I was waiting for the Metro today in Washington DC. It is obvious that practically everyone has a cell phone. What was shocking to me today was the fact that EVERYONE has a cell phone. Waiting for the metro to arrive I counted approximately 100 people. Of those 100 people there were two people who were not using a cell phone. Most were not talking, they appeared to be reading.  It really made me think about the world that we live in.

So often we hear people say things like, “People can’t communicate anymore. All they do is stare at their phones. We are losing the human touch. I am not sure that I agree with these people. I don’t think we are losing the human touch. I think that we are gaining efficiency.

See,  all of those people were using a typically boring time to do something productive. In turn freeing up another time when they will  have the time to talk or interact with someone. The argument then being that they will be in front of a computer screen once they get off of the metro. That aside it is totally amazing the access that people have today that they didn’t have four years ago. We are a much more productive society.

What this really makes me think about is the impact that this technology has on our students today. I imagine that shortly I will have to explain to my students that there was a time when you didn’t have internet on your phone. Similar to the conversations my teachers had with me about not having CDs when they were little.  I have many students who are second graders who already have cell phones of their own! When I was in second grade we still only had one phone in our house, and it had a cord! AND, there was no such thing as e-mail on it.

For the past month the Internet has been abuzz over the PayScale study that attempts to quantify the value of a college degree. Francesca Di Meglio, writing for Bloomberg BusinessWeek.com backed a position that is now seeing growing national support: College: Big Investment, Paltry Return.

Di Meglio notes the general theory that has seemingly been expounded at every turn in recent months:

“Over the past decade, research estimates have pegged that figure at $900,000, $1.2 million, and $1.6 million” but “the value of a college degree may be a lot closer to $400,000 over 30 years.”

She notes that the amount “varies wildly from school to school” but that there are “only 17 schools in the study whose graduates can expect to recoup the cost of their education and out-earn a high school graduate by $1.2 million. At more than 500 other schools, the return on investment, or ROI, is less—sometimes far less.”

Not too surprisingly, many of the most expensive, private colleges do in fact produce outstanding return on investment or ROI (see accompanying chart of the top 10). Whether it is MIT, Notre Dame, Harvard, Harvey Mudd, Dartmouth, Princeton or Stanford, students completing a bachelor’s degree program at these elite schools can expect rates of return topping 12 percent.

But the Payscale data has led many other publications to take less productive schools to task. One, BusinessInsider.com, tackled the mismatch between a school’s quality ranking and its position in regards to return on investment.

The list of the 20 Prestigious Colleges That Offer An Ugly Return On Your Investment, included some of America’s most highly-esteemed schools: Oberlin, Rutgers, UNC Chapel Hill, Middlebury, Wellesley, University of Wisconsin (Madison), Wesleyan, University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), Johns Hopkins and the University of Chicago.

BusinessWeek.com also produced the 20 Colleges With High Tuition, Low ROI, i.e. those schools charging a pretty penny but whose graduates do not earn seven figures. That list featured the likes of Franklin Pierce University, Lesley University, Philadelphia University, Rollins College, Sacred Heart University, Roger Williams University and Skidmore College.

The Rankings

Needless to say, those high on the list were pleased with their standing and could offer many reasons why their institution obtained such lofty numbers. On the other hand, spokespeople for those on the lower end of the rankings questioned the validity of the process and the data.

To come up with their rankings, PayScale examined pay reports from 1.4 million graduates of U.S. colleges and universities that did not have an advanced degree. In addition, when calculating college costs, PayScale did not assume a graduate earned his or her diploma in four years.

Instead, they took the actual number of reported years it took a student to graduate from each institution to compile the costs of college. In addition, PayScale also attempted to take into account those who attended school yet never graduated.

The entire analysis is explained on the PayScale site. That analysis includes the usual statistical jargon and depending on the institution PayScale reports a margin of error on the 90% confidence interval of just 5 or 10 percent.

The attempt to quantify the results however is extremely interesting as the rate of return on investment is a concept everyone can relate to. Going back to Di Meglio, she notes that the S&P 500 Index averaged about 11 percent a year in returns.

“Only 88 schools out of the 554 in the study had a better return than the S&P,” writes Di Meglio. “Everywhere else, students would have been better off—financially, at least—if they invested the money they spent on their college educations and never set foot in a classroom.”

