Carol’s Summary:
Compared to other nations, the United States may be losing ground in higher education amidst the global recession, due in large part to “uncoordinated and reactionary” spending cuts. These findings are based on a recent report, “Higher Education Budgets and the Global Recession: Tracking Varied National Responses and Their Consequences,” from the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California at Berkeley. The paper’s author, John Aubrey Douglass, a senior research fellow at the center, analyzed the impact of the recession on higher-education budgets in several member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Internationally, he says, “political leaders see higher education as a key to both short-term economic recovery and long-term competitiveness.”

While Mr. Douglass credits the Obama administration’s policies for easing the strain on higher education, he found that, “outside the United States, most countries have thus far avoided large cuts to college budgets and that, in fact, many nations have used the recession to speed up higher-education reforms.” By contrast, 34 American states have already made deep reductions in spending on higher education, in some cases limiting college access, and the U.S. now ranks 10th in the proportion of its adults ages 25 to 34 who hold at least an associate degree.

The current economic climate forces us all to make hard choices, and higher education isn’t being asked to do anything unlike what business and other enterprises are asked to do right now. Challenging established practices give us the opportunity to consider new ways of doing things to trim the fat. It also helps us clarify our mission and improve our institutions. If the U.S. hopes to prepare a world-class workforce, educators needs to lead the way through this kind of innovative thinking and resilience. If we are less competitive educationally, we will soon become less competitive economically. In a restricted economy, we can and must work together to creatively meet our nation and our world’s economic and social priorities. I agree with Bill and Melinda Gates philosophy that a quality education should be viewed as a civil right in our country. The way America chooses to deploy its strengths (entrepreneurship) and overcomes its weaknesses (academics) will tell if we will remain a global leader in the 21st century. My life’s work is devoted to education reform, and the programs I’ve created through LifeBound are helping lead the way for our country to regain the ground it’s lost, starting in elementary school. For review copies of our materials, call our toll free # 1.877.737.8510 or email me at contact@lifebound.com.

ARTICLE
By Karin Fischer

The recent recession could accelerate global shifts in the race to educate more people and produce top-flight research, and, as a result, the United States could lose ground.

That’s the conclusion of a new paper by the Center for Studies in Higher Education at the University of California at Berkeley. John Aubrey Douglass, the paper’s author and a senior research fellow at the center, examined the impact of the economic downturn on higher-education budgets in several member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Mr. Douglass found that, outside the United States, most countries have thus far avoided large cuts to college budgets and that, in fact, many nations have used the recession to speed up higher-education reforms. By contrast, some 34 American states have already made major reductions in spending on higher education, in some cases limiting college access.

To view the entire article visit
http://bit.ly/aArPNu

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

Numerous studies have found that first-generation students are much less likely to graduate. They enroll less prepared and less confident than their classmates whose parents have degrees, and their performance is worse, according to data from the Higher Education Research Institute and the U.S. Education Department. Today’s issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education reports that the Wal-Mart Foundation aims to help first-generation students graduate in two ways: through small private colleges and via minority-serving institutions. By 2022, almost half of all new public high-school graduates are projected to be members of minority groups, many of which have been historically underserved in higher education.

Wal-Mart Foundation’s president is Margaret A. McKenna, the former president of Lesley University, in Cambridge, Mass., where first-generation students represent about a third of the undergraduates. To date, Wal-Mart has awarded more than $10 million over the past two years to the following:

o $5.3-million to the Council of Independent Colleges, to make grants to its small, private members; the group announced 20 in 2008 and plans to award 30 more next month

o $4.2-million to the Institute for Higher Education Policy, which made 15 grants to minority-serving institutions last year and will announce another 15 this month.

National discussions on accountability and student success have directed more attention to first-generation students. Educators are saying that many more of them will have to graduate to meet President Obama’s goal of the United States’ having the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.

