The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Colleges Are Pushing Students To Graduate On Time

Some of the nation’s top public universities are prodding dallying students toward the graduation stage, trying to change a campus culture that assumes four-year completion is the exception rather than the rule. “The longer it takes people to graduate, the less likely they are to graduate — ever,” said William Bowen, former Princeton president and co-author of the book “Crossing the Finish Line.” Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/public-universities-pushing-super-seniors-to-the-graduation-stage/2012/06/01/gJQAvbyZ9U_story.html

Five Colleges Where Students Study Harder

Students say they are more efficient than before, and adults say they are busier - - distracted by work, dependent care and long commutes. Researchers who track study time say those things account for only part of the decline. Even at the nation’s most selective schools, where few such distractions exist, the average student logs only about 18 hours in weekly study. Here are five schools - - not all elite, and not all private - - where students spent 18 hours or more in weekly study. Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/college-inc/post/five-colleges-where-students-study/2012/05/22/gIQAK0gvhU_blog.html

Some Worry That College Has Become Too Easy

Over the past half-century, the amount of time college students actually study — read, write and otherwise prepare for class — has dwindled from 24 hours a week to about 15, survey data show. And that invites a question: Has college become too easy?  “I was expecting it to be a lot harder,” said Dixon, 20, of Haymarket. “I thought I was going to be miserable, trying to get good grades. And I do get good grades, and I’m not working very hard.” Declining study time is a discomfiting truth about the vaunted U.S. higher-education system. The trend is generating debate over how much students really learn, even as colleges raise tuition every year. Read more at:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/is-college-too-easy-as-study-time-falls-debate-rises/2012/05/21/gIQAp7uUgU_story.html

Keeping College Students In Science By Moving From Large Lectures To Active Learning

The U.S. has a surplus of science jobs but not enough college graduates to fill them. Studies find that 40 percent of students planning to major in science, technology, engineering or mathematics end up switching majors or don’t finish. Some say large lecture classes are chasing students out of science. There's an initiative at Johns Hopkins to engage students in so-called “active learning" entry-level science courses.  Read more at:
http://www.voanews.com/content/colleges_innovate_to_fill_science_job_surplus/666487.html

Latest 7 Things You Should Know Focuses On New Learning Ecosystem

The LMS was once the undisputed center of the digital learning ecosystem. But on many campuses, the situation has changed such that the campus online learning environment might be better viewed as a continuum, with the LMS at one end and a student’s own collection of applications, tools, and websites at the other. This proliferation of tools has created a more robust and varied teaching and learning environment, one that is frequently managed actively by students or by faculty who are seeking alternatives not offered by local IT. The value may extend beyond students’ relationship with technology, helping them become better organizers and more savvy consumers as they assume more responsibility for their own learning. Read more at:
http://www.educause.edu/Resources/7ThingsYouShouldKnowAboutNavig/251039

Taxpayers Pay Twice When Students Require Remedial Courses

More than a third of incoming college students in Michigan take high school-level classes on campus -- essentially repeating material they should have learned before they got their diplomas. Those remedial classes may cost students, schools and taxpayers more than $100 million a year, and often don’t lead to a degree. Those sobering statistics raise uncomfortable questions for the state: How ready are Michigan students for college in a world where a degree is virtually a prerequisite for the middle class? And in its drive to increase degrees, does the state need to pay twice? Read more at:
http://www.mlive.com/education/index.ssf/2012/05/remediation_higher_eds_expensi.html 

 

Bringing Executive-Style Coaching To Campus Helps At-Risk Students

Executive-style coaching is making its way onto campuses across the country as schools struggle to keep students from dropping out. Only 58 percent of full-time freshmen enrolled at four-year institutions in 2004 managed to graduate by 2010. In much the same way career coaches help executives reflect on their job performance and goals, student coaches talk with freshmen about studying, financial challenges, family issues, and long-term planning. Read more at:
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2012-04-19/coaching-college-freshmen-so-they-dont-drop-out

Ivy League Invites Retired Military Officers To Teach

In the last year, Harvard, Yale and Columbia have invited R.O.T.C. back to campus after banning the program during Vietnam, citing the end of the military’s ban on openly gay troops as the reason. The hiring of retired military officers as teachers in the Ivy League is part of the same evolution. In the last year, Harvard, Yale and Columbia have invited R.O.T.C. back to campus after banning the program during Vietnam, citing the end of the military’s ban on openly gay troops as the reason. The hiring of retired military officers as teachers in the Ivy League is part of the same evolution. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/07/us/retired-military-officers-teaching-at-ivy-league-schools.html?_r=1&ref=education

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

Multi-Million Dollar Fund Will Support Innovative Teaching At Harvard

The program won a grant this week to expand, part of a nearly $2 million bonanza for innovative teaching ideas that will benefit 47 projects university-wide. The money comes from a recent $40 million gift from Gustave and Rita Hauser, longtime supporters of the university who are prodding it into updating its teaching tactics. It is part of a broader move by many universities to expand beyond dry classroom lectures. There’s plenty of enthusiasm for the move at Harvard, judging by the 255 applications that came in for this round of grants. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/04/19/harvard_gives_grants_for_innovative_teaching/