Monthly Archives: April 2022

Research Project- Ungrading

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   We have all heard this question asked at least once in grade school. “Is this going to be on the test?”, if the teacher said yes, you probably wrote the information; if the professor said “No” chances are, you didn’t write it down. The traditional a,b,c,d,f grading system, has made students shallow learners, unmotivated students to learn, and is causing more harm than good.  We have talked about in class how this vague way of grading affects students. This grading system promotes students cutting corners to getting the best grade, instead of taking the time to learn the information.

   Students once or twice, have cut corners to get a good grade. Whether it was simply taking an easier project to do or taking an easier course for a better GPA. In the video “Why grades shouldn’t exist”, Professor Alfie Kohn says “We don’t have to have grades. Research shows that grades have three effects; one, they make students less interested in whatever they are learning for a grade. Two, they become less likely to pick something more difficult. After all, if the point is to get an “A”, you’re gonna choose the shortest book or the easiest project, because that makes it more likely you’ll get the “A”. Three, when students are graded, they tend to do things in a more shallow or superficial fashion. They’re less likely to really push and reflect…”. Professor Alfie Kohn explains in his quote why grades are leading students to become shallow.

   Instead of students being categorized by using the same way, factories have been grading their chunks of meat, students should be graded by truly being assessed. With a shallow grading system, like most schools around the USA has, it’s no wonder why the students in the system are being taught, how to be just as shallow. Students should be assessed by finding what level learner you’re currently, finding their strengths and weaknesses and how they can improve. Not represented by numbers and not represented by a vague letter. In the scholarly article “The changing of landscape of grading systems in US higher education” says “Furthermore, it may be time that we reconsider the value of higher education and begin to focus more on the process than the outcome.”. Letter grades and GPAs focus on the outcome of the student, not at all on the student’s commitment and progression. The traditional US grading system doesn’t show the sleepless nights of studying, it doesn’t show how much time and effort a student has put in. Letter grades just show how good a student is at taking tests. Students start prioritizing how to get good grades instead of being curious and learning, like higher education is meant for.

   The traditional grading system can also lead to harm. It can cause students to be unethical and start cheating in higher education. It is well known that cheating only cheats students out of the information that could be learned, but grades are prioritized instead of learning so students’ cheat. Students that take the time the study will get lower grades than students who cheat. That causes more students to cheat.  The grading system wires students to think that grades are more important rather than the actual information taught. Students forget why they really go to school. Not to get grades, not to go to the most prestigious schools to get good grades, the purpose is to learn and use your curiosity.

Some professors believe if there were no grades then students then students wouldn’t prioritize their work. This is a form of coercion. Forcing students to be graded so that they learn about topics they have no personal interest in. Professor Alfie Kohn from the “Why Grades shouldn’t exist” video, believes that skilled professors are able to get students interested in topics without having to force grades on them. Professor Kohn does not agree with students being bribed into learning with grades.

   Students should be taught how to be curious, and how to integrate that curiosity into the real world. Students should have a desire to learn, so they get satisfaction from it rather than getting good grades. The traditional grading system does more harm than good, students lose the desire to learn and be curious. In order to stop students from being shallow, you have to change the shallow system.

 

Works cited

 

Steven B. Kleinman, Mary Beth Leidman & Andrew J. Longcore (2018) The
changing landscape of grading systems in US higher education, Perspectives: Policy and Practice
in Higher Education, 22:1, 26-33, DOI: 10.1080/13603108.2017.1279692

https://doi.org/10.1080/13603108.2017.1279692

 

“Why grades shouldn’t exist.”. Youtube, uploaded by “Fiddlestick Productions”                                                                                                                   21 Feb 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfRALeA3mdU&t=19s

Research on Higher Education- The Benefits of Dual Enrollment

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Colin Wright

Professor Weaver

English 1102

29 April 2022

The Benefits of Dual Enrollment 

For many high school students, the transition from high school to college can be a difficult one. However, there are systems in place that can help make this transition into higher education easier with a bit of a boost. Dual enrollment is an amazing opportunity offered to students across the United States. Dual enrollment is a program where students can take college classes at a college campus while still being enrolled in high school (“Dual Enrollment”). Dual enrollment is an alternative option to Advanced Placement (AP) classes offered inside the high school and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs or can be taken in addition to them (Partridge and Schaller and Berry and Routon). This is made possible by school districts affiliating with colleges in the same area (“Dual Enrollment”). Students can earn college credits, get the feel of college life, and have an educational boost for college all before they graduate from high school (“Dual Enrollment Benefits for Students & Parents”).  

The transition from high school to college can be intimidating. With dual enrollment, high school students are exposed to college life while still in high school (Iland). Students can have a slower and easier transition with the support of their parents, high school teachers, and college staff. Many students do not have the luxury of getting this kind of backbone of support when they leave for college. Things as simple as using a college library, walking around campus to classes, and being in a college classroom with college professors and students all help the student adjust (An). College is different in many ways from high school. The way classes are taught, the way assignments are displayed, and the communication from student to professor can all take students by surprise. It is typical for dual enrollment students to not attend the college they are taking their college classes at. However, they can still get the experience of taking public transportation by themselves and traveling to a college environment from their home environment to a whole new college environment that can be very different from what the student is used to (Iland). It has been found that dual enrollment boosts a student’s success and puts them at an upper hand advantage because of the changes that are made in their academic life. Researchers have found that dual enrollment students have an improved rigor in their preparation for college (Iland), and better study methods after being exposed to different ways of retaining information than their high school acquaintances which leads to better study habits, and makes the student overall more motivated and confident to succeed in school (An). Along with dual enrollment’s educational advantages, it also gives students a social advantage by speaking to other college students in collaborative projects and communicating with their professors about the class that they are in (An). This differs from communicating with high school teachers because a student’s high school education is typically organized by their parents or guardian, while college life is much more independent. Students who are not in dual enrollment have no exposure to any of this. For example, dually enrolled students are 3.4 times less likely to take remediation in college (Grubb), 2.5 times more likely to graduate in five years (Grubb), and students who take dual enrollment are proven to be more likely to graduate from college than those who were never dually enrolled (Lee). These statistics starting to show especially over the past several years, with dual enrollment increasing by nearly 90 percent in popularity among high school students (Grubb).  

