01/21/2013 financing a college education

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Michelle Adam

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Article ContributorsFrank DiMaria,Thomas G. Dolan,

Marilyn Gilroy,Angela Provitera McGlynn,Mayra Olivares-Urueta, Miquela Rivera,

Jeff Simmons, Gary M. Stern

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Ricardo Fernández, President

Lehman College

Mildred García, President

California State University-Fullerton

Juán González,VP Student Affairs

University of Texas at Austin

Lydia Ledesma-Reese, Educ. Consultant

Ventura County Community College District

Gustavo A. Mellander, Dean Emeritus

George Mason University

Loui Olivas,AssistantVP Academic Affairs

Arizona State University

Eduardo Padrón, President

Miami Dade College

Antonio Pérez, President

Borough of Manhattan Community College

María Vallejo, Provost

Palm Beach State College

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here’s a reason that Jan. 1 brings about talk of resolutions. The new year ushers in a clean slate and freshbeginnings. It also means a reaffirmation of what doesn't need to be changed. Such is the case in Washington, D.C.,and within The Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine. On the political front, the White House, Senate and House ofRepresentatives barely avoided the so-called “fiscal cliff” with last-minute brinkmanship on both sides of the aisle. Although the new113th Congress has been sworn in and the president has won his second term, the balance of power in Washington remains relativelyunchanged with some new faces, but many of the loyal old guard to add stability to govern the nation. There are now three Latino U.S.senators and 28 Latino House members; nine of these are first-time members of Congress.

Next on the agenda for these rookies and veterans, say D.C. insiders, is immigration reform. Whether lawmakers adopt the ideasof Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., or entertain proposals from Pennsylvania Avenue, it doesn’t take a psychic to predict that some form ofimmigration legislation is a foregone conclusion for 2013. One only has to look at the results of November’s election and theunprecedented number of Hispanics voting and in many cases deciding local, statewide and national totals to understand that Hispanicshave become a powerful interest group in America.

And that brings us to what is changing and what is staying the same at The Hispanic Outlook. Jason Paneque has stepped in aseditor, prompted by the retirement of our esteemed editor, Adalyn Hixson. But Jason is no stranger to HO. He has been on our editorialteam for the past 15 years, distinguishing himself as an outstanding news desk and copy editor. Mary Ann Cooper, a veteran editor whojoined HO in 2001, continues to shine a spotlight on special projects for this magazine and will also focus her attention on our newsand features. And of course, we have the same core of talented contributing writers and journalists who have been loyal to HO andcontinue to provide us with the latest insights, features and trends in higher education from a Hispanic perspective. Although HO hasgone through some changes, our mission to be the definitive voice and authority on Hispanic higher education issues remains the same.That will never change.

EsquinaEditorial

¡Adelante!Suzanne López-IsaManaging Editor

T

A Fond Farewell

All good things must come to an end, and so it goes with Adalyn Hixson’s departure as editor of The Hispanic Outlook in HigherEducation Magazine. As she heeds the call of a beckoning and well-deserved retirement, Adalyn will finally have the time to spendwith her family – in particular, her grandchildren – which are so very close to her heart. When the PBS series Frontline interviewednew retiree Betty Sullivan for its “The Land of our Second Chance” special, Sullivan expressed her enthusiasm for the road ahead forher. To us, it read like something Adalyn would say. “There is a whole new kind of life ahead, full of experiences just waiting to happen.Some call it ‘retirement.’ I call it ‘bliss.’” Saying goodbye is never easy, so we prefer to wish Adalyn unlimited “bliss” as she begins topen this new chapter of her life.

Over the years, I’ve edited perhaps 350 issues of The Hispanic Outlook in Higher EducationMagazine – and I’m sad to say that this one is my last, as I am retiring this month. It won’t be the end,though, of my interest in all the topics we’ve covered over the years.

I’ll be tuning in to The Hispanic Outlook for insider perspectives – and hope you will too. But mywork as editor will be taken over by my more-than-able and talented colleague, Jason Paneque, whosteps into this position after an impressive tenure as HO’s news desk editor.

My thanks and kindest regards to the López-Isas, founders and publishers of The Hispanic Outlook,for inviting me to join their passionate mission, and best wishes to all the readers.

Adalyn HixsonEditor

And in Adalyn’s own words, her goodbye to those of us at The Hispanic Outlook and all our faithful readers:


We’re still all here after defying the Mayan’s doomsday mythology thatthe end of the world would occur on Dec. 21, 2012.We can now proceed with more relevant in-real-time events like

Washington’s doings, and one of the more interesting is an action byCongress after the presidential elections to eliminate the words “lunatic”or “lunacy” from federal law.

You can still use the word “idiot.”Two years ago, the lawmakers also voted to replace “mental retarda-

tion” with “intellectual disability.”That means, among other things, that you can vent and snarl to your

heart’s content about Washington lawmakers, but it’s a no-no to refer to themor their actions in such derogatory terms in federal papers.

Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert was the only one votingagainst the measure, saying that not only should it not beeliminated but kept and used to describe the people “whowant to continue with business as usual in Washington.”

Not to suggest any reference with the term, but immi-gration reform has long been a dysfunctional issue forwhich the executive branch, Congress and the bureaucracyhave yet to come up with an acceptable, workable solution.

This country likes to bill itself as a nation of immi-grants, but it’s also picky about who it lets in.

Illegal immigration to the U.S. is worldwide, but itinvolves mostly Latinos, and of these, mostly Mexicansand Central Americans.

The issue primes the Latino constituency waiting tocash in on their winning ticket. If you consider that theLatino suffrage in November was pivotal to PresidentObama’s re-election, then it’s time to settle up.

President Obama won more than 70 percent of the Latinovote, including the electoral vote in key states, even though hismargin in the overall popular vote was only 2 percent.

That gives Latinos a lot of political currency.Immigration wasn’t the paramount issue for Latinos

that the pundits and political “strategists” made it out tobe, but it was noisy enough to obscure other more perti-nent arguments driving this constituency, like the econo-my, health care, welfare reform and education.

President Obama has a lot of things on his plate, andas much as he touts his intention to resolve the immigra-tion issue, partially at least, and primarily for Latino youth– the so-called “dreamers” – the odds are against himachieving it because there are still too many issues gumming up the process.

So the frustration will prevail as the administration makes do with flim-sy solutions.

It follows the pattern of past administrations, which suggests that theU.S. immigration system is irreparable or, to use the current jargon, “bro-ken,” amidst a heap of unworkable junk policies.

The history of U.S. immigration woes, particularly the Mexican element,goes all the way back to the turn of the 20th century, after the U.S. defeatedMexico and claimed a big chunk of territory north of the Rio Grande River.

Some stayed and became U.S. citizens. Others traversed the Rio Grandeat will through an open border, and some still do, although the Americanfeds have off and on tried to thwart the Latino illegal Diaspora.

Most people have never heard of “The Mexican Repatriation” during

1929-39, when more than half a million Mexicans in the U.S. were deport-ed without due process to ease the deprivations of the Great Depression.

Then came the “Bracero Program” during the ’50s and early ’60s whenthe U.S imported Mexican “guest workers” to work in the agriculturalfields, and earlier, during the ’30s, help build the railroads. Many stayed,complicating the illegal issue.

Since 1986 – the Reagan years – Congress has passed seven amnesties,and the situation doesn’t look any better; some would say worse, and ashistory shows, its not for lack of trying.

Like the proverbial finger in the dike, the flood can’t be stopped. InMarch 2011, there were 11.1 million unauthorized immigrants, mostlyLatinos, living in the U.S.

Reagan’s Immigration Reform & Control Act in 1986allowed about three million “illegal immigrants” to obtainlegal status.

In 1990, President George H. W. Bush signed the“Immigration Act of 1990,” which increased legal immi-gration to the U.S. by 40 percent.

President Clinton’s Commission on ImmigrationReform recommended reducing legal immigration from800,000 to 550,000.

All the past administrations have tinkered with immigra-tion policy, and all the vehicles have mostly sputtered withnoncompliance or failed. President Obama in his first termdidn’t offer any workable solutions save for some politicallydriven patch-up jobs on the current system.

Right now, the president is concentrating on the Latinoyouth – “The Dreamers,” Latino youths who came to the U.S.before age 16 and are under the age of 31. They can applyfor a two-year temporary work visa if they meet the other cri-teria, like staying in school or performing military duty.

The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) ismuch like the ill-fated DREAM Act. It’s still not the panaceafor what ails the Latino immigration process and is largely amakeshift, limited action while the president tries to workout a more viable, permanent solution with Congress.

Until then, DACA will have to do while Obama figuresout a way to keep a campaign promise to the Hispaniccommunity on immigration reform that he knows is notgoing to happen under the present circumstances.

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, supposedly the defend-er of all things Latino, hasn’t been of much help in the debate.

It has stayed mostly subdued, except for occasional blasts at what itconsiders the uncompromising, non-Latino-friendly Republicans. TheHispanic Caucus offered its nine principles for repairing the system, but itsounds awfully similar to failed legislative proposals of the past.

It puts forth solutions bandied around since the Bush the Younger erathat require, among other things, that undocumented immigrants first reg-ister with the federal government, submit to a background check, learnEnglish and pay back taxes.

Yeah. And pigs can fly!

On Immigration, We All Agree to Disagree

KALEIDOSCOPE

LATINO

KALEIDOSCOPE

LATINO

Carlos D. Conde, award-winning journalist and commentator, for-mer Washington and foreign news correspondent, was an aide in theNixon White House and worked on the political campaigns of GeorgeBush Sr. To reply to this column, contact [email protected].

LATINO KALEIDOSCOPE by Carlos D. Conde


Page 10

Page 12

MAGAZINE®

CONTENTS

JANUARY 21, 2013

Student Loan Debt Unlikely to Be Next SubprimeCrisis by Frank DiMaria

8

Net Price Calculators OfferTransparencyin College Costs by Marilyn Gilroy

Pell Grants: 40Years of Success for Hispanics?by Jeff Simmons

“Know BeforeYou Go” College Bill Pushed bySens.Rubio,Wyden and Feisty Panelists by Peggy Sands Orchowski

Raising the Entrepreneurial ChildbyThomas G. Dolan

ACT Says More Intervention Needed to ImproveCollege Readiness by Angela Provitera McGlynn

10

12

15

16

HACU and UT-San Antonio HostTop Scholars inLatino Research by Michelle Adam

12Tips that Help College Students Become BankSmart by Gary M. Stern

22

20

To view this and other select articles online,go to our website: www.HispanicOutlook.com.

Online Articles


online

Met 1 Benchmark

15%

Met 2 Benchmarks

17%

Met 3 Benchmarks

15%

Met All 4 Benchmarks

25%

Met No Benchmarks

28%

Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Number ofACT College Readiness Benchmarks Attained, 2012

Page 20

DEPARTMENTS

On Immigration, We All Agree to Disagree

Latino Kaleidoscope by Carlos D. Conde 5

HHiissppaanniiccss oonn tthhee MMoovvee 25

PPrriimmiinngg tthhee PPuummpp...... by Miquela Rivera

The Importance of Listening

Back Cover

HO is also available in digital format; go to our website: www.HispanicOutlook.com.

Bank S

mart

Bank S

mart

Book Review by Mary Ann Cooper

On Art, Artists, Latin America and OtherUtopias

19

IInntteerreessttiinngg RReeaaddss 19

Student Loan Debt Unlikely to Be Next Subprime Crisisby Frank DiMaria

Student loan debt outstanding in the UnitedStates is approaching $1 trillion. It sur-passed outstanding credit card debt for the

first time in 2011.In the eight years between 2003 and 2011,

outstanding student loan debt increased fromapproximately $250 billion to more than $900billion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank ofNew York. It has outpaced the growth rate ofoutstanding debt for credit cards, auto loans andmortgages over the same time period. Tuitioncosts, governmental initiatives to encouragefunding for higher education (e.g., the FederalDirect Student Loan Program), an increase infor-profit proprietary schools and a desire ofrecent graduates to seek a second degree whenthey are unable to find a full-time job are someof the reasons for this incredible rise.

Currently, student loan debt ranks second onthe list of consumer debt in the U.S. Nearly 8percent of total debt outstanding as of year-end2011 is made up of student loans. Although thisfigure looks small in comparison to mortgagedebt, which is 76.9 percent of total debt out-standing, two experts in the field, LeightonHunley and Jonathan Glowacki, wonder if stu-dent loan debt could become the next subprimecrisis and cause turmoil in the market. Bothgentlemen work for Milliman, one of the world’slargest providers of actuarial and related prod-ucts and services. They recently published theirthoughts on this topic.

Hunley and Glowacki looked at the historicaldelinquency trends between both mortgage debtand student loan debt to see if they could pro-vide an indication of whether student loan debthas the potential to be the next subprime crisis.The delinquency rate for seriously delinquentstudent loans (defined as the balance of loans90 days or more delinquent divided by the totalbalance of outstanding loans), according toHunley and Glowacki, has been steadily climbingfrom about 6 percent in 2003 to more than ninepercent in 2011.

A prolonged increasing trend in seriousdelinquencies, they found, is likely not sustain-able for any type of credit risk, and the trend willeventually have to correct. The correction mightbe through write-offs on principal balances ormight come from better underwriting fromissuers of student loans. Indeed, in recent finan-

cial quarters, the percent of student loans seri-ously delinquent has decreased to less than 9percent.

“What we have learned from the mortgagecrisis is that you really need to have a goodsense of who you are lending money to,” says

Hunley. “What is their credit history? What istheir income potential? – and other attributes.And at a more macro level, what is the currenteconomic environment like? That’s what wemean by better underwriting. We want to trulyunderstand who is receiving this money and howcan they repay this money in the future.”

Hunley wants “smarter” underwriters and“smarter” loan consumers. Borrowers, he says,should be better educated. He would like to seeschools offer more personal finance classes,maybe even making them a requirement forthose students who will have a high debt loadwhen they leave school.

