IPEC

College Readiness

2012-01-16T12:40:00.000-05:00

One-third of today’s college students require remediation. Of those students, half will never receive a college degree. Clearly, something isn’t working. The link below to an infographic lays out the state of college readiness in the U.S., and explains why being prepared for college matters now more than ever.

College Readiness

Community College Enrollment Surge Comes to an End

2012-01-16T12:35:00.000-05:00

The article from The Chronicle of Higher Education from the link below provides information on the expected downtown in community college enrollment. This useful information can help inspire discussion on the ramifications of such a trend.

Community College Enrollment Downturn

The Aspen Prize -- One Million Dollars Awarded to Community Colleges

2011-12-14T11:08:00.001-05:00

Valencia College, Florida takes top honors of the first offering of the Aspen Prize as reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education.
http://chronicle.com/article/Valencia-College-Wins-First/130091/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en (This link requires authentication for off-campus use.)
As noted on the Aspen Institute website: "The purpose of the Aspen Prize is to recognize community colleges with outstanding academic and workforce outcomes in both absolute performance and improvements over time. By focusing on student success and lifting up models that work, the Aspen Prize will honor excellence, stimulate innovation, and create benchmarks for measuring progress." This link further describes the prize:
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/aspen-prize/about
The Aspen Institute website has profiles of the ten finalists selected for the total million dollar prize. Each profile highlights a strategy that focuses on reducing the risk for at-risk students, mainly in developmental education, but quite a few in career/technical programs and industry partnerships.
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/aspen-prize/finalists
A total of 120 eligible colleges were selected during the competition using an analytic model drawn from IPEDS data described below. You can see the data dashboards in the pdf version of the Round 1 Model Description. Sad to say, no colleges in New Jersey were deemed eligible.
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/aspen-prize/eligibleinstitutions
The evaluative rubric used gives shows the criteria deemed important by the Aspen Institute: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/27262972/Round%20One%20Model%20Description.pdf

NJ Stars Program

2011-12-08T17:30:00.000-05:00

Below is a link to the latest information on the status of the New Jersey STARS Program. The article namely aims at the proposed changes.

http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/new-jersey-stars-program-proposes-changes-to-continue-college-aid/article_31d5f736-1faa-11e1-9a93-001871e3ce6c.html

Measures of Student Success

2011-12-06T16:20:00.000-05:00

The Voluntary Framework of Accountability is the first national system of accountability specifically FOR community colleges and BY community colleges.

Below find a link to the VFA website, which contains a very important draft report and summary of success measures from the U.S. Dept. of Education’s Committee on Measures of Student Success. IPEC encourages you to read the entire report.

http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Resources/aaccprograms/vfa/Pages/default.aspx

Obama Meets with Higher Education Leaders

2011-12-06T15:11:00.000-05:00

Below is a link to an article from Inside Higher Education that describes President Obama’s recent meeting with a small group of higher education leaders. Note the apparent shift in focus from increasing aid to affordability, cost, and productivity.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/12/06/obama-meeting-focuses-cost-affordability-productivity

For-Profit Educator In Trouble Over Misleading Success Data

2011-11-15T08:48:00.000-05:00

As reported on National Public Radio, Career Education Corporation is in hot water because of misleading information it has stated about job placement rates for its students.
http://www.npr.org/2011/11/07/142111407/for-profit-education-provider-faces-trouble
Career Education Corportion is an international for-profit education provider with about 90 campuses located throughout the United States and in France, Canada, Italy and the United Kingdom and three fully-online academic programs.
http://www.careered.com/

Technology To Improve Student Success At Central Piedmont Community College

2011-11-11T09:17:00.000-05:00

In an innovative move, Central Piedmont Community College connects with its students to increase their chances for success. As reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education the,"Online Student Portal learning system, a Web site, assesses the learning styles of at-risk students (whether they learn best through reading, hearing, or hands-on work) and helps them understand how their personality traits might connect to study and career choices. It also provides a ready link to college counselors and instructors, allowing them to send so-called "early alerts" if a student starts having trouble in a class. And it carries a record of these interactions from term to term, so students and advisers can easily see where students have been—and where they're going." Note: Access to this article from off campus requires user authentication.
http://chronicle.com/article/7-Community-Colleges-Try-an/129605/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en

New Jersey's Lost Decade -- Local Economic Decline Felt Most by Middle and Lower Income Groups

2011-11-03T13:58:00.001-04:00

As reported by New Jersey Policy Perspective, "New Jersey real incomes were lower in 2010 than in 2007 for most households. Only high-income households were better off. Unemployment was at its highest rate in 35 years, and the number of children living in poverty increased by 16 percent in just two years."
What happened? Where did the income gains come from and where did they go? This is the focus of The State of Working New Jersey 2011: The Lost Decade:
http://www.njpp.org/reports/the-state-of-working-new-jersey-2011-the-lost-decade

California Community College Seeks a More Diversified Board of Trustees

2011-10-07T13:56:00.001-04:00

The Associated Press reported that Cerritos Community College has changed its trustee election system so that it will be more culturally inclusive:
Posted: 10/05/2011 08:33:01 PM PDT

NORWALK, Calif.—The Cerritos Community College board of trustees has moved to change its trustee election system a week after a lawsuit was filed charging that the current system discriminates against Latino voters. A statement from the college says the board introduced a resolution Wednesday night to change to a system where trustees are elected from their own residential areas. Currently, trustees are elected at-large. The board anticipates the change will take effect in December. Last month, three Latino voters sued the college, saying the at-large system does not give Latinos fair representation on the board and violates the California Voter Rights Act. The college says it wants the lawsuit withdrawn since the change, which was already under consideration, is now being adopted.

College Graduation Rates Are Stagnant Even as Enrollment Rises

2011-10-05T10:46:00.000-04:00

A recent New York Times article speaks about the work of Complete College America, which has gathered data with the cooperation of 33 governors. It reports how many of the students in states completed their degrees, whether enrollment is full- or part-time, or at a two- or four-year institution.
"In Texas, for example, of every 100 students who enrolled in a public college, 79 started at a community college, and only 2 of them earned a two-year degree on time; even after four years, only 7 of them graduated. Of the 21 of those 100 who enrolled at a four-year college, 5 graduated on time; after eight years, only 13 had earned a degree."

The following link provides the full article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/education/27remediation.html

In New Jersey, overall graduation rates are among the lowest in the nation. According to data reported by NCHEMS, The National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, of the 26,580 students beginning at a New Jersey community college in Fall 2006, only 4,456 had graduated by Summer 2009. This is a graduation rate of 16.8. To see NCHEMS national data, see the following link:
http://www.higheredinfo.org/dbrowser/index.php?submeasure=24&year=2009&level=nation&mode=data&state=0

How should Brookdale interpret and act upon these reports? Are there other indicators of success beyond graduation rates which should be examined and stressed? As we plan 5 years ahead to 2017 it is crucial to consider national expectations of what constitutes college student success.

Committee on Measures of Student Success Issues Draft Report

2011-10-04T12:47:00.000-04:00

The Committee on Measures of Student Success advises the U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, in assisting two-year degree-granting institutions of higher education in meeting the completion or graduation rate disclosure requirements. Here's the draft of their report about measuring student success released on September 2, 2011:
http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/cmss-committee-report.pdf

To learn more about the members and work of the Committee on Measures of Student Success visit their website:
http://www2.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/acmss.html

Testing and Improving Gauges of Student Learning

2011-10-04T08:32:00.001-04:00

Read about The Quality Collaboratives Project; the three-year, $2.2-million effort seeks to help the states chart a path by which they can raise, and document, students' level of achievement.

http://chronicle.com/article/Project-Will-Pay-for-8-States/129259/

More Baltimore graduates attend two-year colleges, where they are less likely to earn degree

2011-09-12T15:00:00.000-04:00

Inside HigherEd gives a quick take about Studying the Path to Degrees in Baltimore.

"A new report by researchers at Johns Hopkins University has documented a shift in Baltimore's high school graduates attending college: In the last four years, the percentage starting at two-year colleges, as opposed to four-year colleges, rose by 12 percentage points, to 52 percent. The Baltimore Sun reported that officials are concerned about the trend because only 5.8 percent of those who start at a two-year college earn a degree in six years -- compared with 34 percent who start at four-year-colleges." The link to the Baltimore Sun article follows:
More Baltimore graduates attend two-year colleges, where they are less likely to earn degree

Using Discount Online Marketing Services to Entice Potential Students

2011-09-07T08:56:00.003-04:00

The following news item was recently reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education "In Bid for College Market, Groupon Offers 60% Discount on University Course September 5, 2011, 10:26 am

Groupon, the online service best known for daily deals that offer reduced prices for retailers from restaurants to health spas, is going into higher education for the first time. Starting on Tuesday, according to the Chicago Tribune, the Web site will offer a coupon for a graduate-level introduction-to-teaching course at National-Louis University, in Chicago. Under the Groupon system, if enough people sign up for deal, they each will get a nearly 60-percent discount on the course, from $2,232 to $950. The class would fulfill three of 36 credits needed to graduate."

