Financial Motivation For Two Year Education

When it comes to college, you are considering an costly proposition any way you see at it. There are however, ways in which you can greatly reduce your overall expenses when it comes to getting your college degree. The first method, which in many cases is the most preferred, is by attending a community college for the first two years of your college educational experience. Believe it or not you can literally save thousands of dollars over the course of spending two years on the community college level.

You will hear all kinds of arguments on why it is better to attend all four years at a university. The universities almost always make these arguments. Unfortunately, their opinions are a little bit biased in these matters. Most universities offer equivalent courses with community colleges meaning that the first two years of study should transfer with no problems or snags along the rocky road to your degree. 

The universities make money each semester you begin class as a student. It is in their best interest financially to have you from the beginning rather than as a transfer. In fact, many universities offer lower level classes as auditorium classes. They pack more students into classes and have fewer professors or graduate students teaching the courses and maximize their money off the first and second year students rather than those in upper level courses. Yet another reason to consider a community college for the first two years of you education.

Getting back to the expenses of a community college, most community colleges are largely commuter campuses. This means you wont face the high housing costs that are associated with universities, particularly if you are attending college close to house. Community colleges also offer far less distractions that cost additional money than most major universities. This doesnt mean that there arent ample social opportunities; it simply means that there are fewer of them. This also leaves fewer distractions than universities gift when it comes to studying.

Community colleges simply cost less every around. While it would be friendly if you could get a full four year education at this level, they are able, for the most part, to save expenses down by not requiring the level of qualification that universities require of their professors for upper level courses. You will have excellent, if not superior quality of education at lower levels than you would have on the university level, but you will also eventually need to move upon to the university level in order to complete your education. 

For this reason, you would do well to save half of your savings over university costs for each of the two years you are attending community college and apply it to your university education. This will ease the burden of the additional costs of the university and feel as though you are paying the similar amount for tuition throughout your education regardless of the fact that you are literally saving thousands of dollars upon your educational expenses.

Some states have educational savings plans that permit parents to save for tuition at current costs by enrolling. These plans lid two years of community college education and two years of university education. By locking in todays prices you are eliminating the inflation. When you consider the fact that college tuition is increasing at an alarming rate this is by far an excellent way to go. You should check with your state and see if they offer a similar plan to parents of younger children and what the requirements are in order to enroll your child today.

If you are looking for a real value in education whether or not you only go for your two year degree of move upon to a university in order to finish your four-year degree you should find that a community college education offers a significant value for the money. Most people find that every penny they spent in a community college was a penny well spent.

Should Early Childhood Education?

Should Early Childhood Education? - Early Childhood Education ( ECD ) is often considered to be secondary education , so many parents who prefer to directly send their children to primary school . Actually , should the child be included in early childhood education ? General Director of Early Childhood Education Non-Formal and Informal ( PAUDNI ) Prof . Lydia Freyani Hawadi said , should children 2-6 years of age were included in the early childhood because kids got experience , socialization , as well as teaching at the most important time in their growth and development .

He explained , ECD can deliver tangible benefits to the development of intelligence and moral child . ECD instill honesty , discipline , love of neighbor , love of country , even on nutrition . According to him , the delivery of basic values ​​is more effective if given early age .

" The essence of early childhood stimulation or stimulation is providing appropriate education to the child's growth and development stage and carried through play while learning approach , " said Reni , vocation , in Nutritalk titled " Growing Importance of Passion in Early Nutrition " by Sarihusada Tuesday ( 21 / 5/2013 ) in Jakarta . 

Unfortunately , at this time the number of children included in the ECD reached 34.54 percent of the total early childhood age children in Indonesia. Though targeted to reach 70 percent by 2015 . Professor of Psychology University of Indonesia explained , the lack of interest of parents put their children to early childhood education is an additional charge before reaching their compulsory education . In fact , early childhood education can even be done informally with government support is done in public places such as houses of worship or a neighborhood health center .

" Research shows that children who participate early childhood tend to be achievers and cheerful , brave , and passionate . Monitoring of children participating in early childhood education up to grade 5 elementary demonstrate their achievement better than children who do not , " said Reni .

