Cornell Given $350 Million to Build NYC Science School

Mayor Michael Bloomberg has announced that Cornell University has been selected to build a high-tech graduate school, to be operated with Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, in New York City, writes Richard Perez-Pena at the New York Times.

The $350 million gift that comes with it will be critical in building the graduate school on Roosevelt Island. The donor is Atlantic Philanthropies, whose founder, Charles F. Feeney, is a Cornell alumnus.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create economic and educational opportunity on a transformational scale,” Mr. Feeney said.

This comes after Stanford University announced that they were out of the running to establish a New York City based campus.

Stanford was Cornell’s biggest rival in getting the contract, but days before the announcement was made Stanford President John Hennessy declared his university was out of the race.

“The university could not be certain that it could proceed in a way that ensured the success of the campus,” a university statement said.

Julie Wood, city deputy press secretary, issued a statement:

“This competition is about changing the future of the city’s economy, and we are thrilled that we have a number of proposals that we believe will do exactly that. We are in serious negotiations with several of the other applicants, each of whom has a game-changing project queued up.”

Bloomberg, along with officials, announced the $2 billion plan, which will include math and science education support for 10,000 city children.

“Today will be remembered as a defining moment,” Mr. Bloomberg said.

“In a word, this project is going to be transformative.”

The project will also stimulate jobs in the city. Building the campus is expected to create 20,000 construction jobs. Bloomberg and his officials also predict that this will lead to 600 new businesses over the next generation, creating 30,000 more jobs and as much as $1.4 billion in tax revenue.

“New York City is positioned to become the new technology capital of the world,” said David J. Skorton, the Cornell president.

Mr. Bloomberg declined to cite specifics when asked about Stanford’s decision to drop out of the race.

Though Bloomberg did confirm that he had spoken to president Hennessy, and indicated that while Stanford may well have a future in the city, this project just wasn’t right.

“The program that we want may not exactly fit what they want,” he said.

Seven proposals from 17 institutions were submitted for the project. City officials pored through over 10,000 pages of documents over two months, but for Bloomberg there was only one clear winner.

Mr. Bloomberg picked the Cornell-Technion plan because it was “far and away the boldest and most ambitious” and had an “incredibly aggressive schedule,” he said.

Michael MacDowell: College Education Provides the Best Cushion in a Poor Labor Market

Many people around the country are questioning the value of a college education nowadays due to unemployment persistently hovering between 8 and 9 percent nationally. It is natural for the students and parents who are spending their hard-earned money on a college degree to question its value when many are not seeing an immediate return on their investment.

Overall, the general public seems to be at odds in this ongoing debate. The Pew Research Center found this year that 75 percent of the public wondered if the cost of a college education was worth it. That same poll, however, showed that 86 percent of college graduates believed their college education was a good investment for them.

In the long run, returns on a college education remain significant and have not changed for many years. On average, people with an undergraduate college degree earn more than $1 million more over their lifespan than those without one. Some people, though, have pointed out that these estimates are based on historical trends and such trends do not a future make. For instance, for many years a house was considered a good investment, but recently that has not been the case.

The fact of the matter is that investment in human capital, such as an education, is a different kind of investment than consumer goods, like a home. We buy refrigerators, automobiles and houses to improve the quality of our lives, but we should not consider them as investments. In fact, if houses in general had been considered a consumer product rather than an investment from 2002-2008, the housing bubble we experienced might not have occurred.

Let me explain. Clearly, no one anticipates a car or a dishwasher to accrue in value over the years. Many individuals, though, have anticipated that housing prices would increase forever because the overall demand for it has continued to rise since the end of World War II. Over the long-run, though, the price for housing has fluctuated. In fact, housing bubbles can be traced back to the early 1700s when over-speculation on housing in European capitals such as London and Paris led to a financial panic that eventually spread to the United States.

Unlike automobiles and houses though, an education is a much more marketable product. A highly educated individual is a more productive worker and tends to produce greater returns over time than does an investment in consumer goods. Those returns accrue to the individual by way of higher salaries.

Of course not all college degrees have the same rate of return. Returns on degrees in the health sciences, as well as the sciences and engineering, are significantly higher than they are for majors such as counseling, psychology, and English. Today, a petroleum engineer can expect to earn $120,000 a year. A counseling or psychology graduate can expect to earn about $29,000 a year.

Regardless of the major, students should not be left on their own when it comes to making an investment in themselves. Colleges and universities should also assume some of the risk that the students and families undertake. Over the years, Misericordia University has found that students who engage in internships and mentoring relationships develop marketable personal skills above and beyond the technical expertise and the general knowledge they acquire from a college education, which in turn gives them a much better chance of finding a good job.

That is why these specific skills that enhance employability of all majors at Misericordia are offered through the Insalaco Center for Career Development.

Misericordia students who participate in the Insalaco Center’s well-structured and rigorous programs and maintain a 3.0 grade point average can take advantage of the University’s Guaranteed Placement Program (GPP). Simply stated, the GPP guarantees students a paid internship in their field of study if they are not able to find employment or are not enrolled in graduate school six months after graduation. The six-month paid internship almost always leads to a job.

