ACTA's Must-Reads
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ACTA in the Wall Street Journal
Mark Bauerlein writes into the Wall Street Journal about foreign language instruction, citing ACTA: "Yet according to the American Council of Trustees and Alumni, only one third of top colleges in the U.S. 'require students to learn a foreign language at the intermediate level.' ACTA defines 'intermediate' as three semesters of college-level study, three years of high school, or an adequate examination score. In truth, the vast majority of institutions require a whole lot less than two years of study at the college level."
We agree about the need for foreign language instruction. The whole letter is worth reading. Glad you're using our study, Professor!
Posted by Michael Pomeranz on December 24, 2010 at 11:27 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Top Salaries and Unacceptable Outcomes
Salaries at a number of universities for top leadership are staggering. Indeed, former American Association of University Professors president Jane Buck uses such terms as "unseemly" and "appalling." Now comes an answer to a key question: do outcomes justify this level of compensation?
A new study argues much to the contrary. Mark Schneider, Vice President for Education, Human Development and the Workforce at the American Institutes of Research listed the 30 universities that pay their CEOs $1 million-plus compensation packages, linking them with two key quality indicators: their graduation rates and default rates on student loans. Dr. Schneider found that about half the universities that were classified as "most competitive" and whose presidents reached the $1 million-plus threshold had weaker graduation rates than their peer "most competitive" schools. Ten of these schools also had above average student loan default rates.
ACTA has noted with concern that the number of salaries above $500,000 and compensation packages above $1M have grown, even as median household income falls. We repeat what we said before: "As college and university presidents seek public and private funds in this crisis, they need to walk the walk of making students, not administration, their budgetary priorities." Dr. Schneider's findings make this message yet more urgent, and we hope that trustees will take it to heart.
Posted by Michael Poliakoff on December 23, 2010 at 02:20 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
With DADT repealed, restore ROTC
ACTA's been writing plenty about the Reserve Officer Training Corps. We've spoken about the need to restore ROTC to elite college campuses. Often, administrators claimed that to allow students to train for military service would violate university non-discrimination clauses.
No more. It's time for trustees to reinstate ROTC--immediately.
Posted by Michael Pomeranz on December 22, 2010 at 06:07 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Happy Holidays!
Create your own video slideshow at animoto.com.
From all of us at ACTA!
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Posted by Jose Herrera on December 21, 2010 at 05:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Imperative of Learning Languages
Colleges around the country are crippling an essential part of global understanding: learning foreign languages. Dr. Michael Poliakoff writes in the Buffalo News, "Foreign language study is the foundation for humanistic study and true multicultural understanding. And foreign language instruction prepares students to navigate the volatile global job market." America has a compelling need to effectively compete on the international stage. Valuable interpersonal skills overseas begin with the ability to speak the language. Entrepreneurs and salespeople who cannot read the trade magazines of the nations with whom they do business will never be as successful as those who can. The diplomatic implications of linguistic ignorance are yet worse.
Dr. Poliakoff outlines two ways colleges can afford to keep their foreign language programs. The first is to work together and share resources. The Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education offers a great example. Campuses in the State System use interactive video to share instruction among low-enrollment but academically important programs. Such cost-effective strategies make more sense than eliminating valuable programs, and raising tuition is not a reasonable option as families struggle to make ends meet.
The second strategy he suggests is to eliminate fluff courses. Some programs being maintained in preference to foreign languages do not provide much cognitive growth to students. As Dr. Poliakoff noted, "recent studies by the Social Science Research Council suggest that two favorite academic programs, teacher education and communication, do little to increase students' overall problem-solving abilities."
China, Brazil, India and many other nations are rapidly developing, and their influence on the worldwide economy grows daily. Americans must be better educated and more familiar with the rest of the world. Foreign language programs help our acquaintance so we do not pay a price in economic strength and diplomacy. And, indeed, in basic understanding of humankind and civilization. C'est la vie!