LifeBound’s student success programs are used by schools across the country that serve at-risk populations. Our data-driven results help prepare students for college success starting in 5th grade, which is the time when many students begin to falter. LifeBound curricula focus on study skills and emotional intelligence, key components to college and career success for all students. To receive review copies of LifeBound materials, call our toll free number at 1.877.737.8510 or email contact@lifebound.com

How can educators at the elementary and middle schools be afforded student success and transition programs for their levels?

How can we do a better job, particularly in middle school, to pave the way for minority and first-generation students to achieve future academic success?

What would a successful college-bound student look like in elementary school? Middle school? High school? If we don’t have benchmarks for success at each transition point, our younger students will fall short of their potential as future college graduates.

ARTICLE:

Chronicle of Higher Education
Wal-Mart’s $10-million diplomas
By Sara Lipka
February 14, 2010

Students quit college for all kinds of reasons. They can’t pay; they have to work; they struggle academically. When they’re the first in their families to pursue higher education, the hurdles can seem higher. Just getting to college does not guarantee success.

Numerous studies have found that first-generation students are much less likely to graduate. They enroll less prepared and less confident than their classmates whose parents have degrees, and their performance is worse, according to data from the Higher Education Research Institute and the U.S. Education Department.

There is more consensus on these disparities than there is on the solutions. The Wal-Mart Foundation is trying to change that.

To view this entire article visit www.chronicle.com

CAROL’S SUMMARY:

Seeking to address an imbalance in U.S. medicine, two dozen medical schools have opened or are set to open, according to today’s article in the education section of the New York Times. On a related note, the latest survey by the Association of University Technology Managers in today’s Chronicle of Higher Education article, reports that universities generated more than $2.3-billion in licensing revenue for 154 colleges. “Academic inventions in medicine, plant genetics, and alternative energy helped to spur the creation of a record 543 new university spinoff companies in the 2008 fiscal year,” writes Goldie Blumenstyk.

For example, Johns Hopkins University, which created a record (for that institution) of 12 spinoff companies in 2008, including one called Amplimmune, is developing biologics drugs that train the immune system to kill cancers. Columbia University, which ranked third in revenues with $135-million, said licenses on 10 to 15 inventions accounted for the majority of its income. “Most of the revenues industrywide come from the life sciences, and we were no different,” said Orin Herskowitz, vice president for intellectual property and technology transfer.

Although Columbia has reaped hundreds of millions in the past from a single set of patents widely used by biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, Mr. Herskowitz said the university’s philosophy is to “move as many things out of the lab as possible and see what sticks.” Consequently, the proliferation of these companies is driving an urgent need for global cooperation of research with the goal of not just being able to compete better, but also to offer solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems. As Nigel Thrift, the vice chancellor of the University of Warwick, in Britain, wrote in her commentary for the Chronicle and posted on Valentines Day:

“Universities, whether they like it or not, are the world’s primary intellectual firefighters. But for all the entirely laudable commitments to global challenges that are a commonplace in American and British universities’ internationalization strategies, too much of the international cooperation around research and teaching still seems to be concerned with strengthening each institution’s competitive advantage. Surely our grandchildren will not thank us for this desiccated view. The world is faced with some truly terrifying dilemmas around climate change, economic inequality, institutionalized violence, and numerous cultural misunderstandings. And, at least in some cases, we cannot wait much longer to find the solutions.”

LifeBound’s student success programs are preparing high school students for college and career success in our global world. Our Junior Guide to Senior Year Success: Becoming A Global Citizen, inspires students to see the world as a community and to discover how they can make an impact in positive ways through their unique gifts and talents. For a review copy of this text, please call the LifeBound office toll free 1.877.737.8510 or email contact@ lifebound.com. We look forward to hearing from you.

ARTICLE:

The Chronicle of Higher Education
University Inventions Sparked Record Number of Companies in 2008
February 15, 2010
By Goldie Blumenstyk

Academic inventions in medicine, plant genetics, and alternative energy helped to spur the creation of a record 543 new university spinoff companies in the 2008 fiscal year, while generating more than $2.3-billion in licensing revenue for 154 institutions and their inventors, according to a survey released on Monday.

To view this entire article visit www.chronicle.com