Posts filed under 'Special Programs'
Recently, 23 universities were awarded a total of $150 million in funding from the U.S. Department of Education and private donors who want these innovative programs to help millions of students.
We took a look at the list of recipients in the 2011 Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund competition. There are some cool efforts that colleges and organizations, from coast to coast, are doing with middle school and high school students. See for yourself – here are four worthy of the spotlight:
Old Dominion University Research Foundation (Norfolk, Va.)
What it’ll do: Improve math instruction in high-need middle schools in Virginia, Texas, and Kansas by using online coaching, videos of effective classroom instruction for teachers, and a virtual community of learners.
North Carolina New Schools Project
What it’ll do: Create Early College High School programs in 18 rural schools that serve high-need students.
Oakland (Calif.) Unified School District
What it’ll do: Help improve college readiness by implementing The College Board’s EXCELerator process and providing other support to students and teachers.
Berea College (Berea, Ky.)
What it’ll do: Use Advanced Placement training in middle schools and high schools participating in the college’s Promise Neighborhoods project.
Do you feel as if your school system or local colleges and universities are helping you get ready for college? Let us know in the comments below.
-Lori Johnston
January 24th, 2012
College students can’t wait for Thanksgiving break, a time to reunite with family and friends and take a break from school. Sleeping, watching movies, eating home-cooked meals … it’s all part of the plan.
You’ll likely be experiencing those same things next year, as a freshman in college heading home for the holidays. But if you see what’s been happening at colleges and universities all month – before students left for their break – there’s a big focus on giving back. From traditional volunteer activities, such as making meals for the homeless, to more unique efforts, here’s a look at some schools where the students took time to give back.
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
During “Turkeypalooza,” Wake Forest students, faculty, and staff volunteer to cook Thanksgiving meals on campus and deliver them to area non-profit groups.
Wake Forest students at last year's Turkeypalooza.
Adelphi University, Garden City, NY
Students whip up some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to donate to a local soup kitchen. The school’s community service organization, C.A.L.I.B.E.R., make 231 PB&Js alone during the month of November. Students belonging to Greek organizations on campus participate in the soup kitchen’s adopt-a-family program, whose goal is to create Thanksgiving meals for 11 families.
Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI
Members of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity recently picked up bags of groceries left on doorsteps by giving families, collecting 6,000 pounds of food for a food pantry that assists poor seniors who live alone.
Creighton University, Omaha, NB
An annual Thanksgiving dinner hosted by the school’s Freshman Leadership Program raises money to benefit Precious Memories, a non-profit focused on children. Each year, the dinner raises about $2,000.
McDaniel College, Westminster, MD
During National Hunger & Homelessness Awareness week (Nov. 12-21), the school’s Social Work Action Team (SWAT) participates in a variety of activities that include collecting donations during a healthy food drive at a football game.
Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia, PA
CHC is one of the colleges that participates in the Philly community’s Empty Bowl Dinner, which raises money for the Philadelphia Interfaith Hospitality Network to provide food and shelter to homeless families. Students help during the dinner in a variety of ways, such as serving soup and clearing tables.
Iowa State University, Ames, IA
Students’ annual Give Some Warmth drive collects new or gently used mittens, hats, and scarves.
Western New England University, Springfield, MA
The school’s United & Mutually Equal Club (U&ME), a multicultural group, holds an annual Children’s Holiday Party for more than 200 preschoolers, who each get a free gift from Santa and participate in activities such as face painting, music, and storytelling.
Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA
For Homelessness and Hunger Week, students volunteer for the Fall Food Share at a local grocery store, asking shoppers to collect specific items to be donated to the Greater Pittsburgh Food Bank. They’re also participating in “Bean Bags to Bag Hunger,” a corn toss competition to benefit a local food bank.
Purchase College, SUNY, Purchase, NY
Students in two residence halls have organized two events: a winter clothing drive to collect hats, gloves, scarves, and sweaters, and a food drive for a local food bank.
Wow! That’s a lot of good work being done on college campus, and it’s just a small snapshot of how students are giving back around the country. If you’re already involved in activities like this in high school, it’s great to see that there’s the opportunity to continue to help others when you head off to college.