The next debt bubble: college loans - NYPOST.com

2011-09-07T08:38:00.001-04:00

As this editorial in the New York Post reports, the housing financial debacle will likely be followed by a higher education financial crisis. Sobering news at the start of a new academic year.
The next debt bubble: college loans - NYPOST.com

Lumina Foundation Provides a Degree Profile Rubric

2011-06-06T11:57:00.002-04:00

In early 2011, the Lumina Foundation issued a report, The Degree Qualifications Profile. The profile framework indicated what students should be expected to know and to be able to do at the various levels of their college education.
http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/The_Degree_Qualifications_Profile.pdf
Recently, they followed up with a further explanation why degree profiles are important.
http://www.luminafoundation.org/newsroom/topics/why_we_need_a_degree_profile.html

Several Community College Presidents' Expense Accounts Under Scrutiny

2011-05-27T10:09:00.000-04:00

In a recent Inside Higher Ed report, former Brookdale employee and current Bergen Community College President, G. Jeremiah Ryan as well as other college presidents have come under fire in recent weeks for their expense account spending. Some critics argue the amounts budgeted are too generous given the cutbacks their institutions are being forced to make in this rough economy.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/05/27/community_college_presidents_and_expense_account_spending

Ocean County College Partners with Monmouth University to Offer Homeland Security Degree

2011-05-19T12:24:00.000-04:00

The following article appeared in the May 10, 2011 Asbury Park Press
TOMS RIVER — Ocean County College and Monmouth University signed an agreement Monday to establish a partnership for a curriculum that will offer students a four-year degree in homeland security. OCC is the first community college in New Jersey to offer an associate’s degree in homeland security. The partnership with Monmouth will allow students here to make a seamless transition to the university to continue their undergraduate work. The first transfer of OCC students to Monmouth under the terms of the new agreement is expected to take place in the fall of 2013.
“One of the things that people find it hard to envision is how enormous the scope and scale of this discipline is and what the potential is for future employment,” OCC President Jon H. Larson said in public remarks at a signing ceremony for the agreement Monday afternoon on the Toms River campus. “Osama bin Laden’s (death) notwithstanding, the issues are not going to go away.And we are going to be in this business for a long time to come.” Thomas Pearson, provost and vice president for academic affairs at Monmouth, said the United States has a vital need for colleges and universities to develop such curricula in homeland security. “One of the great opportunities in partnership is that we will be learning from you and your faculty, just as your faculty will learn from us,” Pearson said. “And we think we’re putting together a curricular path for students who start here to come to Monmouth and do very, very well in homeland security and perhaps go onto pursue a master’s degree in homeland security.” Ben Castillo, dean of OCC’s School of Social Sciences and Human Services, said when the two-year college began to put together a curriculum, the question was how focused the area of study homeland security should be. “If you just take a look at some of the threat potentials, whether it be ... chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear. “You go into the medical field ... engineering. It’s not only the emergency response component, but those things that are sort of in the background, the people who are in the background to keep us safe,” Castillo said. Therefore, the agreement with Monmouth University will serve to narrow the focus of where OCC’s homeland security program should best funnel its resources and attention, Castillo explained. “It’s a good marriage between the two institutions,” said Stan Green, dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Monmouth. The university has developed a five-year-program for undergraduate and graduate degrees in homeland security, and so this now adds an associate’s degree component as a step in that process, Green said. Monmouth University President Paul G. Gaffney II will deliver the commencement address at OCC’s 44th annual graduation ceremony May 26.

Erik Larsen

Transfer Program Pays Off for Community College Honors Students

2011-05-18T10:56:00.000-04:00

Inside Higher Ed reported about a successful transfer program at Dickinson College, Pennsylvania, where minority honors students coming from Montgomery County Community College, Maryland were awarded financial aid packages. Great opportunities and partnerships can come from outside state borders.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/05/17/community_college_transfer_students_excel_at_dickinson_college

New National Group Advocates for Affordable Quality Higher Education

2011-05-18T10:42:00.000-04:00

The Campaign for the Future of Higher Education - CFHE for short - is a new grassroots national campaign to support quality higher education. It was initiated in Los Angeles, California on January 21, 2011 by leaders of faculty organizations from 21 states. The mission of this campaign is to ensure that affordable quality higher education is accessible to all sectors of our society in the coming decades. This is a time of great change in higher education.
http://futureofhighered.org/index_HEUK.html

Is College Worth It?

2011-05-17T15:37:00.000-04:00

The following report is based on findings from a pair of Pew Research Center surveys conducted this spring. One is a telephone survey taken among a nationally representative sample of 2,142 adults ages 18 and older. The other is an online survey, done in association with the Chronicle of Higher Education, among the presidents of 1,055 two-year and four-year private, public, and for-profit colleges and universities. Among the findings:

"A majority of American general public (57%) say the higher education system in the United States fails to provide students with good value for the money they and their families spend. An even larger majority—75%—says college is too expensive for most Americans to afford. At the same time, however, an overwhelming majority of college graduates—86%—say that college has been a good investment for them personally."

"Only a quarter (24%) of college presidents surveyed say that, if given a choice, they would prefer that most faculty at their institution be tenured. About seven-in-ten say they would prefer that faculty be employed on annual or long term contracts."
http://pewsocialtrends.org/2011/05/15/is-college-worth-it/

New Research Criticizes the Quality of Undergraduate Learning

2011-05-17T12:41:00.002-04:00

In a recent New York Times article, "Your So-Called Education," authors Richard Arum and Josipa Roksa question the management and resulting quality of higher education in the United States. They write, "Too many institutions, for instance, rely primarily on student course evaluations to assess teaching. This creates perverse incentives for professors to demand little and give out good grades." http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/15/opinion/15arum.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=your%20so-called%20education&st=cse
Arum and Roksa are also the authors of the book, Academically Adrift: Limited Learning on College Campuses, which is in the Bankier Library collection.
http://library.brookdalecc.edu/record=b1134609~S0

Aspen Institute Eyes 120 Community Colleges as Potential Prize Winners

2011-05-03T14:09:00.002-04:00

As reported in the Chronicle of Higher Education, "The community colleges chosen represent the top 10 percent in the country, according to the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program. President Obama announced the Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence during the White House Summit on Community Colleges, in October. The purpose of the prize is to recognize community colleges with outstanding academic and work-force outcomes." Interestingly, none of the 120 community colleges selected are in New Jersey.
http://chronicle.com/article/120-Community-Colleges-Are/127249/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=enc (authentication required for off-campus access)

The Aspen Institute's website describing their million dollar prize for college excellence:
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/aspen-prize

Professor X Discusses Higher Education from an Adjunct's Perspective

2011-05-03T13:57:00.000-04:00

In the new book, In the Basement of the Ivory Tower, an anonymous English adjunct faculty member presents a critical view of academic life. As noted in the New York Times book review, "To teach a rising tide of students, colleges have increasingly turned to adjuncts, holders of advanced degrees who are lured in by the prestige of college teaching, hired on a piecework basis, paid low wages and shut out of academic decision-making." Professor X is particularly caustic in his discussion of undergraduates unable to produce college-level work: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/01/books/review/book-review-in-the-basement-of-the-ivory-tower-by-professor-x.html

Free for the Taking--Online Higher Education from the Best

2011-04-29T10:52:00.004-04:00

Harvard University Open Courseware
http://www.extension.harvard.edu/DistanceEd/how-it-works/default.jsp;jsessionid=GAGPDJCOMADG#sample

MIT(Massachusetts Institute of Technology) OpenCourseWare (OCW) is a web-based publication of virtually all MIT course content. OCW is open and available to the world and is a permanent MIT activity.
http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/

Khan Academy--over 2,100 videos and 100 self-paced lessons delivered for free--the brain child of MIT educated math and science wiz, Salman Khan
http://www.khanacademy.org/

Plagiarism, Scholarship and Its Social Connections

2011-04-29T08:46:00.002-04:00

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that social sites on the web have become prime locations where students are taking materials that are used in plagiarism. What is particularly troubling from this new trend is that, “People are relying more on their peers than on experts.”
http://chronicle.com/blogs/wiredcampus/plagiarism-appears-to-be-going-social/31142
(access to this article from off campus will require user authentication)

Top 10 Fastest Growing Career Areas

2011-04-25T17:23:00.002-04:00

In their report on continuing education, the New York Times listed the top ten fastest growing fields for those retooling their skills and credentials. Biomedical engineers are expected to be in great demand with 12,000 new jobs predicted by 2018. Home health aides and personal & home care aides will see up to 50% growth in their employment fields. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/17/education/edlife/edl-17conted-t.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=top%2010%20list%20continuing%20ed&st=cse