Higher education is not an inexpensive undertaking. Students and families often find themselves in debt after graduation. Misericordia University has the least expensive tuition of any traditional, private four-year institution in the region, but we also believe that risk-sharing is important, hence our Guaranteed Placement Program.

Signs of relief from the nation’s worst recession since the 1930s are on the horizon, but nobody should believe that the difficult economic circumstances we face will be gone tomorrow. The best way to cushion the impact of a poor labor market on the individual is with a college education. The college itself should accept some responsibility for providing that cushion. The Guaranteed Placement Program does just that.

Columbia University Launches Occupy Wall Street Class

Columbia University is set to offer a new course for its juniors, seniors, and graduate students based on the Occupy Wall Street Movement, writes CBS New York.

Starting next semester, the Occupy Wall Street class will send students into the field. They will become involved with the Occupy movement outside of the classroom while also doing class work at Columbia’s Morningside Heights campus.

The anthropology department course will be taught by Dr. Hannah Appel, a “veteran” and vocal proponent of the Occupy movement.

The “Occupy the Field: Global Finance, Inequality, Social Movement” syllabus states:

“The course offers training in ethnographic research methods alongside a critical exploration of the conjunctural issues in the Occupy movement: Wall Street, finance capital, and  inequality; political strategies, property and public  space, and the question of anarchy; and genealogies  of the contemporary moment in global social movements.

“Class requirements will be divided between seminar at Columbia and fieldwork in and around the Occupy movement. In addition to scheduled seminar, this class will meet offcampus several times, and students will be expected to be involved in ongoing OWS projects outside of class.”

Appel was a leading member of the movement that began in September last year:

“It is important to push back against the rhetoric of ‘disorganization’ or ‘a movement without a message’ coming from left, right and center,” she said.

While her allegiance and involvement in Occupy Wall Street will have some effect in the way she teachers the material, it will not prevent Appel from being an objective teacher, she claims.

This comes after dozens of occupiers were arrested shortly before midnight on New Year’s Eve as they tore down barricades surrounding New York City’s Zuccotti Park.

Zuccotti Park used to be the home of their encampment until it was dismantled several weeks ago. Around 500 protesters gathered in the park for New Year’s Eve, chanting “We are the 99 percent.” But after some protesters began to tear down the barricades that blocked off the evicted Occupy Wall Street area, police moved in.

The New York Police Department announced that a total of 68 people were arrested, with charges varying from trespassing to disorderly conduct and reckless endangerment, while one person was accused of assaulting a police officer with scissors.

US Department of Ed Looks for Advice on College Completion

As part of the effort to keep students in postsecondary education, the Department of Education invited members of the higher education community to discuss and share best practices that have been proven to help students successfully complete their studies.

Continuing its commitment to helping America lead the world in college graduates, the Department of Education gathered some of the leading researchers at the “Evidence-Action-Innovation” college symposium to develop a toolkit for institutions to reference.

Around 50 of the nation’s leading researchers, policy experts and practitioners from postsecondary institutions convened at the symposium.

The discussions focused on best practices that support students’ academic transitions through accelerated programs, learning communities and bridge programs, as well as advising, coaching and mentoring.

Speaking at the college completion symposium, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said:

“Our task now is to brainstorm more creative ideas and scale up those practices that are most successful in making sure that all students – regardless of income, race or background – are crossing the finish line.”

U.S. Under Secretary of Education Martha Kanter also spoke:

“We know that answers for improving quality and completion will come from professors, deans, and leaders in the field who have first-hand knowledge about what works to keep students in school and help them succeed.

“Our goal is to highlight strategies that have had the greatest impact on students’ success without saddling them with unnecessary costs or debt.”

The Department published a notice in the Federal Register which calls for information about promising practices that keep more students in college, with an emphasis on the quality of what students learn and timely attainment of degrees or certificates. The Department will then post material that has been submitted on the site.

This comes after Obama’s State of the Union address, in which the President set out his blueprint for keeping college affordable and reiterated that keeping college within reach of all Americans is vital to achieving the 2020 goal.

Missouri Legislators Warned Over College Fee Difficulties

Public university presidents have told the House committee this week that Missouri is rapidly out-pricing students from low to moderate-income households from a college education.

Administrators warn that despite tuition increases having been limited over the last several years, next year’s 12.5 percent shrink of state funds, proposed by Gov. Jay Nixon, cannot be counteracted by administrative savings alone, writes Virginia Young at STL Today.

“I could fire every administrator I have and I couldn’t come up with $15 million,” says Missouri State University interim President Clifton Smart, referring to the amount of money the university is required to recoup.

However, the University of Central Missouri, Warrensbury has already stabilized tuition increases to an average of 1.4 throughout the last three years by means of a hiring freeze and slaying of eight academic departments.

However, should legislators assent to Nixon’s proposal, state appropriations will allocate less than 40 percent of schools’ funding, “a fundamental threshold, moving us to the edge,” of insuring college affordability, says President Chuck Ambrose.