Select the appropriate When living in an environment that is already available many early childhood , then the selection of appropriate early childhood education also need to be considered by the parent . According to Susan , a good early childhood education is to provide early childhood education in a holistic integrative .

Reni also explained the terms of the right to choose the child's early childhood . The first requirement is, choose a location close to home . " If it's too far away , the child will be tired on the road so it can not follow the focus of early childhood education , " said Reni .

Second , select a competent teacher and understand the proper techniques of early childhood teaching . And third , obviously early childhood curriculum and incorporate positive fundamental values ​​into it .

Character Education Role In Completing Personality

Character Education Role In Completing Personality - In the beginning , man was born just took " personality " or personality . In general, there are four kinds of human personality and there are a lot of theories that use different terms even use color , but the pattern remains the same . In general there are 4 personality , namely :

1 . Choleric 

This type is characterized by personal likes independence , assertive , fiery , like a challenge , the boss himself. 

2 . Sanguine 

This type of love characterized by a practical matter , always happy and cheerful , like surprises , love the social activities and have fun . 

3 . Phlegmatic

This type of love is characterized by collaboration , avoid conflict , do not like the sudden change , a good interlocutor , like a sure thing . 

4 . Melancholy 

This type is characterized by love with the details , save anger , Perfection , like clear instructions , well-liked routines . 

On top of this is the classical theory and the theory is now growing a lot , and is still widely used as an assay to measure human potential . 

Personality is not a character . Everyone has a different personality . Well from 4 to the personality , the personality each has drawbacks and advantages of each . For example, type koleris identical with those who speak " rude " and sometimes it does not matter , which is often difficult personal sanguine invited to serious , often times the hard invited Phlegmatic definite step and impress passive , melancholy stuck with a personal dilemma " yes " mouthfeel and " no " hearts , and tend perfectionis in detail the lives and this is what sometimes makes others quite the rush . 

Every man can not choose his personality , personality is a gift from God as the creator of human beings are born . And every person who has no definite personality weaknesses and strengths in aspects of social life and each individual . Easy yes , this explanation . 

Well , his character where ? When each man learns to overcome his weaknesses and fix bugs and bring new positive habits then this is called the character . For example , a pure koleris but very polite in expression and instructions to others , a sanguine able to bring herself to be in a serious situation that needs peace and attention focus . That is character . Character education is the provision of views on various types of life values ​​, such as honesty , intelligence , and other concerns . And it is the choice of each individual who needs to be developed and needs in community development , from an early age ( ideally ) . 

Character can not be inherited , the character can not be bought and character can not be exchanged . Characters must be consciously built and developed day by day through a PROCESS that is not instant . Character is not something innate that can not be changed anymore like fingerprints . 

I noticed that many people with bad characters tend to blame their circumstances . They often claim that they raised the wrong way , financial difficulties , treatment of others or other conditions that make them like this now . It is true that in life , we have to face a lot of things beyond our control , but your character is not. Your character is always the result of your choice . 

Know that you have the potential to become a person of character , Seek it . Character , more than anything and will make you a person who has added value . Character will protect everything you value in life . 

Each person is responsible for his character . You have full control over your character , meaning you can not blame others for your bad character because you are entirely responsible . Developing character is your personal RESPONSIBILITY .

The body of a 79-year-old woman was found

The body of a 79-year-old woman was found this past weekend in the aftermath of the Colorado flooding, Larimer County authorities said Monday.

The body of Evelyn Starner, of Cedar Cove, was discovered on a bank of the Big Thompson River, the sheriff's office said.

It is the first confirmed fatality in the county due to the floods, and it brings the storm-related death toll in the state to eight. One other person in the county is currently listed as missing and presumed dead. A man previously listed as presumed dead checked in with authorities and is alive and well, the sheriff's office said.

One other Cedar Cover resident, a 60-year-old woman, is still missing and presumed dead.

Vice President Joe Biden visited Colorado on Monday and took a one-hour aerial tour to view the damage. He also checked on recovery efforts.

"Once all these cameras are gone, once these press conferences are done, FEMA and the Red Cross are still going to be here until we make you whole. Until we make it right for you," Biden told Colorado residents.

Biden said the federal government had approved $35 million thus far for road rebuilding and other projects. He said those funds wouldn't be affected by a possible government shutdown.