“Coming out of undergrad, I didn’t have agood sense for how much it was going to costme at the end of the day when I was finishedwith college. I got the paperwork filled out,signed away, and I was in college and happy tobe there. I didn’t really give much consideration

to what my debt might be when I was done withmy schooling,” says Hunley.

In today’s job market, where prospects forfinding reasonable employment might seem dis-mal, some graduates are opting to further theireducation. Such decisions, although well thoughtout, create even more student loan debt.

Hunley has a few suggestions on how under-writers can deal with this. Underwriters, he says,should take the student’s situation into considera-tion when determining the terms of a studentloan. For example, he envisions a system in whichstudents pay debt back in proportion to theirincome level once they graduate, whether with abachelor’s or a master’s degree. He also suggeststhat underwriters should require students whoare carrying an already high debt load at the timethat their student loan is underwritten to make adown payment to secure the loan, much likethose who are seeking a mortgage must do.

“A system like this might be beneficial sosomebody deciding whether to continue to pur-sue job opportunities or to go back to schoolcan assess whether they have 20 percent to putdown before they go back to school and if that’sreally the right option for them,” says Hunley.

Loan underwriters are well within their rightsto turn away individuals seeking a mortgage ifthey are high-risk borrowers. This approach,however, does not work in higher education. Allindividuals have the right to an education.Indeed, the U.S. economy heavily relies on itshigher education system to fill both the high-techand low-tech jobs of the future. Hunley is notsuggesting that underwriters prevent individualsfrom pursuing an education. Rather he issearching for middle ground where underwrit-ers can “scrutinize loans more closely and takeinto account some of the borrower’s attributes alittle bit more – but at the same time keep pro-moting education. “We certainly want this coun-try to flourish in that respect,” he says.

The dollar amount of seriously delinquentstudent loans as of December 2011 was approxi-mately $95 billion, while the dollar amount ofseriously delinquent mortgages was approxi-mately $600 billion (down from approximately$800 billion in December of 2009). And studentloan debt, unlike most other types of debt, isnondischargeable in bankruptcy. Individuals whodefault on student loans owe that money regard-

FINANCING/TUITION


Leighton Hunley, financial and credit analyst, Milliman

less of their financial circumstances.The outstanding balance of student loan

debt, though it is high, is dwarfed by that ofmortgage loans. For student loan debt to causeserious damage to the U.S. economy, the defaultrate on student loans would have to be greaterthan 50 percent on all student loans outstanding.This would produce a dollar amount of seriouslydelinquent loans comparable to mortgages,Hunley and Glowacki write. Fortunately for theU.S. economy, a seriously delinquent rate of thismagnitude is not likely and the potential creditloss experienced with student loans will likely besignificantly less than the credit losses experi-enced with mortgage debt.

A large majority of funding for student loans issupported by the government through various ini-tiatives and programs. For the 2011 calendaryear, 95 percent of all new student loans weresupported by the government (this is an increasefrom 2007 when about 75 percent of all new stu-dent loans were supported by the government)either through direct lending (e.g., the FederalDirect Student Loan Program) or governmentguarantees for credit and interest losses on theloans (e.g., the Federal Perkins Loan Program).On average, from 1995 through 2011, approxi-mately 10 percent of student loan funding hasbeen from the private sector and 90 percent ofthe funding has been from government programs,according to the College Board Advocacy andPrivacy Group’s Trends in Student Aid 2011.

This means that the large portion of govern-ment funding for student loans limits the privatesector’s exposure to student loan defaults. But it’sa different story for the mortgage market, whereover the past 20 years, approximately 50 percentof mortgage risk has been assumed by the privatesector. During the build-up of the subprime crisis,the percent of mortgage risk assumed by the pri-vate sector was approximately 70 percent with asignificant portion of the risk being in “subprime”and second-lien mortgages. When these mort-gages went south, the private sector absorbed themajority of the credit losses, resulting in capitaland liquidity strain for the large banks.

If defaults on student loans increase, themajority of credit losses will be absorbed by thegovernment, not the private sector.

Even with the government’s backing, Hunleyis not ready to say that the U.S. economy can’t be

affected by defaults on student loans. He pointsout that the private sector’s exposure is directlytied to each cohort, those students whose repay-ment schedules begin in a given year. For exam-ple, the borrowers who enter repayment of theirloans in 2007 experienced a far different eco-

nomic climate than those who entered repay-ment in 1992. “It’s difficult to paint with a broadbrush. ... the cohorts from 2006 and 2007 aredealing with high unemployment rates and tougheconomic times, similar to those individuals whotook out mortgages in those years and have hadto deal with housing price crashes and highunemployment. You really have to look at eachindividual year, and to get more granular, eachindividual borrower” to determine the privatesector’s exposure, says Hunley.

Hunley and Glowacki see another similaritybetween student debt and the growth in sub-prime debt: the recent growth and amount ofdebt in for-profit proprietary schools.Proprietary schools are a bit of an anomaly inhigher education because they are for-profitorganizations and some of them are publiclytraded. Hunley and Glowacki see potential for aconflict of interest because these schools might

be admitting students as a way to increase rev-enue and profit and not screening out studentswho might not be prepared for a higher educa-tion. “At a publicly traded company, you haveinvestors, and you need to satisfy their needs andbalance that with the needs of your students. Sothere is a potential, we’re not saying that this isthe case, but there is a potential where certaininterests may outweigh others. And that couldbecome problematic,” says Hunley.

The average debt per student at for-profitschools is generally three to four times higher thanthat at comparable public universities and one anda half to two times higher than comparable privatenonprofit universities, Hunley and Glowacki write.At public and private nonprofit schools, 60 percentand 70 percent of the students use debt to financetheir educations, respectively. At for-profits, thatnumber is nearly 95 percent. For students who dofinance their educations, according to Glowacki andHunley, students at for-profit schools finance 99percent of their educations while students at publicand private nonprofit schools finance 70 percentand 85 percent of their educations, respectively.Default rates at for-profit schools are two to threetimes higher than at public and private universities.

The number of individuals who are borrow-ing to attend for-profit schools is growing, andlike those individuals who borrowed during thebuild up to the subprime mortgage crisis, theseborrowers have both higher levels of debt anddefault risk compared to other borrowers.

Although the student loan market is not likelyto be categorized as the next subprime crisis, thefull impact of ballooning student loan debt onconsumers is currently unknown, and the bur-den might have an adverse impact on the pur-chasing power of borrowers and co-signers inthe future. Hunley is uncertain about how all ofthis will play out over the next few years.

“The student loan industry has a lot of tenta-cles. You have a lot of co-signers signing theseloans, so it’s hard to gauge the impact of some-body not being able to pay off their student loandebt but then also having their parents co-signingwith them not being able to pay off the debt aswell,” says Hunley. He fears that the U.S. economymight experience a bit of a ripple effect if the bot-tom were to drop out of the student loan industry.“I can’t say we can all rest easy because there istoo much uncertainty there,” says Hunley.


Student Loan Debt Unlikely to Be Next Subprime Crisis

Jonathan Glowacki, CERA, FSA, MAAA, Milliman

Net Price Calculators OfferTransparency in College Cost$by Marilyn Gilroy

WhenEva Maria Garza-Nyer, acollege counselor atAustin High School in

Texas, works with students who are applying to col-lege, the first thing they want to talk about is cost.

“It is the driving force, especially for first-generation, low-income students,” she said.

Enrollment in the Austin Independent Schooldistrict is 60 percent Hispanic, and Garza-Nyersaid many students come from families that arevery concerned about affordability as they navi-gate the college search process.

Helping students understand the cost of col-lege and finding the right “fit” for them is a bigchallenge for Garza-Nyer. But this past year, therewas a new tool – the net price calculator (NPC)– to lend a hand in sorting though the numbers.

When the federal government required col-leges and universities to adopt the use of netprice calculators by October 2011, some predict-ed it would be a “game changer” in admissionsand financial aid. The NPC gives individualizedestimates of the actual cost of college minus anyfinancial aid for which students might be eligible.

“The advantage is the timing,” said Garza-Nyer. “Students and their families can use NPCsbefore deciding where to apply.”

The purpose of the NPC is to provide moreclarity about college affordability. Students can seethe difference between the “sticker” price, or fullcost, to attend a specific college, minus any grantsand scholarships that can be applied based on thecollege’s financial aid guidelines. Most calculatorsstart the process by listing the college’s stickerprice, including direct charges (tuition, fees,room and board) and indirect costs (books, sup-plies, transportation and personal expenses). TheNPC then measures the family’s financial situationbased on facts provided by the student or parent,such as family income and size. After subtractingfinancial aid awards, the NPC issues a net pricethat is the amount a student must save, earn orborrow to enroll.

Using the NPC can have a direct impact onapplication decisions for students and their fam-ilies. If students are aiming for an expensive

“dream school,” the NPC gives a more accuratepicture of whether or not that college is withintheir financial reach. Several reports have foundthat without early information about the avail-ability of financial aid, students might choosecolleges they cannot afford or attend a lessselective college because they feel it is tooexpensive, a trend known as “undermatching.”

“Although many of our students are interestedin Texas colleges, we tell them to try both out-of-state and private colleges,” said Garza-Nyer. “Forsome students, the experience changed theirthinking about where they could go college.”

The net price calculator requirement waspart of a series of actions that grew out of theHigher Education Opportunity Act of 2008(HEOA), which called for new measures in col-lege affordability and transparency. As ArneDuncan, U.S. secretary of education, explained,implementation of the NPC is an acknowledg-ment that having a college degree has neverbeen more important but getting one has neverbeen more expensive.

“We want to give prospective students andtheir families the information they need to makesmart educational choices during tough eco-nomic times,” he said. “Net price calculatorscan help potential degree-seekers better under-stand which schools they can afford to attendand how much debt they will have to take on toget a degree.”

Garza-Nyer says students at Austin HighSchool learn about NPCs as part of financial liter-acy sessions in economics courses and in specialAVID classes that prepare students for college eli-gibility and success. The AVID classes have a stu-dent demographic that is 98 percent Hispanic. Aspart of the NPC lesson, students select three uni-versity websites, access and complete the calcula-tors and then discuss their experiences.

“We tell them to fill out NPCs for more thanone school so that they see how the tool differsacross different institutions,” she said.

Instructors then work with students to inter-pret the results, including the various compo-nents of financial aid and any conflicting esti-

mates. Many find the process helpful and realizethey can actually afford to go to college whileothers are sometimes disappointed with theamount of projected financial aid. But Garza-Nyer tells them to stay positive and use the infor-mation as a starting point.

“We caution that the NPC estimate is not anofficial award letter but one that will establishwhether the school is in or out of their ball-park,” she said. “It is important that they com-plete the FAFSA form and officially apply tofinancial aid. They can also use the estimate asan opportunity to connect with the school’sfinancial aid office and talk to their high schoolcounselor.”

NPC estimates often vary depending on thekinds of questions students encounter and theamount of data they enter. While many NPCshave similar features, they can vary in length,complexity and user friendliness, thus makingthe process very time-consuming. There is nostandard format for the NPC, but the U.S.Department of Education, the College Board andother organizations have provided templates forcolleges to use. No matter what the calculatorlooks like, Garza-Nyer says students need to beas thorough and honest as possible in filling outthe NPC.

“We tell them the more accurate the infor-mation you put in, the more accurate the esti-

FINANCING/INNOVATIONS/PROGRAMS


mate you receive,” she said.Finding the NPC on a college website can be a

challenge because when institutions rolled out theNPCs, their approaches to integrating it into theapplication process varied widely. Some, likeIndiana University (IU), were proactive andlaunched a campaign to notify prospective studentsof its availability and location on the IU website.Other institutions chose to put the calculators inobscure places and even called the NPC by othernames, such as tuition calculator or cost estimator.

Despite the lack of consistency, the calcula-tor is still an important tool to empower andinform students during the college searchprocess, says Garza-Nyer. When she presentedan overview of student experiences with the cal-culators at the National Association for CollegeAdmissions Counseling (NACAC) conference lastOctober, she told participants the NPC affectedstudents’ thinking about college affordability inthe following ways:• Students realized that out-of-pocket collegecosts are not the same as “sticker price”• Students reconsidered schools previouslydeemed in/out of financial reach• Students became more aware of the impor-tance of applying to multiple schools• Students felt more in control of college planning

As the NPC requirement goes into its secondyear, experts are taking stock of its initial roundin the higher education system.

At least two studies have examined theimpact of NPC a year after the federal require-ment. A report from The Institute for CollegeAccess and Success (TICAS) titled Adding It AllUp 2012: Are College Net Price CalculatorsEasy to Find, Use, and Compare? looked at 50randomly selected colleges to analyze NPC usefrom the perspective of students and families.

“We found that nearly a year after the federalrequirement, consumers can’t count on netprice calculators being easy to find, use or com-pare,” said Diane Cheng, report author andTICAS research analyst. “While some were easyto find and use, others were buried on collegewebsites, had dozens of daunting questions, orgenerated estimates that were confusing, mis-leading or unnecessarily out-of-date.”

The report’s findings on three key aspects ofthe NPC include:• Is the NPC Easy to Find? Nearly one-quarter ofthe colleges in the sample did not have a link totheir calculator on their website’s financial aid orcosts page; even when the link was on a relevantpage, it was often hard to find; three of the 50 col-leges in the sample had no net price calculator• Is the NPC Easy to Use? The number of ques-

tions asked by the calculators ranged from eightto about 70; more than one-third asked for infor-mation that students and parents would not beable to provide without digging up detailed finan-cial records, and only four indicated whether anysuch questions were optional; the majority of thecalculators in the sample did not tell studentshow their information would be used• Is the NPC Easy to Compare? Some collegessubtracted loans and work study from the netprice estimate, frequently making the resultinglower dollar figure more prominent than therequired net price figure; 40 percent of calcula-tors in the sample provided cost estimates for aca-demic years as far back as 2008-09 and 2009-10

Another report, the StudentPoll survey pub-

lished by the College Board and the Art andScience Group, LLC, indicated the NPC wasunderused in the past year. According to theresults, only 35 percent of students interviewedused an NPC as they considered their applicationdecisions. This was coupled with findings show-ing a majority of students still rule out collegesbased solely on sticker price and do not take intoaccount their likely financial aid award and itsimpact on net cost. As Diane Cheng says, this is abig problem because most students don’t actuallypay the sticker price and are not aware that theymight be eligible for significant financial aid.

