Neal Dawson

ENGL 1102

Rebecca Weaver

April 14, 2022

Metacognition is the recognition of one’s learning. It comprises comprehending the learning process’s goals, determining the optimal learning tactics, and determining if the learning objectives are being reached. A metacognitive student views themselves as a learning agent and recognizes that learning is an active, strategic endeavour. Better learning results have been related to Metacognition. Individuals who are strategic in their learning are more likely to succeed than those who do not reflect on the process of learning. Metacognitive students, for example, are more likely to detect when what they are studying does not make sense.

The Metacognitive Knowledge

The ability to reflect on one’s ideas and experiences is presumably unique to humans; animals cannot reflect on their lives, thoughts, or deeds. Furthermore, humans are the only animals that can plan for the future, reflect on their history and learn from mistakes, and, to a certain extent, predict what will happen to them (Rock 00:03:30 – 00:03:32). They can also picture what it might be like to be someone else, which allows them to experience compassion for others.

Metacognitive knowledge is information about oneself, about mental abilities that imply awareness about how well one performs particular sorts of tasks or about one’s competency levels, understanding that may be utilized to influence cognitive functions. Metacognitive information is used to track and control cognitive processes such as thinking, understanding, problem-solving skills, and learning. Knowledge of person variables refers to understanding human learning and knowledge of one’s learning process. For example, a student knows that group conversation will be more successful than self-study at home. Knowledge of task variables entails understanding the nature of the task and the types of computational requirements that it will impose on the participant.

Metacognitive regulation 

When people change their way of thinking, they engage in metacognitive regulation. It is a sequential method for controlling cognitive operations and ensuring the achievement of a cognitive objective. This dimension’s sub-dimensions include data management, scheduling, tracking, debugging, and evaluation. Metacognitive processes are characterized by the use of metacognitive methods or metacognitive control.

These processes aid in the regulation and supervision of learning, planning and monitoring of cognitive activities, and evaluating the consequences of these activities. For example, a student may question themselves if they understand the topic discussed to achieve the cognitive objective of comprehending the substance of a book. If the learner does not comprehend the subject, they may elect to reread it or split it into little units and answer the questions to grasp it better. As a result, the Metacognitive technique of self-questioning is employed to achieve the cognitive aim of studying and analyzing the material.

Metacognitive Skills

Metacognitive skills are comprised of two fundamental processes that occur concurrently: evaluating the progress of acquisition in the learning process and making modifications and adjusting techniques for improved learning. Metacognitive skills involve conscious control of learning, strategy planning and selection, monitoring students’ progress, error correction, assessing the awareness of learning methods, and altering learning behaviours and approaches as needed.

Developmental process in Metacognition

Metacognitive skills arise between the ages of three and ten, and they continue to grow throughout the years. Certain metacognitive skills, such as monitoring and assessment, appear to be more developed than others, such as planning (Lysaker et al.). Metacognitive skills and abilities develop at a basic level throughout pre-school but become more complex and intellectually focused when formal schooling involves the explicit use of a metacognitive repertoire.

To some extent, most kids gain metacognitive information and competence from their parents, classmates, and instructors, with significant diversity in their metacognitive adequacy (Lysaker et al.). However, a sizable population cannot spontaneously acquire this talent due to unfavourable conditions and an unwillingness to develop this metacognitive repertoire. Metacognitive teaching appears to improve Metacognition and learn in a wide spectrum of pupils.

Being a self-regulated learner recognizes that the capacity to acquire a skill evolves with time rather than being a fixed attribute. Students must manage their time in the learning activity, spend more time on main objective searches, and regularly remind themselves of their aim to be self-regulated learners (O’Leary et al. ). Students should be provided with the opportunity to exercise self-monitoring and adaptation to set realistic goals and improve their performance.

In the educational setting, next-generation instructors encounter a variety of obstacles. Teacher education curricula must be updated with new methodologies to meet classroom instruction issues. Metacognitive understanding assists teacher candidates in boosting pupils’ cognitive skills (Bressman et al.). As a result, emphasis should be placed on developing and accelerating cognitive capabilities among students and teachers to improve data management, promote awareness of how to organize and supervise the activities toward achieving objectives, understand possible errors in classroom instruction, and assess student achievement.