2011-04-12T09:11:00.001-04:00

Inside HigherEd reported on the discussion about the Voluntary Framework of Accountability (VFA) taking place at the American Association of Community Colleges. They quote Joe May, president of the Louisiana Community and Technical College System and member of the VFA steering committee. “We’ve been unable to tell our story in a meaningful way that will align with our mission,” May said of community colleges. “We know we’re great at what we do … but we’ve never had the data to tell that story, and we’ve been unable to come to an agreement as to what that looks like. Are we really making transformations to people’s lives that add value and make a difference? We need to weigh how to compare ourselves … and that will help us tell our story more accurately than we’ve ever done before.”
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/04/12/update_on_voluntary_framework_of_accountability_pilot_testing

The Chronicle of Higher Education similarly reports that "Community Colleges Are Urged to Become Bolder Advocates for Their Sector."
http://chronicle.com/article/Community-Colleges-Are-Urged/127079/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en (Access to the Chronicle will require user authentication from off-campus)

Finding New Sources of Revenue for Brookdale

2011-04-06T09:45:00.007-04:00

The challenges of the current economic climate are bringing an ever greater need for finding new community college funding sources. At Brookdale we see a looming budget shortfall which must be managed with as little impact as possible on the overall quality of education. One option is to seek new revenue streams. The following links provide discussion related to financial options colleges can consider:

In Higher Education Budgets and the Global Recession: Tracking Varied National Responses and Their Consequences, a 2010 research paper by John Aubrey Douglass, University of California, Berkeley, he presents a broad discussion of what various countries are doing on behalf of their higher education systems. This is one source of useful information as Brookdale considers its internationalizing options.
http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED511965.pdf

"Generating New Sources of Revenue" by Tony Zeiss is one chapter is from Successful Approaches to Fundraising and Development, part of the series New Directions for Community Colleges
http://0-content.ebscohost.com.library.brookdalecc.edu/pdf10/pdf/2003/0YG/01Dec03/11984718.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=11984718&S=R&D=tfh&EbscoContent=dGJyMNXb4kSeprQ4v%2BbwOLCmr0meprdSsKi4SrKWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMOHg8IThpq5RuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA
(access from off-campus will require user authentication)

Community College Week has an article, "What are They Doing Right?" which analyzes the sucessful business strategies employed by proprietary institutions of higher education.
http://0-content.ebscohost.com.library.brookdalecc.edu/pdf10/pdf/2003/CCW/07Jul03/10288429.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=10288429&S=R&D=tfh&EbscoContent=dGJyMNXb4kSeprQ4v%2BbwOLCmr0meprdSs6m4TLGWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMOHg8IThpq5RuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA
(access from off-campus will require user authentication)

In 2009, Bergen Community College's student retention efforts to maintain its funding stream was presented in an article appearing in the Community College Journal of Research and Practice http://0-content.ebscohost.com.library.brookdalecc.edu/pdf23_24/pdf/2009/1HM/01Nov09/44653394.pdf?T=P&P=AN&K=44653394&S=R&D=tfh&EbscoContent=dGJyMNXb4kSeprQ4v%2BbwOLCmr0mep65Srqu4TLCWxWXS&ContentCustomer=dGJyMOHg8IThpq5RuePfgeyx44Dt6fIA
(access from off-campus will require user authentication)

A View from the Outside In: Community Colleges as Entrepreneurial Community Learning Centers, a 2002 report published in ERIC, touts the role of community college consortial groups developing business plans for their programs and services
http://www.eric.ed.gov/PDFS/ED470475.pdf

The Center for Immigration Studies on Hispanic Population Growth in the US

2011-04-05T11:28:00.000-04:00

As a follow-up to earlier IPEC posting about the growing Hispanic population numbers in New Jersey, the Center for Immigration for Studies offers the following:
Salvadoran-American journalist Carlos Rajo, an analyst for Telemundo, recently provided a concise explanation of the damage the U.S. would suffer if the ever-larger cohort of Latino young people do not receive an education that prepares them for the future. Rajo said that a failed education doesn't just hurt the individual: "The state is also hurt because it receives less taxes during the lifetime of a person who does not complete his education," he said.
http://cis.org/kammer/telemundos-solid-journalism

Students' Misplaced Sense of Entitlement?

2011-04-04T11:08:00.000-04:00

Do you agree with Elayne Clift in her commentary published in a recent edition of The Chronicle of Higher Education that students have what she calls a "misplaced sense of entitlement"? Does what she has to say about students of today ring true for you in your experiences and interactions with them? Or are the students at BCC different from what Clift sees as a pervasive national trend in students' behavior reflecting
"rude behavior, lack of intellectual rigor," or both, along with a "frightening decline in student performance and academic standards at institutions of higher learning"? Check out Clift's commentary to see if you agree or disagree with her judgments.

http://chronicle.com/article/Students-Should-Check-Their/126890/

State Funding for Community Colleges

2011-04-01T07:04:00.000-04:00

This Inside Higher Ed. article discusses some interesting variations in state rationales for funding community colleges.

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/03/31/state_budgets_and_community_college_funding

New Jersey Department of Labor Reports on Diversity in the State

2011-03-29T08:42:00.001-04:00

The latest issue of NJ Labor Market Views reports that the population of Hispanics (or Latinos) increased by 39.2 percent in New Jersey between 2000 and 2010. They also note that the fastest growing racial group in the State was Asian, which increased by 51.1 percent during the past decade. In culturally diverse New Jersey, just over 23% of Monmouth County's total population were members of a minority group. In neighboring Middlesex County the proportion of minorities in the population is 50% -- more than double that amount.
http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/lpa/pub/lmv/LMV_2.pdf

Who Should Decide What Students Learn?

2011-03-28T16:02:00.000-04:00

Who should determine what defines and drives curriculum and what students learn? To what extent should the federal government have a hand in directing the curriculum of our schools? Read the article, "'Curriculum' Definition Raises Red Flags" by Education Week's Catherine Gewertz to learn more about this increasingly complex issue.

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2011/03/23/26curriculum.h30.html?tkn=XQZF8Ew7XPeRb9TDOhxfZzkTiWf%2FZYw5ZU9f&cmp=clp-edweek

White House Continues Community College Summit Meetings

2011-03-25T12:54:00.000-04:00

On March 9, 2011 Lone Star Community College, Texas hosted a Community College Summit which focused on the relationships between 2-year and 4-year higher education institutions and transfer issues. The following link will play a 4 hour streaming video of this meeting.
http://hosted.mediasite.com/mediasite/Viewer/?peid=c51e0738a57c4f0096b0c24a35e6db6a1d

Freeholders Approve Monmouth County Budget

2011-03-25T08:25:00.002-04:00

The Asbury Park Press for March 25, 2011 reports that the Monmouth County Freeholders approved the budget and maintained a flat tax rate for residents by dipping into surplus funds. Hopes are high that an economic revitalization will stabilize local funding sources. Future budget plans will examine further options for cutting spending.

"Freeholders hold line on Monmouth County tax rate

Written by NINA RIZZO STAFF WRITER
11:38 PM, Mar. 24, 2011

SHREWSBURY — The Monmouth County Board of Freeholders adopted on Thursday a $491.5 million budget for 2011 that maintains a flat tax rate without sacrificing any county programs or services. Craig Marshall, the county's chief financeofficer, said the final budget figure is $1.9 million, or 0.39 percent, lower than the2010 spending plan. The amount to be raised by taxation is $302,475,000, the same as last year's tax levy. The board voted 4-1 to approve the budget, with Freeholder John P. Curley disapproving on the grounds that the board was relying too heavily on surplus funds to balance the budget. "You do not balance budgets on nonrecurring funds without making corresponding cuts," he said. Freeholder Director Robert Clifton acknowledged the board made a "risky move" by taking $43.8 million from the surplus account, but argued that the county's revenue forecast is looking brighter. Moreover, county residents who are struggling financially cannot endure a greater tax burden at this time. "I felt trying to get the tax levy down was worth the risk," Clifton said. The freeholders introduced a $496 million budget Feb. 24 that called for the elimination of 90 positions and a small tax hike. The board said back then it would continue to find additional savings to shave expenses wherever possible. The board announced at a March 3 budget hearing that Sheriff Shaun Golden agreed to cut $3.7 million from his original budget. And, at the afternoon workshop, Marshall said the freeholders decided to use more surplus funds and dig deeper into several areas to achieve a flat tax. Those areas are: $500,000 from the vocational school district (an equal amount of state aid had recently been restored); $230,000 from the mosquito commission; and $70,000 from the Superintendent of Election. Marshall said the board took an additional $6,025,000 from surplus, bringing the total amount to be used at $43,863,000. That leaves approximately $34 million in the rainy day account."