The reports from both TICAS and StudentPollpredict the use of NPCs will rise as they undergoneeded modifications.

“NPCs have the potential to be valuable toolsfor helping students and their families look past

sticker price and start figuring out which collegesthey might be able to afford before they have todecide where to apply,” said Cheng. “However, inorder to help students estimate costs at this earlystage of their college decision-making process,NPCs have to be more consumer friendly.”

The TICAS report includes specific recom-mendations on how colleges can make theirNPCs more accessible and effective. For exam-ple, net price calculators should always:• be prominently posted on the financial aidand/or costs sections of college websites• limit the number of detailed financial andacademic questions, particularly those that arerequired, and make clear which questions arereally required

• make it easy to find federally required esti-mates of the full cost of attendance, grant aid,and net price; the net price should always be themost prominent figure on the results page

If loans or student work is estimated, clearlydifferentiate such “self-help” from grants andscholarships and limit recommended borrowingto federal student loans.

The report urges the Department ofEducation to provide the guidance and enforce-ment necessary to ensure that colleges maketheir net price calculators more user-friendly.

“Colleges should do more to make theirNPCs consumer-friendly and accessible to alltypes of students – not just college-savvy highschool seniors or others already far along intheir college decision process,” said Cheng.


PPeellll GGrraannttss:: 4400 YYeeaarrss ooffSSuucccceessss ffoorr HHiissppaanniiccss??by Jeff Simmons

Educators from across the country gathered in midtown Manhattan lastfall to discuss four decades of federal financial aid to low-income stu-dents, and debate whether the Pell Grant program has been a success

or failure.Since its inception 40 years ago, the program – the most important

source of federal aid for such students in the country – had helpedfinance the education of more than 60 million students, including520,000 in 2011 alone.

To assess its impact, the Council forOpportunity in Education (COE) devoted aportion of its 31st annual four-day conven-tion to an in-depth exploration of both Pelland broader affordability challenges facingthe students of today.

The Pell Grant program has helpedlegions of students, and particularlyHispanic students, overcome financialobstacles blocking their entry into highereducation. But concurrently, the program isfacing new challenges, expectations andcalls for reform.

“It is the foundation for all need-basedfinancial aid. That was the central point ofit from the beginning, and it continues tohold to that mission very well,” said con-vention speaker Tom Mortenson, a highereducation policy analyst with PostsecondaryEducation Opportunity and senior scholar,Pell Institute.

“Having said that, however, a number ofpeople have been discussing possiblechanges to the Pell Grant program becausethe need for Pell Grants has grown muchfaster than resources.”

In a report issued last year calledAttaining the American Dream: RacialDifference in the Effects of Pell Grants onStudents’ Persistence and EducationalOutcomes, researchers stated that Hispanic American and African-American students in middle- to high-income levels benefited from theprogram, as did low-income students.

However, the report also provided a candid assessment, indicating thatissues related to the cost-effectiveness of the program might be secondarywhen compared to the mission and objectives of student financial aid

assistance programs.“Research conducted at the Charles H. Houston Center provides strong

support to suggest that the Pell Grant program has been effective and con-tinues to provide financial resources that lead to educational opportunitiesfor African-American and Latino families and students who may not be ableto afford the costs associated with obtaining a college degree,” said thereport’s author, Lamont A. Flowers, Ph.D., distinguished professor of edu-

cational leadership and executive directorof the Charles H. Houston Center for theStudy of the Black Experience inEducation.

“In terms of higher education financepolicy issues, the Pell Grant program is oneof the most important topics in light of itsdirect connection to supporting ournation’s families and students,” he said.

The report, fashioned to spotlight issuesregarding policy reform and budget con-siderations for Pell, examined the role ofPell Grants on educational outcomes forAfrican-American, Hispanic American andWhite American college students.

“I support an expansion of the PellGrant program in a way that enables a larg-er number of African-American and Latinostudents to obtain a college degree, pursuetheir dreams, as well as contribute to aneducated citizenry that expands America’stechnological, entrepreneurial and socialachievements in ways that might enhanceour economy and strengthen our commu-nities,” he said.

Designed to help low-income studentspursue a college education, Pell Grantawards take into account whether a familycan contribute financially toward a collegeeducation. Over the last four decades,there have been changes, but the aim has

remained largely the same: to heighten the number of students who attendcollege by lowering the amount that students and families have to pay forhousing, tuition and other associated costs.

More than 60 million students have received Pell Grants since theirinception, 176,000 of them in the first year, a number that grew to 9.6million students by 2010, when the program had about $30 billion in

FINANCING/TUITION


Tom Mortenson, Pell Institute senior scholar, higher education policy analyst

expenditures. The number of eligible students has risen dramatically,from about two million in 1975 to nearly 12 million most recently. Anddata show that the number of recipients doubled in size between 2008and 2012 because of congressional changes and amid the downturn inthe country’s economic landscape.

The types of students receiving Pell Grants has evolved over time, aswell, Mortenson said. While initially envisioned as a program to help 18- to24-year-old dependent undergraduate students, the program eventually hascome to serve greater legions of independent students more than depen-dent ones.

“There are many, many more older students now receiving Pell Grantsthan was the case in the 1970s when it was created,” Mortenson said.

At the same time, many more low-income students, about double now,are receiving the grants, he said, as the demand for financial aid to servethem has “grown extraordinarily fast.”

“As a result, what concerns me is that while it is serving more students,those that it does reach, it reaches less well,” Mortenson said.

About two-thirds of the nearly $34 billion in Pell Grant expendituresfor AY 2011-12 went to public two-yearinstitutions.

Flowers’ report found that since 1975,the number of applicants eligible for feder-al Pell Grants has increased by more than600 percent, showcasing the dramaticgrowth of the program. The reportacknowledged the increased presence ofHispanic Americans pursuing collegedegrees, and predicted those numberswould continue to escalate.

According to the National Center forEducation Statistics, African-American andHispanic American students are expected tocomprise approximately 30 percent of thetotal college student enrollment by 2018.

Yet investment in the program has notkept pace with the increase in tuition costs.The maximum Pell Grant initially coveredthe full costs of obtaining a two-year degreeand about two-thirds of the costs of a pub-lic university, but now covers substantiallyless, about three-fifths of the costs of a two-year degree and under two-fifths of thosefor a four-year degree.

Recent reports noted that the averagein-state tuition was about $8,244 at a pub-lic university, while the maximum PellGrant is $5,550 (up from the initial$1,400). That $5,550 is substantially morethan when it was first established, when itwas $1,400; and funding is slated toincrease to $5,635 for the next award year.

At the same time, the authors said that Hispanic American college stu-dents often have lower incomes when compared with White students,strengthening the argument for more substantive federal aid policies toensure equal access to higher education.

The report cited data indicating that among all Pell Grant recipients, 22percent were African-American, 19 percent were Hispanic American, and48 percent were White American. Among the report’s other findings:• Low-income Hispanic American students who earned Pell Grants weremore likely to earn a degree compared to low-income Hispanic Americanstudents who did not receive a Pell Grant (46 percent to 25 percent)• Hispanic American college students in the high middle-income groupwho won a Pell Grant were more likely to complete a degree compared toHispanic American college students who did not have a Pell Grant (42 per-cent to 38 percent)• At the highest income level, Hispanic American students who receivedPell Grants (44 percent) were more likely to earn a degree than HispanicAmerican students who did not have the grant (44 percent to 37 percent)• Hispanic American students who received Pell Grants were more likelyto earn mostly A’s and B’s when compared to Hispanic American studentswho did not receive a Pell Grant (54 percent to 47 percent)• Hispanic American students who had a Pell Grant were less likely toearn mostly B’s when compared to Hispanic Americans who did not receive

a Pell Grant (26 percent to 29 percent)• Hispanic American students who didnot receive a Pell Grant were more likely tohave higher salaries; Hispanic Americanstudents who received a Pell Grant weremore likely to make less than $19,999 ayear when compared to their peers whodid not receive a Pell Grant (29 percent to20 percent)• Hispanic American Pell Grant recipientswere more likely to make between $20,000to $28,699 a year; in contrast, HispanicAmerican students who did not receive aPell Grant were more likely to earn morethan $28,700 a year

“To ensure the Pell Grant programremains a priority in the higher educationfinance policy domain, it’s important toprovide evidence regarding the impact ofthe Pell Grant program, including how PellGrant beneficiaries fare in academic set-tings as well as in the labor market,”Flowers said.

Despite the availability of Pell Grants,Frank Alvarez, president and CEO of theHispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF), main-tains that Hispanics are the ethnic groupthat least takes advantage of them.

“The grants are imperative,” Alvarezsaid. “It’s a form of financial aid that doesnot have to be paid back; it’s not a loan,and Hispanics tend to be loan risk

adverse. A Pell Grant is really a boost for them, and they don’t take advan-tage of it in quite the percentage that other groups do.”

Alvarez said longstanding cultural differences are among the root causefor lower engagement by Hispanic Americans, such as sentiments thatinstitutions might take advantage of the community.


Lamont A. Flowers, Ph.D., distinguished professor of educational leadership, executive director, Charles H. Houston

Center for the Study of the Black Experience in Education

“Hispanics are traditionally underbanked in the United States, so thereis a tendency not to put money in banks. Institutions are always lookingfor ways to increase banking among Hispanics, but you always read aboutthe predatory practices of lenders who prey on the Hispanic community,”he said. “We have a tendency in the Hispanic community to be suspiciousof things.”

Alvarez lamented the lower rate of engagement, indicating that HSFfocuses much of its work on working with students and families to explainthe difference between grants, loans andwork-study, so that families can budgetproperly.

The end goal, he said, is to equip thenation with a stronger, well-educated work-force.

“This is an investment,” he said. “Thepopulation we have in the nation today isno longer the way it was in the past. Whatwe have now is a majority of Hispanics rel-ative to all others who are undereducated,so one-third of the workforce by the end ofthe century is going to be Hispanic. Weneed to invest now in Hispanics if we wantto be No. 1 in the world.

“Let us put together a plan that address-es the Pell Grant not as a handout but as apriority for all in the country, that says wewant all of our children and young adultsto be better educated and make themstronger.”

Studying the impact of Pell Grants mightshed light on the importance of the federalprogram amid current discussions andproposals bandied about to either elimi-nate or curtail the program, and the impactrevisions would have on HispanicAmericans. One of the major proposedenhancements to the Pell Grant programwould prohibit students from receivingmore than one Pell Grant in an academicyear.

Flowers cautioned policymakers not to reduce the program’s scope.Instead, lawmakers should focus on “decreasing the administrative costsof the program as well as increasing the maximum Pell Grant award.”

The program has been a target for cuts at a time when lawmakers lookfor areas to trim spending. The year-round Pell Grant was eliminated in2011, which depleted many 2012 summer enrollments at some colleges.

The president had proposed indexing Pell Grants for inflation, raisingthe Pell to $5,975 by the year 2020. However, that was not enacted intolaw. In late 2011, the maximum Pell Grant was preserved but eligibilitylevels were minimized (the time for eligible students to tap a Pell Grantwas reduced from 18 full-time-equivalent semesters to 12), which expertsestimated could significantly lower the number of students who canreceive them.

The Congressional Research Service reported it would cost between$500 million and $700 million for every $100 increase in the Pell Grants.

Flowers’ study seeks to inform federal policy regarding Pell Grantappropriations in light of the expected growth in college enrollment andthe potential to ignite our ailing economy.

“As the Pell Grant program moves forward in the upcoming years,given the rising cost of tuition, policymakers must keep in mind the foun-dational philosophy of the Pell Grant program, which is to support families

and students by ensuring that financialresources are available to help individualsobtain a college degree and enhance ournation,” Flowers said.

“In light of the economic issues impact-ing our country, reform strategies regard-ing the Pell Grant program should focus onexpanding access to Pell Grants for African-American and Latino students as well asensuring that the program remains viablefor future generations,” he added.

In the end, experts agreed thatincreased access to education is crucial tothe country’s future and economy.

Raising the maximum Pell Grant to$13,000 would be one approach,Mortenson said, “in order to restore thepurchasing power of the Pell Grant pro-gram, and greatly reduce the reliance oflow-income students on loans taken fromtheir future income to finance their highereducation.”

“Hispanic students are disproportion-ately concentrated in community collegesbecause, even though they want to attendfour-year colleges, they cannot afford toattend them,” Mortenson said. “WithoutPell Grants, far fewer Hispanic studentswould be able to attend four-year institu-tions, and far fewer would be able tograduate. Everyone wants to keep students

in college.”If such fiscal barriers continue to bar students from attending and

graduating from college, then the system will continue to be “broken,”he said.

“The real answer is to honestly and fully address the real financialneeds that low-income students have,” he said, contending that efforts toreshape Pell into a merit-based program are ill-founded. “In my view, thecompletion agenda is wrongly focused on converting the Pell Grant pro-gram into a merit scholarship program. The real challenge is to re-engagethe states to make college more affordable.”


Frank Alvarez, president and CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund

“Know Before You Go” College Bill Pushedby Sens. Rubio, Wyden and Feisty Panelistsby Peggy Sands Orchowski

Exactly how much will every college student have to pay to complete adegree at a specific college? How many students actually graduatefrom that college and from that degree program? How long did it take

them to graduate on average? How many graduates actually got jobs in thatmajor, and what was their annual starting salary?

These are some of the questions that Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., andRon Wyden, D-Ore., want potential college students and their families to beable to answer as they apply to college. It will happen via a bill they are co-sponsoring called the “Student Right to Know Before You Go” Act. It wouldenable all education stakeholders to make a cost-benefit analysis of everymajor at every college in the nation.