Improving Metacognition

Encourage reflexive thinking. Reflexivity is the metacognitive process of being aware of our biases, which impede healthy development. Teachers may foster a culture of deeper learning and reflexivity in their classrooms by fostering conversation that challenges human and social prejudices (David 39). Students learn to “think about their own thinking” when they debate or write articles concerning prejudices and moral difficulties in politics, money, discrimination, poverty, fairness, and freedom. They learn to question their prejudices and become more adaptable and flexible thinkers.

Allow learners to practice identifying what they don’t understand. Being perplexed and recognizing one’s lack of comprehension is a key aspect of gaining self-awareness (David 36). Take time at the end of a difficult lesson to ask, “What was most perplexing about the content we studied today?” This kick starts metacognitive processing and fosters a classroom atmosphere that accepts perplexity as an essential learning component.

In conclusion, Self-awareness is important for increased learning since it helps pupils become more effective at focusing on what they still need to learn. With age, one’s ability to think about one’s thoughts improves (Chew 00:03:59 – 00:04:15). When teachers nurture students’ skills to reflect on, monitor and analyze their learning processes, students become more self-reliant, adaptable, and effective. Students enhance their ability to analyze options and evaluate alternatives, especially when answers are not evident. When students struggle to comprehend, they use reflective skills to identify and correct their errors. Enhancing metacognitive methods relating to students’ schooling also offers young people tools to think about and improve their emotional and social lives.

Works Cited

Bressman, Sherri, Jeffrey S. Winter, and Sara Efrat Efron. “Next-generation mentoring: Supporting teachers beyond induction.” Teaching and teacher education 73 (2018): 162-170.

Chew, Steven. How to Get the Most Out of Studying: Part 1 of 5, “Beliefs That Make You Fail… Or Succeed” [Video]. Samford University (2011).

David, Bindu. “THE DEVELOPMENT OF METACOGNITION IN PRACTICE.” EDUCATIONAL EXTRACTS (2021): 35.

Lysaker, Paul H., et al. “Metacognition and recovery in schizophrenia: from research to the development of metacognitive reflection and insight therapy.” Journal of Experimental Psychopathology 10.1 (2019): 2043808718814992.

O’Leary, Allison P., and Vladimir M. Sloutsky. “Components of metacognition can function independently across development.” Developmental psychology 55.2 (2019): 315.

Rock Kane, Pearl, and Kevin Mattingly. Metacognition: Effective Teaching Strategies. 2018.

Gal Bornstein

English 1102

Dr. Rebecca Weaver

3 March 2021

Antisemitism in Universities

There is no doubt that hatred exists in many corners of the world. College campuses are unfortunately no exception to this. This research is an analysis of modern antisemitism on college campuses. The goal of this research is to make the reader more aware of its prevalence, how it affects Jewish students, and what university administration does to handle certain incidents when they happen. One might also wonder how the administration of universities handles incidents of attacks when they do happen. It can be quite complicated to tackle these problems when they arise because of varied reasons ranging from worries of violating the rights of free speech to a lack of definition for antisemitism. But after all these incidents occur, what are some things we could implement to bring more harmony onto the campuses? 

The most common reason?  

When one thinks of antisemitism, they might think of something to do with the hatred of their religion or a strange conspiracy theory belief involving Jews. As was mentioned by Aryah Tuchman in the academic journal of “American Jewish History,” this is commonly referred to as “old-fashioned” antisemitism, “in which Jews are demonized and attacked for theological reasons or because of racism or conspiratorial beliefs.” (Aryah 1) However, prejudice towards Jews has changed due to anti-Zionist movements. The issues of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is most certainly a significant issue, tends to to often harbor antisemitic views. In a way, anti-Zionism on college campuses becomes a disguise for antisemitism. A comparison that could easily be made is the rise of Islamophobia after 9/11 because of the hijackers and the group which organized the attack being Muslim.  

Emory University is one school that has had multiple accusations and incidents over the course of several decades. The 1950s saw a great deal of discrimination towards Jewish students at the university. But there have been incidents at the school in modern times. In 2014, two fraternity houses were vandalized with swastikas painted on them. As was also reported by Mark Rotenberg, a journalist for Hillel International, a Jewish organization, “Government data show that religious based hate crimes on college campuses roughly doubled between 2009 and 2017.” (Mark 1)  

In 2017, the Washington Post had a reported a lawsuit that a Jewish student by the name of Jacob Mandel was filing against the California University System. The accusations were made against the university’s administration for failing to protect the Jewish students from incidents and not disciplining those were involved in incidents. “I felt afraid,” (JM 1) said Mandel to reporter Susan Svrluga. One of many incidents include, when Mandel was going for a walk one day, he happened to pass by pro-Palestinian protest on campus when one of the students approached 

Impact on Jewish Students 

From the readings of the sources for this paper, although the root of the anti-Zionist movement most certainly has some good arguments and should be more revered, the message seems to get skewed along the way. The reason seems to be because of the violent incidents that are reported as a result. What should be made clear though is the incidents which occur are not always physical, but also verbal. When a student is trying to walk to their class and someone threatens them along the way, it makes sense that they would feel afraid. Students who are made to feel intimidated and harassed are less likely to show up to class because they never know what will happen when they step out their door. 

