Category Archives: Success In College

It’s STEAM Not STEM!

Granville Sawyer, Higher Education, Mentoring Students, Non-traditional Students, Parents, Student Success, Students, Success In College, Uncategorized

A few weekends ago, I went with my wife to a conference sponsored by Americans for the Arts in Sundance Utah.  My main reason for being there was to accompany her and enjoy the resort.  I learned some things there too.  In talking with other arts administrators from around the country, I realized how important knowledge and appreciation for the arts is for all students regardless of their major. Something I experienced when I was in college.

As an undergraduate engineering student, I had to have 223 quarter hours to complete my degree.  Only three of these were for a free elective.  I took the easiest sounding course I could find – music appreciation.  It wasn’t what it sounded like at all!  Our teacher started with the Gregorian Chants from 900 AD and went right up to the present day popular music at that time including the classics.  She really challenged us.   I took the time to study and learn to appreciate all the music we listened to.  In addition to passing the course, I developed an appreciation for classical music I still have today.  We are subscribers to the Baltimore Symphony and go at least three or four times a season.  I have thanked my teacher many times for helping me learn and appreciate the arts.  Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) are all very important areas of study but no student’s education is complete without developing an appreciation for the arts.  It’s STEAM not STEM.  The arts are important too.

Is Artificial Intelligence Going To Change Education?

Higher Education, Mentoring Students, New Technology For Education, Parents, Student Success, Success In College, Uncategorized, , ,

I’m reading a book on artificial intelligence (AI) that has made me think about how it will impact the future of education at all levels from k-12 to college.  What AI is doing is creating “thinking machines”.  That is, computers that are capable of original thought, not just executing instructions that they have been given.  Now I don’t want you to think I’m talking about Terminator type evil robots because I’m not.

I’m talking about a tremendously valuable resource for teachers and students.  It’s obvious that one teacher can’t custom tailor his/her teaching style for each student in every class even if they knew what worked best for each student.  To assist teachers, we have developed computer aided instruction which will quiz students and change questions asked based on what they get correct and what they get wrong but these systems can’t learn why students perform the way they do.  This is the wonderful potential of AI in education.  Thinking learning machines may be able to understand why students learn as they do and custom tailor a curriculum just for them that is dynamic so it can change with the student’s preferred learning style day to day even hour to hour even if the student or teacher can’t clearly state what that learning style is.  This will give educators a capability we have only dreamed about having.  It will also give students learning opportunities they have never had before.

This truly is disruptive technology which can make people uncomfortable.  Let’s push through the discomfort and realize the potential AI can have to radically improve education for all students everywhere.

Freshman Finance 101

Coaching, First Generation College Students, Higher Education, Success In College, Uncategorized, , ,

The focus for this fall’s college freshmen has, no doubt, been academic preparation to be accepted into their chosen college or university and to do well once they arrive.  There’s another important aspect of preparation for college that may not have gotten enough attention – financial preparation.  I don’t mean having enough money to pay for college even though that’s a tremendous challenge.  I’m referring to money college students will spend for other things.  Parents can’t send them everything they need or want.  The question is whether they’ll know how to manage the hundreds or thousands of dollars they spend in cash and with debit/credit cards during the school year whether they earn it or get it from home.

Parents, start teaching your college bound sons and daughters good money management skills before they graduate from high school.  We all know how challenging managing money is even if we know how to do it.  Every month, things happen that can derail our financial plans.  We’ve had time to learn how to deal with these events.  Typically, college bound high school seniors haven’t.

Help your sons and daughters practice good money management skills before they go to college also.  Knowing how to manage money and doing it well are not the same.   Help them get some practice at budgeting and spending their money based on their budget.   Also, strongly suggest that they take a course in personal finance to learn more about how to manage money now and after graduation.   Take a look at this article to read  about four things you can do now so your sons and daughters pass Freshman Finance 101 with flying colors and dollars to spare.