A common misconception about dual enrollment is that it is only available to a select few wealthy students. When in reality, dual enrollment is available to any student from any background who matches the requirements in school performance (“High Schoolers Can Get a Jumpstart on College”), and in some cases can even be free of cost (Partridge and Schaller and Berry and Routon). For students of lower economic ability, high school guidance counselors can help students fill out paperwork for free dual enrollment (Partridge and Schaller and Berry and Routon). Many low-class families have first-generation children in education and these high schoolers will also be first-generation in higher education. Taking dual enrollment will help bridge this gap between what the family is uncertain of since it will be their first experience with it (Partridge and Schaller and Berry and Routon). Even though dual enrollment is available for students of any background, race, gender identity, etc., it is still fairly selective. There are criteria that students have to match to be able to be considered for dual enrollment. These requirements include being a junior or senior enrolled in their high school for the upcoming school year (“High Schoolers Can Get a Jumpstart on College”), a minimum of a 2.5 GPA (this may vary depending on the school), a completed dual enrollment application, having no records of violence, and having no serious broken code of conduct rules for their respective high school (“High Schoolers Can Get a Jumpstart on College”). The cost for taking a dual enrollment course is actually far cheaper than it would be to take the exact same course in college (“High Schoolers Can Get a Jumpstart on College”).  

Dual enrollment allows students to explore what they want to do in the future before students who are not in dual enrollment (Iland). This ability for exploration saves money and will create more certainty about what classes they want to take in college (Gordon). For example, if a student wanted to major in mathematics took a dual enrollment course for math and English, and discovered that they actually enjoyed their English course more than their mathematics course, this would provide some extra knowledge of what classes they want to take in their freshman year and what major to declare. If this same student did not take dual enrollment and went into college as a mathematics major, they would discover they wanted to do something else later on, wasting time and setting them back in their education. This can prevent redemption in college, which would require students to take an extra course to make up for a course they previously failed (Gordon). If the student already has the knowledge of what their strong suits are in college-level classes, it can further propel them into a more successful college learning experience (Gordon). Dual enrollment can also help students graduate early (Gordon). Since their dual enrollment course is getting them extra college credits before even going to college, this gives them a head start in getting these credits (“Dual Enrollment Benefits for Students & Parents”). Many of their required courses will already be complete, especially if they are also enrolled in Advanced Placement, or “AP,” classes. If a student wishes to have a double major, this can also give them that opportunity (Gordon).  

Given the many benefits of dual enrollment, from getting the experience of college living to higher graduation rates, it is evident that students of all backgrounds and goals benefit from dual enrollment. 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited 
 

“Dual Enrollment.” The Education Trust, 14 Jan. 2022, https://edtrust.org/issue/dual-enrollment/.  

 

Lee, Jennifer. “Dual Enrollment Requires Sustainable Funding to Promote High School and College Success.” Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, 19 May 2020, https://gbpi.org/dual-enrollment-requires-sustainable-funding-to-promote-high-school-and-college- success/#:~:text=Both%20Advanced%20Placement%20and%20Dual,Dual%20Enrollment%2C%20and%20vice%20versa.  

 

Grubb, John M., Pamela H. Scott, and Donald W. Good. “The Answer Is Yes: Dual Enrollment Benefits Students at the Community College.” Community College Review, vol. 45, no. 2, 2017, pp. 79-98. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/scholarly-journals/answer-is-yes/docview/1875398352/se-2?accountid=11226 

 

“DUAL ENROLLMENT BENEFITS FOR STUDENTS & PARENTS.” US Fed News Service, Including US State News, Nov 26, 2014. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/dual-enrollment-benefits-students-parents/docview/1627993435/se-2?accountid=11226.  

 

Iland, Emily, M.A., and Iland, Thomas W, B.S., C.P.A. “The Benefits of Dual Enrollment.” The Exceptional Parent (Online), vol. 45, no. 9, 09, 2015, pp. 30-32. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/magazines/benefits-dual-enrollment/docview/1753202829/se-2?accountid=11226.  

 

Mark Allen Partridge, Tracey King Schaller, Reanna L. Berry & P. Wesley Routon (2021) “The Economic Benefit from Tuition Savings for Dual Enrollment Students in Georgia,” Journal of School Choice, 655-667,https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/15582159.2020.1865091  

  

“High schoolers can get a jumpstart on college: Dual enrollment programs offer many benefits to juniors and seniors.” Philadelphia Tribune, Oct 19, 2021, pp. 15. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/high-schoolers-can-get-jumpstart-on-college-dual/docview/2587942113/se-2?accountid=11226.  

 

An, Brian P. “The Role of Academic Motivation and Engagement on the Relationship Between Dual Enrollment and Academic Performance.” Journal of Higher Education, vol. 86, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 98–126. EBSCOhost,  https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? vid=4&sid=feb882bd-c13d-4715-b43b-837de647ca41%40redis 

 

Gordon, Sherri. “Dual Enrollment: Is It Right for Your Child?” Verywell Family, Verywell Family, 10 June 2021, https://www.verywellfamily.com/pros-and-cons-of-dual-enrollment-4589995. 

