For-Profit Universities, the Global University and the Inauguration of President C.L. Max Nikias

This past week has been an exciting week for me to be at USC.  I was privileged to attend three events this week that gave me a glimpse into the future of higher education.  On Wednesday afternoon, I attended “The Rise of For-Profit Colleges and Universities” with Dr. Gib Hentschke.  Dr. Hentschke lectured and held a discussion about the for-profit sector of higher education.  These colleges and universities have been absorbing most of the growth of the higher education field.  These institutions have been able to take advantage of the budget and economic constraints of the public not-for-profit sector and capture a large portion of the market. 

On Wednesday evening, I attended the “Global University” panel discussion. It was interesting to hear views of professionals about the global university and the future of higher education around the world.  I have been in many meetings where the global initiatives of USC have been discussed.  USC wants to have a global presence and been seen as a global university.  In my job, I see SPPD striving to offer global programs to make SPPD and USC more attractive.  This year, I planned an international student welcome for 60 new master’s students at SPPD.  Currently, the associate dean of student affairs at SPPD is planning her Asia recruitment trip.  Also, at SPPD and at other schools at USC, we are beginning to see more online degrees and certificates take off. 

On Friday, I attended the Inauguration of President C.L. Max Nikias.  At this grand event, President Nikias discussed the direction that he wants to take the university.  He said, “As our world is shifting away from an Atlantic to a Pacific century, USC is better positioned than anyone else to lead this age.”  He quickly wants to position USC as a premier global university.  It is an exciting time to be at USC; I will be able to be a part of USC as we position our institution as a world leader in the higher education.

My thoughts on HBCUs

So I have to be honest and let you know that before these past 2 weeks, I believed that HBCUs provided "inferior" education compared to PWIs.  After doing my second writing assignment about the history and the future of HBCUs, I was glad to find that I was wrong.  HBCUs have trained and educated a vast number of the nation's Black business leaders, educators, doctors, and political leaders.  However, HBCUs have a reputation in the higher education community, and more sadly in the Black community, as a system of higher education for those that are underprepared or what a "cultural" experience in college.
I learned so much this past week about HBCUs and the education of Blacks. I researched the origins of HBCUs and milestones in the path of higher education for Blacks. Although I am grateful for the Brown ruling and the Higher Education Act of 1965, I am sadden that these event led to the decline of students enrolled at HBCUs.  HBCUs have two major obstacles: underfunding and unprepared students.  Even with underfunding and underprepared students, these schools have graduation rates comparable to those of PWIs. 
Although I am still passionate about  community college students, I hope to use this insight and knowledge to broaden the opportunities of the transfer students that I will support.

Engagement and Involvement

This past week in class we discussed student engagement.  I am particularly interested in engagement of students at community colleges and then as they transfer to a 4-year college or university.  While working at a community college, I saw the lack of student involvement outside of the classroom.  I worked in the Student Development and College Activities Office as a Student Events Assistant.  I planned and facilitated events on-campus for students.  At a community college of nearly 15,000 students, our highest attendance for events was 300 and only when there was free food.  This broke my heart.  My students and I spent so much time planning these events to help students learn outside of the classroom.  I knew then that engagement and involvement was important, but I did not realize how important it truly is. 
Although I worked at a community college in 2008-2009, I still keep in touch with some of my former students.  Many of these students have transferred and are still disengaged in class and uninvolved in campus activities.  Subsequently, many of these students are not excelling and/or want to return home.
I hope to work at a community college and promote engagement and involvement.  With my new knowledge, I hope to be able to host workshops on how to engage in class and how to develop student-faculty relationships.

Community Colleges

During our class discussion on Wednesday, we discussed why community colleges began. There were many social forces that drove the creation of these schools, including education as a social elevator. Because more students were graduating from high school and the colleges and universities could not take on the influx of these students so there was a need for more educational institutions.  Also, everyone could not leave home to go to school so as the highway system developed, more community colleges were established.  Also, community colleges were to be the institutions for vocational training.

We discussed an article about a community college that added a cosmetology associate's degree to their curriculum. This is very interesting to me because I hope to work at a community college. When I worked at a community college in 2008, I learned that many students wanted vocational training, but felt the market demanded further education and certification.  This program combined both vocational training and an associate's degree.  As the economy and market continue to change, a college education is a necessity to maintain middle class status. Hopefully, more colleges will begin to realize the direction the market is headed and further their vocational training.

Peer Review

On Wednesday, the class participated in peer review of our first Issue Paper.  At first, I was a bit nervous about someone reading my paper.  As an business administration undergraduate, little of my work was critiqued by my peers.  However, the peer review process was helpful to me.  This process helped me better my paper and hear what others thought about my topic.  I also gained insight into the interests of a classmate.  Afterwards, my peer reviewer and I had a conversation about her topic and I hope that I was able to assist her in improving her paper.  This process will continue to be important as I advance in my education.  If I pursue a Ph.D., my research will undergo the scrutiny of my peers, my institution, as well as the entire higher education community.

Public Good vs. Private Good

       In class on Wednesday, the class was asked to list who/what benefits from higher education.  The class listed several individuals, entities and groups that benefit from higher education.  The student, alumni, faculty and staff all benefit from institutions of higher education.  The local neighborhood residents and businesses, as well as the city, state, and federal government receive benefits of higher education. Furthermore, society and the environment receive benefits of higher education.  With all that receive the benefits of higher education, is higher education a public or private good?
      As a business major, I learned a lot about public and private goods.  A public goods are "goods or services that can be used by any one person without affecting the supply to all other people, and for which it is impractical to charge individually ("Public goods", n.d.)". There are very few truly pure public goods.  Although I believe that knowledge is a public good, I do not believe that a formal higher education is a public good.  No matter how much knowledge I obtain, the supply of knowledge is unchanged.  In regards to a formal higher education, if someone is admitted to a university, the supply or available seats to others has decreased.   In addition, I can gain knowledge freely.  A formal higher education is not free and most institutions charge individually.  Although some may argue that you can attend school for free, students have to find ways to pay their tuition and/or fees.  On the other hand, I believe that there are aspects of institutions of higher education that are manifested as public goods, including resources and school pride. Because we live in a capitalist society, many "public" institutions still charge a premium or fee to access.