–Lori Johnston
November 23rd, 2011
So many people admire Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who passed away last week, for his innovation and impact on our culture and even education. And though he didn’t finish college himself, he had a connection – through his wife – to helping students make it to college.
Jobs’ widow, Laurene Powell Jobs, is a co-founder of College Track. College Track is an after-school program that since 1997 has helped more than 1,100 high school students in California, Colorado, and Louisiana get into college. The first group of minority students it worked with headed off to college in 2001, and hundreds have followed since then.
Will.i.am speaks at a College Track event.
The organization even drew Justin Bieber, who performed at a College Track benefit concert in June 2011 (that event and other fundraisers helped College Track raise $2 million). Will.i.am also spoke in May 2011 to graduates assisted by College Track. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that the Jobs family provided “significant” financial donations to found and run College Track. Jobs’ wife remains chairwoman of the board.
College Track assists mostly low-income students who would be the first in their family to go to college. The organization starts working with students before their 9th grade year in these cities – California’s East Palo Alto, Oakland, and San Francisco, as well as New Orleans, and Aurora, Colorado. It provides all types of resources – academic, social, and financial (student earn up to $1,400 for each year they participate to go toward college) – to help students find a way to go to college. Here’s how it has succeeded:
• 100 percent of its seniors graduate high school
• 90 percent go to a four-year college
• 85 percent are the first person in their family to earn a college degree
• 70 percent graduate from college within six years
Many college students helped by College Track (see these videos with students’ stories) are serving as interns and volunteers, sharing their knowledge with current high school students.
Of course, many people are wondering which philanthropies or organizations will receive some of the billions of dollars that was part of Steve Jobs’ fortune. We’ll see if College Track is a beneficiary. In the meantime, if you know of someone in any of those cities in middle school who want to commit themselves to graduating and going to college but need a little assistance, they can apply online.
A student who graduated from high school in 2007 posted a comment on College Track’s website: “To succeed, you need to find something to hold onto to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you. That place for me is College Track.”
–Lori Johnston
October 12th, 2011
Some colleges get the dubious distinction of being named a top party school by The Princeton Review or even Playboy magazine. These rankings just further show how much drinking is part of college life, which is often a temptation that causes some students to plummet academically during freshman year–usually as their perceived social status is rising.
It’s common for college students, underage or not, to say they must drink to handle the stress of school, or to spend weekends blowing off steam related to the flurry of exams, papers, and projects combined with work and financial pressures. But some colleges are paying attention to the tough topic of alcohol and drug use by offering programs and even on-campus housing where students can counter addiction.
Residence halls for students who have been treated for drug and alcohol abuse are offered by schools including Augsburg College in Minneapolis, the University of Vermont, and Rutgers University in New Jersey, USA Today recently reported. At Rutgers, the substance-free campus housing allows students to live in a place free of nicotine, alcohol, and drugs, and with access to support from counselors to handle the demands of college.
These and other efforts at schools across the country show that if you have had problems with drug and alcohol abuse in high school, you don’t have to face a losing battle in college. If you’re in this situation, consider searching for a school that is making a point not just to teach academics, but also to provide life lessons to students.
The more services and help that schools offer related to drug and alcohol abuse can put you on a better path once you graduate. Students will be better prepared to handle the stress of the real world – without using alcohol or drugs to help them through it.
–Lori Johnston
May 9th, 2011
With the last weeks of high school remaining, one big event worldwide – Earth Day — may have slipped your mind. But it’s happening Friday, and some colleges are giving students the opportunity to make a difference in the environment.
1. Your major? The earth!
More schools are joining institutions such as Baldwin-Wallace College in Ohio, Western New England College in Massachusetts, and Columbia University and Ithaca College in New York in offering a sustainability major. Western New England’s program, for example, prepares students for careers in communications, international development, marketing and promotion, and public administration. Ohio’s Miami University in March approved a sustainability “co-major,” which allows students to pair it with other majors, ranging from accounting to zoology. It’s also a trend in community colleges – Durham Technical Community College in North Carolina will offer students a new renewable energy diploma starting this fall.