Changing Education Paradigms

2011-03-23T18:22:00.000-04:00

This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's Benjamin Franklin award. The 11 or so minutes will be worth your while, even just to remind you why you got into education to begin with or perhaps to make you think about education in ways you may never have before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

Ten Federal Issues Affecting Colleges

2011-03-22T18:29:00.001-04:00

Read the 2011 Legislative Primer's Legislative Update to learn about ten issues the 112th Congress has deemed as having the most impact on colleges over the next year. They focus on a series of bills that will favorably influence the role community colleges will play in the education of their students.

N. J. Labor Market Views--New State Publication

2011-03-17T11:12:00.002-04:00

A new online publication by the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development will "cover a wide range of labor market issues and demographic insights. N.J. Labor Market Views will look at issues such as New Jersey through the lens of the 2010 Census; the latest demographic pictures; state, regional and local employment and unemployment situations and snapshots of the state’s key industries, to name a few. N.J. Labor Market Views will help you keep New Jersey’s labor market situation in focus." Take a look at it to see what's happening in the state. You'll notice that there's little mention of Monmouth County. Perhaps we'll receive more attention in a future issue:

http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/forms_pdfs/LMI/LaborMarketViews/LMV_1.pdf

America's Rude Democracy Needs Political Civility

2011-03-11T16:27:00.000-05:00

Susan Herbst, author of Rude Democracy: Civility and Incivility in American Politics, offers a historical overview about troubled political discourse in the United States and her suggestions for improved communication processes. According to Herbst we need to create a "culture of listening," learn how to gather critical and appropriate evidence, and educate students about effective techniques of argumentation. To read her article from The Key Reporter:
http://www.pbk.org/home/FocusNews.aspx?id=685

U.S. Department of Education OVACE Virtual Symposium for Community Colleges

2011-03-10T15:03:00.000-05:00

OVACE, The Office of Vocational and Adult Education is sponsoring a virtual Community College Regional Summit the week of April 25, to bring together community college leaders, faculty, students, business leaders, philanthropic organizations, and other workforce development experts to discuss the role that community colleges play in efforts to increase the number of college graduates and prepare graduates to lead the 21st century workforce. To find out more and become part of the activity:

http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/index.html?src=oc

An Unlikely Alliance -- Chris Christie and Corey Booker

2011-03-09T13:39:00.000-05:00

An article in the recent issue of Newsweek tells about the strong working relationship between New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Newark Mayor Corey Booker. Despite being on different sides of the political fence they often can find agreement on the major issues affecting New Jersey. Booker's approach is to stress the "politics of opportunity over that of grievance and entitlement."
http://www.newsweek.com/2011/03/06/best-frenemies.html

As Faculty Members Age, Tough Decisions Lie Ahead

2011-03-08T09:26:00.000-05:00

Inside Higher Ed has a posting about the looming retirement of vast numbers from the professorate. As the "gray wave" decides whether to remain or retire from colleges and universities across the nation, their status will provide a new set of challenges in higher education. Should there be a mandatory retirement age for college professors? How will a new generation of junior faculty define their roles? How will all this affect college finances? The article goes on to note that, "what distinguishes higher education in general and professors in particular is how they relate to their institutions...these relationships can run very deep, particularly at small liberal arts colleges, and they can make professors even more leery of leaving. James H. Mullen, president of Allegheny College said, "For so many of our faculty, their identity is wrapped up in the life of our institution." The faculty of Brookdale can clearly relate to Dr. Mullen's observation. To read the full article:
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/03/08/large_numbers_of_retiring_professors_pose_problems_for_colleges

The Prodigal: A Charter School and High-Stakes Test Conversion

2011-03-05T09:58:00.000-05:00

In this article, a New York University research professor and former secretary of education shares why she no longer favors charter schools or "school choice" and high-stakes testing. Why she experienced this change of heart has all to do with the need for "a national conversation" about what we really need to address when we consider students' needs and how they can succeed.

http://bcm.bc.edu/issues/winter_2011/endnotes/the-prodigal.html

CUNY Adjusts Amidst Tide of Remedial Students

2011-03-05T09:48:00.000-05:00

This recent New York Times Article presents the dilemma one major college school system faces having what equates to a perfect storm. On the one hand, more and more students are in need of remediation, and on the other, CUNY, likes most schools, are experiencing a severe decrease in state aid. The article discusses how CUNY professors are having to rethink how they teach as a result of the the need to do more with less.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/nyregion/04remedial.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

University of Phoenix Evolves in Response to a Changing Economic and Academic Climate

2011-03-04T20:52:00.001-05:00

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported on changes taking place at the United States' largest higher education institution, the University of Phoenix. The continued national economic downturn is affecting their student enrollment numbers as well as the repayment of existing student loans at the institution. A considerable numbers of under-prepared students enrolled in their programs of study brought new academic challenges to the University. In response, the University of Phoenix decided to examine and redesign its operations. Among the changes made it, "ended a compensation schedule tied to enrollment, began a required orientation program for inexperienced students, and instituted a host of other reforms in marketing and nearly every other important facet of this 438,000-student institution."
http://0-chronicle.com.library.brookdalecc.edu/article/Fast-Growing-U-of-Phoenix/126260/
(Access to this article from off-campus will require authentication)

Complete College America Launches $10 Million Grant Program for States

2011-03-01T11:42:00.000-05:00

Governors from all fifty states are eligible to apply for a new grant iniative, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. States that demonstrate a commitment to develop and deploy innovative, state-wide strategies to substantially increase college completion are eligible to earn one of ten $1 million, 18-month implementation grants.

http://view.s4.exacttarget.com/?j=fe94157173620c7f76&m=fea915707565077c75&ls=fef61670736c0d&l=ff62167472&s=ff291d737c65&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe901d707363067f70&r=0

The Role and Identity of Community Colleges

2011-02-22T18:54:00.000-05:00

What is a community college? What was and is its mission? Will its mission change in the near future? How does a community college differ from a four year institution of higher learning? How do you see your role as someone who works at a community college?

If any or all of these questions are of interest to you check out the February 14th choice in the link below called "Walker Says Obama `Punted' Budget; Snyder on Education" The segment with Tom Snyder, President of Ivy Tech Community College, discusses the dynamic and challenging role of community colleges in our country today. It is about halfway through pocast.

http://www.bloomberg.com/podcasts/hays-advantage/

Video Books -- A New Format For Learning

2011-02-22T09:11:00.000-05:00

Learning From YouTube, presents a new medium for college students. It is a video book by Pitzer College professor Alexandra Juhasz being offered for free by MIT Press. A recent article in the Chronicle of Higher Education discusses this innovation :
http://chronicle.com/article/Free-Video-Book-From/126427/?sid=wc&utm_source=wc&utm_medium=en (authentication required for off-campus access to this publication)

To "read" Learning From YouTube:
http://vectors.usc.edu/projects/learningfromyoutube/index.php

Ocean County College Troubles Bring Lawsuit By Employees

2011-02-16T12:55:00.001-05:00

The February 15, 2011 Asbury Park Press carried the following article about litigation against Ocean County College by its faculty association.

"OCC faculty sues trustees, claims OPRA refusal is a cover-up"
The Faculty Association of Ocean County College is suing the college's board of trustees, accusing it of violating the state Open Public Records Act. Filed in Superior Court on Friday, the lawsuit stems from public statements the outgoing purchasing manager made to the board on Dec. 6, when he told the trustees that procurement procedures at OCC were not being done according to the law. Joseph Reilly, the purchasing manager, who is also a former state deputy attorney general, had gone before before the board in a last-ditch effort to plead for his job. Because of a projected $1.5 million budget deficit anticipated for fiscal year 2012, Reilly was one of 13 staffers who stand to lose their jobs on June 30 as part of a larger financial restructuring plan. On Jan. 19, Chris Berzinski, a field representative with the New Jersey Education Association, filed an OPRA request on behalf of the faculty association for copies of all memos, e-mails, letters and correspondence that Reilly wrote regarding procurement and purchasing problems at OCC. But in two letters to Berzinski dated Jan. 26 and Jan. 31, the college rejected the request on the grounds such memos under the OPRA law are considered "advisory, consultative, or deliberative material, therefore . . . exempt" from public access. "Their refusal to supply what are clearly public documents appears to be an attempt to cover up a situation that may be embarrassing, or perhaps illegal," Berzinski said. "Mr. Reilly appears to be a whistle-blower who is being punished for bringing legitimate matters to the attention of his bosses." OCC President Jon H. Larson was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, meeting with congressional representatives in an effort to secure federal funds for the college. He said the board investigated Reilly's Dec. 6 statements and has concluded that no law has been broken. "We know for a fact that there has been no improper purchasing and procurement practices at the college," Larson said. "Quite frankly, this falls under what I would call "the rubric of union hijinks.' " The Larson administration has been at odds with the college's three bargaining units on campus, represented by either the NJEA or the American Federation of Teachers. The college's 456 permanent employees, almost all of whom are unionized, are working without new contracts. Larson said what Reilly cited Dec. 6 as illegal purchasing and procurement procedures were in fact practices Reilly simply did not agree with from a professional standpoint. That is a bureaucratic distinction, not a legal one, he said. As for the rejection of the OPRA request, Larson said his administration has followed the law, having consulted with its legal counsel. The documents requested are privileged information under OPRA, he said. "These documents are internal memorandums that are consultative, advisory or deliberative, and they are not entitled to that information," Larson said. "We are not going to change our point of view for the union." Berzinski said if taxpayer and tuition money are being improperly used, the public has a right to know what Reilly warned his superiors and what his superiors wrote back to him.
"That right to know is even more acute for the staff and faculty who are being asked to accept the administration's claims that they are managing a fiscal crisis that calls for some employees to sacrifice their jobs," Berzinski said.

