Jobs And Courses Make It Tough For Women To Return For Degrees

Her story exemplifies an issue that seems unique to Utah and doesn’t bode well for the state’s economic prospects. Facing a range of cultural hurdles, Utah women have not entered or completed college at the same rate as men for years. Just 26 percent of Utah women held a bachelor’s degree in 2008, versus 32 percent for men, according to a 2009 Utah Foundation study. While women are a 55 percent majority of undergraduates nationally, in Utah they are closer to a 45 percent minority. The gender gap in higher education has caught the attention of administrators and policymakers who want to learn why and how to get more women through college. Read more at:
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/53987346-78/college-utah-women-didn.html.csp

For First-Gen Students College Is Alien Territory

As more young people move beyond high school, the unique challenges that often face first-generation college students are becoming more apparent. A 2010 NCES study found a wide gap in the graduation rates between four-year students whose parents earned degrees (69 percent) and those whose parents never went to college (40 percent). The realization can hit when the student gets that first syllabus. Confusion, uncertainty, frustration, fear ... all the emotions kick in. Then comes the question: Who can I talk to? For first-generation students, the answer can be elusive, for college — both the campus and the concept — is such unfamiliar territory. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/tribu/sc-fam-0417-first-generation-college-20120417,0,2891546.story

The Challenge Of Helping Disabled College Students Is Getting Them To Ask

The former soldier is among the ranks of college students with disabilities who prefer to make their own way. Experts have a hard time tracking their numbers because the students prefer to fly under the radar. In high school and elementary school, educators are obligated by law to identify and assist students diagnosed with disabilities — so they get help whether they want it or not. But once students enter college, it's up to them to seek help through the school's disabilities office.No formal study has tracked how many students with disabilities earn college degrees without assistance. Read more at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-x-disabled-college-20120411,0,3380325.story?page=1

Colleges Gearing Up To Battle High-Tech Cheaters

Florida's colleges are on high alert in the battle against what they fear is a growing number of tech-savvy cheaters. Smartphones and social networking have made cheating easier and more widespread than ever, some say. And experts add that if schools don't crack down on the dishonesty now, there could be long-term consequences for society. For some professors and students, cheating has turned into an arms race, where one is trying to outsmart the other. A professor makes the class put their cellphones in the front of the room; a student keeps a spare one in his pocket. A professor bans bathroom breaks during a test; a student claims it's a medical emergency. A professor uses a database of previously submitted term papers to catch plagiarism; a student pays someone to write an original paper. Read more at:
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/education/highered/fl-cheating-college-students-20120406,0,3605621.story