A new report shows unemployment rates are lower for recent college graduates than those with less education, according to a recent article by The Chronicle. The study also found, generally, the careers with the highest employment rates are going to graduates with an industry-oriented degree and those pursuing technical fields.
Schools are seeing a rise in the number of students registering with their disability offices due to psychological problems, according to the Wall Street Journal article “A Serious Illness or an Excuse?” It’s still not understood what the reasoning is behind the rising numbers, but there are a few theories. The rise may be in part to the fact that there is more access to and more effective medication for students to manage psychological disorders allowing more students to attend school. Another reason could be that some schools are successfully reducing the stigma attached to mental illnesses and therefore bringing more students forward to get help.
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In a recent Education Week article, writer Sarah D. Sparks brings attention to a change in curriculum from academic to nonacademic skills. An average of two out of five traditional college students and more than half of nontraditional students take at least one remedial class. Higher education administrators report incoming students are often ill-equipped cognitively, socially and emotionally upon entering college. The Obama administration is responding to the these problematic numbers by relieving subject-matter classes as the main predictor of college success and placing an emphasis on college and career readiness curriculums and setting national education-based goals, like having the most college-educated adults in the world by 2020.
“The problem is college eligibility was what we focused on previously, not readiness; we haven’t really defined what ‘readiness’ means,†said Elena Silva, a senior policy analyst with Education Sector. “We focused on whether they have the course credits, the time spent … and that’s important, but we haven’t figured out if they have what they need to be really college-ready.†Research found the cognitive and social-emotional skills students need to advance in college and career can be taught in a classroom setting like academic subjects. Yet, creating readiness programs from scratch often taxes school resources, schedules and budgets
Turnkey curricula that teach and assess these cognitive and non-cognitive skills are available through LifeBound’s portfolio of transition and college and career readiness programs. With specific skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, self-understanding and management as well as perseverance, students learn to create a vision for themselves utilizing the qualities commonly identified in successful students.
Researchers at Michigan State University in East Lansing, along with similar studies, found the greatest predictor of a student’s success is conscientiousness, which is defined by having traits like dependability, perseverance in tasks, and work ethic. Also, agreeableness was another sign of success, which included teamwork, emotional stability, and an openness to new experiences. LifeBound’s publications, MAKING THE MOST OF HIGH SCHOOL and MAJORING IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE address these issues and give educators the resources to teach these behaviors and skills to high schoolers while offering student guidance for exploring and strengthening these skills independently.
With the winter break approaching its end and second semester and graduation imminent, the application of non-cognitive skills will greatly assist with these transitions. Click here to learn more about LifeBound’s entire library, or here to sign up for our newsletter for the latest news and book offers.
Funding for college and  low-graduation rates have been hot topics as 2010 comes to an end and we prepare for the political and economic changes of 2011. But what about those students who made it to graduation day in 2010? These grads face a 9.8% national unemployment rate. The National Association of Colleges and Education reported only 24.4% of graduates in 2010 who applied for a job had one waiting for them.
The recent New York Times article, “No Jobs? Young Graduates Make Their Own,†shows us the growing world of online businesses led by young entrepreneurs. These recent graduates didn’t have the corporate jobs available to them that they had dreamt about, but instead of applying for unemployment, they took their skills to the digital world where they already ruled as experts. These new leaders are showing their ingenuity in creating niche businesses like HerCampus: a Collegiettes Guide to Life and SizzleIt a company that produces creative, short reels for advertising, websites, proposals, etc. These entrepreneurs started out in their parent’s basement, coffee shops or apartments with little knowledge of the business world but tech savvy enough to teach themselves how to design a website, hire a virtual team, and network.  Also, they have the critical thinking to negotiate any challenges they might face.
In these difficult times, many of us will be forced to be creative. Those grads who can see possibilities to be creative, follow a vision, and tap into the expansive thought process will be highly valuable working for themselves or someone else. Â In many ways, this time period can be compared to post World War II America when men and women had very little, but created something out of nothing, used their ingenuity, launched businesses, and in the end, prospered despite the initial challenges and setbacks. Â Today we still have many major corporations that started in the aftermath of this significant time in history as well as examples of men and women who started in the mail rooms and rose to run major companies.