The idea is simple, in far too many cases, students would have been better off investing the cost of college in the stock market.Thirty years later, they would have had a better return on their investment and would be able to add to that return all the money they earned from putting their high school diploma to work.

The Real Lessons from PayScale

Of course, the very nature of the PayScale survey data, the idea of trying to quantify the value of a college degree in dollars does not address any of the other benefits of a college education. Whether it be the critical reasoning skills, the amazing experience or the values of an educated populace, there are many other ways a college degree has value.

But it is imperative that students understand fully what the overall return on a college degree will be. Only then can one assess the costs associated with that degree.

When taking out the rhetoric and the defensiveness, there are five key lessons from the PayScale survey.

Lesson One: Major/Career Choice Matters Greatly

One reason for a potential low return on investment is most definitely one’s career choice. A focus on liberal arts, teaching, social services and other similar academic majors lead to careers in lower paying occupations.

In contrast, graduates who go into careers in engineering and science have an enormous advantage when it comes to potential career earnings. It is for this simple reason that a school like Harvey Mudd would produce a great monetary return whereas a small liberal arts college like Skidmore would produce a lower ROI.

Ones career choice is critical in terms of both job satisfaction and earnings, most particularly in that order. When looking at ROI, be sure to carefully examine schools based on both elements.

Lesson Two: Finish and Finish in Four Years

The best way to make your return on investment high is to minimize the costs of your education. And one of the most critical factors is to stay on task and complete your program in four years.

Taking five or six years to complete a program means 25 to 50 percent more in costs as well as one to two years less time earning a paycheck. Keep your nose to the grindstone and remember why you are attending school – to earn a diploma.

But as much as it means to finish in four years it must be said that finishing is critical as well. Nothing is worse than shelling out tens of thousands or a hundred thousand dollars plus only to be applying for jobs with just a high school credential.

Lesson Three: Limit Your Borrowing

Given that the highest rates of return were in the 13 to 14 percent range we can truly see that borrowing for school is a net negative. Remember, only 88 schools out performed the market and returned 11 percent plus.

Imagine now when you factor in borrowing money to pay those college costs. Such a step raises your cost of attendance significantly when the interest rate on loans is factored in.

And nothing is more important to understand than borrowing for one of the lesser paying occupational fields is truly bad practice. It might make some sense to borrow for a career in engineering but it makes almost no sense to borrow funds if you plan to enter the teaching profession.

Lesson Four: Do Your Homework

While those elite private schools sat at the top of the ROI list, many public schools proved to be equally good values even while being far cheaper to attend. But the key is to look in state as most often the ROI fell a couple of percentage points when factoring in the additional costs for out-off-state students.

Twenty six different schools could offer a rate exceeding 12% for in state-students:

Cal Berkeley, Cal San Diego, UCLA, and Cal Poly; the Universities of Florida, Washington, Delaware, Wisconsin, North Carolina, Illinois, Michigan, Maryland, and Virginia; other well-known public schools like NC State, James Madison, Purdue, Texas A & M, Virginia Tech, and William and Mary; and the surprises like the Colorado School of Mines, the Georgia Institute of Technology, St. Mary’s of Maryland, Binghampton and the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

Once again though we can see that career major choices matter greatly by examining the schools in the above list. And a further examination of the PayScale list will provide a number of schools you should think twice about attending.

Lesson Five: Advanced Degrees Matter More

The PayScale survey examines only data for those with a bachelor’s degree as their terminal degree. Many experts indicate that a bachelor’s degree is essentially the 21st century equivalent of the 20th century high school diploma.

The recent Georgetown University Center on Education & the Workforce indicates that advanced and professional degrees are more likely the factor today for a serious ROI. According to the Georgetown study, the gross lifetime earnings for someone with a professional degree is nearly $4.7 million.

So if the goal is truly to increase earning potential, we can add the concept of pursuing an advanced degree to that of ones choice of major. In fact, we might say that if you are thinking about going to college, you should be thinking about more than a bachelor’s degree from the very start.

