HIGHER EDUCATION?

College Graduation Rates Lag Behind World

According to the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, even though 35 percent of high school students go on to college, only 17 percent complete requirements for a degree. The US ranks 16^th among the 27 countries studied (members of Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development) despite being 5^th in college participation rates. Side note: The likelihood of a 9^th grader going to college has decreased to less than 40 percent.

For comparison, Australia has 31 percent participation and 23 percent completion; Germany is 23%/13%; and Korea is 48%/18%. (source: USA Today, 9/7/06)

College has become an expensive way to keep the unemployment numbers down. Parents pay for several more years of education even though their child may not have a focus or desire to participate in higher education. But, since there are no jobs offering a fair wage with just a high school diploma, kids go off to college to “kill a couple of years” having fun and pretending to be engaged. Hence, the high participation rate with no degree payoff.

Higher education needs to reconsider its mission: is it a business or an opportunity to pursue scholarly activity with experts in their respective fields? Is it really necessary to send twice as many students into the halls of education for a result of 50 percent (or less) graduates? Why not toughen the standards and only admit those with the skills and desire to compete?

There was a time not too long ago when a doctorate was something very special and “rare”; a master’s degree was a significant achievement and a lot of work; and a bachelor’s degree meant a high paying professional job. Now with degree inflation, only a terminal degree offers the highest wages; somewhere in the future, a college will begin to offer the “super-PhD” that will create a new “arms race” in education. There’s no doubt that there will be a demand.

There was a time in our history when a “B” student graduating from a US college was considered highly educated by world standards. The higher education system has so cheapened itself that “B” should be considered “failing” by the new world standard.

The US does have highly talented and smart students. It is a disservice to them that higher education caters to everyone simply for the money.

Prison: The New Welfare

Much has been written lately about welfare reform removing millions from federal and state support. Here’s where they are going: prison. In 2005, the number of sentenced inmates per 100,000 US residents was 488. That number represents the 5^th consecutive year of increases. In 2001, the number was 470 and in 2003, it was 482.

You don’t have to hurt anyone to go to jail, just do something stupid to get sentenced to a few years. While you are there, you can enjoy more benefits than you’ll get as a free person. For example, you’ll have a bed with clean sheets and be warm in the winter. You’ll get regular meals; have access to a workout facility; behavioral counseling; and possibly, college credits. As a working poor person, you get none of these benefits (unfortunately, you probably make too much money to qualify for whatever social programs are left that may assist you).

Going to jail is an extreme solution to being poor with no alternatives. But, considering quality food and the new skill you’ll learn, maybe it is worth considering. (BTW: the facts are real the suggestions are satirical.)

Odds and Ends

According to the US Census, there are 78.2 million baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964). In 2006, the oldest are turning 60. It looks like the AARP’s membership should be growing by significant numbers and having an impact throughout society, especially government. The US is in for an overhaul of thinking as these new “oldsters” will be much different than their predecessors. Remember, this is the group that coined the phrase “50 is the new 40.”

Finally, regarding minimum wage, here’s a thought: instead of raising the hourly wage to $7.25, why not keep it at $5.15 and waive all taxes and entitlement deductions? The real take-home at $7.25 won’t be $14,790; it will be minus Medicare, Social Security, state and local taxes, entitlement deductions such as unemployment, healthcare deductions and anything else that states want to dream up such as higher occupational privilege taxes. Isn’t that the ultimate slap in the face for poor people? Paying taxes for the privilege of working!

Unfortunately, the higher wages will result in lost jobs and the new wages won’t create any less dependency.

Higher minimum wage is not about eliminating poverty; it’s about more government revenue. If tax cuts for the rich are strengthening the economy, image what tax elimination for the poor will do to stimulate spending!

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

COLLEGE TUITION, NCLB AND BS IN ACTION

Public Supported Colleges Are Costly

Penn State University continues to be the most expensive public university in the US (USA Today, 08/31/06). Residents saw a 5.7 percent increase to $12,164 per year; that’s a 45 percent increase since 2002. Out-of-state students now pay $22,712 per year, representing a 29 percent increase since 2002.

Are you looking for a bargain among the listed 75 universities? Go to the University of Florida, Gainesville where in-state students pay $3206 and non-residents pay $17,790.

The US college in-state median is $5838, a 6.4 percent increase since last year and a 38 percent increase since 2002. Non-residents median is $16,245, a 33 percent increase since 2002. Financial aid increased nationally by 17 percent since 2002 or about $1000 more last year than 2002. In essence, the ability for most students to pay for college, even as state residents, is eroding.