Meeting Students’ Basic Needs

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Students’ basic needs are not being met. The overwhelming cost of housing, textbooks, transportation, food insecurity, and household finances are deeply affecting students. Food insecurity is one of the key factors why students are going downhill. How are students going to be able to keep up with no food in their system? Students are not going to be able to study and maintain throughout the semester with no food. Students’ Basic needs are important. Students cannot focus on their work and school if they are too busy worrying about where they are going to lay their head at night or what they are going to eat for dinner. That alone can impact your mental, physical, and emotional health. Which is not a good sign for any student. Now what if a student does have a living area but it is poor? They may not be able to function properly, and this can also affect their physical and mental health. We should talk about this issue because this is a big issue. If student basic needs are not met, more and more students will become dropouts. We would want the number of dropouts to decrease and not increase. The more students who dropout, the more students who will not want to go to college. We need to ask ourselves what can be done to improve this situation, although there is no easy solution…

According to the journal “The Role of Student Debt and Debt Anxiety in College Student Financial Well Being” “Just over 50 % of students report student loan debt (Sallie Mae, 2016). Approximately one in every six students who is offered a loan declines it (Cadena & Keys, 2013). This is most common among the wealthy, who are least likely to need the assistance, and the least wealthy, who are more likely to receive grants and other aid. Students who decline loans that are offered report that their refusal to accept the loan was due to not being comfortable taking out loans and because their parents discouraged loans (Montalto, Phillips, McDaniel, & Baker, 2019).” Parents discourage loans because they don’t want to be in debt. Wealthy kids who parents will be able to pay their classes does not accept the loan and unwealthy kids who know that their parents will have trouble paying the money back will not accept the loan. Parents of the unwealthy discourage loans because they don’t want to risk being in debt, and paying off their child’s school loans for the rest of their life. Students who have their parents support has an advantage than the parents who are less fortunate. Not all students have supporting parents who are able to help them through college.

The Pell Grant program has ben successful. They help low-income students, (poor and rich families) get some type of money to help students. The Pell Grant Program is the best program that helps at reducing students’ costs. If you are accepted for the Pell Grant you will get a grant. Which means the money you will get you do not have to pay back. According to the article “Pell  Grants and Student Success: .\Evidence from the Universe of Federal Aid Recipients”,  “At a total budgetary cost of about $30 billion spread across 6–7 million students in recent years, Pell grants currently subsidize the costs of attendance of low-income students up to a maximum award of about $6,300 per student” Any money is better than no money.

There is also an program where students can work for their tuition money. According to the article, “The Work College Way” “Nine liberal arts colleges—Alice Lloyd College, Berea College, Bethany Global College, Blackburn College, College of the Ozarks, Ecclesia College, Paul Quinn College, Sterling College, and Warren Wilson College—have found a balance in offering access, affordability, and workforce development for their students, specifically those from low-income families”. These nine colleges are known as work colleges. At these institutions college students work around their campus and for their hard work they earn money to help reduce their tuition. Every institution is different and has their own way and helping support and provide for their students who are in need. For example, at Berea, the students get 100 percent of their tuition paid off, but they have to work and help out around their college and must meet certain other requirements.

Even though it is not easy, there are some ways out there that the government and people could do to help students raise money for their tuition and other basic needs in school. Basic needs for students are important for the health of students. Students cannot go on if they don’t have what they need. The more student basic needs are met the more students will be successful in school. The more successful students there are, the less dropouts there will be. There are grants that students could be approved for, there are jobs students can get around campus (certain institutions).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Citations

MORGENSTERN, ERIN. “The Work College Way: Work Colleges Offer Ideas about Providing an Affordable Liberal Education and Equipping Students for Professional Success.” Liberal Education, vol. 105, no. 3/4, Summer/Fall2019 2019, pp. 36–41. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=fth&AN=142398402&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Martinez, Suzanna M., et al. “Redefining Basic Needs for Higher Education: It’s More Than Minimal Food and Housing According to California University Students.” American Journal of Health Promotion, vol. 35, no. 6, July 2021, pp. 818–34. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=s3h&AN=150911906&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Norvilitis, Jill M., and Braden K. Linn. “The Role of Student Debt and Debt Anxiety in College Student Financial Well-Being.” Journal of Student Financial Aid, vol. 50, no. 3, Sept. 2021, pp. 1–22. EBSCOhost, https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,shib&db=eue&AN=153330615&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Eng, Amanda, and Jordan Matsudaira. “Pell Grants and Student Success: Evidence from the Universe of Federal Aid Recipients.” Journal of Labor Economics, vol. 39, Apr. 2021, pp. S413–54. EBSCOhost, https://doi.org/10.1086/712556.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Federally defined” Low-Income Students in Higher Education

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Introduction 

The word “college” scares a lot of students, especially ones of low class. This is because these types of students worry about financial issues later on in life that they know their parents would not be able to take care of. “How does being federally defined “low-income” affect first-generation students’ academic performance?” is an interesting topic of words because the federal government appointed a limited amount of money to students who can not afford even what is left to pay for college. The topic of “inequality in higher level education” has been discussed for over 3 decades. With data reports from as far as 1992 from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) showing the percentage of minority students enrolling in public and private universities, the topic creates an even more direct question that has not been answered in its entirety. Students around the globe struggle from poverty, unwillingly, due to many reasons. This tends to outcast these individuals, making them feel as though they are not worthy to achieve a better level of education. With this pressure being placed on individuals, comes controversy across the world. So without further ado, let’s dive right into it. 

 Information 

Between the years of 1992 & 2002, the rate of enrollment for minorities actually grew to about 62% with majority of these student being hispanic, according to the Integrated Postsecondary Educational Data System (IPEDS). Around this time, a lot of first generation students were seeking higher level education at a lower cost. With this mindset, more students started to lean toward community colleges in which they could obtain the same education at a lower cost. The surge of college students attending community college students grew drastically. Along with this growth, a lot of minority student groups pursued an alternative way to maintain a stable way of living, which were to get certifications. The number of certifications that were given to students around the U.S. were the highest it has ever been between the years of ’92 to ’93.  Although, over the years more students started to obtain their associate’s degree and surpassing the time required to obtain a certification. 

With this information being presented, data shows that around 13% of students are less likely to graduate with a bachelor’s degree after attending a community college. There has also been controversy in graduate schools according to Michael Bastedo, with one legal scholar presenting an analysis that showed the minority students were passing the bar exam with far lower rates than others. It has been hypothesized that low SES (socioeconomic status) students are less likely to attend 4-year colleges and are more so to attend community colleges over the years. A lot of comparisons across cohorts, in which statisticians group together a particular race and gender together, tend to cause controversy. This is because students in more recent cohorts may be more likely to pursue the idea of attending a 4-year university than the previous cohorts, according to Bastedo and Maquette in their section titled “Limitations.”  

It has been proven through extensive research that the socioeconomic status, also known as the SES, is one the strongest correlations to academic performance according to Senior researcher, Marjolein Muskens. The relation between a students’ SES and academic performance is primarily based upon several factors such as differences in cognitive development related to experiences presented from poverty, low SES students’ have a higher chance of encountering lower educational expectations from their parents and they have a higher chance of being placed in low resource schools compared to high-SES students, according to Muskens. Being placed in these social classes, alter the minds of young students created a stigma of incapability. The statistics that are discussed are also similar in the Dutch. In both Europe and the U.S., secondary school (high school) is followed by tertiary school (college) during the late years of adolescence. 

The general view is that disagreements are undesirable and have a long-term negative impact on wages and work conditions. Subjective experience at university is also important from the perspective of graduation and life course development. These experiences are accumulated in adulthood and can have lasting consequences. However, little is known about the relationship between underestimation in higher education and  the student’s subjective experience, and the potential role of student SES in this context. Using a consultant pattern of 22,521 adolescents, the modern examine tries to beautify information approximately those members of the family and their improvement over the direction of college students` time in better education. From an educational misalignment perspective, undermatching ends in much less delight due to the mismatch among college students` excessive capability and the much less rigorous instructional software in much less selective institutions. However, from a social misalignment perspective, undermatching could have distinctive affects on low SES and excessive SES college students, and social misalignment skilled in much less selective environments than extra selective facilities. Students with a low SES historical past are anticipated to be extra glad because of their much less experience. .. In addition, the position of studying time in those relationships (ie, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th year) is investigated.

With low SES students coming from low resourced schools, they are only taught what the state curriculum allows teachers to present. Scores from the core subjects were compared from 1982 to 2004 and there was a significant increase. The lowest SES rose from a 2 in algebra 1/geometry to a 3. This was a major deal for researchers at this time. The scores from the SAT & ACT were also compared and there was an increase of .3 from 1972 to 2004 (Bastedo, Selection Into the SAT). With their being many statistics to prove that low SES students are less likely to move forward with higher level education, the government still does not want to acknowledge this problem. These students that come from a lower social class are working just as hard as others, and are still underfunded due to laws that were established 50 years ago. 

Conclusion

Students attending less selective colleges tend to have fewer employment opportunities and lower long-term wages than underrated students. Therefore, undermatches are primarily seen as an undesired result in the literature, especially among low SES students who are prone to undermatches. Due to the importance of subjective experience for adolescent development to adulthood and the literature gap on disagreement, SES, and student satisfaction, current studies include adolescents. It contains 21,452 respondents (67 men). Large-scale cohort study. How student satisfaction and undermatching in college using propensity score matching are related. The results show a negative link between underestimation and satisfaction with the increasing social and academic environment towards fourth-year college students. This relationship appeared to be negative for both low SES and high SES students. For example, below-average students, regardless of SES, are less satisfied with their academic environment than students who match the end of the new year. In addition, the satisfaction of the matched students is stable, although the satisfaction is reduced during the first year. These findings have important implications for understanding student development-related discrepancies and for policy intervention. The high likelihood of absenteeism from students with a low SES background can exacerbate their educational disadvantages. This is because low satisfaction associated with disagreement can adversely affect college graduation, and because the long-term experience of adolescent stress can have detrimental consequences for their health and well-being in adulthood.

