College » Carol J. Carter

Preparation Before Remediation

Studentsâ€™ lack of preparation takes on many forms beyond academic deficits. It shows up with them not knowing what to expect from college, not knowing how to anticipate challenges and obstacles, and not having the grit and determination to succeed. It shows up with their lack of follow through skills, and their not knowing how to take advantage of resources to craft a college experience that will deliver the abilities and connections to launch a successful career. It shows up with students lacking the emotional and social awareness to make sound choices and navigate college systems. And it surfaces with students embracing unrealistic expectations of what simultaneously can be managed, including: full and part-time work, families, social lives, and other demands.

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A Balanced Vision: How To Direct Passion With Understanding

When it comes to discussing the obstacles facing Generation Y, itâ€™s easy to get caught up in things that are beyond our control, like the job market or rising tuition. When informing youth of these issues, however, itâ€™s essential to their success that theyâ€™re also aware of what they can control: namely, themselves.

In his opinion piece on Gen Y, Don McNay contrasts two young men he knows. One has been actively searching for work for months and is close to getting a job at a fast food restaurant. The other has mostly given up and now stays at home and watches television. Of the first he says confidently, â€œIâ€™m sure [he] will make it as he keeps trying and trying.â€ For the second he can express no hope of success except by some undeserved miracle.

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The Tough Decisions: Answering Questions About How to Pay For College

In a recent article in the New York Times, Ron Lieberman addressed some important questions about financial aid submitted to him by prospective college students. In introducing his topic, however, he makes an important point: â€œFiguring out how to pay for college has quickly turned into one of lifeâ€™s most complicated financial decisions.â€ He gives a few reasons for this:

Thereâ€™s uncertainty as to whether the student making the decision will be able to pay back his student loans.
Thereâ€™s uncertainty as to whether spending more on a prestigious school will lead to a future that pays more as well.
Thereâ€™s the issue of inexperience, the fact that the prospective student has never had to make a decision with such far-reaching and expensive consequences before.
Thereâ€™s a lack of good information, plus a scarcity of reliable sources to provide it.

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Pros and Cons of a Vocational Degree

For years the focus has been on getting students to four-year colleges, but for some thereâ€™s a better answer. Certificate programs are a quick and less expensive way to start a lucrative career, especially if you want to skip the general core requirements youâ€™d be expected to fill at a university. Certificate programs get straight to the point, only teaching the student what he or she needs to know in order to perform well in a particular field. This can be the ideal solution for someone who might otherwise have started college and never finished it.

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Gearing Up to Improve College Success Rate in Kansas

Happy GEAR UP Day!

GEAR UP Kansas, the national grant-funded organization which helps 2,500 foster kids in Kansas attain college readiness, along with LifeBound is hosting a conference for students, parents and mentors today at Wichita State University.

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Internships Give Students a Real-World Context to Learning

Over the next 10 years, more boomers will leave the workforce and need new skilled workers to take their place. Not only will the next generation of workers inherit careers over the next decade, the BLS predicts there will be more growth in jobs that require an associateâ€™s degree, while jobs that require long-term on-the-job training will diminish.

With the 2012 average national unemployment rate ranging from 8 to 9%, and a threat of a returning recession, we must focus on what drives employability in this market. Young adults were among the hardest hit in the recession with only 54 percent of Americans ages 18 to 24 finding employment in 2012.Â Unemployment in young adults can cause many lasting problems for the economy:
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The Cost of Remediation: Preparing Students for College Success

As many as 1.7 million first-year students will take a remedial course to learn the math, reading, or writing skills they need to enroll in a college-level course.Â Whether urban, rural, suburban, low-income, athletic, artistic, academic, high-achieving, or low-achieving, too many of todayâ€™s students arenâ€™t prepared for the challenge of higher education.

Remediating underprepared students is not a solution in and of itself. It can afford amazing opportunities to students who only need a refresher, like the returning student or the student who slacked off her last year in high school. However, sending students to a remedial college course who do not have a foundation of basic skills often leads to failure. In the report â€œSaving Now and Saving Later: How High School Reform Can Reduce the Nationâ€™s Wasted Remediation Dollars,â€ researchers outline the â€œReal Cost of Remedial Education.â€
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College and Career Readiness Programs Raise Student Success Rates

How do you get more students to graduate from high school, earn a college degree, and find fulfilling careers? For many schools the answer is adding a college and career readiness program that gives students more opportunities and perspective for their future.

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Study: How American Families Pay for College

How did you find the college that was the right fit for you? Maybe you knew you wanted to live in a big city, that the school had the best program in your field, or because your high school friends were going there. Today, most students are swayed by a different measurement of fit. A recent study by Sallie Mae found 69 percent of students chose colleges based on affordability. To make schools more affordable, 51 percent lived at home, 55 percent chose to live with a roommate, 50 percent increased their number of work hours, and 66 percent reduced spending.
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Game Plan for Alleviating Financial Stress in College

There are many reasons college can be stressful for students. Entering freshmen might suffer a culture shock or fear their heightened level of independence. College sophomores have the stress of picking their academic path that should set the pace for the rest of college and their career after school. With their general classes behind them, college juniors go on to higher-level classes and get heftier workloads. Seniors start getting a taste of the real world as interns and student aids, while having the most difficult classes yet. And this is for the traditional student who has remained on-track to graduation. Due to any number of circumstances, many students’ college career will continue over five or six years.
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