Colleges That Change Lives

 College access. College choice. College application. College ranking and reputation. These are things I spend a significant amount of time thinking about as a student in the higher education program, particularly in my course on enrollment management. here are some of my recent thoughts on college rankings and the mechanisms I believe are more appropriate for evaluating a college or university (at the undergraduate level)
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In the 1980's U.S. News & World Report changed the landscape of higher education and the college selection process by creating a list of college rankings. For the first time, anyone could purchase a list that compared the vastly different institutions of higher learning in America. Initially, U.S. News & World Report's college rankings were based solely on peer assessment. A relatively small sample of college administrators were asked to evaluate the quality of other colleges. Over the years, the methodology has evolved,but the colleges that dominate the top of the list rarely change. So much of the ranking,as evaluated by the methodology (right) is dependent upon the resources that the college has available. The colleges that tend to be ranked the highest are not surprisingly the colleges with the largest endowments.And, completion rates, which are arguably one of the most important measures of institutional quality, make up a relatively small percentage of the ranking.

Because of this, and because I do not believe you can compare such vastly different institutions using a single methodology, I do not rely on the ranking system to evaluate the quality of a college or university. Instead, I look to the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE for short), The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS for short) and the Colleges That Change lives (CTCL for short) to learn about what really matters. Instead of ranking colleges, all three of these sources seek to understand various dimensions of quality in higher education. They paint a more holistic picture of the institution that helps people understand what the strengths and weaknesses of any particular institution might be. It is a little more work than simply pulling up a list, but it is much more revealing. on IPEDS, for example, you can view first year retention rates, four and six-year graduation rates and even loan default rates). The list of 40 Colleges That Change Lives helps people to understand what is valuable in undergraduate education.Loren Pope, who wrote the book, Colleges That Change Lives, said that:

"These schools share two essential elements: a familial sense of communal enterprise that gets students heavily involved in cooperative rather than competitive learning, and a faculty of scholars devoted to helping young people develop their powers, mentors who often become their valued friends."

Isn't this -rather than faculty compensation, expenditure per student, or average SAT score- what makes college such a transformative experience?


Here is my one concession to the ranking system. People generally buy into it, and I think that the association between ranking and quality is real in the minds of some employers. It does not have to be that way. If recent graduates seeking employment are able to articulate the value they found in their college education in a way that makes sense to the employer, I think that rankings can g out the window. So, assuming that the applicant can use the cover letter and resume to "get off paper," rankings do not have to matter as much as they do.


For me, the undergraduate experience was incredibly valuable, in part because the University of California, Santa Cruz was the right place for me. It was a community of people dedicated to learning, to creating opportunity for one another and to flexible, interdisciplinary education.My UCSC education continually revamped my writing and critical thinking skills. It exposed me to scholars in my fields of interest with whom I am still very close. It allowed me to take courses in multiple subject areas, to gain valuable work experience, to find value in learning across disciplinary bounds, and to let all of the learning that I was doing interact in such a way that expanded my consciousness and aided in my development as a practitioner and a person. Of the undergraduate institutions to which I applied and was admitted, UCSC was fourth in the ranking. If I had chosen to follow what U.S. News & World Report had to say about UCSC, and about the other colleges to which I applied, I would not have gone to UCSC. To this day, I believe that UCSC was the best choice, for me. It's such a unique school, and one where everyone in the community values one another on a very individualized basis. I love UCSC.

Turning away from my own experience,there is research to suggest that fit and matching are important in predicting student success (you can draw this conclusion from the work of Kuh; Tinto; Terenzini; or Bowen, Chingos & McPherson). College is about changing lives, and it always has been. Everything else flows from this. If the undergraduate experience being offered by a college is valuable to students, they will graduate in higher numbers; they will want to come to the institution; they will be successful there; they will want to engage with the institution long after they graduate.

Inside a GSE Assignment

In the higher education program, we can take a few non-higher education courses, and we are required to take at least one GSE course that is non-higher ed. This allows us to sharpen our skills in other areas of education and stay connected to the field overall. The K-12ers are, after all, technically in the same field as us! My foray into K-12 education has been through the Legal Issues in Education Policy and Practice course. In this course, led by the fabulous Dr. Buckley, we explore the role and influence of litigation, precedent and statutes upon education and education reform efforts. We have looked at how the courts have viewed (or abstained from viewing) the role of common schools, school finance reform, special education, segregation, and now, we are looking at homeschooling.