Torrential rains fell September 12 in mountainous areas north of Denver, and such downpours persisted for several more days, adding up to 18.1 inches in parts of Boulder County and 15.6 inches in Adams County, Gov. John Hickenlooper said.

The heavy rainfall spurred flash floods that turned picturesque canyons into funnels that deluged towns downstream and left hundreds stranded. More than a week later, many remained marooned -- cut off from the rest of the world thanks to floodwaters that wiped out roads and bridges.

A Columbia University professor who wrote about hate crimes against Sikhs

A Columbia University professor who wrote about hate crimes against Sikhs may have become a victim of one himself when 12 to 15 people attacked him while shouting anti-Muslim slurs, police said.

Prabhjot Singh, a Sikh and a professor of international and public affairs, said the attackers were yelling "get Osama" and "terrorist" when they swarmed him Saturday night near Central Park in New York.

"There were about 20 of them. A few surrounded me, and started punching me," Singh said, according to the Sikh Coalition.

Explainer: Who are Sikhs, and what do they believe?

He suffered injuries to his face, including displaced teeth and a possible fracture in his lower jaw, as well as severe bruising and a small puncture on his elbow, the coalition said. Singh was treated and released from Mount Sinai hospital.

The New York Police Department said it is investigating the incident as a hate crime.

"This is a tremendous blow not just to Prabhjot and Sikh Americans, but to the ideals of all New Yorkers," said Amardeep Singh, program director of the Sikh Coalition. "What happened did not happen in a vacuum. Here in New York City, we regularly receive reports that Sikh school children are called 'Bin Laden' or 'terrorist' by classmates and sometimes endure physical violence."

The professor co-wrote a 2012 op-ed for The New York Times, saying "the legacy of anti-Sikh violence and its contemporary prevalence make it painfully obvious that anti-Sikh violence is often purposeful and targeted." He called for the government to start tracking hate violence against Sikhs specifically, instead of categorizing such instances as anti-Islamic hate crimes like the FBI generally does.

The United States is home to about 700,000 Sikhs, nearly all of Indian origin. The men often wear beards and turbans, a tradition that's lasted for 500 years.

But the attire and appearance have also meant that they are often mistaken for Muslims, and Sikhs have become targets of anti-Islam attacks.

Since 9/11, the Sikh Coalition reported more than 700 attacks or bias-related incidents against Sikhs, including the fatal shooting of six people at a Sikh temple last year outside Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The coalition also cited beatings of Sikhs across the country after the victims were taunted about their turbans or subjected to racial slurs.

Sikhism, the world's fifth most popular religion, is a monotheistic faith that believes in equality and service to others, Sikh officials say

Two U.S. Air Force officers who died in a crash in Laos

Two U.S. Air Force officers who died in a crash in Laos in 1969 were laid to rest Monday at Arlington National Cemetery and honored with a final flyover -- but not one provided by the U.S. military.

Citing budget concerns, the Air Force denied a request to honor the fallen service members with a military flyover. That prompted a private air squadron to step in.

"Unfortunately, the government hasn't been able to supply flyovers for these gentlemen that have served and gave up the greatest sacrifice they could, so all of us have decided to go ahead and fulfill the mission," said Calvin Peacock, a volunteer with nonprofit groupWarrior Aviation.

Maj. James Sizemore of Lawrenceville, Illinois, and Maj. Howard Andre Jr. of Memphis, Tennessee, were shot down in their A-26A Invader aircraft during a reconnaissance mission over Laos during the Vietnam War, according to the Defense Department. The pilots were considered killed in action.

The crash site was discovered in 1993, but the pilots' remains were not discovered until April. Military scientists then matched the remains with the dental records of Sizemore, solving the 44-year-old mystery and bringing closure to the families.

The private squadron consisted of a B-25, two P-51s, four L-39 jets and an A-26 Invader, the same type of plane Sizemore and Andre flew. The Warrior Aviation organization is comprised of volunteers, most of whom are veterans.A flyover is a military ceremonial ritual reserved for the most esteemed of fallen service members. The Department of Defense refused a military flyover for Sizemore and Andre because of the forced budget cuts known as sequestration.