I am in love with my iPad. It is practically the best thing I’ve ever owned. I received it for my birthday about two months ago and not a day has gone by that I haven’t enjoyed its loveliness. From the moment I received this toy I can’t stop thinking about how awesome it would be to have a class set within my classroom.

1. No more pencils, no more books! Precisely. Think of how much paper could be saved if we downloaded textbooks onto iPads instead of purchasing mountains of textbooks just to use a portion of the book each year. Worksheets could be replaced with iPad activities.

2. I have an app for that! Apps are expanding so rapidly that there will be an app for everything shortly. Not to mention the apps already available on iPad. Many math games, science videos, practice for numerous subjects, coloring practice, spelling games, phonics lessons, math tutors, classic literature, ACT and SAT prep, and the list goes on and on. That does not even touch all of the books available on iBooks or the Kindle app. I am not sure I can even fathom the vastness of the apps available through the iPad. Careful I could app myself out of a teaching job.

3. Super fast internet. If an app does not exist that you need you can simply surf the web and access even more information.

4. They are fun! The iPad itself is engaging. Just looking at it makes you want to touch something and see what opens up. For students this would be an amazing and engaging way to learn.
The only limitation I can foresee is that currently the iPad is priced a little bit out of education budgets. When education suddenly becomes rich or iPads become very cheap maybe it will happen. Until then we can dream!

Let me start by saying that I mean no disrespect whatsoever to the one laptop per child initiative. The one laptop initiative provides a donation opportunity where a special laptop is donated to a child in a developing country for the price of $199. The fact being that children in developing countries do not have access to education or the internet, so the laptop really opens many opportunities. I think this is a fantastic program. I just have one question.

Why doesn’t a program called one laptop per child exist in the United States? I think that it is a valid question considering the number of children who live on reservations with limited internet access. Often times road conditions are so poor that children cannot attend schools for long periods of time.  I also wonder about children in the inner cities and urban areas. The poverty in these areas is so extreme that I wonder how many children have access to the internet and other forms of school enrichment. We also have many rural students who rarely go anywhere besides school and their home. They live miles from anywhere. No matter where you live I am certain that you can identify a group of children who are incredibly underserved, and unrepresented who would greatly benefit from a laptop. A technology gap exists in the US that directly relates to socioeconomic status. Getting technology into the hands of these children would begin to close the technology gap and perhaps the achievement gap.

Technology is a form of educational enrichment, not to mention the fact that nearly all post-secondary jobs require the use of some form of personal computing. Children have taken to googling as their favorite verb. I encourage students to further research topics we have discussed in class or continue to practice a skill on the computer. I know the children who have a computer at home have a greater advantage because when they go home and delve further into a topic we have discussed in class they have an edge. I also know many students in my classroom do not have the means to have a computer at home. If all children had a computer at home it would give them access, allow for them to extend lessons at home, and help them refine their skills. All students are motivated by technology. I think that it would be an incredible boost for underprivileged children to know that people cared enough to provide them with a laptop in hopes that they would become a better student. Not to mention the fact that it could put them on a path to attend college.

Hey cyber world! When was the last time that you sent a friendly letter? Better yet, when was the last time you received a friendly letter? Chances are you have not received or sent a friendly letter in years. If you have, did you remember the greeting, heading, date, closing, and signature? I’ve probably sparked a memory of a beautifully handwritten letter you sent or received sometime in your past. The reason it was in your past is that society really does not communicate this way anymore. Our world moves much too quickly for this form of communication. The funny part? Writing a friendly letter is a common state standard for elementary students. Why are we teaching and assessing this skill when in the real world it is mostly obsolete? Is this skill preparing our students for the future they will live in?

Let’s face it the only way most of our students will be prepared when they graduate from high school is if they hop in a time machine and go back 20 years. We are not preparing our students to enter the world they will live in. During a casual conversation with a group of educators we began discussing Facebook, the most popular form of social networking on the web. About three of us were extremely pro Facebook as a way to communicate with parents, students, and fellow colleagues. On the flip side about twelve were TERRIFIED of the use of Facebook with students and parents. Citing that they had no interested in students and parents having access to their personal information. Not only that, but their main argument was that students should not be on websites like that because they will only fall victim to cyber bullying, or become a cyber bully themselves. Ahhhh…now to the point of this whole post. COMMUNICATION. It is a 21st Century Skill. It is something that the business world feels our students are not able to do when they enter the work force. Colleges also recognize this as a weakness. However, teachers feel in order build communication skills within our students we need to take away their cell phones, twitter accounts, and Facebook status updates, and get students to write more! We assign them a pen pal from another state and exchange a series of friendly letters via the United States Postal Service or have the students write several research papers.