More Challenges For Minority Students in Higher Education

First Generation College Students, Higher Education, Mentoring Students, Success In College, Uncategorized, , ,

Picture this in your mind.  World class athletes line up for a 100-yard dash.  All of them are white except one who is Black.  When the gun sounds the white athletes bolt from their starting blocks and run as fast as they can.  The black runner, however, is held back until the other runners have gone 50 yards.  Then he is allowed to run and told “you’re equal now”.  When he asks about the 50-yard head start everyone else got, he’s told to make that up “on your own”.  That’s where we are in America since affirmative action programs have be eliminated in colleges and universities.  Although past racial injustices have not been addressed, blacks and other persons of color have been told to make up the huge gaps that remain “on their own”.  In a recent article from the New York times, Vivian Yee discusses what this “on your own” attitude can produce.  Its’s call the “ideal system” where every student will be evaluated with the same standards based on “merit” alone.  The level of preparation and/or ability resulting from minority students’ k-12 educations will not be considered in any way nor will there be any specific efforts to diversify enrollment.  This may be a reason why  the number of and percentage of minority students in higher education reached a plateau or began to decline in 2011.

Some schools, like Columbia however, have very intentionally worked hard at diversity and have increase minority enrollment and graduation in recent years.  Harvard, in fact, has the most diverse class in 380 years for this fall .  It has been shown that diversity improves educational outcomes at all levels.  I suggest that all parents and students making a college choice look more closely at diversity as a factor and let decision makers in higher education know diversity is important to you by choosing colleges that think it’s important too.

The Most Affordable Colleges in America

Higher Education, Students, Success In College, Uncategorized, ,

From the U. S. Department of Education on Flikr

The cost of a college degree today requires that parents and students get the most for every dollar spent on higher education.  Spending whatever it takes to get the “best” education money can buy is not an option.  The question then is where should students go to get the best combination of quality and affordability in America.  A recent article from Business Insider  provides some answers to this important question.  It lists the most affordable colleges in all 50 states based on a combination of cost and quality.  It might help you make the right college choice.

A Great Way To Save For College Few Families Use

Higher Education, Mentoring Students, Students, Success In College, Uncategorized, , ,

Copyright State Farm

Paying for college is a real challenge.  Tuition, room, board, books and other expenses can easily exceed $30,000 a year.  There is a way to save for these expenses that is effective and flexible.  In spite of this, few families take advantage of it.  In a recent article from Business Insider I read that only about 13% of families surveyed reported using a 529 plan to cover college expenses – down from 16% the prior year.  The plan allows parents or anyone else to open a 529 account and contribute through direct contributions, payroll deductions or automatic transfers – before a child is even born.  The money grows tax free and can be withdrawn tax free at any point as long as it’s used to cover college tuition, fees, books and supplies.

Each state runs their own plans so check with your state department of higher education for relevant details.  You can read about 111 options for investing funds in 529 plans at savingforcollege.com.  Starting a 529 plan early can help make paying for college easier and reduce the need for student/parent school loans.

A New Way To Reduce The Cost Of A College Education

First Generation College Students, Granville Sawyer, Higher Education, Parents, Students, Success In College, ,

Several states offer free tuition programs for students to attend state colleges and universities.  The programs require various qualifiers including but not limited to state residency, maximum income cutoff, community service or attendance requirements and/or a minimum 2.5 grade point average in high school.  All programs also require parents and students to fill out the FAFSA form to assess financial need.  All the Places in the U.S. Where You Can Go to College for Free by Kaitlin Mulhere outlines 37 programs in 19 states.  One of these could reduce your cost of a college education by thousands of dollars.

Being The Only One—Then and Now

Students, Success In College

The Black & White by Robin Mehdee via Flickr

I started as a freshman at the University of Tennessee in 1967, not that long after The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed discrimination in public places based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.  In my entering freshman class of 5,000, I was one of only 67 blacks. We often had to deal with racial insensitivity and, sometimes, outright racial hostility from whites and black students.  White students didn’t believe we were smart enough to be there and some black students thought that if you performed well that meant you were “trying to be white”.

In “Black Like Me Meant White Like Them”, Boluwaji Ohumymi writes about his experience several decades after mine. His situation was similar to mine, a minority student in a majority educational setting. Sadly, from my time to his, some things just hadn’t  changed enough. He writes about his challenges dealing with black and white students in high school, college, and medical school.  He emphasized the importance of mentors to help with being successful in environments that are still like my yesterdays because the absence of this critical assistance could mean academically talented students of color may not be successful in college and beyond.