"People like myself, the Vietnam generation, we know what sacrifice these guys made. It was a true honor to be a part of the group that is allowed to do this. When they asked me to do this, I said, 'Absolutely, it would be a honor, '" said Warrior Aviation volunteer Larry Kelly.

The Defense Department records indicate that more than 1,640 American military personnel are still unaccounted for from the Vietnam War.

Health Benefits of Neem

The scientific name of Neem is  Azadirachta indica . Azadirachta indica is a tree in the mahogany family Meliaceae. It is one of two species in the genus Azadirachta, and is native to sub-continent (India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) growing in tropical and semi-tropical regions.

All parts of the tree are said to have medicinal properties (seeds, leaves, flowers and bark) and are used for preparing many different medical preparations. Neem is Integral part of Ayurveda for the benefits associated with it. Neem has anti- bacterial; anti- parasitic, anti- fungal, anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties that not only benefit your health.

Health Benefits of Neem:

Anti-fungal: Neem has proved effective against certain fungi that infect the human body.

Antibacterials: Test proved that Neem oil has suppressed several species of pathogenic bacteria including Staphylococcus & Salmonella spp.

Antiviral agents : In India, there is much interesting, but anecdotal information attributing antiviral activity of Neem. Its efficacy particularly against pox viruses is strongly believed, even among those of advanced medical training. Small pox, chicken pox have traditionally been treated with a paste of neem leaves – usually rubbed directly on to the infected skin.

Dermatological Insects : In India, villagers apply neem oil to the hair to kill head lice, reportedly with great success. Neem seed oil and leaf extracts may be the wonder cure for psoriasis. It relieves the itching and pain while reducing the scale and redness of the patchy lesions.

Dental Treatments : In India, millions of people use twigs as "tooth brushes" every day. Dentists have endorsed this ancient practice, finding it effective in preventing periodontal disease.

Malaria : Practitioners of the Indian Ayurvedic Medicine system have been preparing neem in oral doses for malarial patients for centuries. Neem's antimalarial activity was reported in Ayurveda books as far back as 2000 BC (by Charaka) & 1500 BC (by Sushruta).

Neem may also be a ready source of low cost analgesic (pain relieving), or antipyretic (fever reducing) compounds. In trials, positive results have been obtained for significant analgesic, antipyretic & anti-inflammatory effects.

Neem is perceived in India as a beauty aid. Powdered leaves are a major component of at least one widely used facial cream. Purified neem oil is also used in nail polish & other cosmetics.

Neem fruits: are recommended for urinary diseases, piles, intestinal worms, leprosy etc. The dry fruits are bruised in water & employed to treat cutaneous diseases.
Neem has anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties that help in soothing the skin in case you are suffering from some skin allergy or infection. Boil the neem leaves & apply the water on the allergy after refrigerating it so that it cools down.

 Psoriasis is a skin disease that is not only painful but also leaves your skin looking as its burnt. The most common problem associated with this disease is dryness and scaling. Neem oil helps in getting rid of itchiness and irritation. It also helps in keeping the skin moisturized thus reducing the dryness and scaling. The anti- bacterial properties also prevents development of any further skin infections

Yogic management of Diabetes

Diabetes is a disease of the prosperous and in wealthy countries. It is one of the major health problems. Dietary sugars and starch are broken down to glucose by the process of digestion and this glucose is the major fuel for the various processes, organs and cells of the body. Glucose metabolism is under the control of the harmone insulin, which is secreted by the pancreas, a large gland behind the stomach. When this gland becomes stressed or exhausted, the hormone insulin becomes deficient in quantity or sensitivity. As a result, the blood sugar level becomes high and uncontrolled, then patient suffers from Diabetes.

Type I: Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (IDDM) or Juvenile onset
In this type of diabetes the hormone insulin is completely or almost completely absent from the islets of langerhans and plasma, and insulin treatment is essential. It is called insulin dependent diabetes because of compulsory periodic insulin administration, to control the rise of blood- glucose level. It can 122 occur at any age, though it most commonly occurs during younger age.