To a point, I say yes, students need to write more. However, students need to be writing for an accurate purpose. Their future will exist in 200 characters or less. Concise, thoughtful, and quick is what the future will hold. Texting, blogging, emailing and twittering are convenient and efficient ways to communicate. Plus, even grandmas have a Facebook account!

The question now arises, how? How do we get students to communicate in these ways when the media is filled with reasons why we should not allow students to do this within school, and we should really try to ban them from doing it outside of school? The answer is they are already doing it and they will continue to do it no matter what we as educators try to say about it! If you can’t beat them, join them! The short, easy, under 200 characters answer: teach them to use it properly. Students need to be given a safe, strictly monitored environment to socially network. Why not utilize classroom blog to discuss homework, or brainstorm ideas for the next field trip? Wouldn’t homework be more interesting if you could access your teacher’s lecture using You Tube on Facebook?

Yes, there are risks with using technology. The fact is we are not going back. Technology is here to stay. Bullying has always existed on the playground so maybe we should have eliminated the playground from school years ago! Thank goodness we did not eliminate the playground rather as teachers we try to teach students how to use the playground in a bully free manner. Thus, the same needs to be done with communication through technology. Get them to use it, and teach them to use it the proper way.

When I once asked my Uncle Joe to name a couple of staples of his college academic experience he began with two of his most dreaded aspects: instruction delivered entirely in lecture format and the three hour final exam, especially those featuring a blank blue book.

Uncle Joe could not believe his ears when I told him that at MIT the lecture format was being tossed by the wayside though he acknowledged that development was basically positive. But his incredulity will no doubt top new heights when he learns that one of the premier educational institutions in America is rapidly phasing out that traditional final exam.

In the July-August issue of John Harvard’s Journal, the Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) of that venerable institution “adopted a bland-sounding motion” that revoked a longstanding tradition at the school:

“henceforth, ‘unless an instructor officially informs the Registrar by the end of the first week of the term’ of the intention to end a course with a formal, seated exam, ‘the assumption shall be that the instructor will not be giving a three-hour final examination’ and no slot will be reserved for it in the schedule.”

Once upon a time, the faculty members’ handbook dictated that courses were to end with examinations “unless instructors petitioned for an exemption.” But alas, the magazine reports that no professors had ever petitioned current dean of undergraduate education Jay M. Harris to forgo administering an exam.

But it seems that for those elders whose college experiences were defined by those hated blue books that the new policy actually reflects current practice at the school. Last spring, of 1,137 undergraduate-level courses scheduled at the school, just 259 finished with a final exam.

Though petitioning was not part of the current landscape, Harvard Magazine reported that until the 1940s, “requests to conclude a course without a final examination required a formal vote by the entire FAS.”

The move “to examine less and less and less and less” of course did not sit well with all professors, even some who voted for the language change to ensure the bureaucracy was up to date. Many wondered aloud whether those courses without exams would suffer diminished attendance late in a semester while others pointed out that the holdouts, those still delivering exams, were feeling pressured by the rancor of students seldom having to sit for exams anymore.

As for other reasons to eliminate the finals, some professors questioned their value as assessment tools while others frowned on the practice of having to proctor them.

The move, perhaps seen as a positive one by students, has immediately drawn criticism from the likes of Education Next:

From Education Next:

Harvard Wimps Out on Testing

Wouldn’t it be nice not to have to take — or grade — final exams? But wouldn’t it be nicer to know what students are learning?

We are left wondering: Without exams to prove it, how can students be sure that they are ‘generally educated’ when they graduate? How can the institution itself be sure? Or doesn’t it care?

Those criticisms will no doubt pale next to what Uncle Joe has to say when he hears that Harvard is about to eliminate what has always been one of the most stressful weeks in any student’s academic life. To be honest, I am not sure I will be able to put his thoughts on this site, not his exact words mind you.