It’s anything but wonky. According to the senators who spoke at a panelon higher education accountability at the American Enterprise Institute(AEI) mid-September, “the aggregate student loan debt is reaching $1 tril-lion even amid dim job forecasts for recent graduates. Prospective studentsand their families are questioning and seeking more information about thevalue of a college degree all together in the face of rising college costs.”But the higher education market lacks transparency regarding collegecosts, student learning and post-college success, according to AEI, a right-of-center think tank in Washington, D.C.

“A college education is the second-biggest investment any family willmake,” Wyden pointed out. “We want to make sure that that investment iswell-spent and that the information used to make it is very useable.Historically, education policies were focused on ACCESS to college for all.We developed Pell Grants and Stanford Loans and various other [govern-ment-supported] ways to increase access. These should be kept. But nowthe focus has to be equally on value.”

Rubio agreed. Education has changed. As our economic growthincreasingly depends on the need for a trained, skilled workforce, postsec-ondary education has become a national interest, a national investment –even as it is increasingly in our backyards, with community colleges andfor-profit educational institutions everywhere and students from everybackground now on campus. “We need to know that all our educationinvestments are well-used,” he said. “We need to take the pressure awayfrom marketing of the for-profit colleges to accountability for all colleges.”

A panel of feisty education analysts and a spokesperson from the HouseCommittee on Education and the WorkForce all agreed.

“Ninety percent of college students go to college to get a job,”exclaimed Mark Schneider of AEI and a former U.S. commissioner of edu-cation statistics.

“But my current salary – and even many fields of work today – was notpredictable 20 years ago,” countered Pauline Abernathy of The Institute forCollege Access & Success. “Maybe we could list cost benefits like potentialgraduation time, actual costs, debt, job opportunities and salaries, likepoints on a car for sale in a retail lot, but they can’t really tell you exactlywhat will happen in the future.”

“It is a common belief that college grads would earn one million more

dollars during a lifetime than noncollege graduates; I’m holding up for$1.3 million to include benefits,” said Anthony Carnevale, a well-knowneducation provocateur from the Georgetown University Center onEducation and the Workforce. “But that was then. Not necessarily now.There are different returns now. Air conditioning techs will make a lotmore than BA degree holders in many majors and fields of work.Outcomes like lifetime salary will depend on the career chosen and theeconomy. Which degree and where you go are also big determinants.”

While higher education is now the most traveled path to the middleclass, just graduating with a degree is not “textured enough” to reach suc-cess, panelists concurred. “Every student needs a plan,” said Carnevale.“Each student has to know specifically what they want in terms of outcome.The best way to predict educational success is intentionality – that is know-ing what you want to do, what you want to earn, and exactly what collegedegree will get you there.”

To make those decisions requires information and data. But there areproblems getting it. One, of concern to government, is the issue of privacy.“What are the key pieces of information is the issue, and which are pri-vate?” asked Amy Jones of the congressional education committee.

In the U.S., education data is unique in that it is mostly generated and“owned” by each state and even local educational jurisdictions (particular-ly integrated community college districts). There is no centralized nationaleducation compulsory data-gathering system.

The other piece of the cost-benefit analysis data puzzle is post educa-tion: career opportunities and salaries. It is clear that liberal arts majorswill almost always come down on the low end of the cost-benefit scalecompared to the sciences, if judged by salaries and career prospects.

“Liberal arts programs must be more hybrid,” declared Carnevale.History, language arts and multicultural programs can all become part ofSTEM (or, as some people suggest, STEArtsM majors).

“I reject the idea of either/or,” said Wyden (either studying for anoccupation or studying to be enlightened). Every university and everymajor must be interdisciplinary.”

“I want everyone who works – like my mom and my dad [a bartender]– to get an education even as they are working,” said Rubio.

To do that, educational data need to be more sophisticated, showingboth the work skills needed in every field (including liberal arts aspectssuch as writing, language, history and cross-cultural competencies) as wellas job opportunity and salary data. Education and labor statistical officesshould be combined, intermingled or in some other way closely coordinat-ed, suggested Schneider. Education and occupational statistics should beeasily viewed together.

“Data sharing between departments is inevitable,” concludedCarnevale. “It has become absolutely crucial for everyone who has todecide what to do after breakfast for the next 45 [or more] years.”

FINANCING/COMMENTARY


Raising the Entrepreneurial Childby Thomas G. Dolan

“Ifyou’re teaching your kids to “get good grades, work hard andsave money,” you’re preparing them to succeed in a world thatdoesn’t exist anymore,” says author and speaker Gregory

Downing, who maintains that parents must teach their kids how to thinkand work like entrepreneurs.

The Lecanto, Fla.-based Downing, author of Entrepreneur Unleashed:Wealth to Stand the Test of Time (Legacy Unleashed Press, 2012) as well asan upcoming book on providing a financial legacy for kids

(www.GregoryDowning.com), says, “If you have children and are trying toprepare them for the real world, it’s hard to know what to tell them anymore.

Get good grades? Go to college? Find a job with a good company, andyou’ll be rewarded?

This might be the advice your parents gave you, and hopefully, it paidoff. But the words don’t ring true anymore. College degrees are a dime adozen, new grads are moving back home burdened with six-figure debt,and the gold-watch jobs are a relic of another age.

We’ve entered the age of the entrepreneur, and only those with the rightmindset and skill set will thrive.”

Kids have always worked, raked leaves, washed cars and sold lemon-ade. But there’s only one problem, says Downing. While these typical kidjobs do result in a bit of pocket cash, they do very little to teach kids theall-important principles of entrepreneurial wealth building. “Directly trad-ing your time for money is very limiting,” says Downing. “This is especiallytrue in a global economy characterized by skyrocketing prices and a short-age of good jobs.”

The good news, says Downing, is that your kids can put an entrepre-neurial twist on these childhood jobs – or at least take their earning poten-tial to a higher level.

As one illustrative example, here’s what he suggests can be done withthe classic lemonade stand.

“The kids can learn about profit by buying their own ingredients anddoing their own marketing. They can shop around for better pricing, learnthe benefits of buying in bulk, or negotiate with a local grocer for a betterdeal or repeat business. They can differentiate themselves by selling freshsqueezed lemonade when everyone else is selling pre-mixed or by holding‘Buy two glasses get one free sales.’

“Want to kick it up a notch? Let’s say there’s more than one hot spot inthe neighborhood for set-up. You can guide your child through ‘franchis-ing’ by forming a partnership with other neighborhood kids. He can pro-vide the supplies and set-up, and they get paid for managing the table.

“There might come a time when your child finds out that franchiseesaren’t doing what they are supposed to do – giving away free lemonade tofriends or leaving their stand unattended, for example. This is a chance towalk him through the tough conversation he must have. You might evenbrainstorm ways to stop the problem, say, by giving kids a cut of the profitsinstead of paying a flat salary.”

Prior to his current motivational writing and public speaking career,Downing worked 12 years as the general manager of four Chevrolet andDodge Chrysler dealerships, managing more than 130 employees andincreasing production and sales without sacrificing quality and customerservice. It was during this tenure that he became increasingly aware thathis real vocation was in motivating and leading others to achieve theirgoals and dreams.

This led Downing to dedicate his life for the past 20-plus years to, as heputs it, “teaching that every family can truly control its financial future andcreate a generational legacy with profound, yet straightforward advice andguidance.”

When asked about those who might not regard making money as a pri-mary goal, humanitarian idealists, artistic types, or those whose passion is

FINANCING/INNOVATIONS/PROGRAMS

“We’ve entered theage of the entrepreneur,and only those with theright mindset and skill set

will thrive.”

Gregory Downing, author,motivational speaker


for a type of work that might not have the potential for great financial suc-cess, Downing readily agrees that his philosophy isn’t for everybody.However, he adds that even these people can apply these principles tosome degree. For instance, the creative writer who has written a highlyoriginal book, one that doesn’t fit commercial genres or categories, and sonot likely to attract conventional publishers or agents, doesn’t need toresign himself to living in a garret as the proverbial starving artist. He canself-publish and use a variety of marketing and sales techniques, bothestablished and innovative, to create a new niche for himself in the market-place.

As an example closer to home, Downing cites his son, Gregory DowningJr., who at age 17 says he “loves fishing and has a 26-foot boat he uses off ofthe Florida coasts. Though he makes some money off of this activity, it’s notenough to generate the kind of income he wants. So I’ve taught him theropes of real estate investing. He runs a real estate investment company witheight properties, from which he makes $3,000 a month and is on track tohave a net worth of $1 million when he starts college.”

Asked whether his program has any particular relevance for minoritiesin general and Hispanics in particular, Downing says, “Learning thesefinancial skills is important not simply for individuals but also for thecountry, and this is especially true for Hispanics, whose population isgrowing so rapidly. This is a great opportunity to reach out to those com-munities and give them the skills not given in schools.

“Traditional education is very important, and you should want yourchildren to go to college. But there are some startling statistics many peo-ple don’t want to talk about. Sixty-five percent of those who graduate fromcollege go back to live at home, for they can’t get a job in their field ofstudy. This is proof positive that the traditional system isn’t working. But ifwe can keep the traditional system and marry it to an entrepreneurial edu-cation, then there is a much better chance that minorities can go out andachieve success in the world.”

Another central dynamic to his approach has to do with the fact that itis a family endeavor, and here the typically large family unit of Hispanicscan prove to be a real advantage in the support needed to put his ideasinto practice. “You may assume you’re the one to teach your child, and youcertainly have a critical role to play. But there may be other adults in yourfamily’s sphere of influence who have demonstrated the ability to achievein business. Nurture those relationships.”

Downing adds that a cornerstone of his philosophy has been learningfrom other successful people.” I wouldn’t be where I am today if I hadn’tbeen open to learning from the experts, and my son wouldn’t be where heis without learning from me.”

One aspect of Hispanic families, Downing continues, is that older kidsare often given the responsibility for looking after the younger ones, and solearning about child care. Yet this routine chore can be given an entrepre-neurial twist through the youth going out and babysitting and/or tutoringfor other families.

“Plenty of kids are qualified for babysitting and tutoring. But why notsuggest that your child, rather than being just another service provider in acrowded market, that she be the front person? She might create a databaseof qualified locals and book appointments for her subcontractors. She cancharge $10 an hour for services and pay each of her contractors $8 anhour. This is great management experience and really illustrates the magicof passive income. On any given Saturday night, she might be earningmoney from four or five or even more babysitting jobs. Meanwhile, she canbe enjoying a night out with her friends or perhaps earning even moremoney by working a babysitting job of her own.”

A number of Hispanic organizations have long incorporated some ofDowning’s insights, which put them in a good position to further incorpo-rate his entrepreneurial ideas. For instance, the San Antonio, Texas-basedAVANCE Inc. Says chief program officer Glendelia M. Zavala, Ed.D., “Ouremphasis is working with parents with children from birth to 8 years old.What we teach is that parents are the first and most important teacher andhome is the child’s first classroom. We encourage parents to read to theirchildren and prepare them for school through Head Start or preschool.”At the same time, Zavala says, AVANCE guides parents, many of them immi-grants without a high school diploma, to learn English and get their diplo-ma or GED, to make them more marketable in the work force.

Since its founding, AVANCE has grown to seven chapters in San Antonio

“Hispanics are known to be a hardworking people,

but that doesn’t necessarilytranslate into financial

success.”

Félix R. García, Downing mentee and entrepreneur


and operates in a total of 12 states. As a further extension, three of thechapters hire members of the AmeriCorps Program, signed into law byPresident Clinton in 1993. This means that parents who have completedtheir high school diploma or GED through AVANCE can now be hired asearly childhood instructors and be given living allowances and scholar-ships with which to pursue higher education.

“As they pursue their education and receive a living wage for service to

their community, they serve as role models for their children and helpbreak the cycle of poverty,” Zavala says.

The Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), alsobased in San Antonio and started in 1972, has an analogous orientation.“We believe children at a young age need both structural and environmen-tal support from both home and school,” says Rosana G. Rodríguez, Ph.D.,director of development. “IDRA has developed the concept of centers ofexcellence, so home and school together create an atmosphere whereevery child has every opportunity to explore, reflect, create and competefrom the earliest ages of preschool through college and so lead the goodlife,” Rodríguez says.

“There are a number of skills that can be learned in this mutually sup-portive environment, including financial, but also cultural, linguistic, criti-cal thinking, collaboration and leadership.” Rodríguez reports that sinceits founding IDRA has provided this kind of support to hundreds of thou-sands of individuals through various affiliations with preschool to graduateschool programs, as well as nonprofit organizations and community ser-vice groups.

To turn to a direct beneficiary of Downing’s ideas, Félix R. García grewup with a single mother from Puerto Rico who struggled to make endsmeet for Félix and his brother, now a policeman. “My mother wasn’t ableto teach me financial literacy, but she did instill the importance of educa-tion,” he says.

After García graduated from high school, he worked for five years forthe housing authority in New York City. He then enrolled at Lee Universityin Tennessee, a liberal Christian arts school, one of the top 100 privateuniversities in the country. He graduated in 2006 with a BA in music. But,as he says, “The economy had started shrinking, and I found it hard to geta job. I embarked on my own program of financial literacy. I read a num-ber of books and attended lectures. At one, I met Greg Downing. Greg tooka personal interest in me and became my mentor. He taught me how tobecome an entrepreneur, and I credit him with the success I’ve achievedtoday. Under Greg’s tutelage, I’ve become a full-time investor.”

García is president of Genesis Realty Solutions (ibuynoproblem.com)based in Nevada, while he has homes in New York City and Chattanooga,Tenn. “I’ve always had a different definition of being rich,” García says.“For me, it’s not just about the numbers, but rather being able to do what Iwant to do with no negative consequences.” One thing García likes to do isgive back by helping other Hispanics, such as helping them deal with cred-it problems and providing housing for those who can’t get good credit.