Erik Larsen: 732-557-5709; elarsen@njpressmedia.com

Fort Monmouth End Looms As More Partner Businesses Downsize

2011-02-15T09:31:00.002-05:00

NJ BIZ reports that two Fort Monmouth related companies, CTSC and Tecom-Vinnell Services have filed so-called WARN notices, effective April 11, indicating they plan to undergo massive layoffs.
http://www.njbiz.com/article-multiple/85915-warn-ftm

Freshman Attitudes Which May Limit Academic Engagement

2011-02-15T09:07:00.001-05:00

In their recently released National Freshman Attitudes Report, higher education consulting group Noel-Levitz describes some prevailing attitudes and behaviors of many first generation college students. These include irregular study habits, difficulties with math, and a lack of interest in books. What strategies does Brookdale need to employ to change these attitudes among students and encourage them to become more academically engaged?
http://blog.noellevitz.com/2011/02/08/3-freshman-attitudes-limit-academic-engagement/?utm_source=Strategies02092011&utm_campaign=optin&utm_medium=email

New Study on Latinos' Use of Technology

2011-02-10T13:42:00.001-05:00

"Latinos are less likely than whites to access the internet, have a home broadband connection or own a cell phone, according to survey findings from the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. Latinos lag behind blacks in home broadband access but have similar rates of internet and cell phone use." To see this report and other research by the Pew Center:
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1887/latinos-digital-technology-internet-broadband-cell-phone-use

Gang Presence Documented by the N.J. State Police--Monmouth and Ocean Counties Report High Numbers

2011-02-07T12:02:00.002-05:00

The 2010 Street Gang Survey marks the fourth gang survey conducted by the New Jersey State Police in the past nine years. Nine New Jersey counties reported the presence of 90 or more gangs within their borders: Essex (166), Monmouth (132), Middlesex (126), Ocean (114), Bergen (108), Camden (107), Burlington (101), Atlantic (97), and Union (95). To read the full 161 page report:
http://njsp.org/info/pdf/gangs_in_nj_2010.pdf

New Report From Harvard University States That A Baccalaureate Degree Is Not Right For Everyone--Some Profit Better From Vocational Education

2011-02-03T14:38:00.005-05:00

Pathways to Prosperity: Meeting the Challenge of Preparing Young Americans for the 21st Century is a 52 page report from the Harvard University Graduate School of Education. In it they discuss the current challenges facing today's youth; such as more demanding labor markets, along with widening skills and opportunity gaps. They stress the importance of a vocational education for the "forgotten half," those who will not seek or obtain a baccalaurate degree. The Georgetown Center, for example, projects that 14 million job openings—nearly half of those that will be filled byworkers with post-secondary education—will go to people with an associate’s degree or occupational certificate. This discussion has clear implications for both credit and OBCD vocational programs offered at the College.
http://www.gse.harvard.edu/blog/news_features_releases/2010/02/pathways-to-prosperity-seeks-to-redefine-american-education-system.html
To read the full report:
http://www.agi.harvard.edu/projects/Pathways_to_Prosperity_Feb2011.pdf

In response to the report, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan offered remarks including the following:
 The Pathways to Prosperity study envisions a new system of career and technical education that constitutes a radical departure from the vocational education of the past.
 I am not here today to endorse the specifics of your policy recommendations. I want instead to suggest two takeaway messages from your study and the Department's reform efforts.
 First, for far too long, CTE (Career and Technical Education) has been the neglected stepchild of education reform. That neglect has to stop. And second, the need to re-imagine and remake career and technical education is urgent. CTE has an enormous, if often overlooked impact on students, school systems, and our ability to prosper as a nation.
 I am admittedly impatient for reform. But patience is not called for in the face of opportunity gaps. Children get only one chance at an education. They cannot wait on reform. It is time to finish the transformation of the old vocational education system into the new CTE.
http://www.ed.gov/news/speeches/new-cte-secretary-duncans-remarks-career-and-technical-education

Does Class Size Matter?

2011-02-02T19:24:00.000-05:00

As economic pressures appear to force the college's hand in increasing class sizes, the time is right to really consider the importance of maintaining the size of classes that are taught at BCC. From recruitment promises to the community that our classes are small to the college commitment to the significance of addressing the individual needs of students as a cornerstone to learning, how far will we go before larger class sizes begin to erode student success and retention? How far will we let economy drive decisions that impact valuable educational tools like discussions, interaction with peers, group work, cooperative learning, conferencing that provides frequent and timely feedback, and hands-on experiences that foster critical and reflective thinking that create a valuable and memorable classroom dynamic where students actively engage in their learning processes and are not looked upon as passive receptacles to deposit knowledge and information into?

The article below from Inside Higher Ed perhaps can fuel important discussion relative to the significance of class size in college, but more important for the Brookdale Community.

"Does Class Size Matter" by Daniel W. Barwick

Lumina Foundation At Work To Establish Frameworks To Measure Student Learning

2011-01-26T23:20:00.000-05:00

Lumina Foundation for Education reports that they have released a proposed version of a Degree Profile, a framework for defining and ultimately measuring the general knowledge and skills that individual students need to acquire in order to earn degrees at various levels, such as associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
http://www.luminafoundation.org/newsroom/news_releases/2011-01-25.html
To read the executive summary:
http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/Degree_Profile-Executive_Summary.pdf
To read the full report:
http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/The_Degree_Qualifications_Profile.pdf

Community College Newswire

2011-01-24T15:49:00.000-05:00

You can subscribe to a free newsletter from Paper Clip Communications entitled Community College Newswire. Scroll to the bottom of the page on the link and provide your email information.
http://www.paper-clip.com/ME2/Default.asp

The First Step Towards Measuring Student Success Taken By AACC

2011-01-24T15:31:00.001-05:00

Inside HigherEd has an article about the initial step being taken by the Voluntary Framework of Accountability, a project of the American Association of Community Colleges, that aims to create national metrics gauging how well two-year institutions serve their students and fulfill their assorted missions. Four New Jersey community colleges are among the 40 pilot institutions. (Raritan Valley, Hudson, Passaic, and Burlington)
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/01/19/voluntary_framework_of_accountability_releases_first_set_of_community_college_standards

The Federal Budget and Community Colleges, What's the Forecast?

2011-01-24T14:19:00.001-05:00

The Chronicle of Higher Education warns of federal funding challenges looming in the future. As they reported, "Republican leaders, in control of the House of Representatives, have vowed to significantly cut domestic spending. Because they are unlikely to trim budgets for the military, domestic security, and programs for veterans, the federal presence in areas like education and transportation is vulnerable. Community-college officials worry that money for the Pell Grant program, which three million community-college students rely on annually, could be reduced, or that funds could be siphoned from the $2-billion career-training program approved last year."
http://chronicle.com/article/With-Budget-Cutting-Ascendant/125950/?key=SDghKFRkOXQTYilnbTYVYz9XbX04Mxp1ayFOOi52bl5cFg%3D%3D
(Off campus access to this article will require authentication on the Brookdale website.)

Horizon Report -- 2010 -- Emerging Technologies In Higher Education

2011-01-24T13:59:00.001-05:00

The Horizon Report, an ongoing annual publication of the EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative and the New Media Consortium, has issued its 2010 edition. In each issue of these reports, six emerging technologies or practices are described that are likely to enter mainstream use on campuses over the next one to five years. Do you see something in the latest edition which is related to your academic division or service area at Brookdale? Do you see something new you would like to explore? Mobile computing, open coursework, and electronic textbooks are three of the technologies discussed in this report.
http://www.nmc.org/pdf/2010-Horizon-Report.pdf

2010 -- A Banner Year For Community Colleges

2011-01-24T13:39:00.000-05:00

Community College Week provides an annual report on the state of community colleges across the United States:
http://www.ccweek.com/news/templates/template.aspx?articleid=2250&zoneid=7

Residency Bill

2011-01-13T12:42:00.000-05:00

Recently bill A-2478 moved forward from the Assembly to the governor's desk. If it passes, any public employee hired after the bill's effective date will be required to either remain in the state or move to New Jersey within one year of being employed by his/her public employer. Though current public employees will be grandfathered, any break in service will result in an employee being subject to the bill's requirements.