Because no doubt it will begin with left-wing, liberal …….

What say you? Is it time for all schools to move in the same direction? Will you pressure your school’s faculty to follow Harvard’s lead?

New Federal Fact Sheet clarifies, complicates and reduces the number of internship opportunities for students.

Internships remain one of the best ways to enhance your education. They not only represent a great place to test the academic skills you have acquired in the job setting, they provide great learning experiences.

Interns continuously report that on the job training represents one of the highlights of their educational program. In some instances, students may be lucky enough to find a paid internship, but even unpaid opportunities can be truly beneficial.

However, during the recent downturn concerns have developed that businesses are taking advantage of students by replacing real workers with unpaid interns. Those concerns have led the federal government to recently provide a Fact Sheet regarding how internship programs should function under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The fact sheet provides general information to help determine whether interns must be paid the minimum wage and overtime for the services they provide to ‘for-profit’ private sector employers. Unfortunately the overall impact has been a negative one for students.

Employment Test

According to the Fact Sheet, “Internships in the “for-profit” private sector will most often be viewed as employment” unless they pass the following six criteria.

1. The internship, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment;

2. The internship experience is for the benefit of the intern;

3. The intern does not displace regular employees, but works under close supervision of existing staff;

4. The employer that provides the training derives no immediate advantage from the activities of the intern; and on occasion its operations may actually be impeded;

5. The intern is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the internship; and

6. The employer and the intern understand that the intern is not entitled to wages for the time spent in the internship.

If all of the six factors listed above are met, then according to the FLSA “an employment relationship does not exist.” In such instances, the Act’s minimum wage and overtime provisions do not apply to the intern and the internship can be unpaid.

Negative Development?

As it seems with all the legislation coming out of Washington in recent weeks, there are detrimental effects. According to the NY Times, many businesses have abandoned their programs altogether.

Not too surprisingly, many businesses are fearful that their unpaid option may no longer qualify under the new regulations. For those attempting to continue unpaid options, the question arises as to how a business can demonstrate their internship offers similar training that could be obtained in an educational setting and the employer is not deriving any immediate “benefit” from the intern’s work.

To be safe, some companies have converted unpaid options to paid positions. But in tight financial times, more paid options translate to fewer total internships overall.

It is important that students understand that one way certain businesses have attempted to comply with the rule is to demand that the student’s school grant credit if they hire the student for an unpaid internship. To ensure they can access such options, students need to fully understand their school’s policy towards internships.

First many schools limit the maximum number of total credits a student may accumulate through the internship process. That stipulation means students may need to pick and choose the internships they consider.

Of course, if your school will not give you credit and you still want to pursue a specific internship that you feel would be of benefit, you can check with the local community college, state university branch or even some foundations to see if they would grant credit. Many students have been successful in securing credit from outside institutions even if those credits are part of the bachelor’s degree process.

However, the demand for credit means that students will generally need to shell out some funds, and in some cases, full tuition costs to the university in return for those credits. Given the average costs per credit hour today, the unpaid internship could become a significant expense in addition to being unpaid.

Make the Effort

The new rules clarification means it will be more difficult for students to find those critical work experiences in the years ahead. But students need to persevere as they move forward.

The overall impact on a student immersed in a quality internship experience is priceless. For that reason, students should work with their college, and if necessary, other schools, to find a way to continue what is most definitely one of the most worthy educational practices they can be involved in.

New report sheds light on value of college degree today.

There is little doubt that for the past two years college graduates have entered one of the worst job markets in history. Every one of us has heard monstrous tales of friends and relatives who have graduated only to have to move back in with their parents as they struggle to find meaningful work opportunities.

Such developments may have you wondering whether or not college is worth the significant costs, especially if one has to borrow money to pay ever-escalating tuition and fees. In fact, the job market, combined with the significant costs of attendance, has led many experts to now begin wondering about the value of a college degree as well.

A quick search of the Internet reveals two major articles from the nation’s most respected newspapers: the Los Angles Times and its front page story, Is a college degree still worth it?, along with a Sunday feature in the New York Times and the equally provocative Plan B: Skip College.

In addition to the general question of the value of a college education in today’s environment, one of the longstanding American traditions, earning a degree in the liberal arts is one receiving even more scrutiny. Once upon a time, the idea was that a general college education emphasizing a broad based curriculum was the ideal. The overall concept was quite simple.