To be completely honest, the class of about 16 students is full of brilliant education policy and K-12 experts from other programs, and sometimes I feel a couple steps behind. I read, and I generally understand the reading, but the students in the class know their stuff. They know how to get right to the heart of the issues and bring out some of the most interesting topics of discussion. Sometimes they get to that point when I am still pondering the more basic questions about whether or not the courts should even be involved in these issue at hand.

As part of meeting the course requirement, everyone has to partner up with someone and give a presentation on one of the units. My unit is homeschooling and I am presenting today! I partnered up with the one higher education student in the class, so we are both a bit nervous about presenting on K-12 to those who probably know a lot more about homeschooling than we do! As a practice run, I want to go over some of the things we will cover right here on my blog.

We will start with an overview of the constituents that have a stake in the issue of homeschooling, or of directing childrens' education more broadly. There are three interested parties: the state, the parent and the child. Then, there is the question of rights versus interests.For example, if a democratic community of parents decide not to include particular topics in the local school curriculum, and the state believes the decision is detrimental to the interest of the child, when does the state have the right to intervene?

Then, we launch into some historical context using an article by Barbara Woodhouse called Who Owns the Child? as an entry point. In the article, Woodhouse looks at the implications of supreme Court cases, Meyer V. Nebraska (1923) and Pierce V. the Society of Sisters (1925). though the cases were not about homeschooling per se, they helped to establish a precedent for parental rights to direct children's education. here is how:

Meyer V. Nebraska was a Supreme Court case which deemed a law restricting the teaching of languages other than English to students under the eighth grade unconstitutional. The argument behind their decision was interesting. The decision handed down by Justice McReynolds included the following:

“The liberty guaranteed by the 14th Amendment to the Federal Constitution denotes not merely freedom from bodily restraint, but also the right of the individual to contract, to engage in any of the common occupations of life, to acquire useful knowledge, to marry, establish a home and bring up children, to worship God according to the dictates of his own conscience, and generally to enjoy those privileges long recognized at common law as essential to the orderly pursuit of happiness by free men.”

Two years later in Pierce, the Supreme Court decided that it was unconstitutional for a state to require students to go to public school, again because it infringed upon the rights of the parent to direct the child's education.Although these two cases had essentially nothing to do with homeschooling in their respective historical contexts, they have been put forth as support for the right of parents to home school their children. The cases, for the first time, created sa sort of right to parenthood in the 14th amendment (which would become very useful later).

The two cases raise questions that we still think about today. What are the interests of the community within the child? Are children the property of parents? Are they extension of parents? Or, are they individuals with rights? Again, if we look only at these two decisions, there seems to be a lot of support for parents rights, and the cases are deciding where to draw the line on state authority to infringe upon parents.

Then, my partner goes over a more contemporary case, Rachel, and some of the arguments about the constitutionality of homeschooling as they pertain to that case.The main article we use in this is from someone (who we do not agree with) who oppose the idea that there are some cases where is not in the interest of the child for the parent to home school the child (issues of abuse or threats to the child's welfare provide clear examples).

After that, I explore whether or not it matters why a parent chooses to home school. In short, I am asking; what about the interests of the state, the society? A democratic society is interested in having well educated, civically-engaged citizens who have been exposed to ideas of people different than themselves. If parents are homeschooling their children to protect them from the difference of ideas and people that exist in a diverse society, should they be allowed to do so? How do we decide this matter? Should the interest of the state in creating the future of its society come into play here?

Then, my partner goes over a third point of view, as presented by  James Dwyer. Dwyer's argument is that the dichotomy of parents' rights and states' rights is erroneous and irrelevant. we need to consider the rights of the child and the interests of the child. In practice, this is hard because children are immature and cannot be autonomous. Adults inevitably are a part of defining what kind of education children will have, but Dwyer argues that they should do i t not out of what will benefit or satisfy them, but what is ultimately best for the child. this is, in practice, quite difficult, but Dwyer does raise a pretty good point. He is saying that these cases, decisions and discussions should be framed in the interest of the child rather than the parent or the state.

Then, we do a short role-play example where the students are different parties to an interchange at a middle school where parents object to their children being taught about homosexuality.

Thank you for letting me practice. And, pardon the fact that I know very little about K-12 education! I am trying! :)

Wish me luck on the presentation today at 2!

Saving Money As A Grad Student At Penn

As a graduate student, I generally do not have a lot of extra money lying around, so it is helpful to be smart about how, where and how much I spend. before I came to Penn, I was ridiculously worried about money and having enough of it to get by and not miss out on everything. Over the year here, I have relaxed about that much more and I think that I am now in a position where I can share some insider tips about how you, as an incoming student, might begin to think about ways to save money or spend less when you do spend, rather. This short list is just a beginning, but I think it might be useful, so enjoy!

FOOD

• Bring small amounts of cash to school 
• At first, this may seem a little counter intuitive. Bring money to school in order to save money. I will explain. On and around campus, there are a multitude of ways to get cheap food if you have a few bucks in cash. Right at GSE, there is a snack bar on the ground floor. They serve up muffins, yogurt, waters, sports drinks, soda, coffee, espresso, soups, chips and granola bars. Then, there are tons of food trucks. One, near 37th and Spruce  sells the best custom fresh fruit bowls for $3.50. They're humongous, delicious, cheap and healthy. Some students go for vegetarian (but super flavor rich) Mediterranean food at the infamous Magic Carpet truck at 34th and Walnut. There are a couple other trucks there too. There's also three trucks right across the street. I have only tried George's. It is pretty good and offers sandwiches, burgers and such.
• if you don't bring cash, there are a couple other ways to get food while you are on the go without having to spend ten bucks on lunch
• Fresh Grocer (40th and Walnut, three blocks up on the same street as GSE)
• Never underestimate the power of buying your lunch at the grocery store. There's a microwave at GSE, so you can always heat something up a little. Fresh Grocer (40th and Walnut, three blocks up on the same street as GSE)
• Dunkin Donuts (between 34th and 35th on Walnut, a couple blocks from GSE)
• Maybe I am biased, but Dunkin Donuts is a great place to refuel for a super reasonable price. You can grab a coffee and a bagel with cream cheese for under $4.
• GrubHub (http://www.grubhub.com/)
• Grub Hub aggregates the menus of nearby restaurants, most of which will even deliver right to GSE for super cheap! I once got Chinese food for a fellow student and for myself for $11 including delivery!  

•  Bring a coffee mug to school
• If you find yourself tired at GSE, just stroll on over to the Graduate Student Center at 3615 Locust Walk and get yourself some free coffee (http://www.gsc.upenn.edu/)! This is a perk only available to graduate students!
•  Bring food from home
• This seems obvious, but remember that there is a microwave available for student use in the GSE building, so yesterday's pasta can actually taste like it was made today! 

SOCIAL

• Cohort Happy Hours
• This too may seem like a pretty counter intuitive way to save money, but hear me out. If you go to cohort happy hours, you are networking, getting in some social time and probably enjoying awesome drink specials. The higher ed happy hour has 75 cent Miller High Lifes. There simply is no beating that! 

•  Find Free activities
• There is a lot to do in Philadelphia and you do not always have to spend money fto have a good time. there are all kinds of great things going on all the time. Two of the best websites for fun and free or cheap activities in the city are (http://www.uwishunu.com/) and (http://www.phillyfunguide.com/). I am sure you have already heard that the spectacular Art Museum is free on the first Sunday of every month.
• GAPSA events
• One of the major purposes of the The Graduate And Professional Student Assembly is to help graduate students have fun, and they know that grad. students do not always have a lot of money. GAPSA seeks out opportunities for grad. students to have happy hours, enjoy sports games, go to karaoke or enjoy dinner together at a rate that is reasonable because a large group of people are attending. So, look out for the many GAPSA events that happen throughout the year.

SHOPPING

• Shop Sales
• As far as stores that are right near GSE, there is  a Gap, Loft, Urban Outfitters and American Apparel literally within a two or three minute walk of the school. They have sales very frequently, so there is plenty of opportunity to save.
• Check for your books in the library first
• A lot of people do not do this, but I have been able to save quite a bit by checking out the books that I need at the library! You get to keep the books for the whole term. What's not to love! 

TRAVEL

• MegaBus/Bolt Bus
• If you are going to New York City, DC or another major American city, definitely check out Bolt and MegaBus options. I once had a round trip DC ticket for under $25! Both buses leave from 30th Street Train Station, a short walk from GSE!
• Semester Pass
• If you live somewhere far enough away that you will be using public transit daily, it is worth it to get the semester or year long SEPTA pass. There are a variety of passes available depending on your needs, so check out your options if this applies to you!

Reflecting

Last Friday was Accepted Master's Preview Day. About 70 accepted students across the various Penn GSE programs came to see us! It was fabulous to meet and get to know you. You came all the way from California, Texas, Washington, Canada, North Carolina and other places to meet Penn GSE!

In the morning, we shared breakfast over the optional New To Philly Session. This session, which included a video, presentation and panel, was something new for this year. As someone who moved to Philadelphia and to Penn from across the country, a place that seemed worlds away, I thought it would be useful to have something like this so that students could begin to familiarize themselves with all that Philly has to offer. The students in the video and on the panel did a fabulous job of illustrating all of the amenities of the city and making the point that Philadelphia really is a city of neighborhoods!

Next, we heard from our Dean, Andy Porter. Andy talked about innovation in education, the education business plan, some of the recent investments Penn GSE has made and about the new opportunities for interdisciplinary research at Penn GSE! It was wonderful to hear from him! After he spoke, we moved right into the current student panel. There, accepted students asked questions about school-work-life balance, campus resources, student organizations, how we get around, what we do for fun and even where we get our groceries! Lots and lots of great questions came up in the panel. After the panel, it was time for lunch with more current students and some of the faculty! During lunch, students had the opportunity to speak with representatives from Student Health Services, financial aid, the libraries, the fitness center, the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly, student government, student organizations and the Graduate Student Center.

Fisher Fine Arts Library, one of the best places to study on campus!

As lunch came to a close, we moved into GSE and had divisional break-out sessions to discuss program specifics. then, we had the concurrent sessions, where students traveled between a mock class, a campus tour, a demonstration of next steps (for those who have already accepted their offers) and a panel on alumni, carer services and student life (from staff in those areas). Then, of course, we had a Happy Hour / Reception at City Tap House, one of my favorite Philadelphia hangouts, just blocks from campus.



If you did not make it to Preview Day, you can always join us at the Virtual Preview Day to be held on April 10th from 6 - 8 pm EST. You can RSVP for that here.

As part of the final project in professional development, I have been asked to develop a paper and presentation on my experience this year as a graduate assistant. On the right is what i will probably use as my opening slide! This presentation is bittersweet. It comes just as we come out of the last major event of the year and as our office is 'passing on the torch,' offering the position to two of next year's higher education cohort. Oh! How time flies! It's been an intensely productive year here at GSE, and I will be sad to go. I am moving on to the next phase of this adventurous life of mine as I seek out a full-time admissions position. That process has been going really well so far, and I am confident in my ability to secure a position that is both interesting and fulfilling. Then again, I was never that worried about this, as I said in the beginning of this year.

I can't wait for Enrollment Management class tonight. We read "The Order of Things" by Malcolm Gladwell and "The Admissions Arms Race" by Massy, Wegner and our very own Robert Zemsky so that we could gather to learn about and discuss competitive positioning in admissions. Here is the blurb from our syllabus this week:

In an era of branding, marketing and ranking, higher education confronts a competitive marketplace and which requires consideration of limited resources, consumer demands and peer pressures. The resulting dynamic has created a commercialized industry for higher education leaders and for its consumers. How do competition and commercialization impact institutional and consumer behavior and how do these dynamics influence each other?

Jenny Rickard and Eric Kaplan, the professors of Enrollment management, are both so knowledgeable about the field. It doesn't hurt that they work well together as collaborative teachers and both have a great sense of humor. The other wonderful thing about a class like enrollment is that it gets controversial. There is a lot of disagreement about early action, financial aid leveraging, the goals of admissions and the means used to meet those goals. I find it useful to hear the various perspectives mainly because these broad, diverse points of view are akin to what i will encounter as an admissions professional. Hearing a lot of view points now is what I like to think of as getting maximum exposure! This class gives me a whole new reason to love Monday nights!

- - - - - -  You should probably also know that  that I passed my master's comprehensive exam!