Type II: Non-Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus (NIDDM) or Maturity Onset

This type of diabetes is much more common than juvenile onset and most often occurs in people who are over 40 and over weight. Since it occur in the later stage in life, it is termed as maturity onset diabetes. In this condition of diabetes the hormone insulin is often present in plasma at near-normal or even above
normal level and additional insulin is not required to sustain life and to maintain normal blood glucose level. Patient with this type of diabetes produces little or excessive insulin in their pancreas, it either is not enough for proper function or is not being produced quickly enough to influence glucose levels in the blood effectively. This happen probably due to defects in molecular machinery that mediates the action of insulin on its target cells. That is why this diabetes is called non- insulin dependent diabetes mellitus.

Causes
Yogic science recognizes two interrelated causes of diabetes. Firstly long term devitalzaticm and sluggishness of the digestive process due to dietary abuse, overeating, obesity and lack of exercise. High intake of sugar and carbohydrate rich diet is 123 especially implicated. If a person takes a large amount of sugar, sweets or chocolates etc. then his pancreas is ready to respond by pouring out a large amount of insulin to rapidly manage the rocketing blood sugar level without incident.However, if such a sugar-rich diet is eaten every day, the pancreas is being called upon constantly to secrete enormous amounts of insulin, and it begins to get tired and become depleted. Insulin production in response to sugar stimulation becomes increasingly inadequate. As a result, the blood remains saturated with sugar for long periods of time, it is then only a matter of time before diabetes is diagnosed. This usually occurs when the patient attends the doctor for investigation of one of the symptoms of high blood sugar e.g. an excessive thirst or urination, a resistant skin or urinary infection or failing eyesight.

The second causative factor is that diabetes is stress related. The stress and frustrations of modern sedentary man largely manifest on the mental and emotional planes, unlike our ancestors who had to wage a physical battle for survival. Nevertheless, the adrenal glands are in a constant state of activation, spilling the
“stress hormone” adrenaline into the blood stream. This is a potent stimulus to the body to mobilize glucose into the blood. In this way a constant heavy burden of worries and an anxieties imposes a constant demand for insulin secretion, which can ultimately precipitates especially in conjunction with a sugar.

Symptoms
The most marked symptoms are polyuria and polydipsia. The patient may pass lot of urine in 24 hours. The urine is clear and of low specific gravity (1002-2004) and osmolatity. The osmotic effect of increased levels of blood glucose causes more thirst and hunger. These classified symptoms, however, are not the normal presentation.Sometimes the patient suffers a frozen shoulder and this can be a manifestation of diabetes. Lethargy, weight loss and easy susceptibility to infections, particularly of the skin (like a simple boil or fungal infection) excessive hunger, craving for sweets and sweating are some of the other symptoms.

Normally, the fasting level of blood glucose is less than 90 mg/dl and the post prandial (2 hours) level is less than 120 mg/dl. If the post- prandial sugar level is between 150 and 200 mg, the condition is labeled as an impaired tolerance, and if above 200. It is frank diabetes.

Yogic Management of Diabetes
Yogasana is ideally suited for both types of Diabetes Mellitus. In Insulin Dependent diabetes Mellitus, asanas help ton prevent an increase in insulin required over the years. In NIDDM, asanas help to normalize blood sugar due to the high intensity workout. Yogic exercises can either be of high or low intensity, depending on the clinical condition. Young active diabetics can be made to practice very intense asanas in a dynamic manner, which will increase the cellular activity of the muscle, which needs more sugar. The advanced asanas require a lot of energy and this helps normalize blood sugar but, if the person is obese, asana practice is
difficult and it is easier to reduce weight by other means and then take up Yoga.The single advantage of the asana system is that the internal organs, which are directly affected by the geometric shape of the asana itself. Even an elderly diabetic can practice it without any danger.

The force of arterial flow can be increased and directed to any organ, which is of immense use in the diabetic state. In standing poses, the skeletal muscles increase their uptake of sugar. Hence, the tissues retain insulin sensitivity. Capillary changes are easily prevented by Yoga as the action is on the vessel wall.Yoga is microcellular in its action. At the internal organs are massaged, sensitivity to insulin and uptake of sugar are
enhanced. Twisting poses squeeze the intestines and massage them. Hence, stagnation of colonic contents due to autonomic dysfunction cannot occur. Asanas also pressurize the pancreas in an effort to improve the secretary status. The massage of the pancreas by forward bends and twisting helps to release more insulin in response to food Backward bends, being very strenuous, help to reduce blood sugar. Backbends improve blood supply to all abdominal and pelvic organs. This ensures healthy cellular integrity and due to the massage no deposit are formed. Forward bends increase the gastric fire and help healthy digestion of food. This prevents fluctuations of sugar levels in a diabetic. Burning up of excess sugar is promoted by the stimulation of gastric fire.