2. Join others in caring for the environment
Female students at Meredith College in Raleigh, NC are going to doing some spring cleaning of the campus’ organic garden to celebrate Earth Day. At Sewanee: University of the South in Tennessee, there have been Earth Day-related activities all month on topics of interest to students, including how those trendy Nalgene bottles could be threatening the environment. Earth Day concerts include rapper Whiz Khalifa at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, FL, as part of the “Campus Consciousness” tour. If students at Albright College in Reading, PA, are spotted recycling, walking instead of driving, or drinking out of a reusable water bottle this week, they’ll get a ticket to enter into a raffle for a prize. At Misericordia University, based in Dallas, PA, its Cougars for Change organization works throughout the year to help raise environment awareness and find ways to save energy and reduce waste.
3. Learn in an old building
You may be going to school on a campus where tons of new buildings are being created for classrooms, libraries, and dorm space. But the College of Health Sciences Building and a residence hall for graduate schools at Misericordia University are in renovated downtown buildings. An old indoor pool at Alabama’s Birmingham-Southern College has become a museum – the Southern Environmental Center.
If caring for the environment means something to you, check into what the school you’re choosing is planning for Earth Day and what campus organizations focus on reducing, recycling, and reusing year-round. That way, you will know how to be part of those efforts when you arrive next fall!
–Lori Johnston
April 19th, 2011
Even if you’ve already taken the general campus tour at one of your college choices, consider using part of your spring break to check out what it’s like to actually be a student there.
Since most colleges have already had their spring break, your visit will likely be timed when school is in session, but double check the college or university calendar to make sure your trip doesn’t conflict with another holiday or special days off.
More and more schools are customizing spring visits, and this is a great option for you to consider, especially if you’re facing a May 1 deadline to reply to a school that has accepted you.
At Washington University in St. Louis, you can attend a student organization meeting, exercise with college students in the athletic complex, listen to a concert, or sit it on classes during a spring university visit.
Dickinson College’s day visit option is available each winter and spring (through April 26), allowing students to get a behind-the-scenes glimpse at campus life by eating lunch with a student and attending a class at the Pennsylvania college. The cool thing is that your campus visit is designed just for you.
Minnesota’s Hamline University also offers options for a spring visit, such as staying overnight with a student, eating with them, and going to classes with them; students also get to sit down with professors and coaches.
Don Fraser Jr. of the National Association for College Admission Counseling tells Education Week that it’s important to set up meetings with people in certain departments you’re interested in to get the most out of your visit. Another great tip from Fraser is to look at aspects of student life, even negative aspects such as crime, by checking out the police blotter in the student newspaper that you pick up during a campus visit.
Zola Dincin Schneider, author of Campus Visits & College Interviews, offers some good info about visits on the CollegeBoard’s web site. Among the tips: Spring break of junior year is a good time for a visit for athletes who are too swamped during the fall to visit or students considering applying for early decision.
So cure your spring fever by using your spring break to visit the campus that may be your home next fall!
–Lori Johnston
March 22nd, 2011
The repeal of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy has been an early Christmas present for those who advocate tolerance of gays and lesbians serving in the military. It’s a step in the right direction for many reasons, but it includes one that you might not have thought about: the end of DADT might signal the return of many ROTC programs to colleges and universities across the country.
The New York Times is reporting today that this new policy of tolerance might entice some schools that previously offered ROTC programs to reinstate them on campus. In the ’60s and ’70s, many top schools axed the program in protest of the Vietnam War, while in more recent years, many liberal-minded colleges and universities shied away from the military and its discriminatory policies. But now that DADT is yesterday’s news, the presidents of Harvard, Yale, and Columbia have already stated that the ROTC could very well be in their schools’ futures.
It has been reported widely throughout print and television media that while the U.S. military should not be permitted to drag their feet in repealing DADT, it will be given the opportunity to do so in a way that will be beneficial to all involved. Once the military has determined the proper course of action, it will then have 60 days to make it happen.
If you are thinking of serving your country as well as earning a college degree, this is very good news indeed, as there could very well be more choices for you in terms of ROTC programs over the next several years.