As you start to make decisions about where you will continue your education after high school, it is important that you consider the support available to you because the isolation of academic achievement is part of college life today and will continue to be into the foreseeable future.  With proper planning and outreach, however, these issues can be dealt with successfully  just as they were in 1967 when I went college and as they are today, when to some,  ‘Black Like Me means White Like Them.’

3 Keys to Success – Knowing When, Where & Who

Students, Success In College

Three Keys by mmarchin via flickr
Three Keys by mmarchin via flickr

You are going to need help to complete this semester and every semester thereafter if you want to complete college—as in graduate—successfully. Everyone does. The only way  to do well every semester, earn a degree and graduate with great job prospects, is to seek and accept  some help along the way. Be it academic, career planning, social or emotional issues – stuff comes up during the semester. That’s the bad news. The good news is that no matter what school you attend, there are resources available to get you the help you need. To access the right advice at the right time the following rules always apply:

  1. Never hesitate to ask for assistance. If you think you need help, ask. If you think you’ve got this, ask anyway. In college you are surrounded by a wealth of information; access as much of it as you can, whenever you can. At no other time in life will you be in a place where the primary goal and objective of everyone there is to help you succeed. Rather than take full advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity, students do not ask for help because they don’t want to appear academically weak to their instructors. This can be a fatal mistake. The longer you wait to get help, the further behind you get. Then, the  temptation is to just give up. Don’t do it!  If you ask you’ll get the help you need when you need it and you’ll be on your way to success.
  2. Go to the source. When you need information that’s important to your success, always go to the source of that information. And, when you can, go to more than one source to verify what you’ve been told. Don’t go the source that is convenient or that will give you the information you want to hear – like your roommate, Facebook, the Internet or people who can only tell you what they’ve “heard.” Remember, an opinion spoken and repeated twice becomes fact. The first time it’s “I think” the second time it’s “I heard” and the third time it’s a fact! Don’t be misled this way. Go to the person who is responsible for creating and disseminating the information you need. This is even more important at the end of the semester.  You don’t have time to be misled.  You should have already been to see your advisor and talked to your professors. Now, visit the registrar to confirm you’re on track to graduate on time based on the plan you worked out with your advisor. Register with the career services office to get information on the job market. If you don’t get the information you seek directly from the source – it’s all just hearsay.
  3. Go to the decision maker. Make sure you are always dealing with the decision maker and that they are empowered with the authority to make a decision and stand by it. No one else can give you the definitive answers you need. Others can tell you about decisions that have been made in the past or what they think about the decision; but if they are not the decision maker, they can’t ensure your outcome. Remember, the only one with something at risk is you. This means going to your advisor for decisions about what courses to take,  when to take them, to get information about any course substitutions you want to make and, to learn about anything on your academic records that you don’t understand.  It means going to your instructor to determine what is needed to complete each of your courses this semester.  Don’t take chances with your success this semester or any other by assuming what you don’t understand is just a “glitch in the system.” That glitch may cost you more time and tuition and it could prevent you from graduating. Always go to the person with  the information you need and  the authority to make a decision you can count on – preferably in writing.

Knowing when, where and who to ask for advice – the 3 keys to success in college and in life.

 

Is An Ivy League Education Really Worth It?

First Generation College Students, Higher Education, Mentoring Students, Non-traditional Students, Success In College, The Costs and Benefits of Higher Education, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , ,

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From the U. S. Department of Education on Flikr

Should you send your son or daughter to an Ivy League college or university or another high quality school that does not have the prestige or the cost of the Ivies?  This is a question parents all over the country wrestle with every year as decisions about where students will be in the fall are made.  The choice of a college or university depends on many things the most important of which is the student.  Each family should send their son or daughter to the school the fits him or her best and that fits their budget for college.  In Ivy League or Bust? , Kristin Battista-Frazee’s recent article on Huffington Post does an excellent job of setting out the factors to be evaluated when making this important decision.  I strongly recommend that you read this article before deciding on a college or university.