Pranayama definitely increase the natural immunity of body and vital capacity of lungs. Pranayama is highly valuable for improving oxygen perfusion to tissues. As it also removes stress on the system, progression of blockage is arrested. Oxygen delivery to the tissue is systematic and sure. Tissue hypoxia never occurs.
Sympathetic and parasympathetic stabilization prevent autonomic dysfunction.It is very useful for all complication of the diabetic state particularly cardiac autonomic dysfunction, retinopathy and peripheral arterial occlusive conditions.

From the above facts it is clear that Diabetes is life style disease. It decreases the auto Immune system of human body and produces lot of complication in life. But yogic life style, specific Asanas, Pranayamas will be stimulating auto healing systems of body as a result of that remove the complications of the diabetic
state.

Diabetes is one of the most common disease in human being. It is a metabolic disease in which primary problem is the defective utilization of sugar by the body. Pancreas gland produces the hormone insulin, which controls the body’s ability to store and utilize sugar.In sufficient production of insulin result in the inability of
the body of use indigestion sugar, causing excessive amounts to be released in to the blood and also passed out with the urine. This dangerous and wide spread disease is known as diabetes. Specific Yogasana and Pranayanama should be done daily. Life style is very useful for all complication of the diabetic state

New Evidence on Need-Based Grant Aid

Ben Castleman and Bridget Long of Harvard University just issued a terrific new paper on the impacts of a Florida need-based grant distributed to students across the state.  Using a rigorous regression-discontinuity design, the authors make several contributions to the study of the impacts of financial aid by tacking a couple of of tough questions:

• Does need-based aid promote college completion?
• Who benefits most from need-based aid? Is it the highest-achievers to whom merit aid is often targeted?

They find that YES, need-based aid (without any performance criteria) produces strong and statistically significant impacts on credits earned and degree completion.  Specifically the authors find that $1,000 more of grant eligibility increased the probability of staying continuously enrolled through the spring semester of students' freshman year by 3.3 percentage points, increased the cumulative number of credits students completed after four years by 2.3 credits, and increased the probability of earning a bachelor’s degree within five, six, and seven years by 2.5, 3.5, and 4.0 percentage points, respectively. This is very similar to what my team is learning from studying a Wisconsin grant program.

They also find that the impacts of need-based aid are strongest for students who did well in high school but are below the cut-off for the Florida Bright Futures grant, again mirroring findings from Wisconsin. 

Critically, the authors also note that most students got this need-based grant just once-- as in Wisconsin, many lost it between the first and second years of college. How much more effective might financial aid be if we made it easier for students to retain it?  

In short, the answers do not surprise me at all and lend important empirical evidence to a debate that has been tilted towards merit & performance aid mainly because of a lack of tests on the need-based aid.

So...implications:

Policymakers:  Please read this carefully before jumping to the conclusion that you must change the structure of need-based aid to promote college completion -- it is already doing so.  Changes could be positive or could undermine effectiveness.  In fact, the authors conclude: "Overall, our results suggest that not only does need-based aid have a positive effect on persistence and degree completion, but also that increasing the award amounts of current aid programs could have beneficial effects." 

States and Colleges and Universities:  Investments in well-prepared students who aren't making your merit cutoffs aregood bets for cost-effective investments in need-based aid.  Mark Schneider and I have been saying this for a long time.   Consider making your money really pay off.

Are Students Really Academically Adrift? Rethinking the Assessment of “Limited Learning” on College Campuses

Four years ago I attended a presentation at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association (ASA) in which Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa previewed the findings of Academically Adrift, their influential book published in 2010.  In a column for the Chronicle of Higher Education, I wrote that this “cool study” was producing some interesting results.  Most importantly, I reported, that it seemed like the learning gains identified by the research “didn’t look like much.”  I was concerned, for sure, and thus wasn’t surprised when the authors eventually subtitled their book “Limited Learning on College Campuses.”