What are the repercussions of such a law? Does any of it have any relevance or value to education or is it purely an economically driven initiative? If it passes, how will it affect the pool of candidates we regularly attract for faculty, staff, administrative, and custodial positions. Read more from the link below and feel free to share your thoughts.

http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20101210/NEWS01/12100334/Assembly-committee-OKs-state-residency-bill

State and Local Budgets Predicted to Bring Greater National Woes to the Economy

2010-12-20T09:24:00.003-05:00

State Budgets: The Day of Reckoning-Reported by CBS News on 60 Minutes, Steve Kroft tells of the growing financial difficulties state and local governments across the country are facing.
Governor Chris Christie comments about New Jersey's situation.
URL: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/12/19/60minutes/main7166220.shtml

Income falls in Monmouth County

2010-12-15T08:36:00.002-05:00

This article from the Asbury Park Press presents some disappointing local economic news:
"If there's one thing certain from the newest Census release, it's this: income in Monmouth County has fallen. But by how much depends on how you look at the data.
In the largest data release of the past 10 years, the Census Bureau data — the American Community Survey — shows median household income fell 3 percent to 6 percent between 1999 and 2009. Meanwhile, incomes in Ocean County remained largely flat.
However, because of the way the numbers are calculated, it's difficult to compare the apples in this year's data with the oranges from prior years.
Beginning this year, the Census Bureau will publish data every year for even the smallest municipality. Last year, data wasn't available for any city, borough or township with fewer than 20,000 people. The year before, the cutoff was 65,000 residents.
But unlike the census taken every 10 years — data from the 2010 Census will be released next year — the annual numbers are based on as much as five years of data.
The five-year averages for 2009 include data collected from 2005 to 2009, covering both the tail end of the housing boom and the subsequent crash of Wall Street and the housing market. For municipalities with fewer than 20,000 people, this is the only data available since the 2000 Census.
What's more, some data include huge margins of error that render the estimates almost meaningless.
Consider this: When adjusted for inflation, changes in household income from 1999 to 2009 fell most sharply in Allenhurst: between 21 percent and 44 percent. At the other end of the range, income in Loch Arbour increased about 27 percent.
Maybe. In Loch Arbor, for example, the Census Bureau estimated the 2009 median household income at $116,250, but that figure could be off by as much as $65,752. That means income could have increased by as much as 98 percent. Or it could have fallen by as much as 45 percent. For larger geographies, such as counties and some municipalities, the Census Bureau also puts out three-year averages, and one-year averages are available for counties and some municipalities with at least 65,000 people.
But those smaller time periods also come with larger margins of error. To try to gauge the impact of the housing crash and the sour economy on household income, the Asbury Park Press initially analyzed one-year data and calculated a drop in Monmouth County household income by as much as 9.8 percent between 2004 and 2009.
Russel Like, principal planner for the Monmouth County Planning Board, cautioned against using the one-year data because of the amount of error in those numbers. He also suggested comparing the five-year data released this week with data from the 2000 Census to further reduce the margin of error. 'I understand what you found in the numbers,' Like said. 'I just don't think they're all that reliable, and I would put a lot more faith in the five-year numbers.' Using that data, household income in Monmouth County fell 3.4 percent to 5.9 percent between 1999 and 2009. In Ocean County, income rose as much as 0.9 percent but could have fallen as much as 2.2 percent."

Source: U.S. Census Bureau 2000 Census and 2005-2009 American Community Survey. 1999 dollars adjusted for inflation.

BY CHRISTOPHER SCHNAARS • STAFF WRITER • DECEMBER 14, 2010
732-643-4220; cschnaars@app.com

The Dream Act For Illegal Immigrants In The U.S. -- Will It Become A Reality?

2010-12-09T15:57:00.000-05:00

According to its supporters, the DREAM Act, a bipartisan piece of legislation pioneered by Senator Orin Hatch (Republican, Utah) and Senator Richard Durban (Democrat, Illinois), can solve injustice in our society. Under the rigorous provisions of the DREAM Act, qualifying undocumented youth would be eligible for a 6 year long conditional path to citizenship that requires completion of a college degree or two years of military service. Supporters of the Act have a portal for further information:
http://dreamact.info/

Across the U.S. Community Colleges Are Setting New Goals for Completion Rates

2010-12-09T15:11:00.002-05:00

As reported in Inside Higher Ed, community colleges in California, Maryland, Virginia, and Texas are setting their aim for higher completion rates. As these schools raise the bar, how does that challenge us to do even better?
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/12/09/completion

Financial Troubles Loom Large at Ocean County College

2010-12-08T09:17:00.003-05:00

The Asbury Park Press recently reported about the current situation at Ocean County College:

OCC belt-tightening to include transfers, layoffs

By ERIK LARSEN • STAFF WRITER • December 6, 2010

TOMS RIVER — Ocean County College unveiled a financial restructuring plan Monday in the wake of its declaration last month that a fiscal emergency exists and more than a dozen staffers would lose their jobs. The emergency, a legal distinction, gives the college administration of President Jon H. Larson greater authority over its 456 permanent employees, most of whom are members of the union locals of the New Jersey Education Association or the American Federation of Teachers. The college administration has been feuding with those unions in contract negotiations and now over the cause of the current crisis: a projected $1.5 million budget deficit for fiscal year 2012, which begins on July 1 and ends on June 30, 2012. Under the plan, 35 employees are affected, with 22 to be reassigned or transferred on campus, and the remaining 13 to be laid off June 30, 2011. Had an emergency not been declared, the administration would have had to seek approval from its unions before such transfers or reassignments, an impossible hurdle given the combative attitude of union leaders, Larson contends. Chris Berzinski, a field representative for the NJEA, said at the college Board of Trustees meeting Monday, "There is, I have to tell you honestly, a lack of credibility on the part of the leadership of this college and its relations with its faculty and staff. "Doesn't make me happy to come here and say that. I'm not saying it for an advantage at the bargaining table, although we're at an impasse on a number of contracts." Most of the layoffs are in administration or represent administrative support roles. No faculty members are to be laid off. The restructuring plan also calls for cuts in overtime and utilities expenses, improved operational efficiencies, better future marketing and not replacing retiring employees, said Sara Winchester, college vice president of finance. "These are unprecedented times," Larson said at the meeting. "Our approach to the issues that we face has been to examine every single opportunity to reduce costs, to keep tuition at its present levels and to identify prospects for enrollment growth." The cause for the fiscal emergency comes from a combination of factors that became a full-blown crisis after two developments: The Ocean County Board of Freeholders informed the college it was cutting $500,000 in aid next year, and enrollment dropped almost a percentage point this fall when it had been expected to increase 3.5 percent. About 10,600 students are enrolled at OCC.

http://www.app.com/article/20101206/NEWS/12060345/OCC-belt-tightening-to-include-transfers-layoffs

A Tobacco Free Campus On 1-1-11

2010-12-01T16:04:00.041-05:00

Brookdale Community College will be joining the growing ranks of colleges and universities prohibiting the use of tobacco on their campuses. Here are a variety of links to sources related to this initiative:

Questions About Smoking, Tobacco and Health, from the American Cancer Society provides a 26 page informative general overview
http://www.cancer.org/acs/groups/cid/documents/webcontent/002974-pdf.pdf

One Step At A Time To A Tobacco-Free Campus, a 40 page manual for colleges and universities
http://www.tobaccofreeu.org/pdf/joal.pdf

Taking Tobacco Out of Higher Education: A Tobacco-Free Policy Toolkit, a 68 page manual created by the California Youth Advocacy Network
http://www.smokefreehome.org/downloads/Smokefree_Campus_Toolkit/Smokefree%20College%20Campus%20Policy%20Toolkit%20-%20Final%20Copy.pdf

Toward Tobacco-Free Campuses, an article from Inside Higher Ed, October 20,2009
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2009/10/20/tobacco

Colleges and Universities With 100% Tobacco-Free Campus Policies, a national list by the American Lung Association from November 2010
http://www.lungoregon.org/tobacco/pdf_word_doc/Tobacco-Free_Colleges_and_Universities_100.pdf

Smoke-Free College Campus Iniative from the American Lung Association
http://ww2.cancer.org/docroot/COM/content/div_Northwest/COM_5_1x_Smoke-Free_College_Campus_Initiative.asp

More information and resources from the American Lung Association website
http://www.lungusa.org/stop-smoking/tobacco-control-advocacy/reports-resources/

Implementing a Tobacco-Free Campus Initiative in Your Workplace, a toolkit from the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/hwi/toolkits/tobacco/index.htm

Half of North Carolina Community Colleges Have Smoke-Free Campuses, a November 17, 2010 news release from the North Carolina Health Wellness Trust Fund
http://www.healthwellnc.com/NCHWTFSiteAdmin/Documents/Press_GASOHalf_NCCommyCollegesSmokeFreeFINAL11910.pdf

"Statewide Diffusion of 100% Tobacco-Free College and University Policies," a research study published in Tobacco Control discusses the first four years of the North Carolina Tobacco-Free Colleges Iniative
http://www.otc.edu/Documents_Tobacco_Free/tobaccocontrol_adv_tfci.pdf

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation issued a report on November 17, 2010 entitled, States Continue Drastic Cuts to Tobacco Prevention Programs: Funding for Programs to Reduce Tobacco Use at Lowest Level Since 1999
http://www.rwjf.org/publichealth/product.jsp?id=71454

Time magazine article from March 22, 1971, "Cigarettes: After the Blackout" about the banning of cigarette advertising from American television and radio
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,904941,00.html

Americans For Non-Smokers Rights website
http://www.no-smoke.org/

Campaign For Tobacco-Free Kids website
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/

Student Debt Levels Rising to Pay for College

2010-11-24T14:40:00.000-05:00

As documented in a new report by the Pew Research Center, the costs of higher education continue to climb. The report states that, "For associate's degree and certificate recipients, the average loan increased to more than $12,600 from about $7,600 (all figures in 2008 dollars)."
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1807/increased-borrowing-college-student-loans-debt

New York Times Series -- Your Brain on Computers

2010-11-24T13:42:00.001-05:00

In the latest article from their ongoing series about technology and data affecting how people think and behave, the New York Times discusses, "Growing Up Digital, Seemingly Wired for Distraction." Interesting implications regarding students' attention spans and learning motivations are presented.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/technology/21brain.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=growing%20up%20digital&st=cse

Community College Completion Is Not Enough -- It Also Matters What Students Learn

2010-11-16T08:35:00.002-05:00

The Center for Community College Student Engagement has just released a report entitled, "The Heart of Student Success: Teaching, Learning, and College Completion," It centers on what the authors call, "deep learning, or broadly applicable thinking" which refers to reasoning, and judgment skills. Read the story from the Chronicle of Higher Education:
http://chronicle.com/article/Community-Colleges-Must-Focus/125344/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en
Read the executive summary: http://www.ccsse.org/publications/national_report_2010/36379tw/CCCSE_2010_exec_sum.pdf
Read the full report from CCSSE:
http://www.ccsse.org/publications/national_report_2010/36379tw/CCCSE_2010_national_report.pdf

Current Trends in Promoting and Marketing Colleges and Universities

2010-11-16T08:23:00.000-05:00

The Chronicle of Higher Education recently reported about, "How to Build a Perception of Greatness." They say, "It's hard to bottle the buzz about a hot college. But these five suggestions can help." Read on for some interesting suggestions:

http://chronicle.com/article/How-to-Build-the-Perception-of/125374/?sid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

Evaluating Programs for Community College Students--How Do We Know What Works?

2010-11-05T08:00:00.000-04:00

This paper was prepared for the White House Summit on Community Colleges by Thomas Brock for MDRC. MDRC is best known for mounting large-scale evaluations of real-world policies and programs targeted to low-income people.

http://www.mdrc.org/publications/571/paper.html

Governance Forum -- November 2, 2010

2010-10-29T13:47:00.004-04:00

IPEC Communication Update
Jim Cody and Jeanne Vloyanetes
Co-chairs, Enviromental Scanning Subcommittee

Measuring Student Success

Whitehouse Summit on Community College
http://www.whitehouse.gov/communitycollege

Inside Higher Ed article, "Measuring 2-Year Students' Success"
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/10/21/data

How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids--and What We Can Do About It, reviewed in the New York Times Book Review
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/books/19book.html?_r=2&emc=eta1

Terry O'Banion, long-time community college educator, shares his thoughts in Inside Higher Ed
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/08/16/obanion

The Full Treatment from SCUP--Society of College and University Planning

2010-10-25T12:18:00.001-04:00

For those who want to see the full report of what's on the horizon for higher education, take a look at the new Trends report just released by SCUP:
http://brookdalecc.edu/PDFFiles/PAR/SCUP_Trends.pdf

Defining Success For Two-Year College Students

2010-10-21T15:53:00.000-04:00

This article from Inside Higher Ed looks at the U.S. Department of Education's initiative to measure two-year college students' success.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/10/21/data

OVAE Provides Funding Opportunities

2010-10-21T12:06:00.001-04:00

U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE) Community College Website has some new content and features to check out:
http://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ovae/pi/cclo/index.html
OVAE is refocusing their website based on suggestions from community college presidents, trustees, faculty leaders, researchers, development directors, and students. The first new area of focus relates to information about funding sources. Take a look at their community college funding opportunities.

The Society of College and University Planners (SCUP) on Recent Trends in Higher Education

2010-10-19T08:28:00.004-04:00

Observation from SCUP:
Higher education needs to pay attention to how the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) progresses. The US federal administration has given clear signals that it will find ways to make changes, with or without legislation.

• The winners of the first round of Race to the Top funding focused on low-performing schools, teacher quality and distribution, state data systems, and the use of data and assessments (Education Week, January 4, 2010).
• The National Governors Association (NGA) and the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) released a common set of academic standards for English and mathematics in June. Their aim is to ensure consistent learning goals across the states (eSchool News, June 2, 2010).
• Computer-based testing and multiple measures of achievement are at the core of the administration’s requirements for assessment projects seeking funding from Race to the Top (eSchool News, April 16, 2010, www.eschoolnews.com/2010/04/16/assessments-get-21st-century-makeover/).

SCUP's Thoughts:
How will adopting common standards for K–12 education affect higher education in the long run? It’s a first step that’s never before been taken at this level in the US. We’re not predicting any quick movement towards a national education system, but adopting standards puts the US closer to how the rest of the world addresses education.
• While it might take a generation to see the results, campuses should plan for better-prepared students (The Chronicle of Higher Education, June 2, 2010, www.chronicle.com/article/New-National-Standards-Seek/65752/).
• The proposed revisions of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act include financing K–12 schools based on the academic progress of students, not enrollment, with additional support going to schools that are failing (The New York Times, February 1, 2010).
• The US Departments of Labor and Education are also pushing for reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act that provides funding for basic-skills, adult education, and job training. The goal is to leverage the common standards to ensure that students are both college and career ready (The Chronicle of Higher Education, March 25, 2010,
www.chronicle.com/article/A-Top-Education-Official-Pr/64842/).

New Jersey, as we all too well know, was not a finalist for Race to the Top funding. Our progress in K-12 educational reform will probably lag behind those states who have secured Race to the Top federal funds. How does this impact Brookdale's future students and their basic skills needs?

New In The Bankier Library--Ready To Be Borrowed

2010-10-12T10:13:00.001-04:00

Here are some recent issues of New Directions for Community Colleges available from the circulating collection of the Bankier Library. The online catalog links are listed with the titles:

Leadership in an Era of Change
http://library.brookdalecc.edu/record=b1123111~S0
Online Education
http://library.brookdalecc.edu/record=b1123365~S0
Contemplative Teaching and Learning
http://library.brookdalecc.edu/record=b1128981~S0

Eyes On The Prize--Especially For Community Colleges

2010-10-12T09:45:00.001-04:00

A $1,000,000 prize competition to recognize community colleges with outstanding academic and workforce outcomes was announced by President Obama at the White House Community College Summit. The Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence is a project of the Aspen Institute, in partnership with the Joyce Foundation, the Lumina Foundation for Education, Bank of America Charitable Foundation and the JP Morgan Chase Foundation, and was designed in cooperation with senior officials from the Obama Administration:
http://www.aspeninstitute.org/policy-work/aspen-prize

The Chronicle of Higher Education blogger, Kevin Carey shares his thoughts about this new initiative:
http://chronicle.com/blogs/brainstorm/the-new-1-million-community-college-prize/27490?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en

What type of opportunity is presented here for Brookdale Community College? What would we put forward as a best practice worthy of this award? Are we a contender for this prize?

Putting Community Colleges in the Spotlight

2010-10-08T15:44:00.001-04:00

A recent article published by The Chronicle of Higher Education, entitled "Historic White House Summit to Put Community Colleges in the Spotlight" by Jennifer Gonzalez (see link to it below) calls into question the commitment of the federal government's efforts to enhance the role of community colleges in "leading the world with the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020." The 12 billion dollar program initiative comes with criticism tied to a lack of organization, inclusion, corporate and local company sponsorship and influence, and outcomes tied to "employable skills" and "work-force success" that should make educators wary about what they willing to sell their souls for, so to speak.