An interesting side note: the University of Texas recently reported earning $8.2 million in licensing rights following its national football championship. An in-state student pays $7800 per year, a 9.6 percent increase since last year and a 54.8 percent increase since 2002. Out-of-state students will pay $16,920 per year, a 51.8 percent increase since 2002. Considering how much the athletic department is earning plus tuition increases coupled with one of the worst graduation rates among the top NCAA schools, what are the people in Texas paying for? An excellent semi-pro football team!

NCLB

Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said on August 30, 2006, that the No Child Left Behind Act is close to perfect and needs little change. “I talk about No Child Left Behind like Ivory Soap: It’s 99.9% pure or something,” Spellings said. “There’s not much needed in the way of change.” (USA Today, 08/30/06)

It’s easy to imagine the responses of either cheering or jeering from each respective side of the debate!

BS in Action

Verizon and Bell South were going to impose a new surcharge fees on DSL Internet lines. Bell South initially petitioned the FCC that the fee was necessary to offset regulatory costs associated with DSL. There’s one problem with that argument: DSL is an unregulated service. Ooops!

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

WORK, WORK, WORK!

Internet Monitoring Growing in Businesses

If you work in a company with more than 500 employees, the chances are very good that your email and web surfing is being monitored. Over 70 percent of large companies now routinely monitor web-related activities. Even companies with as few as 50 employees report monitoring activity (almost half the companies surveyed).

One reason why monitoring is so prevalent is because of fantasy football leagues. Companies estimate that over $1 billion per week in lost productivity occurs during the 17 weeks of the NFL season. That is a lot of distraction.

Also, companies still struggle with malicious programs such as adware and spyware that accompanies shopping while at work. Finally, email “chain letters” such as cartoons, jokes and videos still permeate the workplace and allow viruses and other nasty events to occur.

This kind of inappropriate activity does make you wonder about the American work ethic, personal accountability and integrity. While work should never be drudgery, all employees should respect and show loyalty to the workplace. If you can’t do that, then allow one of the 20 million or so under-employed people do your job.

Work and Undergraduates

Over 34 percent of college students work more than 35 hours per week according to the American Council on Education and the US Department of Education. Only 22 percent do not work at all. Basically, 8 out of 10 college students are working part-time jobs in and around campus.

College is a full-time job and very few people can work and be successful as a student. When do students study if they are working 35 hours? At minimum wages, how does working help offset the bills generated by college? Most studies that look at students and work suggest limiting work to 15 hours or less. That amount of time at work will provide some “pocket money” to buy food and supplies.

It would be great to know how closely related are work hours and academic success. Certainly a little bit of work is productive; 35 hours just seems like too much.

Tidbits

The University of Texas, the NCAA Division I football champions earned $8.2 million in trademark licensing. Big time college athletics is major league business. Can you imagine the pressure on university presidents to ignore rule bending or academic violations when so much money is involved?

The amount of grain needed to produce enough ethanol to fill one SUV’s 25-gallon tank once would feed a person for one year. Anyone who refuses to believe that conservation of fuel is the right answer has not done their research. Conservation will extend fuel reserves for generations and at the same time address the issue of global warming. If all non-commercial vehicles were 4-cyclinder engines, the gasoline consumption would go down dramatically. It’s not un-American to conserve; it’s un-American to waste.

Finally, over the past 2 years there have been over 3 million bankruptcy filings. The new rules that began last October regarding bankruptcy filings have made it harder and costlier for people to have debt forgiven. The rules have had some impact, lowering filings from 1.6 million in 2004-05 to 1.5 million in 2005-06. It remains to be seen if the new rules are actually working or the lower number is an aberration.

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

CREATIVITY and MEMORY

Exercising Your Brain

Nancy Anderson, a neuroscientist at the Iowa Carver School of Medicine, suggests that to build a more creative brain, do one or more of the following for at least 30 minutes a day (my suggestions in italics):

1) Explore an unfamiliar area of knowledge.

For example if you are creative or “right-brain” oriented, explore logical information such as math or science; if you are “logical”, listen to music or explore art

2) Spend time each day thinking.

Sounds like a mute point as people would offer that they spend most of their day thinking. This suggestion refers to building thinking pathways that may not be currently related to your career. It’s much like those people who would say that they get exercise everyday walking around the office. Thinking, like exercise, needs its own time and focus.

3) Practice the art of paying attention.

Too many things distract us these days from cell phones to family. As a result, we miss things that could be important or at least helpful. Read the adventures of Sherlock Holmes or watch classic “who-dunnit” dramas. It will refresh your mind’s eye and sharpen your powers of observation. Leonardo da Vinci is remembered centuries after his death because of his powers of observation.

4) Use your imagination.

We have allowed ourselves to become passive recipients of entertainment. Buy some kid’s toys like Leggos or board games like Stratego to practice imagination.

Anderson suggestions for nurturing creativity in children include:

1) Read with your child everyday

2) Emphasize diverse topics of study

3) Encourage curiosity

4) Get children interested in music

Creativity and thinking are skills that need “exercise.” They don’t respond well to “turn-on immediately” demands. For learning to occur, new skills and information must be integrated into everyday use. Just like learning a new word everyday: if you don’t use it, you lose it.

(For more from Anderson, read USA Today, 08/29/06)

Memory

Turning off the TV and reading or doing puzzles are the keys to better memory say researchers in Australia and reported in USA Today. Over 30,000 people were studied and it was concluded that people who watch one (1) hour or less of TV per day, performed significantly better on memory tests. In addition, those people who reported doing puzzles scored higher on tests such as memorizing shopping lists and recalling names.

It will be interesting in the future to see how these results compare to Internet use instead of TV. You would suspect that as the Internet is becoming a passive entertainment medium that the results will be the same. But, gaming is popular and interactive requiring skills such as strategy and decision-making, so future generations may have better memory.

For now, turn off the TV and refer to the suggestions above to stimulate creativity and thinking. The collateral benefit will be better memory!

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GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC

AUGUST MUSINGS

“Tarnation”

According the most recent edition of Webster’s Dictionary, the word “tarnation” does not exist. But, as we all know, it is commonly associated with the observation: “What in tarnation!?” that leads to the shaking of the head so the loose skin around the cheeks and neck shake like Jello. It is also one of those “cowboy words” that for some reason is linked to the current administration. Hey, when in doubt, throw out a “tarnation” or two, shake your head and keep people off-balance. It worked for Yosemite Sam!

$165 Mill to OSU

Boone Pickens gave $165 million to his alma mater, Oklahoma State University’s athletic department. Apparently, he was tired of his beloved OSU being the doormat in football and basketball. He thinks his most generous gift will allow OSU to recruit top athletes.

What in tarnation? Have all the social issues that plague our communities suddenly disappeared and now we can all concentrate on poor performing sports teams? Well, it is true that Warren Buffet did give billions to fight disease and famine, so Pickens was free to build a professional football program at OSU. And, it is his money and if sports are important to him, well, that’s his choice.

I wonder how long it will take before OSU is placed on NCAA probation for recruiting violations?

Decency

Here’s a passionate subject that was taken to new heights because of Janet Jackson’s wardrobe malfunction. It seems like everybody wants to legislate decency. The bottom line: money and power are the roots of the fight for decency. Millions of dollars are spent to promote and protect decency and politicians love to wrap themselves in the flag of American morals.

But the definition for decency is constantly evolving. At one time in the US it was scandalous for women to show an ankle in public. Decades later the bikini made headlines for its daring. Today, a bikini is fairly large compared to some suits worn by women at the beach.

Language is also changing. Words that would only be said by dock workers or marines in the middle of a fire-fight are now commonplace in mixed company. Sensitivity to course language is abating; it is the rare person who can actually express emotions without a slew of four letter words.

Finally, technology is increasing the concerns of those fighting for decency. Technology opens access to all sorts of decency-bending standards. Pity those countries like China and Iran that try and control what their people view on the Internet! Ironically, as technology is the culprit for creating new examples of indecency, it is also the reason it will be impossible to legislate decency in the future.

Student Engagement

A recent study measured student engagement in the college classroom. The study counted such things as asking questions and participating in discussions. Freshmen were rated at a 62 percent as compared to seniors that scored a 75 percent.

Of course that four year separation is not an “apples to apples” comparison. By the time students reach the senior level, the “slackers” have flunked or dropped out. A better study would be to follow students over a four year period to determine if engagement increases or remains the same as the student progresses through the years.

And finally, according to Dave Letterman, “NASA lost the original film of the moon landing. Well, you know, in their defense, they’re not exactly rocket scientists.”

Visit www.3MinuteLearning.com

GROWTH <> LEADERSHIP <> EXCELLENCE

© 2006 3 Minute Learning LLC