Posted by Jose Herrera on December 21, 2010 at 05:04 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Standing Up for Students' Best Interests
Governor Bob McDonnell stood up for students at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) when he withheld $17 million in state appropriations in response to VCU's plans to raise tuition 24%. That increase would mean a staggering $1700 increase for VCU undergraduates. The Governor observed: "This will certainly be a good message to our higher education institutions that they need to govern their tuition rates accordingly." In this way, students are not left with "a decade of debt when they get out." Are there alternatives? VCU's President Michael Rao started in 2009 with a $488,500 salary, plus a $275,000 signing bonus, plus other compensation, bringing his package to $890,000. The average professor's salary at VCU is $110,500. Outstanding faculty and administrators deserve good salaries, but in this grim recession, does it make sense to balance the school’s budget on the backs of its students? ACTA has outlined ways institutions can cut costs--while improving quality and effectiveness. Governor McDonnell has sounded the right message.
Posted by Michael Poliakoff on December 21, 2010 at 05:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Standards Rising in Kansas. . .and the Lesson of CUNY
The Kansas Board of Regents on Wednesday took the admirable step of approving tougher admission standards, particularly in math and critical reading. High school graduates will now have to complete the state's new, tougher college-preparatory curriculum with at least a 2.0 grade point average. This small, but encouraging step puts schools in Kansas on the path to excellence, following the course CUNY took to gain the respect it has today. In the 1970's, CUNY was an open admissions system. Nearly all high school graduates were admitted, yet very few - 30% in 1999 - graduated. After raising admission standards, enrollment at CUNY reached the highest point since the mid-1970s, and average SAT scores for incoming freshmen are now in the top third nationwide. CUNY's low graduation rate was far from unique, and its solution, in retrospect, was self-evident. Today, the 6-year graduation rate at Kansas public universities ranges from 41% to 63%. When university admission standards are low, students who are unprepared at the high school level are set up to fail at the university level. But the graduation rate will begin to improve with simple changes such as the ones the Kansas Regents have made. High school graduates who do not meet the new standards, have the option of preparing at a two-year college, before moving to a four-year institution. Students who strengthen their academic skills in this way will fare much better and improve their chances of graduating. "This is a welcomed change," said University of Kansas Provost Jeff Vitter, who called the old standards "too lax." ACTA adds its congratulations.
Posted by Jose Herrera on December 20, 2010 at 04:45 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Star Tackles Big 12 Tuition
The Kansas City Star is the latest paper to cover the "tuition explosion" ACTA's Big 12 report reveals. ACTA's research has gotten high praise in just a few short weeks and prodded university administrators to respond. (University of Missouri provost Brian Foster is quoted in the Star piece.) ACTA continues to emphasize the need for quality instruction at an affordable price for all college students.
Posted by Michael Pomeranz on December 14, 2010 at 10:58 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
The Courage and Integrity to Test
Kevin Carey, the Policy Director of Education Sector, asks why higher education cannot produce outcomes measures, comparable across institutions, and provide crucial information like student learning gains (or failure to learn) and readiness for transfer between institutions. Why? Because it takes moral and intellectual integrity to test and to be guided by the results.
Or, as Carey putsit: "Comparable learning information doesn't exist because many groups have a strong interest in its not existing. Institutions that thrive on centuries-old reputations, despite their present-day failure to challenge students in the classroom. Companies looking to exploit the federal financial-aid system. Faculty who hate teaching and love research. Colleges that profit from forcing students to take the same course twice."
A number of institutions are stepping forward, some boldly, some hesitantly. Among them are the for-profit University of Phoenix , and public institutions in the Voluntary System of Accountability. Governing Boards must lead reluctant schools to transparent, standardized testing for student learning outcomes.
ACTA has noted that almost every institution has an "Office of Assessment," complete with administrator(s) and staff, and typically providing information that is incomprehensible to students, parents, and policymakers attempting to answer the key--the only--question: how effective is this school at helping students learn? For $6500 or so, however, any school can get pellucid information from the Collegiate Learning Assessment, or the Collegiate Assessment of Academic Progress, or the Measurement of Academic Progress and Proficiency. (Many schools do: for example, every public college in South Dakota.) But, for the reasons Mr. Carey enumerates, there is a lot of reluctance at the institutional level to deploy these tools. He muses that the assessment measuring stick can be a tool for improvement or a weapon to wield against higher education complacency. Yes, indeed.