“Hispanics are known to be a hardworking people, but that doesn’tnecessarily translate into financial success,” he says. “This is even true forthose who go become lawyers and doctors, for these are among the high-est-taxed professions. A problem with traditional education is that it does-n’t teach you how to become an entrepreneur. You also need that.Traditional education earns you the right to become an employee. But withfinancial literacy, you can become an employer.”

García emphasizes the importance of finding a good mentor.“The difference between having a friend and a mentor is that a friend

accepts you as you are,” García says. “A mentor leads you to where youwant to go. Greg Downing has helped me out to this day.”

García, 35, is not married, but says he’d like to be “when I find theright woman.” When asked whether he intends to imbue his children withthe entrepreneurial spirit,” García says, “Absolutely!”


“There are a number of skillsthat can be learned in this

mutually supportiveenvironment, including

financial, but also cultural,linguistic, critical thinking,

collaboration andleadership.”

Rosana G. Rodríguez, Ph.D., director of development, IDRA


Artist, educator, curator and critic LuisCamnitzer has been writing about contem-porary art ever since he left his native

Uruguay in 1964 for a fellowship in New YorkCity. This volume gathers his most thought-pro-voking essays – “texts written to make some-thing happen,” in the words of volume editorRachel Weiss. The theme of “translation” is car-ried through the first part of the book, withCamnitzer asking such questions as “What isLatin America, and who asks the question? Whois the artist, there and here?” The texts in thesecond section are more historically than geo-graphically oriented, exploring little-known moments, works and events thatCamnitzer draws on and offers to his readers. Viewing society through theeyes of someone who has been transplanted from another country,Camnitzer has had to confront fundamental questions about making art inthe Americas, asking himself and others: What is Latin American art? Howdoes it relate (if it does) to art created in the centers of New York andEurope? What is the role of the artist in exile? Writing about issues of suchpersonal, cultural and political importance has long been part of Camnitzer’sartistic project. With this volume, Luis Camnitzer displays his multifacetedapproach to creating, teaching and critiquing art.

From the beginning of the book, Camnitzer explores how local historiesare written. But the volume also gives readers a glimpse into who Camnitzerreally is. The 1977 essay “Exile” demonstrates his autobiographical style ofnarrating history. Focusing first on his own training as an artist and then onhis transition to living in New York, he demonstrates the difficulties of bilin-gualism – the constant process of not only translating but also of perform-ing dual identities – and his continuous sense of displacement.

Being in New York meant proximity to trends in art, which Camnitzeranalyzed and discussed. The 1998 essay “Political Pop” is his attempt topresent his thoughts on Pop Art’s competing alien and kindred ideas. Henoted that Pop was a case of “the imperialism of the consumer object beingattacked by the society that produced it rather than by its ultimate victims.”Pop Art was a useful lens for looking at the strange but thriving art market.Understanding that market, and the implications it might have for a moreidealistic approach to art production, has been an ongoing project.

Camnitzer understood the political realities of the art world. “Art andPolitics: The Aesthetics of Resistance” was written for the leftist journal Reporton the Americas in 1994. The essay is Camnitzer’s most complete attempt torelate artistic activity to the leftist tradition in Latin American politics.

Rachel Weiss is a professor of arts administration and policy at theSchool of the Art Institute of Chicago. Camnitzer is a professoremeritus at State University of New York College at OldWestbury. He is presently the pedagogical curatorfor the Ibere Camargo Foundation in Brazil.

Reviewed by Mary Ann Cooper

On Art, Artists, LatinAmerica and Other Utopiasby Luis Camnitzer, edited by Rachel Weiss2009. 272 pages. ISBN: 978-0292719767 Cloth, $45.00. Universityof Texas Press, www.utexaspress.com, 800 252 3206.

IInntteerreessttiinngg RReeaaddss

Creating Ourselves: African Americans and HispanicAmericans on Popular Culture and ReligiousExpression

Edited by Anthony B. Pinn and Benjamin Valentin

Creating Ourselves is an effort to lay the cultural andtheological groundwork for cross-cultural collaborationbetween the African- and Latino/a American communities.In the introduction, the editors contend that given overlap-ping histories and interests of the two communities, theyshould work together to challenge social injustices. They

have brought together theologians and scholars of religion from bothcommunities who explain the religious and theological significance ofvarious forms of African-American and Latino/a popular culture, includ-ing literature, music, television, visual arts and cooking.

2009. 400 pages ISBN: 978-0822345664. $26.95 paper. DukeUniversity Press Books, (919) 688-5134. www.dukeupress.edu.

Genesis: Memory of Fire Volume 1By Eduardo Galeano

Genesis, the first volume in Eduardo Galeano’s Memoryof Fire trilogy, is both a meditation on the clashes betweenthe Old World and the New and, in the author’s words, anattempt to “rescue the kidnapped memory of all America.” Itis a severe, impassioned and kaleidoscopic historical expe-rience that takes readers from the creation myths of the

Makiritare Indians of the Yucatan to Columbus’s first moments in theNew World to the English settlers’ capture of New York.

2010. 336 pgs. ISBN: 978-1568584447. $15.95 paper. PerseusBooks, (212) 822-0250. www.perseusbooksgroup.com.

7 Steps to Raising a Bilingual ChildBy Naomi Steiner with Susan L. Haynes

This book helps parents in both monolingual and multi-lingual families define and achieve their bilingual goals fortheir child, whether those goals are understanding others,the ability to speak a second language, reading and/or writ-ing in two languages, or some combination of all of these.The authors explain how the brain learns more than one

language, explode common myths, address frequently asked questionsand reveal an array of resources available to families.

2008. 224 pgs. ISBN: 978-0814400463, $14.95 paper. AmacomBooks. (800) 250-5308. www.amacombooks.org

12 Tips that Help CollegeStudents Become Bank Smartby Gary M. Stern

Whenit comes to financialissues, most undergrad-uates concentrate on

paying for college via student aid, scholarships,grants and loans. Studying which banks to openan account in, analyzing checking fees and com-paring prices are too time-consuming and cum-bersome for most undergraduates.

According to a 2012 Pew Charitable Truststudy Still Risky: An Update on the Safety andTransparency of Checking Accounts, students

also need to consider banking, not just financialaid. Choosing a bank with lower ATM and check-ing fees, avoiding costly debit card and overdraftcharges and exploring credit unions can serve asa springboard for savings. Moreover, minoritystudents face special issues since they often haveless exposure to banks, and fewer bank branch-es in their neighborhoods.

Pew updated its 2011 study on hidden riskswith a 2012 study on banking and checking

accounts, based on reviewing the 12 largestbanks and 12 largest credit unions. Its reportstated, “There continue to be key banking prac-tices that put consumers at financial risk andexpose them to high and unexpected costs forlittle benefit.”

Susan Weinstock, project director at PewCharitable Trust who oversaw the study, said that“A checking account is the gateway to financialservice products and to more sophisticatedproducts. It’s the starter product. Nine of 10Americans have it.” When a previous Pew reportstudied Latino households in Los Angeles, half ofthem had bank accounts and half didn’t. Thosewho had banking accounts weathered the eco-nomic storm and recession better than thosewithout.

The Pew report warns consumers that bank-ing fees, some of which are disclosed and somehidden, can mount up and cut into savings. Forexample, Americans paid a whopping $29.5 bil-lion in overdraft charges in 2011 based on feesthat rose 32 percent from 2010 to 2012. Themedian fee for overdraft penalty is $35 at banksand $25 at credit unions.

Banks’ cumbersome disclosure forms arelengthy, written in small type and can be daunt-ing, Weinstock said. The report recommendsfocusing on very direct questions to choose abank or credit union: 1) What are the basicchecking fees? 2) What are overdraft fees? 3)What are the monthly fees? 4) Which fees can bewaived? Weinstock noted the bottom line is thatPew wants “checking accounts to be more trans-parent, for students to understand terms ofagreement and for the new Consumer FinancialProtection Bureau to make checking accountsless risky.”

When Karen Blumenthal, author of The WallStreet Journal Guide to Starting YourFinancial Life, recently taught a business jour-nalism class at Texas Christian University, sheasked her students about their banking fees.Most had no idea how much they paid forchecking and chose a bank based on proximityto campus or where they resided. “Paying atten-tion to fees wasn’t on their radar screen,” she

said. If students are paying $12 a month or $144annually in checking fees and maintaining$1,000 in their account, they’re losing nearly 15percent of their savings.

In their disclosure forms, banks and creditunion often obfuscate rather than clarify fees.The Pew report noted that one credit union saidan account had “no monthly service fee” but hada “minimum balance fee,” which could confuseany consumer. Credit unions failed to disclosethat they don’t charge extended overdraft penal-

ties. The report said, “It would be difficult for aconsumer to ascertain this without consulting anemployee of the institution.”

Here are 12 tips offered by financial expertson how college students can save money, dealwith financial aid and avoid or limit hefty bank-ing fees. Some issues were directly from thereport, and others were triggered by it.

FINANCING/TUITION


Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of the websites FinAid and FastWeb

Susan Weinstock, project director, Pew Charitable Trust

Tip No. 1: Ask about and research check-ing and ATM fees.

Some checking accounts are free with balancesof $1,000 to $5,000. Before opening an account, askwhat the minimum balance is for free checking, themonthly fee for checking, and whether that includesan unlimited number of checks or are there extrafees for writing more than, say, 10 checks a month.“Many college students keep a $500 balance in theirchecking accounts so the $12 monthly fee can addup. That’s a huge knock to their personal financing,”Blumenthal said. Indeed, some banks charge asmuch as $6 to $8 for each out-of-network ATMtransaction, and that multiplies quickly. Some creditunions reimburse out-of-network fees. Spend asmuch time considering the cost of a checkingaccount and ATM fees as the location of the bank,Blumenthal adds. Walking an extra block but saving$500 a year can make a big difference.

Tip No. 2: Keep spending to a minimum.Living away from home and not being subject-

ed to family guidelines, some college students takeadvantage of the freedom and spend money exces-sively. If college students open savings and check-ing accounts, and then spend more than they have,that leads to debt. Paying off the balances can beburdensome, particularly when credit card debt isadded to college loans, Blumenthal said.

Tip No. 3: Overcome your resistance tobanks.

Don’t keep excessive amounts of money inyour dorm room, where thefts can take place, saidMark Kantrowitz, publisher of the websites FinAidand FastWeb and author of Secrets to Winning aScholarship. Many students, particularly minoritystudents, were raised in neighborhoods with fewbanks and don’t trust them, but banks are thesafest place to keep one’s money and begin a pro-gram to grow savings. Moreover, banks can helpestablish credit ratings, which help consumerslong-term to take out a mortgage on a house orbuy a car when they’ve built up savings.

Tip No. 4: Use your credit cards judiciously.To protect college students and younger peo-

ple from getting buried in debt, the Credit CardAct of 2009 stipulates that consumers must be 21years or older to establish a credit card in theirown name, unless they can show steady incomeor have their parents co-sign. Blumenthal saidstudents must focus on maintaining a budget,spending only what they earn or have saved, andavoid racking up balances and debt. Kantrowitznoted that some colleges have tried to sidestepthe law and considered student aid as income,enabling students to take out a credit card at ayounger age. That can lead to excessive debt.

“When a student spends $5 or $500 on theircredit card, it feels the same. They’re not count-ing out dollar bills and don’t realize how muchthey’re spending,” Kantrowitz said. Avoid carry-ing credit card balances, which at 20 percent orhigher interest can turn a $500 debt into a$1,000 debt over time. Going against convention-al wisdom, Blumenthal recommended taking outa “vanilla” credit card and not paying attention torewards. “For students with limited income,don’t play the rewards game,” she said. Itencourages excessive spending and invites debt.

Tip No. 5: Beware of overusing debitcards.

After receiving financial aid and paying a stu-dent’s tuition and room and board, some collegesissue students a debit card with any extra funds,Kantrowitz explained. Using their debit cards, manystudents spend too much, run out of funds and can’tpay for books or other essentials. Some collegeshave turned student identification cards into debitcards, making it easier to use them. Students mustuse that debit card wisely and avoid overspending.

Tip No. 6: Do your banking “homework.”Just as undergraduates must do research to

write an essay, students must perform their banking“homework” to determine which bank offers thelowest fees. The Pew report offers guidance on howto proceed. It encourages consumers to visit theWeb pages of a bank or credit union, use key wordsto search for relevant data on checking and bankingaccounts, call or visit local branches. Ask aboutwaiving fees. The minimum fee to be maintained ina checking account to avoid extra charges was$2,000 at banks and $625 at credit unions. Butabout 40 percent of banks and 25 percent of creditunions offered alternative methods to waive fees.For example, checking fees were waived if the stu-dent maintained a minimum grade point average.

Tip No. 7: Consider credit unions.Most credit unions are nonprofit and mem-

ber-owned, charge less for many services, suchas out-of-network ATM fees, are often more flex-ible than large banks, and offer more personal-ized service. But Kantrowitz advised students tobe skeptical and compare fees since some creditunions can charge more for certain servicesthan banks. “Trust me; I’m nonprofit” isn’tenough, he said. Remember that most creditunions are local, so if the students want to dobanking out of state, they might have to switch toanother institution when they leave college.

Tip No. 8: Reduce overdraft fees.One way to ensure avoiding overdraft fees is

just to opt out of it. Most banks allow a system

that sends a reminder to a cell or mobile phonewhen your balance is getting low and can cut offspending, which eliminates costly overdraft fees,Kantrowitz says.

Tip No. 9: Track spending.Many college students have no idea how they

spend their money. Kantrowitz recommendedthat undergraduates create a spreadsheet thatincludes detailed payments on food, clothing,shelter, medical expenses and entertainment.One student realized that he was spending $400a month dining out, which encouraged him todine more at home. Consider which expensesare mandatory, which are discretionary, and cutback on the superfluous items.

Tip No. 10: Start saving early.“It’s cheaper to save than to borrow,”

Kantrowitz said. For every dollar students bor-row, they’re more than likely paying $2 back ininterest, he said. If a college student is earningmoney via a part-time job, create an automaticsavings plan that deposits 15 percent to 20 per-cent of the income in a savings or money marketaccount. Instead of buying a new pair of sneakersor clothes, saving $200 a month becomes $2,400in a year and $30,000 or more in a decade withcompounding interest. Having emergency fundsset aside can also offset having to pay for a majorauto repair or other unexpected costs.