Major project 4 ; Low-Income Students in Community Colleges and Graduation Rates

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Adil Abdulalim

Dr. Rebecca weaver

ENGL 1102

Aabdulalim1@student.gsu.edu

By research conducted by the National Center for Educational Statistics in 2010, an average three-year graduation rate of approximately 20 percent goes towards community colleges. On the other side, four-year institutions have a lower six-year graduation rate than two-year institutions. When President Obama requested an update to the Higher Education Act of 1965 from Congress in 2013, colleges and universities began to feel increased pressure to cut costs. Specifically, the request included affordability and value to be included in the determination of which colleges received specific future federal aid. Research from a nationwide education data set demonstrates that financial aid awareness and information play a role in the college decision process for low-income, 4-year university-qualified students and their parents. Using National Education Longitudinal Study survey data, Berkner and Chavez (1997) found that all low-income and middle-income Black and Hispanic students who read information about financial aid from one or more sources were more likely to take steps toward attending a 4-year institution than those who did not read any information. For example, 48% of college-qualified low-income students who did not read any information on financial aid took steps, compared to 70% who obtained information from one or two sources. In addition, college-qualified low-income students were more likely than their middle-income counterparts to read information and speak to teachers, guidance counselors, or college representatives about financial aid. Low-income parents, however, apparently did not have any more information about financial aid than middle-income parents. (Mari Luna De La Rosa, Aug 2006)

           As of 2014, the typical community college student’s tuition remained over a third of the average four-year public institution student’s tuition. However, without financial help, financing tuition and non-tuition expenses were practically impossible for most community college students. Many full-time community college students were eligible for Pell Grants, but they needed to find other ways to pay for their education. Although community college students were less likely to use loans than four-year students, community college students faced more severe financial difficulties. Tuition payment affects a student’s capacity to graduate. Graduation rates, which represent how well students complete degree programs, are one way to gauge a community college’s success. Past studies have shown mixed results with a positive relationship between tuition and graduation rate at 4-year institutions (Raikes, Berling, & Davis, 2012) and a not significant relationship between tuition and graduation rate at 2-year institutions (Bailey, Calcagno, Jenkins, Leinbach, & Kienzl, 2006). What is unknown is whether community college tuitions can forecast graduation rates based on recent data and whether enrollment size moderates the relationship between tuition and graduation rate.

           The current study includes several delimitations. The first distinction is made in terms of the level of analysis. As opposed to the student level of understanding, the institutional level of study is engaged with a few criteria, such as baseline tuition being established by the state or for each institution, rather than varying tuition costs per individual. Another distinction is that a demographic rather than a sample size is used. The current study looked at all of the nation’s community colleges rather than just a few.

On the other hand, using a population frequently leads to overly broad conclusions. To strengthen external validity and be better generalizable for community college policymakers and future researchers, the enrollment numbers of community colleges were used to regulate the relationships between tuition and graduation rate in the current study. Finally, the graduation rate was used as the unit of analysis. The graduation rate is not always the best indicator of community-academic achievement. On the other hand, the graduation rate is the most commonly used unit of study in the research for assessing community-academic achievement and the most readily available analysis method at the organizational level.

No professional is more critical to improving college enrollments within schools than counselors (McDonough, 2004, 2005a, 2005b). Research clearly shows that counselors, when consistently and frequently available and allowed to provide direct services to students and parents, can be a highly influential group of professionals who positively affect students’ aspirations, achievements, and financial aid knowledge (Adelman, 1999; McDonough, 1997, 2004; Plank & Jordan, 2001). Meeting frequently with a counselor increases a student’s chance of enrolling in a 4-year college, and if students, parents, and counselors work together and communicate clearly, students’ chances of enrolling in college significantly increase. Moreover, the effect of socioeconomic status on the college enrollment of low-income students is explained mainly by the lack of counseling (King, 1996; Plank & Jordan, 2001). (McDonough, Aug 2006). The tuition fee was found to have a negative, substantial link with the percentage of students from quasigroups and the size of enrolment, as well as a significant and positive correlation with the percentage of students getting loans. The percentage of students who received loans was inversely proportional to those who received Pell Subsidies or other federal grants. Furthermore, the percentage of students receiving loans was adversely and significantly associated with the proportion of students from non-dominant groups and the size of the student body.

The problem starts long before a student comes to college. An analysis released this week by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce found that children who are black or Latinx or from low-socioeconomic-status families perform worse academically, from pre-K through career, than white Asian Americans or are from higher socioeconomic levels. Furthermore, what is worse, high-achieving children from low-income families have lower odds of success than lower-achieving children from wealthier backgrounds. (Esta Pratt-Kielly, 2018)

The tuition fee was found to have a negative, substantial link with the percentage of students from quasigroups and the size of enrolment, as well as a significant and positive correlation with the percentage of students getting loans. The percentage of students who received loans was inversely proportional to those who received Pell Subsidies or other federal grants. Furthermore, the percentage of students receiving loans was adversely and significantly associated with the proportion of students from non-dominant groups and the size of the student body. Free college tuition can provide university education to individuals who would not otherwise be able to pay for it. Public sources and inexpensive tuition have been the objective of community colleges to enhance degree and certificate completion and therefore provide a path to a middle-class existence for everybody. The goal of this study was to see if tuition, particularly low tuition, impacted student performance. Despite the small sample size, tuition does not impact student achievement.

Work cited

Bailey, T., Calcagno, J., Jenkins, D., Leinbach, T., & Kienzl, G. (2006). Is student-right-toknow all you should know? An analysis of community college graduation rates. Research

in Higher Education, 47(5), 491-519.

Esta Pratt-Kielley. The real cost of school for first-generation college students (2018): https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/real-cost-school-first-generation-college-students-n1007796. Website.

J Engle. U.S. Dept. of Education. Moving Beyond Success. (2008) https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED504448.pdf. Publish.

Mari Luna De La Rosa. The American Behavioral Scientist; Thousand Oaks Vol. 49, Iss. 12, (Aug 2006): 1670-1686. Journal

McDonough, Patricia M; Calderone, Shannon. The American Behavioral Scientist; Thousand Oaks Vol. 49, Iss. 12, (Aug 2006): 1703-1718.

Kantrowitz, Mark. College and University; Washington Vol. 78, Iss. 2, (Fall 2002): 3-10. Journal.

Raikes, M. H., Berling, V. L., & Davis, J. M. (2012). To dream the impossible dream: College graduation in four years. Christian Higher Education, 11(5), 310-319.

How student loan debt effects African American students

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     Life after college being debt free is a dream for every African American college graduate could dream of.  Instead, majority of African American graduates across the United States stress about how they’re going to pay back their student loans. They miss important life milestones because of having to owe back money. Awareness has been brought to the attention of students that are not able to pay back their loans by having certain programs to help. President Barack Obama once said in a 2009 national address to students of color, “No matter what you want to do with your life, I guarantee that you’ll need an education to do it.” An African American entering college have been told getting a college degree is to get out of poverty.

      Research shows one-third of African American graduate bachelor’s degree accumulate forty thousand or more in debt. According to “Brookings Colleagues,” four years after graduation the average black college graduate owes fifty-two thousand, seven hundred and twenty-six dollars. When only white students owe twenty-eight thousand dollars. People of color are more likely to borrow more than any other race because of their limited resources of their families. Students of color borrow large amounts of money for school, but when they graduate, they are less successful to pay their loans. By having limit resources black household students tend to save their post-college income to help take care of their families, instead of saving to pay back their student loans. Compared to white graduates they have the extended connections to help pay for their student loans. Black women alone that borrow loans owe ten percent more in student debt than black man. Debt levels depend on who has attended for-profit colleges then compared to a non-profit and public school. Peter G. Peterson foundation article says, “Partially due to higher enrollment rates at such schools, black borrowers also have a high default rate, at twenty-nine percent more than double the twelve percent default rate of white bowers.” Once again, the connection the white graduates can ask for their parents to either help on paying their student loan or helping with life milestone. On the other hand, black students coming from low income, they want to help back at home either with having sick parents, younger siblings they look out for and more. There is a big gap of what black students have deal with when it comes to student debt loans compared to a white student.

    African American students are more likely to have long-term stress caused by student loans. The anxiety of knowing they’re not going to make half of the money their job career makes. It creates a barrier between a white graduate who can make back their payment without any struggle, versus a black graduate not being able to pay their debt even 15 years after graduation. Not only can student loans cause stress but they also push back major life milestones to a black graduate. J Geiman article states “Even for those who make their monthly payments, many make sacrifices to do so, including staying in unsatisfactory job and delaying homeownership or starting a family.” Every black student wants to be successful and have the job or the life to show for it. Unfortunately, some are not able to do so with getting the degree they worked for. What college doesn’t talk about is working four years to get the degree and is not guaranteed to work in that profession. That’s why some African Americans must come up with a plan b and work below what their qualifications are. Some turn into managers at fast food or retail places to help try to pay back their student loans which can been very hard on a person.  Money that could be spent on brand new houses, cars, vacations, and luxury times is going to a det system that will never go away.

     Student aid has a program called “student loan forgiveness,” offering to have them three types of forgiveness plans for federal student loans. The three plans are Forgiveness, cancellation, and discharge which means either one that you qualify for you are no longer required to pay some or all your loan. The three forgiveness plans are similar but is used in different ways. Forgiveness and cancellation are having to no longer be required to pay your loans back due to your job. The discharge plan must be a total and permanent disability or closure of the school where you received your loans. Borrower defense to repayment that could help African Americans is being eligible for discharge if their school did something or failed to do something related to your loan. Also, if a person of color is employed by the government, then they can apply for the “public service loan forgiveness program,” also known as the PSLF. The PSLF forgives the remaining of their loans after you successfully made 120 qualifying monthly payments while working fulltime at that government job. When applying your application could either be approved which means you wouldn’t have to pay your loans anymore. Being denied which means you are still required pay back your loan.

     Student loan debt is not the easiest to get rid of for African American students due to coming from low-income households. We faced with struggles of having to find a job that best suits for degree but is turned down by the lack of job opportunities after college. We prove that we are worthily to be in high professions but are overlooked. Life is being missed out for students that are coming straight out of college who want to have a life planned out for them. Getting a car, house, credit score going down is hard to face when you see other people fulfill that dream. A special thanks to student aid seeing the difficulty in paying back student loans they came up with certain programs to help pay or get rid of them forever.

Citations:

https://hbr.org/2019/09/what-will-it-take-to-solve-the-student-loan-crisis

https://www.brookings.edu/research/student-loans-the-racial-wealth-divide-and-why-we-need-full-student-debt-cancellation/

https://www.networkforphl.org/news-insights/student-loan-debt-is-creating-a-physical-and-mental-health-crisis-for-millions-of-americans/

https://hbr.org/2019/09/what-will-it-take-to-solve-the-student-loan-crisis

 

 

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How can HBCUS better Accommodate to Student Living By Yvette Chambliss

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Yvette Chambliss

Rebecca Weaver 

Section 304 English 1102

21 April 2022

What can colleges do to better Accommodate to student living 

 Historically Black Colleges and Universities are now one of the most growing private schools in American. These colleges hold so many triumphs of historically African Americans who have made an impact on the world today who have contributed back to the Hbcus in so many ways by funding, holding fantastic events where African American students can come together and enjoy themselves as one. Unfortunately HBCUS are fairly looked down upon just for being an all Black college and University where the expenses are not properly funded  to one of the most important issues till this day with HBCUS dormitories, so what can HBCUS do better to accommodate student living.    