Posted by Michael Poliakoff on December 13, 2010 at 04:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
University of Phoenix Sets a Good Example
For the third year, the University of Phoenix has released an annual report on students' academic progress. The Chronicle of Higher Education aptly observed that the document is: "notable not so much for the depth of information it provides on its students' academic progress but for its existence at all. Few colleges, for-profit or otherwise, publish such reports." Indeed. For comparison visit the College Portrait website, a worthy endeavor by non-profit public colleges and universities. Notice how much farther the for-profit University of Phoenix has gone in its transparency regarding student outcome measures. Not all the indicators Phoenix posts are results that it likes, but its willingness to include student salaries, completion rates, and results on the value-added Measurement of Academic Progress, is exemplary. ACTA has repeatedly urged that all institutions, for--profit and non-profit have a level playing field. We hope policymakers and lawmakers are listening.
Posted by Michael Poliakoff on December 10, 2010 at 04:13 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Big 12 report in UT student paper
Our Big 12 report, "What's happening off the field?" gained more traction earlier this week, as the Daily Texan -- the student newspaper of the University of Texas at Austin -- published this piece detailing some of our report's findings regarding the growth of athletic and academic spending at UT-Austin. Don't forget to check back frequently for more updates!
Posted by Tom Bako on December 09, 2010 at 03:01 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Level the Playing Field: A Thought-Experiment
The Department of Education has proposed tough new fiscal regulations on for-profit colleges and universities. ACTA has consistently called for an even-handed treatment of for-profit and nonprofit institutions. In the tradition of German research universities, we will perform a Gedankenexperiment, a thought-experiment. Let us take the "gainful employment" and loan repayment tests that the Department of Education intends to impose upon for-profit postsecondary institutions and imagine they apply to all public and private colleges and universities. Any institution, then, public or private, whose graduates have debt service payments greater than 12% of average earnings or 30% of discretionary income would no longer be eligible to admit students with federal student loans. So also eligibility to receive students with federal loans would evaporate for institutions if the percentage of former enrollees (whether or not they finished their degrees) making scheduled payments of interest and principal on student loans falls below 35%. Leaving aside the for-profit sector, how many of the 3500 or so non-profit undergraduate institutions in the United States, public or private, would survive under these regulations?
As reported on the Lehrer News Hour, the average college graduate, especially one with loans to repay, has significant challenges ahead in this ongoing recession. "For college graduates under the age of 25, the jobless rate is 9.5 percent. And between 2000 and 2009, earnings for grads with just a bachelor's degree fell by 15 percent. Yet public college tuitions rose 63 percent, and private schools went up 30 percent." Is "gainful employment" and loan repayment, measured in the middle of an economic crisis, a fair standard to use for the worthiness of a postsecondary institution? Perhaps the Department of Education's proposed criteria are just too blunt an instrument to use. And if this is bad policy for non-profit colleges and universities, chances are, it's also too clumsy a way to approach the for-profit sector. Harvard University Professor Dr. Bridget Terry Long argued in her recent report: "While recent reports focus on poor outcomes for students who attend for-profit colleges, research suggests that low levels of degree completion also plague some colleges in the non-profit sector. To improve the ability of consumers to make better college decisions, we need better information on all colleges and universities." (emphasis added). Diverse: Issues in Higher Education also emphasized this point: it is a message that policymakers and lawmakers need to hear.
Posted by Michael Poliakoff on December 07, 2010 at 10:56 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Big Waves in the Big 12
Our report on the successes -- and failures -- of Big 12 schools is making news! Be sure to check back for more in the coming days, but here are a few of the findings: all the schools have raised tuition recently, but Colorado has done so the most and Iowa State has done so the least -- Iowa State shares glory with Texas Tech for tuition that constitutes the lowest percentage of median state income. Both Colorado and Iowa State get poor marks for general education; Baylor, Texas A & M, and Texas all are A schools. Texas also gets high marks for its high graduation rate -- but tuition is 18.8% of median state income, .4% more than the that of the next highest public (Kansas). (Baylor is a private school, and tuition is nearly 60% of median state income.) Nebraska has the lowest graduation rate in the Big 12 -- only one in four Cornhuskers graduates within four years.
