Gates Foundation Gives $10.6-Million to Improve College-Completion Rates With Technology

Why on earth does a Governor think s/he knows anything about the hiring priorities and needs of running a University? Can you imagine the communication: we need this because……what exactly does a xxx do and why is it essential at this time? If the President/Chancellor is hired to be the CEO, let them act as such. If they mishandle their duties, hold them accountable – don’t treat them like incompetent employees who know less than a Governor and his/her staff! I’m always amazed when ELECTED government officials think they can better administer HIGHER EDUCATION institutions.

While we’re at it, let’s also allow the gov to appoint the president (if he doesn’t already), hire the football coach, screen the secretarial staff, and censor the student newspaper.

Following up on amcneece’s excellent suggestions, let me suggest that the Governor should be required by law to quarterback all of the football team’s games.

Oh, this will save money and streamline things!!

More nickel and dime management. This action announces to the World that this Gov. doesn’t have a clue on how to deal with run-away spending in his state. Going after the “small stuff” creates the necessary public smokescreen to allow the big offenders and contributors to continue to rip off the tax payers.

During his campaign, he said he would do this, so it shouldn’t really surprise anyone, unless the surprise is, “Hey, he’s actually doing what he said he’d do in the campaign!”

Not saying he should or shouldn’t do it. Just saying that he’s been talking about doing this for a while now.

This new Democratic governor is doing the right thing here. Connecticut has had an incredibly bloated administrative layer in the public higher ed institutions, and with no oversight whatsoever from many years of Republican governors (one who was jailed for corruption – Rowland), terrible things have happened. In the CCSU system, the chancellor drove out one president who wouldn’t go along with his druthers, and put in one of his cronies. All of this is documented in the CT press; it happened last year. New Governor Malloy is doing the right thing here: trim the fat in the bloated higher-administrative ranks, and keep the teachers in the classroom.
See this article for background on the corruption among the administrators:
http://articles.courant.com/2010-05-14/news/hc-csus-chancellor-david-carter.artmay14_1_mr-carter-president-stanley-f-battle-david-carter

It’s about time someone did this. There are a whole lot of administrators over there making tons of money and doing very little outside of worrying about the school’s rankings in U.S. News and World Report.

While he’s looking at this, Gov. Malloy should also blow the whistle on people who are “double-dipping”: still working while collecting retirement.

UConn is a gravy train with no engineer.

The truth is that colleges and universities have grown into very complex organizations, which require many non-teaching specialists to function effectively. The governor’s intentions may be good, but this is just a petty exercise adding more complexity and bureaucracy into the mix, instead of addressing larger issues of organizational scope and priorities.

Technology is an incredibly useful tool, but the idea that it can improve college completion rates is almost laughable. It will have an impact only if it can motivate students to work harder outside the classroom. In the 1960s, college students spent an average of 24 hours a week studying and doing “homework.” Now, that number has dropped to less than 8 hours, and failure in college correlates closely to the number of hours spent drinking. (Seriously.)

If students don’t do more work and drink less, all the gee-whiz technology in the world will not get them through.

Iredale-Certainly drinking is as common now as it was in the 1960s or perhaps other forms of intoxication were more popular then. However, blaming lower college completion rates on drinking does not take into account the differences in the kinds of students who are able to go to college today (minorities, low income students, nontraditional students, etc…). These are students who may not have the ability to devote 24 hours of work to classes each week because they work, have children, are active duty military, or any number of reasons. Technology that allows them to spend more time “in the classroom” on their own schedules could help.

You also ignore that fact that college tuition rates have sky rocketed in recent years. While completing my BS my tuition went up 15%; raising tuition costs that much can mean the difference between finishing your degree and having to drop out, especially with decreased tuition assistance funding. There is much more behind lower graduation rates than drinking. If creating new counseling programs can help student find ways to continue or providing e-textbooks makes it more affordable for students to keep going then I’m all for it.

I am going to state what my grandmother told me, “Denying reality will not change it”. Many in higher education continue to deny the reality that technology may be the language that keeps young people connected to learning.

Our traditional school structures are wonderful but were constructed in different times when people worked in very stable jobs/industries, most homes had two parents and we lived in communities inhabited by extended families for support. Virtually none of this is true any longer and I keep hearing very bright, educated people wonder why when they hold meetings for parents at 3 in the afternoon no one is there.

Break down the walls for goodness sake, realize that if I am a single parent and work two jobs to support my family yet want to continue my education I cannot do it driving across town three days a week. Please understand that if I am a 48 year old man who has been thrust out of a job that I held for 10 years delivering education to me is much different than it is for someone 25. Completion rates can be improved via technology but students going into this environment need to be prepared to write, plan, think and execute differently than we are preparing them now.

One final thought, we know from the data (not emotion or politics) that for every three months young people are out of the class room they lose a year of academic performance. Talking about denying reality, when are we going to realize that the vast majority of American children and young adults do not live on farms. Change the structure of school days, years and how learning is delivered. If we don’t do this we will spend ever more money and not move the achievement dial one iota!

Notwithstanding all this wonderful technology, there is the rate limiting step for the world’s educational performance: the Bell-Shaped Curve! Why do we continue to presume more education is the solution to more success in life? There are many poor folks beating their collective heads against the wall, and for what? It is cruel and unfair to encourage the IQ 60-100 folks to enroll in higher education. It’s called “higher” for a reason! We should instead find ways to train them for useful vocations outside the academy.

@manoflamancha,

I’ll try to be careful to not assume what you mean by “higher education” in your post, but think it should be mentioned that “higher education” does find ways to educate many students for useful vocations outside the academy, often through the innovative use of technology. In fact, the vast majority of higher education students find employment in useful vocations outside the academy.

It has been my experience, teaching in a traditional university, that the undergraduates (traditional ages) are not interested in online learning. Part of the package they come to college for includes slouching into class in their pajamas/sweats/clothes to sleep through class, then waking up to go Facebook each other in the computer lab. They heartily complain when we try to add online courses or put even some classes in a course online (hybrid).

Graduate students, on the other hand, look forward to the flexibility of the hybrid classes. They are here (my institution) because the online options are not their cup o’ tea, but they do appreciate a break every once-in-a-while from the dash from work to the parking space hunt to class.

As a professor, I am glad to have the flexibility to add up to 1/3 of my graduate courses as online offerings and as a department, we are encouraging reticent faculty to do this as well because of the many benefits it affords the working graduate student. It’s (and I dislike using this term!) a “win-win” and many prospective students find this aspect very attractive when inquiring about our programs.

I often browse on-line book retailers and Google books where I make wonderful discoveries.
I am not arguing that such searches replacde used book stores.  But they are another avenue for browsing books.  And, for me, they have proved to be a more valuable way to discover books I didn’t yet know I wanted for my research.

I knew the day would come when I could agree with Peter Wood. Sadly, even the loss of Borders has reduced our ability to browse and find the book we didn’t know we needed to read. Fortunately we still have a great used book store in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and if you can manage with a dust allergy you can find amazing opportunites for exploration.

I would keep in mind the words that my first dean imparted to me: “Never trust a dean, including this one.”