 

Renovation issues with dormitory and the poor environments

Howard university was founded in 1867 and is still standing in 2022, now that’s a very long time. The dormitories probably went through a couple of renovations here and there throughout the year, but this wasn’t enough to sufficiently place students in these dormitories to live in for at least a year or the rest of these students four- year of college experience. In the article  “ Howard University students reach an agreement with officials after a month of protest” Jonathan Franklin states “Since the start of the fall semester, students say they’ve raised concerns to campus administrators regarding mold in the walls of their dorms, the lack of COVID-19 testing for students and the overall safety on campus, according to DCist/WAMU” (Jonthan franklin par. 10). where students started to notice mold growing on walls and their belongings where students could not continue to stay in these hostile environments. Students who literally forced to move out of their dorm because of how life threatening it would be for them to even be in a literal toxic environment, as Jonathan claims “ Frederick stated that mold was discovered in 41 out of 2,700 rooms on campus, with some of the damage being the result of “accidental human error.” ( Jonathan para.11). Students that felt as if the administration were not quick to initiate the problem would just get worse. 

  

      A month later  in Atlanta, Georgia, Spelman University an all African American women’s university, Clark Atlanta University, and Morehouse University  an all black African American university all very Popular HBCUs who are experiencing some of the same conceptions and issues as Howard university. In the article “Atlanta HBCU Students Demand Better Housing Conditions, More Funding” Valencia Jones states “They say there’s been mold and leaking pipes, particularly at Clark Atlanta”(Valencia para.3) the minor things that these HBCUS could have fixed these maintenance issues that have resulted in major issues that now has caused an outbreak of rage for student.” Tuesday marked the second day of protests near the Atlanta University Center. “The dorms that we do have, many of them have things such as mold. I personally have a friend who had a dryer fire in her dorm,” said Marcellus Kirkland, a Morehouse student and protest organizer.”(Valencia para.2)  As Black African American students who had to deal with these hostile environments that not just affect them physically but mentally. Not knowing if they would be allowed to have anywhere permit to stay while still attending school, when it felt as if these students who worked so hard to get accepted into these schools.

 

HBCU Protesting Movement

 

protest

Picture taken by ABC News story by Briana Stewart (students protesting by sleeping in tents outside buildings on campus about housing issues) 

 The only way that these Howard University students could get their Universities attention was to have a mass protest that started at Howard for a month where students would camp outside of the  buildings. In the article “Black leaders rally around Howard University students protesting poor living conditions on campus” Nicquel Terry Ellis and Jennifer Henderson claim” Students at the historically Black college in Washington, DC, have been assembling for sit-ins at the school’s Blackburn University Center with tents, air mattresses and sleeping bags, demanding that Howard leadership address their concerns. The sit-in, which has been dubbed #BlackburnTakeover on social media, started on October 12.”( Ellis and Henderson para 1). This protest turned into a movement from different parts of the country that affected other HBCUS that are experiencing the same problems as Howard University, where they also participated in the protest. In the article “ Howard University Students Stage Sit-In Over Issues With Mold And COVID Safety” Domonique Mari Bonessi and Dee Dwyer claim “Students with the group Live Movement a coalition of students from historically Black colleges and universities who advocate for education reform, began their sit-in at the Blackburn University Center” (Bonessi and Dwyer para 1). The entire issue was that every HBCU had almost similar issues to other HBCUS when it came to the Colleges and Universities housing situations.

 

HBCU Funding 

  

HBCUS are private schools where the majority of the student body applies for scholarships or that they either receive to go toward funding of these schools and then to have a prolonged education. Students tend to pay more than a regular university by at least 20 thousand more. Especially if not in state it’s much cheaper but going to a private university requires a lot more money. In the article “Atlanta HBCU Students Demand Better Housing Conditions, More Funding” Valencia Jones states “Students are also protesting high student loan debt and blaming the Biden Administration for cutting proposed federal education funding from $45 billion to $2 billion, which is a major blow to HBCUs.” ( Valencia para.3). Majority of these students are paying immaculate amounts of money to attend these schools where they can’t keep up with housing and maintenance issues for students to stay and fulfill these poor environments . This is clear that African Americans are not taken care of properly especially financially. Even though there have been large donations that have been given to these colleges and universities by alumni who all attended Howard University like Taraji Henson, Kamala Harris, and Chadwick Boseman who have had a great impact on this school from holding speeches to their greatly impacted donations that went toward these maintenance issues.

 As some who don’t know, you can donate to HBCUS across America. That would make a difference of the 75% of  African American students who attend these Colleges and Universities that need financial assistance. This foundation is called “The HBCU Foundation Giving to the Historically Black Colleges and Universities” anything could help that can go toward students’ books, other important school supplies, clubs, any part of these HBCUS  students’ lives that need assistance.

 

Conclusion

   

HBCUS are still one of the most proud landmarks of African American history that make up who Black Africans Americans are today. It’s disappointing to see what our ancestors worked so hard for, that as a community we have not taken care to progress in education; for students to have a healthy work environment. Just to do what we were doing years prior, protesting for our voices to be heard.

 

Works Cited

Jonthan Franklin “ Howard University students reach an agreement with officials after a month of protest” ( paragraph 10-11) 

https://www.npr.org/2021/11/15/1055929172/howard-university-students-end-protest-housing-agreement

 

Valencia Jones  “Atlanta HBCU Students Demand Better Housing Conditions, More Funding”    ( paragraph 2-3)

https://atlanta.cbslocal.com/2021/10/22/atlanta-hbcu-students-demand-better-housing-conditions-more-funding/

 

 Nicquel Terry Ellis and Jennifer Henderson, CNN  “Black leaders rally around Howard University students protesting poor living conditions on campus”

(  paragraph 1)

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/29/us/howard-university-living-conditions/index.html

 

Domonique Mari Bonessi and Dee Dwyer “ Howard University Students Stage Sit-In Over Issues With Mold And COVID Safety” ( paragraph 1)

https://dcist.com/story/21/10/13/howard-university-sit-in-blackburn/

Why low-income families face such financial hardships during and after their college experiences?

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Samira Abdi 

ENG 1102

Professor Weaver

04/26/2022 

 

INTRODUCTION

Low-income families do not only have to worry about learning the material but think about the funds for the material. This research project examines families’ financial insecurities when it comes to paying for school.  Paying for a school shortens the ability for an individual to attend the school that they desire. In the Challenges Low Income Families Face When Paying for College by Ismael Camara, the author states,” It is to show that most low income students in America are not even able to go to the colleges of their dreams due to the lack of financial aid, and the fact that attending these colleges would lead to their families having to take on more stress financially compared to middle and high income families.” (Camara, Sample page 1) Attending college opens up financial struggles that families were not even aware of, but are forced to deal with. The purpose of this research paper is to address and explain why low-income families face such financial hardships during and after their college experiences?

 

DISCUSSION

 

 In The New York Times magazine author Anthony Jack discusses “When I was learning to chart the hungry days on my calendar, I was one of the nearly 40 percent of undergraduates who struggle with food insecurity. Before all else, colleges must meet students’ basic needs — it is hard to focus and function when you’re hungry.”( Jack, Interactive) Financial dilemmas are not the only problems to come up after paying for college. With this it is a cause and effect. Paying or trying to pay for a semester leads to not being able to pay for life necessities. Such as eating, having a place to stay, and etc. 

Attending a normal college semester can cost up to a thousand to two thousand dollars and this is only one semester. For the family and especially the student this becomes the only thing that you need to address. This would oftentimes lead up to racking up debt. The article on the marketplace discusses a family who talks about the debt that piles up. In the article, author Samantha Fields states that” roughly 70% of American students end up taking out loans to go to college. The average graduate leaves school with around $30,000 in debt and all told, some 45 million Americans owe $1.6 trillion in student loans — and counting.” ( Fields) This goes to say that college is not cheap at all.

This is an important topic to discuss because of how normal it is for a family to not have the funds to support the tuition that a school has. Obtaining the funds is not easy and pathways should be paved for families to help pay that money faster. With problems, there needs to be a solution to help eliminate the problem. Low-income families need help overcoming this financial obstacle. Author Anna Helhoski helps gather solutions on what we can do to help with existing and upcoming debt. In the article What Would It Take to Solve the Student Debt Crisis? By Anna Helhoski, Helhoski gives solutions that can help.

“Forgive the Student Debt”- Which would be the government just forgiving current students who have debts.

“Streamline existing forgiveness programs”- This would not be a definite solution or a temporary solution. This would help students who borrow qualify.

“Make college tuition-free”- This would be an efficient way to stop debt because there wouldn’t be anything to pay. It wouldn’t limit debt completely but would immensely change the outcome one has to pay to attend school.

 

 

One can think that a low-income family would just have to worry about the costs of the college and just paying its tuition. When in reality it leads to more problems and restricting certain aspects in your life to fit the lifestyle you need to have so you can pay for the college. It not only takes a toll on a family financially but also emotionally and mentally. Having these dilemmas can cause immense stress and a sense of duty to fulfill your tasks.  Having to pick up two to three jobs just for it not to cover a fraction displays how we as a society don’t do enough to support these families. These individuals have just the same willingness to learn as students who can afford to attend these colleges. The only thing in their way is finding the money to pay for it . In the article, Poverty’s Long-Lasting Effects on Students’ Education and Success by Kelley Taylor, Taylor states,”It does not have to be this way [for low-income students]. Across the country, there are schools that teach us every day that these children absolutely can achieve at the same high levels as anybody else,” she says, adding that to change the status quo, however, everyone involved “has to organize around that mission.”( Taylor)Presented this opportunity our students can prosper and do bigger and better things but we as a society have to help them.

 

The students who can’t afford to pay for schooling are only increasing and school tuition is only increasing. One can conclude that these families do need help. We have to determine what we can do to help these families attend a four year schooling without worrying what their next meal or where they are sleeping tonight will be. Extending our help will not only be better for this generation but the rest to come. Let’s help these students because we can easily be or become them.

 

CITATION

Camara, Ismael. “The Challenges Low Income Families Face When Paying For College” The Global North Carolina Gallery,

https://localculturesglobalforces2018.web.unc.edu/2018/04/the-challenges-low-income-families-face-when-paying-for-college/. Accessed April 23 2022.

 

Jack, Anthony. “I Was a Low-Income College Student. Classes Weren’t the Hard Part” The New York Times,  Magazine.https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/09/10/magazine/college-inequality.html . Accessed April 23 2022.

 

Fields, Samantha. “70% of college students graduate with debt. How did we get here?” Marketplace,https://www.marketplace.org/2019/09/30/70-of-college-students-graduate-with-debt-how-did-we-get-here/ . Accessed April 25 2022.

 

Helhoski, Anna.” What Would It Take To Solve the Student Debt Crisis” Nerdwallet, https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/loans/student-loans/what-would-it-take-to-solve-the-student-debt-crisis . Accessed 25 2022.

 

Taylor, Kelley.”Poverty’s Long-Lasting Effects on Students’ Education and Success” Insight Into Diversity, https://www.insightintodiversity.com/povertys-long-lasting-effects-on-students-education-and-success/ . Accessed 26 2022.