Tip No. 11: Consider saying no to excessstudent loans.

Some colleges offer more in financial aidthan students require for their tuition, room andboard and books. Kantrowitz advised turningdown any excessive aid that will lead to increas-ing debt. Some students consider it “freemoney,” but since they’re paying interest on theloans, they’re much better off turning downadditional student loans and reducing their debt.Any students who graduate college with$100,000 or more in student loans have dugthemselves a deep hole, Blumenthal suggests.Instead she strongly recommends attending acollege with less expensive tuition and othercosts and reducing debt upon graduation.

Tip No. 12: Enroll in a financial literacyclass.

Many colleges offer financial literacy pro-grams, some aimed at all students and some ear-marked only for financial or accounting majors.For example, Ohio State offers a financial litera-cy program, and Texas Tech offers its “Red toBlack” program, which trains financial planningmajors to become peer financial coaches.


HACU and UT-San Antonio HostTop Scholars in Latino Researchby Michelle Adam

More than 50 top scholars gathered in SanAntonio, Texas, for three days in earlyJune for an unprecedented meeting of

minds. Scholars focused on furthering the suc-cess of Latinos in higher education came fromdistinct parts of the country to develop aLatino/a-driven agenda for national research,policy and practice.

Unique to the meeting, called the NationalLatino/a Education Research, Policy and PracticeInitiative, was the diversity of those represented– a group of intergenerational administrators,faculty, doctoral students and practitioners mak-ing up the education pipeline.

“Many people hadn’t been in a meeting likethis. ... solely to have an intentional, collabora-tive and intergenerational meeting of minds.

Most of these folks go to conferences and attendeach other’s meetings, but to come together forone big work session was unique,” said EmilyCalderón Galdeano, conference organizer anddirector of research and information at theHispanic Association of Colleges andUniversities (HACU).

“It was inspiring, and it was great to learnfrom each other and how all of our workinforms other people’s work. We didn’t careif we were working all the time. We collective-ly strategized as a group, and the space wasthere for conversations we had never seen inother places.”

Nationally renowned scholars gathered onJune 9, the first day of the conference, to anopening talk by Dr. Antonio Flores, HACU presi-dent, and Dr. Ricardo Romo, president of theUniversity of Texas (UT)-San Antonio. They rep-resented the two organizations hosting the meet-ing, which was supported by the LuminaFoundation. Both welcomed all to the event andemphasized the incredible brainpower that exist-ed in the room.

Beyond basic introductions, the followingtwo days were comprised of work groups dis-cussing major areas of concerns. Conferenceorganizers provided an overview of pastresearch activity and identified critical gaps inLatino education research, policy and practice.

“We had a large group meeting, and thescholars then created subtopics and broke offinto small groups. They looked at research, poli-cy and practice arenas and came back into alarge group and shared what they had learned insmaller groups,” explained Calderón Galdeano.“We started at 8 a.m. and were done at 5:30p.m., and during lunch, dinner and after dinnerwe had many more discussions. People wereexcited to be in these groups. Many hadn’t beenin meetings like this before.”

Key topic areas addressed included undocu-mented students, community colleges and

Latino student success, Hispanic-ServingInstitutions (HSIs), Latino/a leadership, collegeaccess and completion, Latino learning styleand pedagogy, STEM, and financing higher edu-cation. In addition, some goals of the SanAntonio meeting included stimulating discus-sion of current and past research regardingLatina/o higher education; collaborating and

developing workgroups; identifying and con-necting with funders; fostering relationshipsamong scholars; and using these relationshipsto drive innovation in the access and success ofLatinos in higher education.

Until now, many scholars have focused onthe deficits of Latinos – low high school and col-lege graduation rates and low retention rates –but these meetings provided a chance to look

FINANCING/CONFERENCES/CONVENTIONS


Leslie Gonzales, assistant professor of higher education, Clemson University

Mayra Olivares-Urueta, doctoral candidate,University of North Texas

more closely at the true picture of Latinos inhigher education. In investigating the arena ofcommunity colleges and Latino student success,attendees re-examined the belief that communitycolleges are a deficit and compared the transferrates on papers to the real transfer rates forLatinos. The small groups also discussed theinformation-seeking process for first-generationstudents and what was needed to help studentsapply to and transfer from community colleges.

Groups that focused on HSIs shared knowl-edge on the unique identities of these 311 enti-ties that serve 54 percent of all Latino students.“What does it mean to be an HSI? What are theirdifferences and their similarities? They continueto grow, and we have ones that are very different.They are not a homogenous group,” saidCalderón Galdeano. “Some are funded better

because they have better research offices for fed-eral funding, and the smaller ones don’t.”

The Latino/a leadership focus of the confer-ence examined the manner in which Latino lead-ership is framed by scholars and academia.While Latino leaders are still sorely underrepre-sented in the education pipeline, scholars recog-nized the need to embrace the ways Latinos areleaders in their communities as we push the

agenda to increase Latino leadership in formalinstitutions. “Until we can develop more leaders,we need to embrace our communities and seethe leadership we have in our own families,”said Calderón Galdeano.

When it came to college access and comple-tion, attendees also saw that our society neededto reconceptualize how we define completion.“The federal government database doesn’t fullycount all of our students. If a student drops outfor a year to work and then comes back, theyare no longer counted in graduation rates,”explained Calderón Galdeano. “Only 25 percentof our Latino students are traditional now, so weneed to change our view. And now increasedtuition, limited access – especially in California,less funding and fewer Pell Grants define andimpact out students’ completion rates.”

Attendees discussed options of developing adatabase and speaking with federal and stateagencies about better tracking of Latino stu-dents. “The information is out there. Institutionshave it individually, but as scholars we need tohave access to that information,” said CalderónGaldeano. “The federal government has torequire this information in order to disseminateit so we can access it.”

Another topic area addressed at the confer-ence was that of Latino learning styles and peda-gogy. Discussion revolved around improving fac-ulty development, creating inclusive curriculumand recognizing the cultural wealth that studentsarrive with at school. “We want a truly inclusivecurriculum that looks at students and faculty andthe knowledge they come in with,” said the con-ference organizer.

In terms of STEM fields, scholars looked atevidence-based practices and the cultures thatexist within gate-keeping courses in science,technology, engineering and mathematics fields.“How can we as researchers help with this andlook at the institutional factors that either hinderor support success? How do we implement prac-tices that replicate successful programs?” askedCalderón Galdeano. “The research is out there,but it’s a matter of getting it all together.”

The final topic of interest explored was thatof financing education. “We need to implementprograms to increase financial literacy at thefamily level and look at the budget priorities atthe institutional level and see how to help gener-ate more revenue – by looking at what is work-ing well and get that information out there,” said

Calderón Galdeano. “We also looked at theimpact that decreased funding and increasedtuition is having on our students. They are theones having to pay the price, and it then takesthem longer to finish. If they take longer to fin-ish, the institution doesn’t meet federal goalsand then receives less funding.”

The financial challenges addressed at theconference are only likely to escalate for stu-dents and institutions. Given this reality, fundersinvited to the gathering attended scholars’ pre-sentations that painted a picture of financial andother issues that at this time are central to high-er education and Latinos.

Building a community, a familia, among adiverse group of academics, and including fun-ders and organizations that support Latino initia-tives in higher education, was key to the confer-

ence. “One of the big things about gathering wasdeveloping networks. We had folks from Utahand Iowa working with folks from many othersstates,” said Calderón Galdeano.

One of those adding to the energy of lafamilia during the three-day conference wasLeslie Gonzales, assistant professor of highereducation at Clemson University in SouthCarolina. “When I received the invitation to go, I


Dr. Fernando Valle, assistant professor of educationalleadership, Texas Tech University

Anne-Marie Núñez, associate professor, University of Texas-San Antonio

was very excited. I hoped to connect to people on a scholarly level andhook into important conversations,” she said. “It was energizing beingthere! I learned a lot and came out with knowledge in a practical senseand learned about what people are doing around these topics in differentways.”

Gonzales was delighted to be with multiple generations of Latino andLatina faculty. As a member of academia for the past three years, meetingwith other scholars helped inspire her current research on faculty experi-ences and careers, especially for those at HSIs. “This meeting really gaveme an opportunity to ground my work and reground my focus. Thisencouraged and energized me to refocus on what I care about and becomeinvolved with new grants with others from the gathering.”

Gonzales applauded Calderón Galdeano for bringing together such adiverse group of scholars. “This was a good example of people comingtogether with the expectation to simply be allowed to think deeply aboutimportant challenges. We normally don’t get the chance to do this, since inacademia things are often hurried,” she concluded.

For Dr. Fernando Valle, assistant professor of educational leadership,Texas Tech University, “this was a living bibliography for researchers.When you are a doctoral student, you can’t help but be drawn to the lead-ers in the field. When you have those people sitting next to you in a room,it can be overwhelming, but exciting.”

Valle has been researching the cultural capital it takes to survive inacademia. “It’s a lonely process for us in academia, but it is changingnow,” he shared. “At the conference, others shared their stories of how tonavigate the system and publish papers. For an emerging professor, thisprovided a valuable insight into a profession that can be very competitive. Isaw senior research professors sharing their stories with younger profes-sors, and the intergenerational aspect was something I really appreciated.”

“This is the first time I’ve been to a conference like this with represen-tatives of the whole educational pipeline,” he said.

While all those participating were there as professionals committed tohelping Latinos in higher education, they also came together as a spiritualfamilia. All were there to share in their passions, and also their culture.“Even down to the name tags, it was first names only,” said CalderónGaldeano. “It was truly a dialogue as opposed to being spoken to.”

“Being a young scholar still progressing through the doctoral degree, itwas enlightening to be part of this meeting and to see how this processplayed out,” said Mayra Olivares-Urueta, University of North Texas, whohas been researching issues relating to Latinos/as in health professiondegree programs. “The gathering impacted my current work greatly. ... Ileft feeling an urgency to get my work done and published for all to learnfrom.”

Anne-Marie Núñez, associate professor at UT-San Antonio, said thegathering provided an unusual opportunity for researchers to get a senseof the big picture. “Typically, at conferences, we are so focused on meet-ings and particular issues that we cannot step back and consider moregenerally how the pieces fit together.”

Conversations Núñez and others had during break-out sessions regard-ing Hispanic-Serving Institutions helped her address nuances within herown research. This further clarity helped her obtain a grant from HACU tofund her team’s research on HSIs.

Others too secured research grants that stemmed from the conference.The hope for conference organizers, HACU and UT-San Antonio is to createanother gathering next year, to present that work. And to invite institutionalpresidents and policymakers to that next meeting.

Calderón Galdeano, citing the passion, the energy, the convivencia,called it “an amazing time.”


Scholars focused on furthering the success of Latinos inhigher education came from distinct parts of thecountry to develop a Latino/a-driven agenda for

national research, policy and practice.


Flores New Palo Alto CollegePresident

Dr. R. Michael Flores, a veteran of 19years in higher education, recently becamePalo Alto College’ssixth president, repla-cing Dr. Ana M. “Cha”Guzmán, who becamepresident of Santa FeCommunity College inNew Mexico. Floreshas held all three VPpositions since joiningthe college in 1999.He most recently served as interim vice presi-dent of academic affairs, overseeing academicand workforce programs and more than 100faculty. The new president has a BA in politi-cal science from the University of Texas-SanAntonio, an MA in political science fromIllinois State University and a Ph.D. in educa-tional administration from the University ofTexas-Austin, where his dissertation centeredon service learning.

Pacheco Named Interim Presidentof NMSU

The New Mexico State University (NMSU)Board of Regents recently appointed ManuelT. Pacheco interimpresident of the uni-versity, a role he alsoheld at NMSU in 2009.Pacheco also is a pastpresident of the four-campus Universityof Missouri System,University of Arizona,University of Houston-Downtown and Laredo State University. Hehas served as interim president at NewMexico Highlands. Pacheco has a bachelor’sdegree from New Mexico Highlands Universityand a doctorate from Ohio State University.

Cruz Appointed Provost at CSUFJosé L. Cruz, vice president for higher

education policy and practice at theEducation Trust, recently was appointedprovost and vice president for academicaffairs at California State University-Fullerton.He began his new role in December. Cruz hadbeen on leave from the University of Puerto

Rico-Mayagüez, wherehe was a tenured pro-fessor of electrical andcomputer engineeringand had been associ-ate director anddepartment chair anddean of academicaffairs. He has a bach-elor’s degree in elec-trical engineering from the University ofPuerto Rico-Mayagüez and a master’s anddoctorate in electrical engineering from theGeorgia Institute of Technology.

González Earns FulbrightThe U.S. Department of State and the J.

William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Boardhave announced thatNorma González,University of Arizonaprofessor in the teach-ing, learning andsociocultural studiesdepartment who foryears has been study-ing border schoolsand the lives of theirstudents, educators and teachers, is among agroup of faculty members and professionalsfrom across the U.S. to receive a Fulbrightaward, supporting international travel andresearch for 2012-13. González will take asabbatical beginning this month to conducther work near her host institution in Mexico,El Colegio de Sonora.

Valdés Keynotes N.J. Conference onDiversity Issues in Higher Ed

Camelia M. Valdés, prosecutor, PassaicCounty, N.J., was keynote speaker at the12th Annual StatewideConference on Diver-sity Issues in HigherEducation. Titled“Who Has the AccessC.O.D.E.? Positioning aGeneration for BetterCareers, Opportunities& Diversity ThroughEducation,” the eventwas held in November at Saint Peter’s University.Valdés was the 25th president of the Hispanic

Bar Association of New Jersey and formerboard member of the New Jersey State BarAssociation. She is an active member of AlphaKappa Alpha Sorority Inc.