Should we not look a gift horse in the mouth or is it a Trojan horse that we should be reluctant to invite into our town square?

http://chronicle.com/article/Community-Colleges-Are-in-the/124816/?sid=cc&utm_source=cc&utm_medium=en

The White House Summit On Community Colleges

2010-10-06T13:33:00.001-04:00

In case you didn't have the opportunity to see the first White House Summit on Community Colleges, which took place on October 5, 2010, here is a link to the day's proceedings and documents. http://www.whitehouse.gov/communitycollege and
http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2010/10/05/community-college-summit-closing-session
The summit presented an opportunity to bring together community colleges, business, philanthropy, federal and state policy leaders, and students to discuss how community colleges can help meet the job training and education needs of the nation’s evolving workforce, as well as the critical role these institutions play in achieving the President’s goal to lead the world with the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020.

How will Brookdale Community College be involved as new programs emerge?

An Unfortunate Death Raises Questions About Tolerance, Understanding, and Privacy

2010-10-05T11:12:00.000-04:00

The untimely and unfortunate death of Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi has made national headlines. The circumstances leading to his suicide, including his sexual orientation and his right to privacy, compel us all to think about how to understand and respect one another on campus.
http://chronicle.com/article/After-a-Suicide-Questions/124803/

Community Colleges To Align Curriculum With Local Company Needs

2010-10-04T10:40:00.001-04:00

The New York Times reported on the Whitehouse's latest plans to revive the economy and create jobs. Community colleges are expected to play a prominent role here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/03/business/economy/03skills.html?ref=economy

National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment--Are We Doing Enough With Our Data?

2010-09-29T13:11:00.000-04:00

An article in the Chronicle of Higher Education posed the question: Are colleges doing enough to use the data they collect to improve teaching and learning? http://chronicle.com/article/Many-Colleges-Assess-Learni/47892/
The National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment encourages higher education intitutions to consider more uses for their data. Visit their website:
http://learningoutcomeassessment.org/

New Jersey and the Economy

2010-09-29T08:01:00.000-04:00

The Asbury Park Press provided a New Jersey perspective on the latest national economic news. In an article on 9/28/10, they wrote:

"New Jersey's median household income dropped by nearly $1,600 between 2008 and 2009, according to a Census Bureau report issued Tuesday, though the state retained the nation's second-highest median income despite the 2.3 percent dip. With that decline in income comes increased financial stress from the state's high housing costs -- a median of $2,401 for New Jerseyans with a mortgage, tops in the nation and more than double the median in 15 states. There's little relief for renters, whose monthly median of $1,108 top all states but Hawaii and California. Nearly 47 percent of mortgaged owners in New Jersey spend 30 percent or more of their household income on housing costs, trailing only California, Florida, Hawaii and Nevada. That has climbed 6 percentage points since 2005. The same financial burden is carried by half of renters, also ranked fifth nationally. The report reinforces what was already known and underscores the need for a range of housing options that people can afford, said Nina Arce, media coordinator for the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey. People otherwise will continue moving south to find jobs, she said. 'At this time of job loss, it is especially critical that towns have a mix of housing for all people across the income spectrum,' Arce said. 'Right now so many people are leaving our state, and it really hurts our economic competitiveness. New Jersey is going to be left behind'."
http://www.app.com/article/20100928/NEWS03/100928099/-1/nletter01?source=nletter-news

Sobering National Economic News -- Household Incomes Down Again

2010-09-28T11:27:00.002-04:00

A recent article from the Washington Post (9/27/10) summed up what many people have recently surmised. Household buying power was diminished for a second straight year.
“Nationwide, incomes went down for the second year in a row, as did the proportion of households earning more than $100,000. The ranks of people living in poverty and near-poverty grew, and more people went without health insurance. Nationally, the median income of $50,221 was down about 4 percent last year from the start of the recession in December 2007. In 2007, the median household income was $52,384. Last year alone was responsible for about $1,500 of that loss. From 2008 to 2009, real median household income fell by 2.9 percent nationwide, decreasing in 34 states and increasing in one (North Dakota), the data showed. Almost one in five households had an income of $100,000 or more last year, the census data showed. That was down almost a full percentage point from 2008. In contrast, almost one in four families earned less than $25,000, an increase of one percentage point. The number and percentage of people in poverty rose in 31 states from 2008 to 2009, with no state showing a statistically significant decline.”

What are the implications of this continued national economic downturn for Brookdale Community College? Will we see more students selecting us for their first two years over more expensive four-year college choices? Will we see fewer students who come from poorer families and can no longer afford community college tuition and textbooks? Is this situation an opportunity, a threat or both for Brookdale? What strategies make sense for the different departments and areas of the College?

The Economic Value of a College Education

2010-09-24T13:55:00.000-04:00

College Board: Financial Return on Higher Education

The College Board's 2010 "Education Pays" Trends Report documents the impact of higher education on earnings and employment:
http://trends.collegeboard.org/files/Education_Pays_2010.pdf

Non-Profit Private Colleges and Universities Work to Improve Graduation Rates

2010-09-24T13:37:00.000-04:00

Building Blocks to 2020

President Obama has set an ambitious goal of making the United States first in the world in college completion by 2020. Reaching that threshold requires immediate and bold national effort.
Private higher education welcomes this challenge and pledges an even greater commitment to help all Americans who can benefit from a higher education realize the opportunity to enroll in college and complete their degrees. Their website features hundreds of programs at private colleges and universities nationally to expand access to college and ensure degree completion.

This site was officially launched in September 2010. It will gather and post examples of private college initiatives to enhance access and success for students.
http://www.buildingblocks2020.org/

Time Out: Gauging the Value of a Gap Year Before College

2010-09-22T14:53:00.000-04:00

Increasing numbers of students are taking a year or more off before they start their college educations. Many are getting involved in volunteer or public service activities.
Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2015783,00.html

Community College Student Success Stories--Transfers To Universities

2010-09-22T08:10:00.000-04:00

The Washington Post interviewed John Casteen, the 20-year president of University of Virginia, a passionate supporter of community college transfers. http://voices.washingtonpost.com/college-inc/2010/06/u-vas_casteen_on_community_col.html

Read about what's going on as Virginia's community colleges sucessfully prepare students for continuing their baccalaureate studies.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/06/16/AR2010061605737.html

One of the ways community college students find help to succeed is through the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation’s Community College Transfer Initiative. It provides more than a thousand exceptional low- to moderate-income community-college students across the country with the opportunity to attend the nation’s most selective four-year institutions. The program partners with eight highly-selective colleges and universities, as well as dozens of community colleges across the country.http://www.jkcf.org/grants/community-college-transfer/

A Stronger Nation Through Higher Education

2010-09-21T11:12:00.000-04:00

The Lumina Foundation's new special report A Stronger Nation through Higher Education contains updated state data on attainment levels for all fifty states. See the discussion and download the full report here:
http://www.luminafoundation.org/newsroom/newsstories/topics/2010-09-21-a_stronger_nation.html?autoplay=1

On October 5, 2010, Dr. Jill Biden will chair the first-ever White House Summit on Community Colleges.

2010-09-16T13:16:00.001-04:00

This is a great opportunity for community colleges across the nation to make connections with business and industry, the American public, and other educational institutions. See what's planned:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/CommunityCollege

Why Johnny's College Isn't What It Used To Be

2010-09-16T13:04:00.000-04:00

The state of American higher education is examined in the new book, Higher Education? How Colleges Are Wasting Our Money and Failing Our Kids — and What We Can Do About It. Read the review in the New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/19/books/19book.html?_r=1&emc=eta1

Monmouth County Snapshot

2010-09-14T15:15:00.000-04:00

The Central Regional Community Fact Book for Monmouth County was published in August 2010. Take a look to see current population, employment and industry trends with projections for the future.
http://lwd.dol.state.nj.us/labor/lpa/pub/factbook/monfct.pdf

To What End? What Matters In Two Year Education Programs?

2010-09-14T14:41:00.002-04:00

Long time educator Terry O'Banion shares his thoughts about recent educational reform movements in community colleges. Can student completion rates be raised? How important is a "liberal education?" Does it matter that so many faculty and students are part-timers? Read about it in INSIDE HIGHERED.
http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2010/08/16/obanion

Florida Community Colleges Have Strong Baccalaureate Programs

2010-09-14T14:26:00.002-04:00

Florida community colleges now offer more than 100 four-year degrees, and the figure could increase significantly. Read about it in INSIDE HIGHERED.
http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/08/12/baccalaureate

New Report On Community Colleges: Rebalancing the Mission

2010-08-06T13:56:00.000-04:00

The American Association of Community Colleges recently issued a new policy brief. In Rebalancing the Mission: The Community College Completion Challenge, the organization addresses what it means for community colleges to embrace completion in the same way that they have historically embraced access. In the report, one of the fundamental challenges is stated: "Funding community colleges at one fifth the amount that public 4-year institutions receive and expecting community colleges to provide the services and opportunities needed to reach an ambitious national completion goal is a problematic proposition."

http://www.aacc.nche.edu/Publications/Briefs/Documents/rebalancing_06212010.pdf