Let's Try This Again: Links!

• On June 21-22, the National Center for Postsecondary Research at Columbia University hosted a conference, Strengthening Developmental Education: What Have We Learned and What’s Next, featuring dev ed experts from across the country, including some from our own DEI colleges and states. You can check out an overview of the conference and download materials here. Jennifer Gonzales at the Chronicle of Higher Ed gave this recap of a conference keynote address from U.S. undersecretary of education, Martha Kanter: “Rather than abolish remedial education, Ms. Kanter implored the scholars to continue their work to reform and improve it.” Hear! Hear!

• Last month, Jobs for the Future published a new policy brief about financial aid that needs to be on your reading list. Aid and Innovation identifies financial aid rules and regulations that block innovations meant to help low-income students; describes how policy leaders and financial aid experts in several states are building work-arounds to those issues; and recommends how states can work together to better meet students’ financial aid needs. You can download it here.

• In addition to that policy brief, JFF also released another edition of Achieving Success, the newsletter all about Achieving the Dream and Developmental Education Initiative state policy. This one’s got more on the Virginia Community College System dev math redesign, Florida legislation that is strengthening community college transfer pathways, and more. Download it here.

• Recently, the MDC-led Financial Empowerment for Student Success Learning Network hosted an enlightening discussion on how to use a college’s student success course to teach students about financial literacy and management, with speakers from two Achieving the Dream institutions. The presentations from Debby King of Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas and Sonya Caesar of the Community College of Baltimore County answered questions about how they have effectively made financial capability an integral part of course curriculum. They shared many lessons, including some important advice on how to involve administration and how to get student input to develop the most effective course of study. You can link to a recording of the webinar here. (Go ahead and follow the registration instructions—that will set you up to view the recording!) 

• Just can’t get enough of webinars? Inside Higher Ed is hosting one next Tuesday, July 10 at 1pm Eastern to share results from a new study of faculty perspectives on online education. “Conflicted: Faculty and Online Education 2012” will feature Scott Jaschik, editor of Inside Higher Ed, Joshua Kim, director of learning and technology, Master of Health Care Delivery Science program, Dartmouth College, and blogger at Inside Higher Ed; Steve Kolowich, technology reporter at Inside Higher Ed; and Jeff Seaman, co-director, Babson Survey Research Group. Register here.

Fa-La-La-Links!

It’s December 1 (not sure how that happened) and there are already radio stations playing holiday music 24-hours a day. Here’s a few interesting pieces to help you forget that year-end is right around the corner and that you’ve already heard “Jingle Bell Rock” nine times too many.

• The student loan landscape is a tricky one. Take everything you qualify for? Take as little as you can? What’s the right amount? Joanne Jacobs at Community College Spotlight comments on the rock and hard place where students find themselves: those that are debt averse may reduce the likelihood of graduating, but many who borrow and never graduate won’t be able to pay back their loans. Jacobs’ answer is providing students with financial literacy training that helps them balance reasonable debt against future incomes.
• Today, Inside Higher Ed has a great overview of the American Association of Community College’s (AACC) new Voluntary Framework of Accountability (VFA) standards. AACC is lifting VFA up to the field as rigorous and fair measures of what works at community colleges. You can download the vetted and pilot-tested Metrics Manual here.
• Today’s Inside Higher Ed also included a counterpoint to the call for standardize success measures. Susan Bernadzikowski and Jennifer Levi, faculty at Cecil College, argue that such standards ignore the success of students who take much longer to graduate, but who are doggedly determined and do complete. We’d like to know what you think about how colleges can accelerate students’ progress through developmental education, without punishing those who, out of necessity, go at a slower pace. Bernadzikowki and Levi would like to hear from the students, faculty, and anyone else on the college front lines about what’s missing from the completion agenda discussion. They’re collecting them at Stories from Higher Ed—get your 200-300 words in by December 30 and you could be included in their book. 
• This EdWeek blog post might suggest a new topic for student success courses: sleep management tips, because not enough sleep can decrease academic performance and increase the chance of car accidents, illness, depression, and anxiety. Lesson #1: put your phone on silent when you are sleeping.