While legislators are under no delusions that the state’s $500 million budget shortfall will render them unlikely to offer significant relief, but they have expressed their want to ease Nixon’s blows to the budget.

“It’s sad,” said Committee Chairman Mike Lair, R-Chillicothe.
“I wish it were not this way.”

Kenneth Dobbins, president of South-eastern Missouri State University, says the difficulty is that “it’s a sum-zero game. If you give to someone, you’ve got to take from someone else.”

However, given that Missouri’s aim is to increase their number of college graduate residents, alongside insuring college accessibility to qualified students.

Smart said:

“It appears to me there is a disconnect between what we say is important — our collective intent — and our collective actions.”

He later added that a tax credit overhaul could generate $200 million for state coffers, as several of the college presidents illustrated that Nixon’s proposed motion would result in state cuts of 24.5 percent during the last three years.

John Jasinskin, president of Northwest Missouri State University, questioned legislators on the kind of messages being sent if the state contributes more towards the imprisonment of non-violent offenders, while the University of Central Missouri has to turn down the thermostat at 5:15pm every day because Nixon’s reductions would result in an overall loss of $14.6 million in the course of three years.

Administrators have tallied more ways in which they have handled previous cuts, including postponing building works, promoting early retirement, shrinking scholarships and increasing enrollment, but if Nixon’s cuts are as significant as suggested, university reserves will have to be dipped into as well as having to increase tuition, with some classes only made available at scattered intervals.

“But we’re at the point now where we’ll have to have a significant increase,” Smart said.

Graduates Sue Law Schools Over Misrepresentation of Job Data

Various law schools across the country – including the John Marshall Law School in Chicago and the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University – are being sued by a group of former students who allege that they misrepresented employment data.

About 15 law schools nationwide have been sued by more than 73 law school graduates over allegations that the schools falsely inflated graduate employment rates and salary statistics to recruit and retain students, writes Sophia Pearson and Phil Milford at Bloomberg.

Many believe that they are leaving the colleges with nothing but debt and scant employment prospects.

In a statement, David Anziska, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said:

“We believe that some in the legal academy have done a disservice to the profession and the nation by saddling tens of thousands of young lawyers with massive debt for a degree worth far less than advertised.”

This comes after the news that a full credit loan has passed $8,000 per year, with total outstanding student loan debt passing the $1 trillion mark, more than Americans owe in credit card debt.

Last year, the American Bar Association adopted two resolutions asking for more assistance for student loans and urging schools to provide more detailed employment data.

Many schools say that they are sticking to employment data guidelines set by the American Bar Association and the National Association for Law Placement.

Connie Mayer, Albany Law School’s interim president and dean, said:

“We have documentation that supports the accuracy of our data.

“Students are well aware of the realities of today’s economy and we believe the information we provide during the admission process does not mislead our applicants.”

The DePaul University law school in Chicago has been accused of engaging in “Enron- style” accounting techniques to manipulate its employment statistics, at the Cook County Circuit Court.

The plaintiffs say this is:

“Far from giving their graduates ‘a competitive edge,’ and placing them in good, secure, well-paying jobs.”

The university is being sued by eight former students.

“DePaul consigns the majority of them to years of indentured servitude, saddling them with tens of thousands of dollars in crushing, non-dischargeable debt that will literally take decades to pay off.”

Similar allegations were lodged against law schools across the country, including the Brooklyn Law School (78472MF) and Albany Law School of Union University in New York and the DePaul University law school and the Chicago-Kent College of Law at the Illinois Institute of Technology. Similar cases have been brought in California, Florida and New Jersey.

Princeton Review Publishes Best Value Colleges for 2012

The Princeton Review has released its annual list of “Best Value Colleges” in the country, with the University of North Carolina coming out top of the pile of public colleges and Williams College being ranked best private college.

The “Best Value Colleges” ranking was launched in 2004 in an attempt to identify America’s top undergraduate schools by rating their academics, financial aid, and cost of attendance.

The 2012 list includes 150 undergraduate schools: 75 public and 75 private institutions. California is the state with the most colleges recognized (19).

This year the number one “Best Value Public College” is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, while Williams College (Williamstown, MA) is voted the number one “Best Value Private College.”

Said Robert Franek, Princeton Review’s SVP/Publisher and lead author of The Best Value Colleges, said:

“We recommend these extraordinary colleges as our ‘best buys’ for 2012 and salute them for all they are doing to keep costs down and / or offer generous aid to applicants with financial need.

“We appreciate the deep concerns families have about affording college: among the 12,000 teen and parent respondents to our 2011 ‘College Hopes & Worries Survey,’ 86% reported financial aid would be ‘very necessary’ for them to pay for college.”

The Princeton Review “Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges for 2012″ include SUNY Binghamton, the University of Florida and the College of William and Mary, while the “Top 10 Best Value Private Colleges for 2012″ include Ivy stalwarts Princeton, Harvard and Yale, as well as the smaller Swarthmore and Hamilton Colleges. For a full list, please visit Princeton Review.