Get the best possible education so as to prepare for a wide variety of career options, fire off resumes to the top companies, and then wait to see what career paths seemed to be the best fit. Under such a scenario, the cost of your diploma was incidental, a necessary expense to put you in the best possible position at graduation time. Also under such a scenario, the best possible education was delivered by elite, private colleges with a primary focus on the liberal arts.

While many students may well be wondering aloud, they do not have to look far to find defenders of the liberal arts degree even amidst our struggling employment situation. In direct contrast to its Plan B article, the New York Times recently ran two editorials, one by David Brooks, the other by Stanley Fish, defending the traditional liberal arts education. Throw in Peter Berkowitz of the Wall Street Journal, who insists that a liberal education “represents the culmination of a citizen’s preparation for freedom,” and as a student, you have to truly wonder what is up.

New Report from Georgetown University

To get some answers, we turn to Help Wanted: Projecting Jobs and Education Requirements Through 2018, a new report by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. First there is better news on the future job picture.

The study indicates substantial gains in employment will begin as soon as 2011. However, it will take until 2015 for job creation to overcome the job losses created during the recent massive economic downturn. In other words, most new graduates will likely struggle to find employment for the next couple of years as well.

But as for the importance of a college degree, the Georgetown researchers indicate that by 2018, nearly two-thirds of all jobs (63%) will require at least some postsecondary education. Anthony P. Carnevale, the Center’s director, indicates that America will need more workers by 2018 with “college degrees, certificates and industry certifications” then there will be workers with such qualifications.

Therefore, in an additional two to four years, those with credentials will be in the driver’s seat when it comes to employment opportunities.

The fastest growing industries will demand the highest levels of education, with the exception of sales support and health care support. By 2018, according to the Georgetown report, “75-90 percent of jobs in Information Services, Private Education Services, Government and Public Education Services, Financial Services, Professional and Business Services and Healthcare Services will require postsecondary education or training.

Perhaps most importantly, the Georgetown researchers determined that postsecondary education will continue to be the best way to access middle class stature. Approximately nine out of ten workers with only a high school education or less will be limited to three occupational clusters that either pay low wages, feature fewer jobs, or a combination of these two developments. Sadly, as the economy gains traction, those who choose to forgo advanced schooling appear to be locking themselves into predominantly low-wage jobs.

The Occupation Matters

But the real key element of the report is that what matters most will be the occupation you prepare for and not the degree you earn. Because of that development, more than one fourth of the people who earn an Associate’s degree (31%) or advanced certificate (27%) will earn more than the average Bachelor’s degree recipient.

Furthermore, today’s career pathways will be in occupations and not within industries. The Georgetown researchers found that “the day when people left high school to go to work in the local industry and then worked their way up is disappearing. Starting out, straight from high school, on the loading dock or in the mail room and climbing to the CEO’s corner office is no longer an option.”

Tomorrow’s careers and career mobility will be based instead on occupations. Therefore the emphasis will be on postsecondary preparation that features skill development.

Once developed, workers will then take those skills to a variety of industries, whether it is in education, healthcare, or retail. While some occupations will remain tied to particular industries, the consensus is that more and more occupations will be dispersed broadly across industries.

In Summation

Postsecondary education and/or training, already the fundamental pathway to the middle and upper income classes, will become even more essential for climbing the financial ladder in the very near future. But at the same time, it must be said that a bachelor’s or advanced degree is not the requirement for such entry for certain occupations.

In addition, given the cost of higher education, it is imperative that students today have some sense of the occupational cluster they are interested in pursuing prior to selecting their college. Of course, those who are super wealthy likely need not worry about the cost of college – they theoretically can still spend four years in college without some sense of what career option they want to pursue.

But those of fixed means, especially those needing to borrow money to help defray costs, must understand that simply earning a bachelor’s degree is not the answer. A certificate program in information services or the health care industry will more than likely trump the opportunities provided by a generic bachelor’s degree in a field such as psychology or history.

For those in need of watching costs carefully (most of us), the latest findings indicate the importance of choosing a school and a program based on future employability. And to be able to make an educated decision, students need to have a sense of the type of occupation they want to pursue.

To have a sense of what career path you want to pursue, students must take the time in high school to participate in internships and career exploration programs. First hand experience is the best way to have a feel for the occupation or career cluster you want to pursue.

Everything from the Georgetown report indicates that post-secondary education is the path to future prosperity. In other words, entry into the middle and upper classes will increasingly be available only to those who have earned more than a high school diploma.

But at the same time, post-secondary education does not necessarily mean a traditional bachelor’s degree program at an elite, private liberal arts college.

Voluntary summer assignment for incoming freshman wrongfully draws a great deal of criticism.

College is supposed to be one of those places where young people can discuss controversial topics in an open and intellectual manner. As for controversial topics, perhaps none has greater implication for our future as the issue of genetic testing.

But while the topic is a hot one on campus, we now see where one of the premier state university’s in America, the University of California, Berkeley, is about to take the controversial topic one step further. Roughly 5,500 incoming freshman will receive DNA test kits designed to analyze some of the genes that help control the body’s responses to alcohol, dairy products and folic acid.

It seems that Berkeley wanted to take the assigned summer reading concept to a different level. By offering students the voluntary test kits, the school sought to engage students directly in a dialogue about the growing field of personal genomics.

The school was not interested in helping students learn of their likelihood for any specific disease. Instead, the university saw the assignment as possibly creating a more lively vehicle for discussion as compared to assigning a book or an article.

Immediate Criticism

Once announced, the school has been universally hammered for the idea. First for the critics, there is the issue of the technology itself and the notion that it is still largely unproven.

Many saw the Berkeley move as sending the students a specific message, that the gene-testing kits that claim to predict the risk of future health problems have been proven to do so. In reality, these tests rely on studies that use statistics to determine how likely a particular gene variation is to be connected to a specific disease.

Others saw the idea of the school sending out kits as one of endorsement, i.e. the school supporting the notion that young adults should consider taking genetic tests to see what those tests reveal.

Both sentiments were very troubling for the group of individuals who have noted that the kits’ manufacturer never submitted the product to the Food and Drug Administration for review, a requirement for medical devices. The failure to receive FDA approval has recently led two national chains, Walgreens and CVS to renege on their initial commitments to sell the test kits.

Great Idea

When it comes to the theory, the move by Cal Berkeley borders on genius. First, the school carefully chose genes for testing that were not related to serious health issues. The goal was to pick tests that were easy to understand and non-threatening which would then produce results that might mirror knowledge students had of themselves already.

Given that genetic testing is about to change the world in ways we could never fathom, the idea of having students receive free kits certainly would get conversations started. Just the decision as to whether to participate or not would have students thinking about the topic in ways they never thought about it before. And once opting to be tested, they would no doubt begin to think about this technology and the implications it has for them moving forward.

Most importantly, students were to be given the details of the science behind the tests. Upon arrival in the fall, students were to also be invited to a presentation of the data for the entire incoming class with a specific focus on learning what the results mean.

Lastly, the school was taking strong steps to preserve anonymity among students. All tests were to be collected privately and a barcode utilized for students to review their individual results. No student would be stigmatized as to their willingness to be tested or based upon their results unless that student chose to share such information. In addition, upon conclusion of the tests, the remaining DNA submitted was to be incinerated.

A Halt for Now, But

Given that the FDA has not given clearance it is understandable that both Walgreens and CVS have put a halt on selling the kits. That temporary hold also demands Cal Berkeley temporarily reconsider its plans to move forward with their concept.

The company producing the kits, Pathway, believes it is in compliance with federal regulations. That may be so and if they are deemed to be in compliance in time for Cal Berkeley to still implement the plan we think it should go forward.

With such tests being able to assess the risk of serious health concerns such as the risk for Alzheimer’s disease or breast cancer, there will no doubt be hundreds of thousands of kits being sold to the public. Educating college students as to what these tests can and cannot do is one of the best ways for the greater public to have a better understanding of what genetic testing is all about.

Because the test kit will be relatively inexpensive ($20 and $30), many will likely consider purchasing it. But the first thing to learn is that the basic kit does not cover the full cost of all testing results. According to reports, kit buyers interested in Drug Response info will need to shell out $79. The “Pre-Pregnancy Planning” or “Health Conditions” test results will set a person back $179. A total look at all areas will cost $249.