- Read the New York Times article “No Jobs? Young Graduates Make Their Own at nytimes.com
A new Congress is taking over in January that has college students worrying over a possible 15% cut to their Pell Grant awards. The amount a student receives from the Pell Grant Program is determined by their status as a full- or part-time student, their financial needs, and the costs to attend their school. Grants make it possible for low-income or unemployed students to earn a degree when they otherwise could not financially commit.
Technology is deeply embedded in a student’s personal and academic life. For most students in middle school through graduate school, it’s not a question of whether or not technology will be used but rather what kind and how much. You would be hard pressed to find yourself in a college course that didn’t require your assignment be typed before handing it in for a grade. Or one that didn’t require all cell phones be silenced and threaten a grade deduction for texting, Googling, or gaming under the desk. A recent study performed at Ball State University found 99.8% of their student population owned a cell phone, of which the majority were smartphones.
Some make the assumption that because this “online generation†is comfortable with technology that they are also technologically savvy. A study by the Nielson Norman Group found college-aged students spend as little time as possible on a site and leave quickly when they are confronted with a new interface style. They also found teenagers and college-aged students preferred sites that were image heavy over text heavy. Students resorted to the search engine as a tool to get them out of a foreign design, but if one wasn’t available on the site they weren’t willing to sacrifice their time by learning how to navigate or read through the content to find their way. The older generations are correct in believing the “online generation†is comfortable with technology. But they are comfortable creatures of habit who prefer to keep their navigation to clean and familiar sites and are not to be confused with computer engineers.
Just because this generation has spent more time with their fingertips against a keyboard doesn’t mean they have learned the skills to navigate efficiently, understand how their chosen search engine uses search engine optimization (SEO), or how to decipher who is a credible and reliable source and what is an advertisement, scam or opinion. Even more, in the 18-24 age range that was used for this study, 40% will have literacy skills too low to read a website that uses anything more than basic sentence structure. Maybe we should support this generation to become the technology gurus we believe them to be and provide them with the skills to use the internet as a resource as well as an entertainment machine. How are some ways classes can use technology besides typing a paper or using a PowerPoint?  Teaching students to navigate in unfamiliar territory will promote their critical thinking skills to find credible sources, and to turn on their brains and turn off auto-correct and predictive technology.  It will also help them to understand when it is best to tune out the technology and connect interpersonally.
Read the study “College Students on the Web” at useit.com
The recession has many people questioning the skills of business leaders and politicians today and for the future. According to IBM’s 2010 study, “Inheriting a Complex World: Future Leaders Envision Sharing a Planet,†only 4 out of every 10 students surveyed believe their education is preparing them to address global problems as the next generation of leaders.Where would we be if it was a requirement for leaders to refine their ethics, values, and creative thinking skills? After experiencing the effects of our leader’s bad decisions and our own financial negligence it’s easy to see that great power isn’t synonymous with a great leader.
In the Chronicle for Higher Education, history professor, Richard Greenwald questioned the lack of leadership programs being taught at the college level. He made the point that the world of work is shifting and the next workforce generation will have more freelancers and a variety of jobs that will require self-direction. But why wait until college to start developing leadership skills? Early exposure can prepare high schoolers for leadership roles they will need to secure in college to advance with all the skills they need to fill an impressive portfolio for the workforce. Â Additionally, their leadership contributions can greatly enhance their high school experience as well as their college applications.
Students throughout their schooling career are often told to be leaders, yet rarely taught how. LifeBound’s interactive book, Leadership for Teenagers, identifies skills essential for leadership and offers students tactical steps to assess and apply these skills to their own lives, to roles in their schools and community, and to complex global problems. The book features leaders from across the disciplines and from a variety of cultures that challenge conventional ideas about what leadership is and how it’s best executed. In a rapidly changing world, the future and sustainability of the planet depends on harnessing the power and leadership potential of today’s students and tomorrow’s leaders.