Center for Hispanic LeadershipTaps Rodríguez to Lead OhioChapter

The Center for Hispanic Leadership (CHL)has launched its first chapter in Ohio and hasnamed José “Rafi”Rodríguez, a Ohiobusiness and commu-nity leader for eightyears, as its president.Rodríguez has a BS inchemistry from theUniversity of PuertoRico in Mayagüez, a BSin aeronautical engi-neering from the Air Force Institute ofTechnology and an MS in systems analysisfrom the University of West Florida.

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TheUniversity of South Florida System is a high-impact,global research system dedicated to student success. TheUSF System includes three institutions: USF Tampa;

USF St. Petersburg; and USF Sarasota-Manatee. The institutions areseparately accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the SouthernAssociation of Colleges and Schools. All institutions have distinct missionsand strategic plans. Serving more than 47,000 students, the USF System hasan annual budget of $1.5 billion and an annual economic impact of $3.7billion. USF is a member of the Big East Athletic Conference.

Administrative and Executive Positions:Director of Financial Management (University College)Sr. Director of Development-Gift Planning (Foundation)

Sr. Director of Development-COB (Foundation)Regional Chancellor (St. Petersburg Campus)Director of Counseling Center (Student Affairs)Assistant Vice President-Dean (Student Affairs)

Director of the Center for Student Involvement (Student Affairs)Director of Quality Enhancement-Academic Success (St. Petersburg Campus)

Faculty Positions:College of Arts and Sciences College of EducationAssistant Professor (23) Assistant/AssociateProfessor (1)Assistant/Associate Professor (2) Assistant Professor (3)Assistant/Full Professor (2) Dean (1)Director and Professor (1)

College of Business College of EngineeringAssistant Professor (3) Open Rank (Full Professor) (2)Associate/Full Professor (2) Assistant Professor (3)Assistant/Associate Professor (1) Open Rank (Full/Associate/Assistant) (2)

College of Arts St. Petersburg CampusAssistant/Associate Professor (4) Assistant Professor (3)Director & Professor (1) Professor (1)

College of Public Health Sarasota CampusAssistant Professor (1) Assistant Professor (1)Assistant/Associate Professor (1)

College of Medicine College of NursingAssistant/Associate Professor (4) Nursing Faculty (2)Assistant Professor (11)Assistant/Associate/Full Professor (2)

Mental Health Law & Policy Coll. of Behavioral and Comm. SciencesAssistant Professor (2) Associate Dean (1)Professor (1) Assistant Professor (1)

Associate/Full Professor (1)

For a job description on the above listed positions including department,disciple and deadline dates: (1) visit our Careers@USF Web site athttps://employment.usf.edu/applicants/ jsp/shared/Welcome_css.jsp; or(2) contact TheOffice of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, (813) 974-4373; or(3) callUSF job line at 813.974.2879.

USF is an equal opportunity/equal access/affirmative action institution,committed to excellence through diversity in education and employment.

www.usf.edu • 4202 E. Fowler Ave,Tampa, FL 33620

We are dedicated to providing accessible highereducation for all students. That’s why we continue tokeep our costs among the lowest in the UT System.

Find information on UTB tuitionand scholarships at utb.edu/tuition.

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Millennium Leadership Initiative (MLI)American Association of State Colleges and Universities

2013 CALL FOR APPLICATIONS AND NOMINATIONSThe American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the Association of Public Land-grant Universities (A.P.L.U.) announce the call for nominations and applications for the Millennium Leadership Initiative (MLI) Institute to be held June 8-11, 2013 in Washington, D.C. The MLI Institute enriches the preparation and advancement of persons traditionally underrepresented in the higher education leadership positions of college/university president or chancellor. Further, the Institute helps senior administrators determine if ascending to the presidency or chancellorship is a preferred course for their careers. All quali�ed candidates are considered for selection and admission.

The MLI is a unique professional development program for higher education senior administrators. MLI guides deans, vice presidents and provosts in the development of a professional career plan that assists many to become presidents and chancellors of institutions of higher learning.

There are two components to the MLI program—an intensive four-day institute taught by a faculty of current and selected former presidents and chancellors and content specialists, and a required yearlong mentorship with a president or chancellor.

Who Is EligibleExperienced and tested senior administrators (at dean’s level or equivalent) holding a terminal degree are eligible. Candidates must have experience in education, government or the private sector, and must demonstrate the leadership experience necessary to achieve a presidency in higher education. Candidates must be nominated by a president, chancellor or chief executive o�cer.

Nominations DeadlineNominations must be submitted to AASCU by February 15, 2013. Submit letters of nomination electronically to [email protected], fax to 202.478.1511 or mail to: Adrienne Mosley Vincent, MLI Program Associate, AASCU, 1307 New York Avenue NW, Fifth Floor, Washington, DC 20005-4701.

Application DeadlineCompleted applications must be submitted to AASCU by February 15, 2013. Apply atwww.aascu.org/mli/applicationform. Only electronic applications will be accepted. Contact Adrienne Mosley Vincent at [email protected] or at the above address for additional information.


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The Andrew Young School of Policy Studies, Department of Economics at Georgia State University hasopenings for several tenure-track positions. For details and deadlines, please see the following website:

http://aysps.gsu.edu/econ/employment-economics. All applications must be submitted throughwww.academicjobsonline.org.

The Andrew Young School is ranked among the top 20 policy schools in the area of Policy Analysis. The schoolhouses the Department of Economics and outstanding research centers in health policy, fiscal policy, experimental,and international studies, among others. The research centers generate opportunities for funded scholarly research.

Georgia State University, a unit of the University System of Georgia,is an equal opportunity educational institution and an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer.

Candidates must be eligible to work in the United States. At time of offer, a background check is required.


COLLEGE OF LETTERS AND SCIENCE DEANUNIVERSITY OFWISCONSIN-MADISON

The University of Wisconsin-Madison, one of the world’s outstanding public research and teachinguniversities, invites applications and nominations for the position of dean of the College of Letters andScience (L&S). Since its founding in 1889, the mission of L&S is to support education of the completeperson for citizenship, for a productive life, and for life-long learning. The college’s educational andresearch programs span the entire spectrum of disciplines in the arts, humanities, natural sciences, andsocial sciences. L&S departments and programs, research labs and centers, generate both applied andtheoretical knowledge, and provide the foundations of liberal arts education and critical-thinking skillsthat endure throughout a UW-Madison student’s lifetime. L&S is the university’s largest academic unit,providing core undergraduate, graduate, and professional teaching, research, and outreach programs,as well as the foundation for UW-Madison initiatives such as cultural diversity and education for globalcitizenship. The college’s 16,702 undergraduate and 4,191 graduate students comprise approximatelyhalf of the university’s enrollment. L&S has 39 departments and 5 professional schools, approximately803 faculty, 817 professional staff, 807 university staff, and 1,055 full-time equivalent graduateassistants. The college’s faculty, staff and students also participate in some 90 interdisciplinary centersand programs for which the college serves as the administrative home. The dean, who reports to thechancellor and the provost, serves as the chief academic and executive officer of the college, withresponsibility for its instructional, research and outreach environment including faculty and staffdevelopment, personnel oversight, a $337.6 million budget, research, curriculum, student academicaffairs, fund-raising and advancement.

Please see the followingweb sites for information aboutUW-Madison and theCollege of Letters and Science:

http://www.wisc.edu/ http://www.ls.wisc.edu/

Candidates will be evaluated on the following professional and personal characteristics: a record ofsuccessful, visionary leadership that shows understanding and appreciation of the dynamic, changingacademic environment and the diverse missions and constituencies of a major public researchuniversity; strong management, communication and fund-raising skills; the capacity to relateeffectively to faculty, staff, students and external constituencies; a demonstrated commitment toadvance learning, research, public service, and the diversity of students, faculty and staff, equalemployment opportunity, affirmative action and non-discriminatory practices, and to advance aninclusive climate; a commitment to public service through dissemination of research results, promotingthe state’s economic development, and supporting the Wisconsin Idea within the state, nation andworld; demonstrated ability to work effectively in an environment of shared governance;responsiveness to the instructional and research needs of other schools/colleges; ability to represent thecollege and university effectively in educational, governmental, business, alumni, and public forums;ability to interact collaboratively across disciplinary boundaries; and nationally recognizedaccomplishments that meet the standards for a tenured appointment at the rank of full professor at theUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison.

Applications and nominations must be received by 15 February 2013 to ensure consideration. Laterapplications and nominations may also be considered. The committee particularly encouragesapplications and nominations of women and persons of underrepresented groups. Applicants shouldinclude a current resume or curriculum vitae and a comprehensive cover letter that addresses how theirstrengths and experience match the qualifications for the position, and what they see as challenges andopportunities of the position, as well as the names, addresses, e-mails, and telephone numbers of fivereferences. Candidates will be consulted before references are contacted. Please note that in accordancewith Wisconsin statutes the names of nominees and applicants who explicitly request confidentialitywill not be made public. However, the university is required to release the names and titles of thefinalists, who will be interviewed by the chancellor. Submit applications and nominationselectronically to the College of Letters and Science Dean Search and Screen Committee at:

[email protected]

Questions may be directed to the search committee office at 608-262-1677or [email protected]

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is an Equal Opportunity, Affirmative Action Employer.


Bunker Hill Community College invites applications and nominations for its new President.

After 16 successful years as President of Bunker Hill Community College, Dr. Mary Fifield has announced her retirement, effective June 30, 2013. The next President of Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) will have the enviable opportunity to lead this outstanding institution into a new and even more dynamic era.

BHCC, ranked among the 25 fastest growing public two-year colleges in the United States, is a multi-campus institution with vibrant, urban campuses in Boston, MA, in nearby Chelsea, MA, and at three satellite locations within the Greater Boston area. BHCC is part of the Massachusetts public higher education system, which includes 15 community colleges. Founded in 1973, BHCC is the largest community college in Massachusetts, serving more than 13,400 students each semester across all modes of instruction. The College offers 103 certificate and degree programs that prepare students to enter four-year institutions or to enter the workforce prepared for better and more highly skilled jobs. Seventy-seven percent of students are people of color and more than fifty percent are women.

BHCC is nationally recognized as a Leader College by Achieving the Dream. It is one of four colleges awarded the National Gates Foundation Achieving the Dream Catalyst grant. The engaged and innovative faculty, administration and staff are a reason the student body of this acclaimed College has grown almost 120% in the past 16 years. BHCC’s location in Boston, a major education, healthcare and financial hub, provides it with the ability to nurture unique partnerships with other institutions of higher learning and with business and industry. These important partnerships enable the College to offer a broad scope of healthcare and business curricula, providing students with vital connections and access to workplace internships while in school and with an education that prepares them for high-paying jobs in the area.

The new President will be expected to bring his/her creativity, energy, vision and leadership skills to Bunker Hill Community College. He/She will have demonstrated success in these and/or comparable areas:

successes, such as a faculty-developed and sustained Student Learning Outcomes Assessment Program (SLOAP), Achieving the Dream, LifeMap, Learning Communities, community-based Long Range Planning, Single Stop, Student Emergency Assistance Fund, and Compelling Conversations;

and sustained leadership of diversity initiatives;

state and federal government, and demonstrated ability to obtain external funds to support the College’s mission;

additional avenues of cooperation;

and workforce pathways for students, such as the College’s Learn and Earn Intern Program;

development, adult learning, and creates seamless transitions to the College for students from local high schools;

students, and the Board of Trustees;

success; and

and beyond.The preferred candidate will possess the earned doctorate coupled with substantial senior managerial experience within higher education. The new President will use her or his creativity, energy, vision and leadership to build upon the significant accomplishments of the College, championing, strengthening and extending the programs and creative initiatives the College has created to serve students and the community.

Bunker Hill Community College is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Women, people of color, persons with disabilities and others are strongly encouraged to apply.

Prior to application submission, please view the Executive Search Profile, which provides application and nomination procedures. For more information visit bhcc.mass.edu and rhperry.com.

For full consideration, please submit completed applications by February 28, 2013.

R. H. Perry & Associates is assisting in this search. Please direct all inquiries, held in strictest confidence, to Ms. Liz Rocklin, Senior Consultant at [email protected].

PRESIDENT


Wenzhou-Kean UniversityAnticipated Faculty and Administrative Positions 2013-2014

Kean, a comprehensive New Jersey state university, is seeking faculty for its extension program in Wenzhou, China.Launched in 2012, the program is offered temporarily on the campus of and in partnership with Wenzhou Universitywhile the university prepares for the establishment of a full branch campus and constructs a new campus of its own ata nearby site. For 2013, Wenzhou-Kean University programs will comprise five baccalaureate majors: English (writingoption), Computer Science, Finance, Accounting (with emphasis on international standards and practices) andInternational Business Management. All instruction is in English for Chinese students of traditional college-enteringage (18) who have studied English throughout their primary and secondary education and who have scored high on theChinese national exam for English-language proficiency. All faculty positions below are full-time, single or multi-yearassignments, effective September 1, 2013, at the ranks specified for each. Tenure-track appointments for facultyavailable only for rank of assistant professor or higher.

English: Writing and Language Development (Ten Lecturers)Business and Professional Writing (Assistant Professor - Two Positions)

Communications (Assistant Professor or Lecturer)Accounting (Assistant Professor)Management (Assistant Professor)

Computer Science (Assistant Professor)Mathematics (Assistant Professor or Lecturer)

Research & Technology (One Lecturer; One Lecturer or Assistant Professor)Administrative Position: Director of Library (Founding Director)

Application, Salary and Benefits Information on All Positions

For detailed job descriptions and application information, please visit: http://www.kean.edu/KU/Wenzhou-Kean-University-Positions. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until positions are filled. Salary iscompetitive and commensurate with qualifications and experience. A comprehensive benefits package including travel,housing and relocation allowances is available. Contingent on Budgetary Approval and Appropriated Funding.

Kean University is an EOE/AA Institution

SADDLEBACK COLLEGE

Position Position ID Closing Date

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EXECUTIVE DIRECTORUniversity Unions has a position available for an Executive Director. This position willbe responsible for managing a dynamic student centric business and service enterprisewhile building community on a campus of over 50,000 students. University Unions iscomprised of 5 Centers for Student Life: Hogg Memorial Auditorium, the StudentServices Building, the Student Activity Center, the Texas Union and the premier studentevent planning center on campus: the Student Events Center.

In order to be competitive, successful candidates should possess: a Master's degree and10 years of experience at the director level of a student union facility on a universitycampus with a significant student population. Experience in strategic and budgetplanning; student development and engagement; business and food services; and, facilitymanagement. Experience working in a student programming environment. Experienceusing a personal computer and standard software. Experience writing proposals, reportsand making presentations.

Preferred qualifications include: Terminal degree. Experience at the director level of astudent union on a campus with over 20,000 students. Excellent written, oral andinterpersonal skills. Experience working with a large, diverse student, faculty and staffpopulation. Experience in current student concerns and interests and higher educationtrends. Experience working with a student majority board of directors and alumnigroups, such as advisory councils. Experience in a complex organization with keyresponsibility to integrate the curricular and co-curricular student experience.

Please go to https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/hr/jobs/nlogon/search/0/ for acomplete description and to apply for posting number 130107010457.

The University of Texas at Austin is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer, with a strong commitment to building a diverse and equitable work environment

and campus community. All interested candidates are encouraged to apply.

SAVE THESE DATES& RESERVE YOUR SPACE

ISSUE DATE THEME ISSUE AD DEADLINE

• Feb. 4 Jan. 16

• Feb. 18 Women in Higher Ed. Jan. 30

• March 4 Feb. 13

• March 18 Community College Issue Feb. 27

• April 1 Graduate Schools Issue March 13

• April 15 March 27

• April 29 April 10

• May 13 Colleges for Hispanics April 24

• May 27 May. 8

• June 17 Health Professions Issue June 5

• July 15 July 2

• Aug. 5 Arts Issue July 24

• Aug. 26 Aug. 14

• Sept. 9 Aug. 28

• Sept. 23 Back to School Issue – Sept. 11

Volume 23 Editorial Index

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Colleges for Hispanics

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P.O. Box 68 Paramus, NJ 07652-0068

CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED

Adolescents are not monsters. They are just people trying to learnhow to make it among the adults in the world, who are probably notso sure themselves. – Virginia Satir

Teenagers often lament that no one understands them. No wonder.Parents accustomed to directing and monitoring all aspects of theiryoung child’s life might find that their typically happy, obedient

child, now an adolescent, won’t listen, much less take direction. “No meda caso” is a common experience shared by Latino parents of teensstruggling to get the adolescent’s attention. They note that their childmight argue about things inconsequential or react strongly to somethingthat previously went unnoticed. Moods and attitudes might changeovernight, if not moment to moment. Suddenly what worked in parentingtheir child before is no longer effective.

What they don’t always realize is that, as their child has changed, somust their approach to parenting. Teachers, though only with the studentat school, also see these changes as development unfolds. Professors inhigher education see the same issues among many of their young stu-dents. Because of these changes, the relationship between parent orteacher and child subtly shifts, too.

Since adolescence is the stage when a person begins to exerciseincreased autonomy and define himself, parenting and teaching mustshift from issuing directives to offering guidance. More than ever, theadult must tune into the teen’s way of thinking to connect and communi-cate effectively with him. The student must first sense the adult’s respectand a sincere willingness to listen before they will go another step.Without experiencing that sense of respect, many adolescents will decideindependently that compliance isn’t necessary, thereby creating aninevitable struggle. It is not that the child is setting out to battle for itsown sake; it is because adolescents must exercise independence, but donot always know how to do so in acceptable ways. Some Latino adults,stuck in their directive vantage point, ultimately miss the very thing theyare demanding – the youngster’s respect.

Hardest, perhaps, for parents and teachers working with teens is the

necessary shift to listening more thantalking. For Latino parents holdingthe traditional attitude that childrenof any age must obey because parents are the authority, changing thatviewpoint smoothes out the relationship. If that move to increased listen-ing by the adult does not occur, the moderate Latino teen will quietly dis-tance or isolate himself from his parents to maintain respect while exer-cising autonomy. If that Latino youth is very angry or less concernedabout maintaining a good relationship with the adult, he will boldlyargue or assert himself at any cost. The result: rebellion.

If a parent or teacher begins by asking an adolescent for herthoughts on a problem, listens to the answer and remains focused onwhat the student is saying, the conversation leads to the adolescent offer-ing to help resolve the problem. Though listening takes longer in theshort run (challenging for adults in a hurry or instructors with a largeclassroom full of students), it is the most effective approach long term.

Listening intently to adolescents has other advantages. First, open-ended questions lead to richer conversations (compared to the juvenileuh-uh, uh-huhs, grunts or shoulder shrugs that frustrate adults). Onceengaged with the adult’s respect and inquiry, the teen will volunteermore information and gain more insights than closed-ended questionselicit. An adult asking open-ended questions invites the youth to describetheir views or experiences and provides an opportunity for the grownupto affirm the student’s perceptions, feelings or opinions. That acknowl-edgement empowers the students to determine and take whatever nextsteps are necessary to solve their own problems and remain engaged inthe process. With an adult who continues to lend the respect and sup-port the students need, the students can later return and share successor admit defeat and continue problem solving, knowing that there willbe positive regard and compassion awaiting them, regardless of the out-come. Finally, inquiring and listening to Latino youth naturally brings outtheir best by encouraging their efforts, validating their experiences andvaluing their contributions. Self-discovery and autonomy are achieved –and then they can move to adulthood with confidence.

THE IMPORTANCE OF LISTENINGPPrriimmiinngg tthhee PPuummpp......

Miquela Rivera, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist withyears of clinical, early childhood and consultativeexperience. She lives in Albuquerque, N.M.

This article appearedonline only in the

01/21/13Issue

H I S P A N I C O U T L O O K • 0 1 / 2 1 / 2 0 1 3

ACT Says More Intervention Neededto Improve College Readinessby Angela Provitera McGlynn

Atleast 60 percent of 2012 U.S. college-bound high school graduatesare at risk when it comes to success in college. This is the findingof ACT’s annual report, The Condition of College and Career

Readiness 2012. The report is based on scores earned by graduatingseniors who took the ACT College and Career Readiness exam – this year arecord-breaking 52 percent of all U.S. high school graduates.

ACT, an independent, nonprofit organization with more than half a cen-tury history of producing data-based assessments and research, is respect-ed for its continual development of assessments that determine not onlycollege readiness but also provide the most advanced measure of work-place skills. In the future, ACT’s role will expand into research on studentbehavior and goals, and will combine all the findings to help individualsprepare for success from kindergarten to career.

Recognizing the importance of early intervention for promoting acade-mic success, ACT has recently launched a “next generation” assessmentsystem that will monitor grade school through high school.

ACT research demonstrates the critical role early monitoring and inter-vention can play for at-risk students. The “next generation” initiative isdesigned to provide students, parents and educators with information onseveral measures of readiness to ensure that students are on track for aca-demic success when they start school and as they continue throughouthigh school.

In a nutshell, this report shows that for this cohort of tested students,although there has been slight improvement in the subjects of math andscience, far too many who are college bound are underprepared for theacademic rigors of college and career to be successful. The ACT reportdata can be used to improve college and career readiness for the next gen-eration of students making their way through the U.S. education system.

The good news of the report is that percentages of high school gradu-ates who met or surpassed the ACT College Readiness Benchmarks in mathand science each rose for the third consecutive year, rising three percentin each category since 2008. Although this shows improvement, fewer than46 percent achieved the math benchmark, and only 31 percent met thescience benchmark.

In fact, 28 percent of students who took the ACT test didn’t meet any ofthe four college-readiness benchmarks in English, math, reading and sci-ence. Another 15 percent met only one of the four benchmarks, and 17percent met just two. Only a quarter of the ACT-tested students met all fourbenchmarks, and that percent is unchanged from the previous year.

And although college-readiness levels in English and reading are higher thanin math and science, improvement in those areas has been flat. The data showthat 67 percent of ACT test takers in 2012 met or surpassed the ACT benchmarkin English. Fifty-two percent met the benchmark in reading. However, thesescores are actually one percentage point lower than scores in 2008.

The improvements seen in math and science, although actual scoresare lower than in English and reading, might be attributed to statewide ini-tiatives related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics

(STEM) projects.Jon Erickson, ACT education president, says: “STEM programs may

well have helped move the needle in terms of math and science.” He saysthere is clearly much more work to be done. “Research into the impact ofstatewide STEM initiatives on student achievement could provide lessonsfor improving other areas of student learning,” he suggests.

“And just as importantly, we need to ensure that every student andteacher has a powerful system that provides insights and direction to helpguide students throughout the entire continuum of lifelong learning.”

College-readiness levels are particularly low among Hispanic and

African-American students. More than half these students met none of thefour readiness benchmarks. Perpetuating the academic achievement gap,the majority of Asian-American and White students either met or surpassedthe benchmarks in all areas except science.

If this achievement gap is not eliminated or at least significantly nar-rowed, the United States will drop further behind in global education levels.

“We need to do more to ensure that our young people improve,” says JonWhitmore, ACT chief executive. “The advanced global economy requiresAmerican students to perform at their highest levels to compete in the futurejob market and maintain the long-term economic security of the U.S.”

Gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief State Officers,reads the implications of the report as a call to action. “There is far toomuch disparity in education outcomes for our students,” he says, “gapsbased on income, ethnicity and race, subject area – vast differencesbetween those who take the core [courses] and those who do not.”

“This report is a reminder,” he says, “as to why we’re making sweepingchanges in state standards, among other reforms, and that we need tomove even more swiftly.”

Education and career/workforce are inextricably woven together. An

REPORTS

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English Reading Mathematics Science All Four Subjects

Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates MeetingACT College Readiness Benchmarks by Race/Ethnicity, 2012

additional finding of ACT research is the disconnection between the typesof careers that graduates would like to pursue and the types of jobs thatwill likely be open to them.

For example, a high percentage of ACT-tested high school graduates saysthey are interested in the five fastest-growing fields. According to the U.S.Department of Labor, those fields are education, computer/information spe-cialties, community services, management and marketing/sales. The prob-lem is that the percentage of students who aspire to enter those fields is

greater than the projected demand for workers in every one of those fields.ACT Workforce president Marin Scaglione noted the negative effects on

the U.S. economy when there is a lack of connection between college andcareer readiness and workforce opportunities. Scaglione says, “Employershave said it is becoming increasingly difficult to match their job openingswith workers who have proven skills.

“We must connect academic skill development in K-12 education to theskills these students will need to get a good job,” he added. “ACT is hard atwork developing new initiatives that will help achieve this goal.”

Obviously, the greatest K-12 skill preparation would be the alignmentbetween K-12 knowledge and skill achievement and readiness to do rigor-ous college-level work.

The days when a high school diploma could lead to a decent paying joband entrance to the middle class are virtually over. The bar is now set at abottom line of a two-year college degree. In fact, the countries around theworld that are achieving education levels higher than ours, and there aremany, are doing so by graduating skilled workers with two-year degrees.President Obama recognized this phenomenon years ago – 2009 – whenhe created the Community College Initiative.

The ACT research provides a framework for improving college andcareer readiness. Three key suggestions flow from the data:

1) Early Student Monitoring and Intervention: ACT research continuesto show the importance of early monitoring of student achievement andappropriate interventions. ACT research also supports the use of integrat-ed, longitudinal, data-driven systems to inform and encourage coherencein school, district and state efforts to prepare all high school graduatesfor college and career. Schools must provide rigorous courses alignedwith college and career-readiness standards. Students must be prepared

for and have the opportunity to take these core courses. Educators mustprovide systematic guidance and feedback early and often to studentsabout their progress.

2) Use of Student Growth Models in Early Monitoring: As states and dis-tricts implement college and career-readiness standards, metrics alignedto those standards are needed to gauge individual and school progresstoward this goal. Using these metrics, growth modeling has strong poten-tial to help stakeholders measure progress – for individual students andfor school systems. Growth model results can serve a variety of purposes.

3) A Comprehensive Framework of Best Practices: Key practices forincreasing readiness can be implemented as part of a comprehensive frame-work of best practices. Empirically developed and validated, the Core PracticeFramework outlines the evidence-based educator practices at each level of aschool system – district, school and classroom – that help all students masterhigh standards. The Framework focuses on five themes: Curriculum andAcademic Goals; Staff Selection, Leadership, and Capacity Building;Instructional Tools: Programs and Strategies; Monitoring Performance andProgress; and Intervention and Adjustment. Included in the framework arecritical actions – steps to take to implement the 15 core practices.

Additionally, the report points to five overarching policies and practicesto increase college and career readiness. They are: Infusing a culture ofpostsecondary success, expanding rigorous high school courses, ensuringearly monitoring and intervention, setting clear performance standards,and implementing policies and practices for data-driven decision making.

Beyond the scope of this article, but critically important for student col-lege and career readiness, are the suggestions the ACT report offers forDistrict, School, and Classroom Practices, which can be found on pages

24-26 of the report.For a fuller understanding of the ACT findings, please consult The

Condition of College and Career Readiness 2012, found online at:http://media.act.org/documents/CCCR12-NationalReadinessRpt.pdf.

Angela Provitera McGlynn, professor emeritus of psychology, is anational consultant/presenter on teaching, learning and diversityissues and the author of several related books.

Met 1 Benchmark

15%

Met 2 Benchmarks

17%

Met 3 Benchmarks

15%

Met All 4 Benchmarks

25%

Met No Benchmarks

28%

Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates by Number ofACT College Readiness Benchmarks Attained, 2012

67

5246

3125

0 -

20 -

40 -

60 -

80 -

100 -

English Reading Mathematics Science All FourSubjects

P

Percent of ACT-Tested High School Graduates MeetingCollege Readiness Benchmarks by Subject, 2012

0 1 / 2 1 / 2 0 1 3 • H I S P A N I C O U T L O O K

01/21/2013 financing a college education

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