What does administration do? 

In more extreme cases, when students did reach out to the administration, nobody was disciplined. When we look at the positive aspect, a big reason for students speaking so strongly about their views on this matter is the fact that we have free speech. When certain Jewish figures would come to a campus to give a speech, protesters would attempt to disrupt it. Universities would as a result hire security for future events.  

As was mentioned by Susan Svrluga from the Washington Post, students in 2017 began a class actions lawsuit against the University System of California. The reason was that they felt the administrators were not protecting their own constitutional rights of equal protection. The Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is supposed to protect these rights of Jewish students too. This, however, was the last resort because one student in the article mentioned that he did in fact try at first to report harassment to the administration, but instead was “actively working against me” (Svrluga 1). We can look at these situations and conclude that the views are one sided, since are failing to recognize when Jewish students are being attacked. 

Ideas for Moving Forward 

The conclusion of this research is that universities should begin to harbor different ways of thinking on campuses. As cliché many people would think this sounds, they should probably encourage different communities to mesh more closely with each other. We hear about many student clubs that promote what their idea of peace is. It seems to be that in many ways they further divide us. In Israel, there are groups which promote the strengthening of relationships between the Israeli and Palestinian communities. Starting student clubs on campus with these intentions could be a step in the right direction. 

There are still many flaws in the system as a whole. But when we look back in history of what happened in the university system in the early 1900s towards Jewish students, we can still say that we have come a long way. The most important thing is to educate people on this topic to gain awareness. Like what Black Lives Matter has taught, prejudice and racism happen right in front of us all the time and sometimes it takes someone to point it out to finally become aware of it. 

Works Cited 

Tuchman, Aryeh. “Antisemitism on the Campus: Past & Present.” American Jewish History 96.4 (2010): 309-I. ProQuest. 

Marcus, Kenneth L. “The Resurgence of Anti-Semitism on American College Campuses: Research and Reviews.” Current Psychology 26.3-4 (2007): 206-12. ProQuest. 1 May 2022 . 

Ben-Atar, Doron. “Indulging the Antisemitism of Woke.” American Jewish History 105.1-2 (2021): 225-9. ProQuest. 1 May 2022 . 

Brumback, Kate. “Atlanta’s Emory Apologizes for Anti-Semitism.” The Charleston Gazette Oct 12 2012 ProQuest.  

Rotenberg, Mark. “U.S. college leaders must confront anti-semitism on their campuses.” Hillel International Aug 25 2021 

Svrluga, Susan. ‘I Felt Afraid’: Lawsuit Claims Public University Fostered Anti-Semitism on Campus: A Lawsuit Filed Monday Alleges that San Francisco State University Violated Jewish Students’ Right to Free Speech and Ignored Complaints of Discrimination on Campus. Washington: WP Company LLC d/b/a The Washington Post, 2017. ProQuest. 27 Apr. 2022 .

 DAGMAWI BEGASHAW

ENGL 1102

DOCTOR REBECCA WEAVER

MAY 2, 2022

Effect of Employment on Student Academic Success

For many undergraduates, working is now a fundamental responsibility. Students work jobs for different reasons and vary from one student to the others. Some of the reasons why students work are as follows: To help them pay for their tuition, and personal expenses, to help a family member with bills, and for the experiences for future careers. Some students receive work-study funds as part of their financial aid packages, while others are not eligible for such funds or find that such awards are insufficient to cover the costs of attendance. As Carol Kasworm, professor of adult education at North Carolina State University, and other contributors to Understanding the Working College Student point out, work is an integral part of many students’ identities(Perna).

Well, how does employment affect the academic success of students? Students’ academic performance can be negatively and positively impacted by their employment during school. Since students have fixed time resources, time spent working might substitute for time spent on academic, social, leisure, or extracurricular activities. This can negatively affect academic performance, social integration, or student Well-being. For example, time spent working may crowd out time spent studying.

On the other hand, working has benefits that could improve academic performance for some students. Occupational activities can complement academic lessons by providing applied context, and work time could encourage students to use their time more efficiently by providing structure to students’ schedules. Working also aids in the development of soft skills that have value in both academic vocational settings, such as communication, problem-solving, adaptability, responsibility, organization, and working under pressure. Some types of work, research opportunities with professors, or jobs that employ a large number of peers, may aid in campus and social integration.

GPA is an important factor that determines whether employment affects students’ academic performance positively or negatively. One would intuitively conclude that, because time and energy are finite resources, jobs would detract from studying and be harmful to a student’s GPA. This is only the case when the student works more than 20 hours a week, according to most studies. In fact, students who work fewer than 15-20 hours often report higher GPAs than those who do not work at all (Dundes). If you ask a faculty member or administrator how much a student should work in a paying job in order to succeed academically. The answer will probably be 10-15 hours. Students who worked on campus had higher grades than those who worked off-campus, according to the research

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which is run by the U.S. Department of Education, found that students working 1-15 hours weekly have a significantly higher GPA than both students working 16 or more hours and students who don’t work at all. The NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.

It has been reported that 74 percent of student workers believed that employment forced them to become more efficient. However, 64 percent reported that employment also increased their level of stress Dundes and Marx(2006). Several studies concluded that only on-campus employment influenced academic performance positively. Lederman (2009) reported on a study done by Gary Pike (2004), that working more than 20 hours a week has a negative impact on students’ grades whether on or off-campus. However, the study also found that students who work 20 hours or less on campus report higher levels on all five levels of engagement used by Pike and his co-authors The positive effects of on-campus employment are due to enhanced integration with the institution, including involvement with other students and with faculty

Working more than 20 hours a week off-campus increases the likelihood of students dropping out before completing their degrees. Those who work full-time are 10 percent less likely to receive a degree than those who work part-time or don’t work at all (Orszag). However, working 20 hours or less per week on campus did not seem to have an effect on drop-out rates compared to students who did not work. Students who worked 20 hours per week or less on campus did not seem to experience a higher dropout rate compared with those who did not work. According to Astin (1975), having a part-time job on campus increases the chances of the student completing college.

The effect of academic success in school on postschool earnings appears to be smaller than older estimates suggest. But  Student employment, however, has an additional, positive effect working on the campus was associated with a higher probability of enrolling in post-graduate education (Ehrenberg)

Well, how can we avoid students from spending too many hours in their jobs? There are numerous suggestions for how to help working students succeed in college. These include offering courses in the evenings, on weekends, and in distance education formats; establishing course schedules in advance; offering students access to academic advising and other support services at night and on weekends. Through career counseling and occupational placement, colleges and universities can also assist working students in connecting their educational and professional journeys.

Although working a large number of hours (20+) can be detrimental to students’ academic success, part-time (specifically on campus) jobs can be very beneficial in many ways. Working a moderate number of hours often correlates with a higher GPA. Moderate work hours are often associated with higher GPAs

It is very important for students to be aware of how many hours they work. The line between overworking and being detrimental is ambiguous, overworking may lead to decreased productivity. Many students also believe that working generally is determintal to their academic success They don’t realize that working in moderation can increase efficiency and organization and teach important skills that will augment their post collegemarketability.

Some universities like Brigham Young University have a limit of twenty hours that students can work on campus each week. A limit like this is highly suggested. Between fifteen and twenty hours a week appears to be the point at which working starts to become more detrimental than beneficial for students. Student employment offices at universities should encourage students seeking financial aid to consider part-time employment on campus. Student employment offices should also provide students with resources to learn time management. Those students who learn time management are most likely to excel in both school and work

Citation

Laura W.Perna “Understanding the Working College  Student” https://www.aaup.org/article/understanding-working-college-student#.YmSAlu3MJD9

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Digest

of Education Statistics, 2014 (NCES 2016-006), Chapter 3.

Dundes, L. and Marx, J. (2006). Balancing Work and Academics in College: “Why do

Students Working 10-19 Hours Per Week Exce”l? Journal of College Student

Retention, 8(1) 107-120.

Orszag, J.M, Orszag, P.R. and Whitmore D. M. (2001). “Learning and Earning: Working

in College”. Commissioned by Upromise.

Thomas J. Kane and Cecilia Elena Rouse “The Community College: Educating Students at the Margin Between College and Work”

https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.13.1.63

   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

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.

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.