Posted by Michael Pomeranz on December 02, 2010 at 11:31 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Backbone and Vision in Ohio
Ohio Board of Regents Chancellor Eric Fingerhut protected the interests of Kent State's students - as well as taxpayers - by refusing to approve a $250 million capital renovation project. Kent State administrators had proposed increasing student fees as much as $570 per student to pay for the project. That was a shameless suggestion. The administrators' rationalization that Kent's fees are low and can therefore be increased is more of the higher ed "same old." It shows how far out of touch these administrators are with the financial burdens of students and their families, and the realities of this ongoing recession. ACTA has urged colleges and universities to be exceptionally careful of capital investments in these hard times. In our recent op-ed, coauthored with the South Carolina Policy Council, we have noted, moreover, how often academic buildings are underutilized. "Need" is always trumpeted urgently, even when feasible alternatives exist. The fact that Kent State's Student Senate voiced support 16-8-2 for the project and the fee increase serves as a reminder to trustees to review the structure for gathering student opinion on their campuses when it comes to such major issues that will affect the campus and its finances over a long future. Finally, ACTA has noted that an innovation of former Governor Ted Strickland's administration was the gubernatorial appointment of the Chancellor: the accountability to the people of Ohio that Fingerhut has demonstrated by his courageous stand shows the wisdom of that practice.
Posted by Michael Poliakoff on December 01, 2010 at 05:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
ACTA Fellowships and Internships!
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni invites accomplished, high-energy undergraduate, graduate, and professional students with excellent research and communication abilities to apply for spring and summer internships and for the Robert Lewit Fellowship in Education Policy.
All fellows and summer interns participate in a special series of seminars with ACTA staff and board members. Past seminar speakers have included Dr. Bruce Cole, former chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities; Dr. Frederick M. Hess, director of education-policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute; Ross Douthat, op-ed columnist for The New York Times; and Dr. Richard K. Vedder, distinguished professor emeritus of economics at Ohio University.
The Robert Lewit Fellowship in Education Policy is available for a two-month period during the summer. Any student currently engaged in undergraduate or graduate studies at any institution of higher education may apply; preference is given to students of Harvard University. Recent graduates with a strong interest in ACTA's mission of higher-education reform and an excellent scholarly record may also be considered. The Fellowship is made possible by Dr. Robert T. Lewit, a 1959 graduate of Harvard College, 1963 graduate of Harvard Medical School, and chairman of ACTA's Board of Directors.
Fellows report to ACTA senior staff. Their projects include research and writing, some of which may be published by ACTA. They play a full part in the research work of ACTA and attend higher-education meetings and conferences as appropriate. Fellows receive a stipend of $2,500 in equal monthly installments during the fellowship, as well as a housing and travel allowance of $2,000. Fellows must reside in the Washington, D.C. area and work in ACTA's offices for 40 hours per week during the full length of the Fellowship.
Spring and summer interns will research, write, perform clerical and administrative tasks, and enter data. ACTA interns have provided critical assistance to the full-time staff, including preparing materials that have gone into nationally-syndicated news stories and materials given to trustees and alumni across the country. Alumni of the internship program have returned to work at ACTA, and have gone on to work at other Washington area policy organizations. ACTA will consider outstanding high school seniors for internships. All interns receive stipends, thanks to the generosity of ACTA's supporters.
Application requirements
ACTA will hire on a rolling basis. Please apply as early as possible, but no later than January 15th for spring internships and March 1st for summer internships and fellowships. Applicants to be considered both for the Lewit Fellowship and for a summer internship need only to submit one application.
To apply for any internship or fellowship, please mail, e-mail, or fax:
1. Your resume and transcript. (An unofficial transcript will suffice.)
2. A letter of recommendation from someone who has taught you and can comment on your academic and analytic abilities and promise. (A letter from another individual may supplement, but not replace, this letter.)
3. A letter of one to two pages explaining why the internship or fellowship is of interest to you and why you should be selected for it.
All applications and questions should be directed to 1726 M Street NW, Suite 802 Washington, DC 20009, internship[at]goacta[dot]org, or (202) 467-6784 (fax).
For more information about ACTA, please visit www.goacta.org.
Posted by Michael Pomeranz on December 01, 2010 at 11:42 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack