Posts Tagged ‘national survey’

On finances, college presidents put more trust in administrators, trustees than in students, faculty and alumni, survey says

Monday, March 7th, 2011

Caleb Hutton // THE WESTERN FRONT

About 80 percent of university presidents believe that administrators and Board of Trustees members have been a far greater help during the financial crisis of the last two years than students, faculty and alumni, according to a survey of 1,000 presidents by Inside Higher Ed.

See chart at this link.

Public university presidents were also more likely than their private university counterparts to suggest increasing teacher work loads as a way to deal with dwindling budgets.

(more…)

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Across nation, more students defaulting on loans

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

Caleb Hutton // THE WESTERN FRONT

I guess this might be considered old news, even expected news, but the number of students defaulting on their loans has risen 2 percent in the last year, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.

The number of defaulters rose to 13.8 percent, with students from private and for-profit schools seeing the most steep increases.

From the WSJ:

The increase reflects a tough job market for recent college graduates, Education Department officials and student-lending experts say. It also provides new fodder for an argument from some Washington circles that for-profit colleges, which posted the highest default rates, need better policing.

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Four-year degrees not for everyone, Harvard study says

Saturday, February 5th, 2011

Caleb Hutton // THE WESTERN FRONT

A massive effort in recent years to increase the nation’s number of college graduates has had only minimal and perhaps negative results, according to a new report by the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Declining graduation rates have diluted the effectiveness of college, the study suggests.

Only about 20 percent of two-year college students graduate on time, compared to 56 percent of four-year students. Both numbers are called “alarmingly low” by the report’s authors.

From the report:

“College for all” might be the mantra, but the hard reality is that fewer than one in three young people achieve the dream.

Take a look at the report itself here.

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Whatcom County ranked fourth in state for percent of population with bachelor’s degrees

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

Caleb Hutton // THE WESTERN FRONT

Fact in the title courtesy of a really cool map from the Chronicle of Higher Education.

About 31.7 percent of adults in Whatcom County have bachelor’s degrees, a number beaten only by Whitman, King and Jefferson counties. The map can also be broken down by race and gender.

There’s a lot of neat stuff on the Chronicle’s site today: response to Obama’s State of the Union pledge to spare education during a spending freeze, commentary on how racial gaps in education are on the rise, and more handy graphics breaking down the race, politics and religion of the nation’s college freshmen.

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Feeling stressed? You’re not alone, study says

Thursday, January 27th, 2011

Caleb Hutton // THE WESTERN FRONT

An annual report conducted by UCLA researchers found that freshman students across the country are feeling more stressed than in the past.

Two-thirds of college freshman said the recession was affecting their choice of college, while average ratings of emotional health went down a few percentage points from last year, according to the “American Freshman” report.

Twice as many female freshman said they felt overwhelmed, compared to their male counterparts.

The survey included results from 279 four-year colleges and universities.

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