The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education has released a number of recommendations to improve transfer rates among disadvantaged students attending community colleges in Texas. Through these recommendations, the Institute urges all institutions to challenge existing practices that deter the possibility of achieving structured academic pathways, student-centered cultures and culturally sensitive leadership.

Below is a list of additional recommendations outlined by the Pell Institute. Although the study’s research group focused on community colleges in Texas – these guidelines can be applied to institutions around the country.

The National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA) is co-located at the University of Illinois and Indian University. It was created to help institutions of higher education discover and adopt practical practices in student assessment. Last week, NILOA issued two brand new research papers on assessing higher education learning outcomes.

Over the years the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has invested billions of dollars into improving this country’s education system. Last week the Foundation announced an additional investment of $12.9 million in the form of technology grants, to expand the scope and effectiveness of learning in America’s community colleges. 

Infusing technology with curriculum is not a new concept, however in the past these new resources have only been used as an “add on” to the traditional curriculum. The goal of this grant program will be to strengthen the system through improved teaching and learning, more flexible and engaging delivery options and increased data transparency.

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded the University of Alabama $300,000 to expand their successful textbook rental program. Alabama is one of 30 institutions in the country to receive funding through the College Course Materials Rental Initiative Program. The goal of the program is to find new and innovative ways to reduce the rising costs of college textbooks.

The rental program at Alabama started as a pilot that involved just three courses and has since expanded due to the help from this grant. Other programs aimed at lowering the costs of textbooks at Alabama include binder-ready textbooks, digital books and paperback books. The grant will cover 42 percent of the cost of the textbook rental program; the remainder of the funding will come from the Supply Store at Alabama.

To read more about this grant and others like it at the U.S. Department of Education’s website, click here.
 

The Ozarks Technical Community College (OTC), in Missouri, announced on Monday the creation of a new scholarship fund. Ozarks is partnering with the Musgrave Foundation and the Community Foundation of the Ozarks to help fund this program. The program, entitled, the Fallen Soldiers Project will pay tuition, fees and books, not covered by the VA, for spouses and children of soldiers killed on active duty in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

     Thanks to a $300,000 grant from the Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, The University of Wisconsin is creating a new e-textbook that will give professors greater control of what their teaching while saving students money. As the program stands now, certain classes are already seeing book prices drop to as low as $15, down 500% in some cases.
 

A recent study conducted by Kjell A. Christophersen, in Texas, reveals that for every $1 dollar spent on community colleges, Texas is paid back $9. The study concluded that the impact of community colleges in the Texas economy is $1 billion.

A recent joint-study released by the Harvard Graduate School of Education, Stanford University School of Education, The University of Toronto, and the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that more low-income students would go to college if the complicated and confusing financial aid process were simplified.
 

President Barack Obama made a campaign pledge last year to end the federal governments practice of subsidizing private companies that lend college student loans.  This year that promise may come to be realized through the House of Representatives action to cut off most subsidies to private lenders, saving the government an estimated $87 to $47 billion. 

The average community college in the U.S. charges roughly $2,000 for full time students and at some institutions, for part time students, that figure is much lower.  Going back to school to re-train, acquire new skills and prepare you for the next run up the economic ladder is never easy, but there are a number of programs, scholarships and counseling opportunities that can make going back to school much more affordable.  Here are a few tips Forbes Magazine has put out to help.

The President recently announced his plan to revamp America's post secondary learning institutions, including community and technical colleges, by investing $12 billion over the next 10 years.  In order to achieve the goal of educating 5 million more Americans by the year 2020, this policy will have to achieve a number of goals.  Go inside to see a comprehensive list of goals this bill will aim to meet.

On Tuesday, February 17, President Barack Obama signed a $787 billion stimulus plan into law: the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Approximately $115 billion of that package has been allocated for public education. The largest portion of this aid will be used for state fiscal stabilization. Other priorities include Pell Grant, higher education tax credit, Title I, and special education funding.

As budgets shrink and the public grows increasingly frustrated with rising tuition rates, states struggle more than ever to determine the optimal cost of postsecondary public education.

The National Center for Education Statistics’ “National Assessment of Adult Literacy” study revealed that approximately 32 million illiterate adults lived in the U.S. in 2003. According to the results of the study, “[f]rom 1992 to 2003, the USA added about 23 million adults to its population; in that period, an estimated 3.6 million more joined the ranks of adults with low literacy skills.” While some states, including Mississippi, improved adult literacy rates during this period, several large states’ numbers worsened. California, New York, Florida, and Nevada were among those with disappointing results.

Access the full report here.

In October 2008, the National Center on Public Policy and Higher Education and the Public Agenda released a report entitled, The Iron Triangle: College Presidents Talk About Costs, Access, and Quality. Direct quotations from interviews with presidents of major research universities, regional state institutions, private colleges, and community colleges comprise the majority of the report.  In conducting these interviews, the researchers found that in general, college presidents agree on the major issues facing their institutions and students, despite the varying natures of their institutions. The three areas of chief concern reported were accessibility, affordability, and quality and accountability.

Access the full report here.