Perhaps most importantly, genetic counseling does not come with the aforementioned prices. All counseling will carry extra fees with the expected rates at $40 for a call of up to 20 minutes and $99 for an hour.

Of course, there in lies the greatest issue for the future; these test results demand counseling follow ups. There is little doubt that specific outcomes could be particularly troubling to those receiving the results.

That development has been likened to providing people information without providing them the knowledge to understand the info provided. Genetic risk for disease, of course, is not the same as having the disease. The reality is that anyone tested is going to find that he or she is at risk for one condition or another.

But if the FDA provides clearance, we agree with one of the plan’s sponsors, Mark Schlissel, Berkeley’s dean of biological sciences, that the voluntary tests of this year’s freshmen represent a teachable moment.

There is little doubt we are moving towards the world of personalized medicine. The best place to teach young people about the positives and negatives of that world is on our college campuses.

And there is no better way to provide students the requisite knowledge than to immerse them directly in the process.

The past couple of years represent two of the toughest years to enter the job market in recent history. Sadly, the task of landing a job has been made all the more difficult by an ill-prepared group of graduates.

Researchers at York College in Pennsylvania recently released a study indicating that many college grads are unprepared for the demands of the workplace. It seems that while acquiring that diploma, too few individuals have learned the meaning of professionalism.

The Pennsylvania researchers asked hundreds of business leaders and human resource managers across the country about the set of qualities they would like to see in new college graduates. Those surveyed consistently mentioned three basic traits as being important:

• the ability to communicate and listen respectfully
• the motivation to finish a task
• attention to appearance

Of the three, only the second carries with it some academic connotations. Yet, those business experts responding questioned the professionalism of recent college graduates, indicating that all three of these basic skills tended to be lacking.

Perhaps worse yet, the one area where recent graduates tended to stand out was their collective sense of entitlement. Whether it be paid time off or the rate at which they might be promoted, recent grads did not seem to grasp that the tough job market demanded more humility.

The Ability to Transition

Certainly, one of the key elements for new grads to take the next steps in their lives centers upon their ability to transition from the academic world to the world of work. While you may be a multiple dean’s lister and possess a kick-ass degree, neither ensures a smooth transition to the demands of the work world.

In fact, while those attributes can help you earn that all important first interview, a lack of basic professional skills becomes immediately evident to skilled human resource officers during the interview process. Graduates without solid communication skills are quickly exposed during the formal questioning period. Sometimes it is the failure to listen to the actual question. At other times it is the failure to clearly articulate an answer.

As for the sense of entitlement, that too comes through during the interview process. Too many applicants ask questions about salary and time off. Others in turn offer a message “that it is all about them” by failing to do basic homework of familiarizing themselves with the company they applied to work for.

Maturation Process

There is no doubt college helps every student, at least to some extent, with the maturation process. For many college is the first chance for students to be on their own without mom or dad riding them hard about what they should be doing.

But too few college students focus simply on the academic side. Yes they attend classes and study for tests and yes they demonstrate academic drive as they work towards earning that coveted diploma.

However, college campuses are filled with opportunities to work on all pertinent skills. From participating in a variety of clubs to working on campus, college offers many learning opportunities above and beyond those simply related to the classroom.

It is while participating in clubs or working at menial tasks that we learn how to communicate with groups of people beyond our circle of friends. In such settings we also learn the importance of completing tasks, no matter how mundane.

And in such settings, we learn that the world moves forward based on the hard work of many. In other words, it is imperative that college students step outside their world into the larger world around them. It is in such settings that students round out their skills and even begin to put some of the important things they have learned into practice.

Continued Tough Employment

There are few indications that the tough job market will end any time soon. Given such, underclassmen have fair warning as to what they can expect next May.

Those interested in transitioning from college to the world of work have been given a wake up call. To be one of the lucky ones, start today working on your communication skills. Begin to dress and groom for success.

And while it is imperative to keep after your studies, it is also a given that you must seek opportunities to contribute to a club, volunteer for meaningful service or work on, or off campus. Such steps will go a long way towards helping you develop the relevant professional skills employers seek.