Students will develop leadership skills through:
Kitty Thuermer, director of publications for the National Association of Independent Schools says, “Just as Howard Gardner promoted ‘multiple intelligences’ this book tackles multiple leadership styles, which is great—especially with the message that leadership can take many forms that we don’t normally recognize.  Whether teens are taking steps to self-lead and manage their personal lives, or rally support for initiatives with global impact, LifeBound’s book prepares them to stand strong and make a difference.†We can’t expect to find leaders in the future if we aren’t teaching them the skills to succeed today.
Carol’s Summary:
In 2009, the average college graduate’s debt was an average of $24,000, which was up 6% from 2008. Experts agree students should always get federal loans before applying for private loans in order to leave themselves more options. Options like income-based repayment and unemployment deferment are only available through federal loans, and are especially helpful during hard economic times.
Recent college graduates will have a more difficult time paying back loans than those before them. In 2009, the unemployment rate for college graduates ages 20-24 rose from 5.8% to 8.7% – the highest rate on record. Getting real world experience—through internships, part-time jobs and work/study abroad is more important than ever. Experience which shows that students know how to take risks with their ideas, participate with others on a team and accomplish specific tasks and goals shows a prospective employer that they already come to the table with real world skills, not just the promise that they might develop those skills.
LifeBound helps students preparing for college become financially literate right out of high school and in the first year of college in MAJORING IN THE REST OF YOUR LIFE: Career Secrets for College Students. In this book, financial planning skills are integrated throughout and there is an entire chapter devoted to strategic financial planning and discipline.
Average College Debt Rose to $24,000 in 2009
College seniors who graduated in 2009 had an average of $24,000 in student loan debt, up 6 percent from 2008, according to an annual report from the Project on Student Debt.
Read the full article at: nytimes.com
Carol’s Summary:
Reports show college dropouts are costing taxpayers billions of dollars. Between 2003 and 2008, states appropriated almost $6.2 billion for students who never returned for a second year in four-year colleges and universities. The federal government also spent $1.5 billion and states $1.4 billion on grants for students who didn’t attend their sophomore year.
The results of the report were meant to show the urgency behind increasing college completion rates, but the results might also be used to support the competing theory: forcing students to finish college is wasting taxpayer money.
The Obama administration is changing its focus from making colleges more accessible, to making sure the students who are enrolled are graduating with degrees or certificates. In Ohio, the state is changing strategy and determining funding for public colleges and universities based on college completion rates versus enrollment figures.
Article: College dropouts cost taxpayers billions, report says
Dropping out of college after a year can mean lost time, burdensome debt and an uncertain future for students.
Read the full article at: usatoday.com
Think Globally:
Just 15 years ago, it was common for graduates to have to migrate to larger cities to find employment in their field. In today’s business world, new professionals can expect to see jobs spreading around the world. Communicating across cultures, whether it’s on the other side of the world or on the other side of town, takes extra planning. Avoid stereotyping by educating yourself on how different cultures view elements like gender, age, and personal space.
Your Resume:
Research suggests your resume has 20 seconds to make an impression. While you may have the credentials to qualify for the job, the appearance of your resume is the first thing a prospective employer will see and is just as important as the content. Your resume should never go over one page and it should be tailored with relevant information to help you get the specific job.
Create Goodwill:
Be a positive communicator by focusing on the receiver. In face-to-face communication, increase your listening skills by moving from an unengaged surface listener to an active, perceptive listener who picks up on messages through words and nonverbal cues. If you’re using written communication, use the “you†attitude to show the reader they are important. Put the emphasis on your audience by replacing all words that refer to you with words that refer to your audience.
Planning a Message:
Know your audience, know the purpose of your message, and know why your audience should be interested in your message before attempting to write anything. Once you’ve established your purpose, make an outline of what you will need to include to deliver a message that is effective, concise, and establishes goodwill. While you are drafting, consider the best medium to use to send your message. Technology has provided many ways to communicate but not every form of communication is appropriate for every message.
Interpersonal Skills:
Whether you’re going in for an interview or pitching an idea to your company, you must have strong interpersonal skills. In face-to-face communication, it’s important to show respect to the person you are communicating with by being aware of your verbal and nonverbal cues. Maintain eye-contact, don’t multitask, concentrate on listening, ask questions, and don’t busily plan what you are going to say next in your mind. Be present physically and mentally when communicating with others.