 Fast forward, and after attending a presentation at this year’s ASA in New York last week, I’ve come to question my assessment—and theirs.   At the time, I was looking at percentage point gains over time, and we know that these are not a good way to assess effect sizes since they do not take into account the amount of variation in the sample. Once the gains are standardized, Arum and Roksa find that students tested twice, four years apart, improve their scores on the Collegiate Learning Assessment by an average of 0.46 standard deviations.  Now that’s a number we can begin to seriously consider.

Is a gain of 0.46 sd evidence of “limited learning” and something to sniff at?  As I said back in 2009, we need a frame of reference in order to assess this.   In the abstract, an effect size means little if anything at all.

For their part, the authors point to a review of research by Ernie Pascarella and Pat Terenzini indicating that on tests given at the time, students in the 1980s gained about 1 standard deviation.  Doesn’t that mean students learn less today than they once did, and that that’s a problem?  Actually, no.

Scores cannot simply be compared across different tests. The scales on tests differ and can only be linked by administering the same test to comparable people. Clearly, the CLA was not administered to students attending college in the 1980s.  Nor, for that matter, were students then comparable in demographic characteristics to the students of today, or were the conditions of testing the same.

Certainly, the authors know this and it is why they seek to replicate their findings with different tests and samples. There is some evidence that the effect size of about 0.44-0.47 holds up.  But the purpose of the replication, their main focus, is on whether the magnitude of the gains are the same—they are not using replication to think about whether the effect size is large or small.

So, let’s go back to that critical question.  It was during Josipa Roksa’s ASA presentation last week that I felt we finally had a reasonable answer.  Her talk focused on inequality in learning, and she showed several achievement gaps.  This is one good way to benchmark an effect size and it’s commonly done in k-12.  When educational interventionists seek to examine the size of a program’s impact on achievement, they often compare it to the magnitude of the black-white achievement gap in math, which is about one standard deviation.

The same exercise with the impact of 4-years of college on learning as measured by the CLA is illuminating.   The learning gap in parental education among first-year students in the Academically Adrift sample (e.g. the differences in CLA scores between students with a high school-educated parent and students whose parents completed graduate school) is 0.47 standard deviations.  The black-white gap is 0.79 standard deviations.  These are highly relevant comparisons, given that the posited benefits of colleges are thought to be especially strong and important for students facing more disadvantages.

Thus, the learning gains made during college are equivalent in size to the advantage that a student from an educationally-advantaged family holds over a first-generation student.  They are also almost two-thirds the size of the black/white gap.   In this sense, these are sizable gains. 

However, advantaged students make bigger gains during college such that the parental education gap is 0.54 standard deviations four years later.  This is entirely unsurprising, given the body of evidence indicating that colleges and universities are prioritizing the desires of elite students over the real educational needs of those for whom college is essential to social mobility.

Social inequalities are very hard to close—we won’t be reassigning children to new parents anytime soon. But four years of college clearly raises student achievement, and it is an intervention we can promote and can afford.  The findings from Academically Adrift tell a very different story than its subtitle suggests.  On average, college is transformative for learning, and the real tragedy is that higher education does not focus more attention on the neediest students in order to close the gaps that affect the stability and fabric of our everyday lives

Are Students Really Academically Adrift? Rethinking the Assessment of “Limited Learning” on College Campuses

Four years ago I attended a presentation at the annual meetings of the American Sociological Association (ASA) in which Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa previewed the findings of Academically Adrift, their influential book published in 2010.  In a column for the Chronicle of Higher Education, I wrote that this “cool study” was producing some interesting results.  Most importantly, I reported, that it seemed like the learning gains identified by the research “didn’t look like much.”  I was concerned, for sure, and thus wasn’t surprised when the authors eventually subtitled their book “Limited Learning on College Campuses.”

