Higher Education 101: Dorms, Remediation and Midnight Classes
Much of the focus of the nation’s education crisis has been on K-12 schools. But higher education students–and the institutions they attend–are also facing challenges on many fronts. Tuition is up at many public campuses as a result of reduced state funding. Community colleges, which stand to play an enormous role in the nation’s economic recovery as a means of retraining workers, are often vastly overcrowded. At the same time, the relative merit of a bachelor's degree is being debated, even as enrollment of foreign students in graduate programs in the U.S. is booming.
With a beat so plentiful, it can be hard to know where to begin. So, let’s start at the front door.
One of the greatest advantages of the higher ed beat is the open campus. Colleges and universities, even private ones, are significantly more accessible than even the most press-friendly K-12 schools. Get a cup of coffee in the student union. Find out if the electronic reader devices such as the Kindle and the are hurting sales at the bookstore. Stop by a dorm and talk to students who are moving in. Attend a faculty meeting and hand out your business card. Encourage people to call or email if something crosses their desk that they think might make an interesting story.
While traditional four-year institutions tend to get the most ink, there’s no question that community colleges are newsworthy. (Check out the Hechinger Institute’s Community College Spotlight blog.) What are the most popular classes at your community college? Have they added late-night sessions to accommodate the demand? What does it cost to earn a similar degree at a private campus or career school? How many of the professors are adjunct versus full-time faculty?
Schedule a visit to one of the midnight classes at the local college. Try and find someone willing to be shadowed a day … and night. What’s it like to work a full shift, take care of your family and then head to school at 11 p.m.?
When looking for national higher education stories to localize, here are two sources to consider: insidehighered.com and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Both are excellent resources for both story starters and sources.
If you are lucky(!) enough to be covering both K-12 and higher ed, I congratulate you on your stamina. Fortunately there is no shortage of crossover stories that will let you satisfy both beasts. (Apologies to the education editors out there. It’s just a metaphor.) Here’s one example of a crossover story – remediation. Nationally, there is a measurable--and troubling--gap between the expectations of the K-12 public school system and those of higher education.
Research suggests there is an incentive for universities to offer remedial classes: Students who take them are more likely to graduate than those who need help but don’t. On the flip side, offering remediation on the public’s dime can be the equivalent of double-billing taxpayers for classes that should have been mastered in high school. Of all students at public colleges and universities, 34 percent enroll in at least one remedial course. The percentage is highest at community colleges, where 43 percent of students required remedial coursework. In some states, more than 50 percent of students require remediation. (For a primer on the issue start with the exceptional Getting Past Go initiative).
How strong is the level of cooperation between your region’s K-12 and higher ed systems, when it comes to remediation? Are incoming freshmen being given any new diagnostic tests when they arrive this fall? Is the local school district testing high school juniors to determine if they’re on track to be college bound?
Ask for data. Public post-secondary institutions keep a wealth of statistics on their students. How many freshmen needed remedial help in their first semester (nationally the average ranges from 40 to 60 percent)? You should also be able to identify which local school districts are sending the least prepared graduates.
Tomorrow: Talking to students.
Have a question, comment or confidential concern for the Educated Reporter? Drop me a line at erichmond@ewa.org. I’m also on Twitter @EWAEmily.
With a beat so plentiful, it can be hard to know where to begin. So, let’s start at the front door.
One of the greatest advantages of the higher ed beat is the open campus. Colleges and universities, even private ones, are significantly more accessible than even the most press-friendly K-12 schools. Get a cup of coffee in the student union. Find out if the electronic reader devices such as the Kindle and the are hurting sales at the bookstore. Stop by a dorm and talk to students who are moving in. Attend a faculty meeting and hand out your business card. Encourage people to call or email if something crosses their desk that they think might make an interesting story.
While traditional four-year institutions tend to get the most ink, there’s no question that community colleges are newsworthy. (Check out the Hechinger Institute’s Community College Spotlight blog.) What are the most popular classes at your community college? Have they added late-night sessions to accommodate the demand? What does it cost to earn a similar degree at a private campus or career school? How many of the professors are adjunct versus full-time faculty?
Schedule a visit to one of the midnight classes at the local college. Try and find someone willing to be shadowed a day … and night. What’s it like to work a full shift, take care of your family and then head to school at 11 p.m.?
When looking for national higher education stories to localize, here are two sources to consider: insidehighered.com and the Chronicle of Higher Education. Both are excellent resources for both story starters and sources.
If you are lucky(!) enough to be covering both K-12 and higher ed, I congratulate you on your stamina. Fortunately there is no shortage of crossover stories that will let you satisfy both beasts. (Apologies to the education editors out there. It’s just a metaphor.) Here’s one example of a crossover story – remediation. Nationally, there is a measurable--and troubling--gap between the expectations of the K-12 public school system and those of higher education.
Research suggests there is an incentive for universities to offer remedial classes: Students who take them are more likely to graduate than those who need help but don’t. On the flip side, offering remediation on the public’s dime can be the equivalent of double-billing taxpayers for classes that should have been mastered in high school. Of all students at public colleges and universities, 34 percent enroll in at least one remedial course. The percentage is highest at community colleges, where 43 percent of students required remedial coursework. In some states, more than 50 percent of students require remediation. (For a primer on the issue start with the exceptional Getting Past Go initiative).
How strong is the level of cooperation between your region’s K-12 and higher ed systems, when it comes to remediation? Are incoming freshmen being given any new diagnostic tests when they arrive this fall? Is the local school district testing high school juniors to determine if they’re on track to be college bound?
Ask for data. Public post-secondary institutions keep a wealth of statistics on their students. How many freshmen needed remedial help in their first semester (nationally the average ranges from 40 to 60 percent)? You should also be able to identify which local school districts are sending the least prepared graduates.
Tomorrow: Talking to students.
Have a question, comment or confidential concern for the Educated Reporter? Drop me a line at erichmond@ewa.org. I’m also on Twitter @EWAEmily.
Labels: college_completion, community_college, data, economic recovery, higher ed, readiness, technology
posted by Emily Richmond at
5:25 AM
2 Comments:
In addition to Getting Past Go, another resource is the Developmental Education Initiative (DEI), which builds on the foundation of Achieving the Dream, adapting it to the challenges associated with students who enter community college in need of remediation. DEI was launched in 2009 when six of the first states involved in Achieving the Dream joined together to focus more intently on policies to support dramatic improvements for students whose assessment scores indicate the need for developmental education. These six states—Connecticut, Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Texas, and Virginia—are committed to an aggressive policy and capacity-building agenda to support their community colleges’ efforts to improve success rates for students in need of developmental education. For more info, visit http://www.deionline.org/
Jeff Landis
Jobs for the Future
Jeff, thanks for an excellent addition to the resources list. I also appreciate your participation in EdMedia Commons.
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