Friday, February 7College Admissions News

Author: Editor

Graduate Admissions

Weighted GPA or Unweighted GPA?

Weighted GPA or Unweighted GPA?Most colleges will use the unweighted GPA as the best reflection of your high school performance. As they say, “an A is an A.” A B in an Advanced Placement course does not mean that you somehow really got an A in that course…you still did B work, according to your teacher. So while the weighted GPA will reflect the relative rigor of your high school coursework, the unweighted GPA reflects your actual performance in those courses. A Weighted “B” is NOT an “A” How do colleges calculate GPA for college? Don’t be lulled into complacency when you get a “B” on that AP history test by telling yourself that B work equals an A in a less rigorous course. The fact is that colleges will pay closer attention to your unweighted GPA than to an average that is artificially i...
The 2021 college commencement speech for our times
College Planning

The 2021 college commencement speech for our times

The 2021 college commencement speech for our timesThank you for inviting me back to Boston to be with you on this glorious day and in this spectacular setting. Fenway is a hallowed arena of achievement and joy and common purpose. Those are the very subjects I want to discuss today. But first things first. Deepest congratulations to all of the graduates on your achievements. As your achievements are recognized in this ceremony, you can look back with justifiable pride — because you have worked hard to reach this day. And you can look forward — with hopeful anticipation toward a fulfilling life. Congratulations as well to all the family and friends who are here, physically or in spirit, to celebrate with you. Throughout your years at Suffolk University, they have been by your side, supportin...
Amid Objections to Automated Proctoring, One Company Abandons the Practice
College Planning

Amid Objections to Automated Proctoring, One Company Abandons the Practice

Amid Objections to Automated Proctoring, One Company Abandons the PracticeThe use of remote proctoring has surged as colleges shifted to remote instruction during the pandemic. But not everyone is on board with the practice. Many students and even some schools have pushed back against the practice, especially objecting to automated services that rely on algorithms that watch students via their webcam and look for suspicious patterns of behavior—sending clips of questionable moments to professors for later review. The problem, critics say, is that the systems often lead to false-positives, add stress to the test-taking process and invade privacy. Darker skin tones can prove especially tricky for algorithms. This week one large provider of proctoring services, ProctorU, took the unusual step...
From World War II to Harvard: the Nisei Soldier who served and taught America
Financial Aid

From World War II to Harvard: the Nisei Soldier who served and taught America

From World War II to Harvard: the Nisei Soldier who served and taught AmericaOn December 7, 1941, Japanese planes raided the U.S. Naval Base Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. The massive surprise attack thrusted America into World War II. Following the attack, government suspicion arose around Americans of Japanese descent. A few months later, on March 29, 1942, Lieutenant General John L. DeWitt of the Western Defense Command issued Public Proclamation No. 4, which forced the evacuation and detention of West Coast residents of Japanese American ancestry. Approximately 120,000 Japanese Americans were sent to concentration camps in the United States between 1942 and 1945. Despite the growing racism against Japanese Americans following Executive Order 9066 and Public Proclamation No. 4, many Nisei, or...
Stronger Partnerships with State Allies to Protect Student Borrowers
Graduate Admissions

Stronger Partnerships with State Allies to Protect Student Borrowers

Stronger Partnerships with State Allies to Protect Student BorrowersAs the chief operating officer at Federal Student Aid (FSA), I am committed to ensuring that borrowers receive high-quality service that helps them access the benefits granted by law. The work we do at FSA is crucial for protecting the more than 43 million Americans who have federal student loans. FSA and the U.S. Department of Education can’t do it alone. In my experience as Ohio attorney general and later as the director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, I saw the importance of state regulation and oversight to identify problems and deliver relief when companies take advantage of people. I have also seen how essential it is in our system of federalism that officials from different parts of our government can ...
Howard University Renames College of Fine Arts After Chadwick Boseman
Financial Aid

Howard University Renames College of Fine Arts After Chadwick Boseman

Howard University Renames College of Fine Arts After Chadwick Boseman Howard University will name its newly re-established College of Fine Arts in honor of the actor and alumnus Chadwick Boseman, university officials said on Wednesday. Before his death last year, Mr. Boseman had expressed his support for re-establishing the College of Fine Arts, Wayne A.I. Frederick, the president of Howard University, said in a news release. “Chadwick’s love for Howard University was sincere, and although he did not live to see those plans through to fruition, it is my honor to ensure his legacy lives on through the Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts with the support of his wife and the Chadwick Boseman Foundation,” Mr. Frederick said. He added that Robert A. Iger, the Walt Disney Company’s executi...
OPINION: Stop holding college transcripts hostage over unpaid debt
Financial Aid

OPINION: Stop holding college transcripts hostage over unpaid debt

OPINION: Stop holding college transcripts hostage over unpaid debtInstitutions of higher education like to boast of their diversity initiatives, showcasing the diversity of their student bodies on slick websites. Beneath those smiling testaments to multiculturalism is the likelihood that many students of color, often from low-income backgrounds, will have to interrupt their education several times. Every time a person drops out there is a risk that the college will be owed a fee. The school can then withhold the student’s transcript until the debt is paid in full. This ransom approach to debt collection undermines the egalitarian rhetoric: Millions of Americans cannot reenroll in college because of an outstanding debt owed to a college they previously attended. The debt could be due to unp...
Online Colleges

In challenge to Georgia’s anti-BDS law, federal district court sides with journalist disinvited from Georgia Southern University

In challenge to Georgia’s anti-BDS law, federal district court sides with journalist disinvited from Georgia Southern UniversityThe United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, Atlanta Division, ruled earlier this week that plaintiff Abby Martin’s case against Georgia Southern University administrators for violating her expressive and due process rights may proceed. The ruling signals that a Georgia statute prohibiting state entities from entering contracts with individuals or companies engaged in a boycott of Israel violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments, the latest in a string of defeats for state laws targeted at anti-Israel boycotts.  Martin is a journalist, advocate for Palestinian civil rights, and supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement (...
The pandemic hit moms hard, and that stress can trickle down to kids
Graduate Admissions

The pandemic hit moms hard, and that stress can trickle down to kids

The pandemic hit moms hard, and that stress can trickle down to kids Get important education news and analysis delivered straight to your inbox It’s well-known that women have been especially impacted by pandemic-related economic upheaval. But new data show how widespread the job loss and emotional strain have been for mothers of young children in particular. One-third of moms with children birth through age 5 have had to stop working or reduce their hours during the pandemic, according to a new report based on surveys of 1,000 caregivers and released by the Rapid Assessment of Pandemic Impact on Development- Early Childhood, or RAPID-EC, a national bi-weekly survey of households with children ages five and under. (That’s actually slightly lower than the percentage of mothers ...
Education Has a Three-Headed Crisis. Mental Health Is Only Part of It.
Financial Aid

Education Has a Three-Headed Crisis. Mental Health Is Only Part of It.

Education Has a Three-Headed Crisis. Mental Health Is Only Part of It.A year ago, I wrote “The Next Pandemic: Mental Health” for National Mental Health Month, published in May 2020 in EdSurge. We were two months into the pandemic in America and already early signs of a mental health crisis were emerging from isolation and trauma. It is now time to update this piece for 2021. Because the reality is that we are not only experiencing a mental health pandemic; we now have a three-headed learning crisis consisting of mental health, empathy and creativity. Our children are growing in precisely the opposite direction. They are less mentally healthy, less empathetic and less creative than they were at the beginning of the decade. Do you remember Hydra, the multi-headed, snakelike water monster f...
7 Stress Management Tips To Deal With Academic Changes During Covid-19
College Planning

7 Stress Management Tips To Deal With Academic Changes During Covid-19

7 Stress Management Tips To Deal With Academic Changes During Covid-19The new academic changes are taking their toll on students. Somehow “Your exam has been cancelled/postponed” has not brought the same degree of relief to students as it was supposed to. Sure, it’s all fun and games until the endless nights of hard work and sacrifices to excel in board exams become worthless. Deprived of classroom learning and co-curricular activities, students have been affected by Covid-19 in different ways from the past year. And the class of 2021 is on the threshold of missing out on another critical rite of passage – 10th and 12th board exams.  Although these closures are for their own good, it has left the students with an overwhelming sense of loss and a very alarming question – Now what? Read on t...
Graduate Admissions

Walking the Virtual Quad: How to Build a Thriving Enrollment Community

Walking the Virtual Quad: How to Build a Thriving Enrollment CommunityBy Katy Kappler, Co-Founder and CEO, InScribe, and Dr. Jonathan Huck, Research Scientist, WGU Labs The decision to apply to college, even for older students, can be a lonely, high-stakes journey. Price tags are often shrouded in mystery. Outcomes for graduates can be vague. And confusing terms (registrar, bursar, oh my!) appear at every turn. These challenges, however, are often mitigated at traditional universities, where students can find answers and build a sense of connection with an institution by walking its grounds, smelling its flowers, and taking lively tours. Unfortunately, these advantages are absent in the online learning space. How, then, to foster a sense of belonging among applicants who may never set foot...
Pass/Fail Grading Was an Act of Pandemic Compassion. Is It Here to Stay?
Financial Aid

Pass/Fail Grading Was an Act of Pandemic Compassion. Is It Here to Stay?

Pass/Fail Grading Was an Act of Pandemic Compassion. Is It Here to Stay?In his 21 years of teaching, Jesse Stommel says he has never put a grade on a piece of student’s work. As executive director of the journal “Hybrid Pedagogy,” which explores alternatives to traditional assessments, he says using student self-evaluations better takes into consideration all the demands and stresses of their lives when compared to traditional grading. So it would be reasonable for Stommel to think that when the pandemic forced universities to suddenly finish the term remotely—a time when students needed compassion in grading more than ever—his approach would already be well-suited for the moment. “What I actually found was I changed my own grading approach significantly in the midst of the pandemic. Stude...
Uncategorized

Ultimate Guide to College Grants and Scholarships for Minorities

Ultimate Guide to College Grants and Scholarships for MinoritiesScholarships and grants are a valuable tool for students who need funds to pay for college. These programs typically have criteria that consider your background and interests. One major category of gift awards is minority scholarships and grants. Minorities are groups that have historically faced societal disadvantages or challenges due to factors including: ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, and disability. Students whose backgrounds qualify them for these awards can access financial assistance that they don’t need to pay back. Like all scholarships, minority scholarships will usually have additional merit or need based criteria for selection. Minority scholarships are offered by colleges, private organizations ...
College Rankings

Faculty Network interview: April Bleske-Rechek, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire

Faculty Network interview: April Bleske-Rechek, University of Wisconsin-Eau ClaireIn this occasional feature, FIRE interviews members of our Faculty Network to discuss their research, teaching, and advocacy on free expression at their institutions. This month, we talked with April Bleske-Rechek, professor of Psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She has received several awards for her teaching and mentoring of undergraduate scholars, including her university’s Excellence in Teaching (2010) and Excellence in Mentoring (2016) awards, the Council of Undergraduate Research Mid-Career Mentoring Award (2020), and the UWEC College of Arts & Sciences Career Excellence in Teaching Award (2021).Interviews are conducted via email and are lightly edited for length and clarity.  Fir...