 Fast forward, and after attending a presentation at this year’s ASA in New York last week, I’ve come to question my assessment—and theirs.   At the time, I was looking at percentage point gains over time, and we know that these are not a good way to assess effect sizes since they do not take into account the amount of variation in the sample. Once the gains are standardized, Arum and Roksa find that students tested twice, four years apart, improve their scores on the Collegiate Learning Assessment by an average of 0.46 standard deviations.  Now that’s a number we can begin to seriously consider.

Is a gain of 0.46 sd evidence of “limited learning” and something to sniff at?  As I said back in 2009, we need a frame of reference in order to assess this.   In the abstract, an effect size means little if anything at all.

For their part, the authors point to a review of research by Ernie Pascarella and Pat Terenzini indicating that on tests given at the time, students in the 1980s gained about 1 standard deviation.  Doesn’t that mean students learn less today than they once did, and that that’s a problem?  Actually, no.

Scores cannot simply be compared across different tests. The scales on tests differ and can only be linked by administering the same test to comparable people. Clearly, the CLA was not administered to students attending college in the 1980s.  Nor, for that matter, were students then comparable in demographic characteristics to the students of today, or were the conditions of testing the same.

Certainly, the authors know this and it is why they seek to replicate their findings with different tests and samples. There is some evidence that the effect size of about 0.44-0.47 holds up.  But the purpose of the replication, their main focus, is on whether the magnitude of the gains are the same—they are not using replication to think about whether the effect size is large or small.

So, let’s go back to that critical question.  It was during Josipa Roksa’s ASA presentation last week that I felt we finally had a reasonable answer.  Her talk focused on inequality in learning, and she showed several achievement gaps.  This is one good way to benchmark an effect size and it’s commonly done in k-12.  When educational interventionists seek to examine the size of a program’s impact on achievement, they often compare it to the magnitude of the black-white achievement gap in math, which is about one standard deviation.

The same exercise with the impact of 4-years of college on learning as measured by the CLA is illuminating.   The learning gap in parental education among first-year students in the Academically Adrift sample (e.g. the differences in CLA scores between students with a high school-educated parent and students whose parents completed graduate school) is 0.47 standard deviations.  The black-white gap is 0.79 standard deviations.  These are highly relevant comparisons, given that the posited benefits of colleges are thought to be especially strong and important for students facing more disadvantages.

Thus, the learning gains made during college are equivalent in size to the advantage that a student from an educationally-advantaged family holds over a first-generation student.  They are also almost two-thirds the size of the black/white gap.   In this sense, these are sizable gains. 

However, advantaged students make bigger gains during college such that the parental education gap is 0.54 standard deviations four years later.  This is entirely unsurprising, given the body of evidence indicating that colleges and universities are prioritizing the desires of elite students over the real educational needs of those for whom college is essential to social mobility.

Social inequalities are very hard to close—we won’t be reassigning children to new parents anytime soon. But four years of college clearly raises student achievement, and it is an intervention we can promote and can afford.  The findings from Academically Adrift tell a very different story than its subtitle suggests.  On average, college is transformative for learning, and the real tragedy is that higher education does not focus more attention on the neediest students in order to close the gaps that affect the stability and fabric of our everyday lives

Research Update: Unmarried Parents in College

In 2010, UW-Madison graduate student Kia Sorensen and I published a paper in the Future of Children about college access and success among single parents attending college. We utilized data from the 2008 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) and the latest NPSAS just came out for 2012.

I notice the following trends related to this population.  

1. The representation of single parents among undergraduates grew again. In the 1980s it was 7% and by 2008 it was 13%-- in 2012 it was 15.2%.
2. That growth was entirely among women, not men.  The fraction of male undergraduates were are single parents remained steady at 8%, while the fraction of female undergraduates who are single parents grew from 17% in 2088 to 20.7% in 2012.
3. The racial/ethnic differences in single parenting changed slightly, creeping upwards by a point for non-Hispanic white students and down a point for Asian students.

The situation for single parents on college campuses nationwide has not improved much over the last several years.  The Institute for Women's Policy Research is doing important work in this area and it's worth reading up on.  We need to be concerned about the supports provided to these parents, given how much is riding on their success.  In this latest data release, I'm  most troubled by the indication that rates of borrowing large amounts of money for college are much higher for single parents than for other students.   College has inter-generational benefits, and institutions need to be equipped to ensure they assist in that transfer