What are your thoughts on the future of ROTC programs in a post-DADT world? Sound off below.
–The CollegeBound Network
December 23rd, 2010
Your New Year’s resolution (or your parents’ resolution) might be to save money in 2011, but how is that possible if you’re heading to college?
While there’s still the burden of tuition, books, room and board, and other necessary school expenses, there are some financial perks to being a college student. Here’s a look at a few freebies and discounts you’ll be enjoying in college:
Movies and more
Flash your student ID and you’re likely to get discounts to movies and museums, making it more affordable see the latest Harry Potter or Twilight movie with friends. And most campuses offer movie nights and concerts that are free for students – and sometimes there’s free food too.
Sports and recreation
Admission to school sporting events can be at no cost for students, and schools also often offer discounts on amusement park tickets, ski passes, and rounds of golf. It’s enough free or discounted stuff to make you forget about studying … almost.
Banking
Banks in your hometown or college town often will offer free checking and other perks, getting rid of another monthly or yearly expense. Some require a monthly balance; others don’t. And if you’re wanting to do online banking, that’s often a free option, too.
Career help
Free job databases, job search consulting, resume help, and more are offered by school’s career services departments. A new college grad told me this weekend that she was surprised to learn she would continue to have free access to her university’s career services assistance.
Laundry
At least one school – Davidson College in North Carolina – has a perk where students can drop off their laundry to be washed and dried for free. Students can have their dress shirts and blouses pressed and returned on hangers, and sheets, pillowcases and mattress covers are washed too.
Legal representation
If you’re in trouble with the law, battling with your landlord, or need another type of legal assistance, your status as a full-time student allows you to seek help from school’s Student Legal Services office. If you can’t afford to pay for an attorney, it’s a much cheaper alternative. It’s offered by schools such as Indiana University-Bloomington and University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
Be sure to check out what other types of freebies and perks are offered at your school or the schools you’re applying to.
–Lori Johnston
December 22nd, 2010
Sustainable choices are as close as your college parking lot.
Continue Reading November 10th, 2010
Summer reading lists are the norm for high school students, so if you are college bound, you might have been surprised to get a letter or email from your new school with a list of required reading.
In fact, there are actually hundreds of colleges and universities across the country that have some type of required reading for freshmen. Unlike in high school, where an exam or a paper might accompany the reading, colleges like to assign reading material so that students can jump into discussion with classmates and professors right away.
I’m an avid reader myself, so I’m an advocate of assigning summer reading for college. For those who don’t love the printed word, it could be a good time to turn over a new leaf, since there is a LOT of reading to do in college, regardless of your major. The good news is that many schools that assign reading usually keep in mind that it is the summer, after all, and have chosen books that are as readable as they are thought provoking.
Check out what some of your fellow freshmen are reading this summer:
Texas Christian University—Fort Worth, TX
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin. This non-fiction best seller about fostering peace through the creation of schools in Pakistan is a must-read in general, but TCU students now have an added incentive—co-author Greg Mortensen will be giving a lecture on campus in January.
Gustavus Adolphus College—Saint Peter, MN
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jaime Ford. Now in its 11th year of the Reading in Common Program, Gustavus Adolphus chose Ford’s historical novel about the power of forgiveness to fuel discussion among freshmen, faculty, and upperclassmen this fall.
Roanoke College—Salem, VA
When the Emperor Was Divine: a Novel by Julie Otsuka. Roanoke is celebrating the sixth anniversary of its reading program, for which a panel of students, faculty, and staff choose books that are not only engaging, but relevant to incoming freshmen.
Western New England College—Springfield, MA
Outcasts United by Warren St. John. This book tells the story of a youth soccer team–comprised of refugees from Africa, Asia, and the Middle East—playing in a town in Georgia. Faculty opted for St. John’s book because the theme of feeling out of sorts in a new place just might apply to college freshmen.
Susquehanna University—Selingsgrove, PA
This year, SU has chosen a group of readings that correspond to the theme “A Sustainable Future.” Titles on the list include Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, The Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan, and The Future of Life by Edward O. Wilson.
Has your college assigned freshmen reading? Do tell…
–Barbara Bellesi
August 19th, 2010
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