Public goods.  (n.d.)  In MSN Encarta.  Retrieved from
      http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_561547914/public_goods.html

Bibliography

Rudolph, F. (1990). The American college and university: A history. Athens,
       GA: The University of Georgia Press.

Reflection of Week #2 Readings

    After reading the history of early colleges, many of the same barriers to attending an institution of higher education still exist.  Frederick Rudolph stated that "The institutions themselves helped to keep the people away. The curriculum was not the sort that appealed to men...The costs required available cash...The distances were often excessive (p. 20)."  From my experiences, these are some of the problems students face.  The area or subject that they would like to study is not available at the institutions to which they are admissible. At the community college level, this problem is more evident.  Often times, students cannot afford to go to colleges. Many times, students cannot afford to leave home, making distance a determining factor in their education.
   Another barrier, especially in the African-American community, is the idea that college is not integral to success.  "Americans were on the whole impressed by the careers of self-taught, self-made men, men whose elevation to positions of responsibility, eminence, and wealth were accomplished without benefit of formal schooling (Rudolph, 1990, p. 63)".  Many children aspire to be rappers, singers, actors, athletes and reality television stars. It is devastating to the African-American community that children are socialized to think that the majority of successful careers are achieved without a college degree.

Summary of Week #2 Readings

     This week's readings focused on the Emergence of Higher Education in the U.S. In chapter one of The American College & University: A History, Frederick Rudolph details the history of the colonial college.  He outlines the development of the first nine colleges - Harvard, Yale, William and Mary, New Jersey at Princeton, Dartmouth, Philadelphia, Rhode Island at Providence, King's, and Queen's. He explains how the purpose and mission of these colleges developed.  Harvard sought to educated clergy men and leaders of society.  Yale hoped to protect the faith of their fathers by educating the future.  New Jersey and other colleges were founded as the result of the Great Awakening and denominational rivalry.
      In chapter two, Rudolph goes on to discuss the origins of the curriculum in these schools.  Early colleges were influenced by English and French movements, specifically the Reformation and the Renaissance. The Revolution was a major turning point in American higher education. He notes that the Revolution caused damage to these schools' purpose and course of study.  In addition, the Revolution lead to more involvement from the state in the higher education. 
     In chapter three, the college movement is highlighted.  During this movement over 200 colleges would emerge.  This movement was fueled by state and denominational rivalry. Also, as a result of this movement, a college education became a social elevator for attendees.
     In chapters seven and eight-teen, Rudolph discussed extra curriculum and athletics.  Both activities subsidized the college experience.  At many schools, extracurricular activities and athletics became recruiting tools.  In addition, these activities often developed unity and increased access into college.

First In-Class Activity

During our first meeting, each student was asked to bring in an item that symbolizes or honors someone or something that motivates them. It was interesting to see all the things that motivated my classmates. There were several similar motivations that my classmates and I shared. Here are a few our motivators:

• Family - many students had family members that motivated and/or inspired them to continue their education
• Friends - some students had a support system in their friends that helped them continue in their education
• Experiences and memories- many students had positive or negative experiences that had motivated them
• Culture - there were some students whose memory or appreciate of their culture motivated them

It was also encouraging the extent to which we all opened up in class.  One student, discussed his fears and nervousness with the class.  Another student shared her mother's struggle with breast cancer. I shared my tattoo (even though I didn't show it) and the meaning behind it. My brothers motivate me in every thing that I do. As a first generation college student, my brothers encouraged me to attend USC. Even to this day, my brothers are a constant support and driving force in my life.  One of my brothers is now a senior at USC studying business administration.  Another one of my brothers JUST had a little girl.  (My niece was born tonight at 6:45pm).  Now I am excited to have another motivator in my life.

"You've Been Pre-Approved?" or You Filled Out Your Application Wrong and We Are Fixing It For You

In the Inside Higher Ed article entitled "You've Been Pre-Approved" David Moltz reports on Project Win-Win. Project Win-Win is a $1.3 million initiative being used by 35 community college and four-year institutions in 6 states to find students who have or nearly have earned an associate degree. Once these students are identified, the institutions retroactively award their degree or inform them of their academic progress.  With the 6 pilot schools, after their 7-month pilot period, had award over 600 associate degrees and identified nearly 1600 who were within 9 units of earning a degree. The author states that if all students who qualified for associate degrees were award their degrees, the number of associate degree holders in the United States would increase by 12 percent.
After reviewing the process, challenges and evaluation of Project Win-Win, I hope that this initiative continues and that all schools will implement a process similar to this. I worked at a California community college for a year and noticed that institution was facing the same problem.  Many of the students that I came in contact with had already earned an associate degree and were not aware or were a few units shy of completing one.  I found that many of them had earned a degree in a different subject matter or concentration.  It worries me that this is happening on such a large scale. I understand that many students are simply taking classes to transfer or are working towards another goal, but I believe that it is important for advisors and counselors to let students know all of their options.  This type of problem is what actually fueled my desire to become a community college counselor.

Sources: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/08/26/retroactive#Comments.
http://www.ihep.org/projectwin-win.cfm