Saintambrose Church Education School

posted by admin on Nov 3

Recent estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that individuals with BAs will earn approximately $600,000 more during their lifetime than those without an undergraduate degree. This estimate was cited by then Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley in his statement before Congress during the authorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965. He noted:

More than ever before, education is the fault line between those who will prosper in the new economy, and those who will be left behind. Today’s jobs increasingly require skills and training beyond a high school education, and accessible postsecondary education is critically important to individuals as well as our nation’s economy and democracy. (Price-Ellingstad & Berry, 1999, p. 1, quoting Riley, 1997)

Postsecondary Education

Trends in enrollment of students with disabilities in two and four-year programs continue to increase, with some estimates ranging from 9.3 percent to as high as 17 percent (National Center for Education Statistics, 2000; NCD, 2000). In spite of this increase, individuals with disabilities still remain less likely to pursue postsecondary education when compared to individuals without disabilities (Whelley, Hart, & Zaft, 2002).

Although the gap for high school completion is closing between individuals with and without disabilities, this trend is not the case in higher education. In fact, completion of some college coursework has declined from 30 percent to 26 percent from 1986 until 2001. Earning a college degree has dropped during this same time period from 19 percent to 12 percent (National Organization on Disability, 2001).

Contributing to the lack of persistence and retention of college students with disabilities is the issue of their adapting to an entirely new set of challenges in managing their academic program. Such a student now becomes one of potentially hundreds of students seeking services through a Disability Support Services office on campus. They are responsible for requesting their supports and services, providing documentation to receive these accommodations, and interacting with faculty to implement their supports.

Adjusting to a college environment presents challenges for all students; however, for students with disabilities, the responsibility of managing their accommodations along with their academic coursework presents a set of challenges unique to these students. Often students with disabilities enter college unprepared to disclose their disability, or they lack the understanding of how to access services on campus. Students with disabilities must self-identify to the university to request accommodations and supports. Students decide for varying reasons not to self-disclose. Some students are anxious for a “new beginning” in an educational setting by not having to deal with being labeled. Others decide to wait to disclose until they are experiencing academic problems. In too many instances students with disabilities are made to feel that they do not belong in advanced degree programs because of their need to self-identify for specific services. As a result, students may elect not to disclose their disability to the university in order to avoid being labeled (Burgstahler & Doe, 2006; Getzel & McManus, 2005; National Center for the Study of Postsecondary Educational Supports [NCSPES], 2000). This decision may turn out to be the one on which a student’s fate rests.

There is also the issue of faculty attitudes. While it seems hard to fathom that professional educators could be uninformed about the nature of learning disabilities this, in fact, does occur. A student unfortunate enough to get a professor like that can be made to feel self-conscious and unwelcome in that class. At a critical juncture, when these students need the most support and encouragement, a professor who is not “tuned in” to LD can seriously undermine a student’s confidence, causing an already tentative person to question whether college is indeed the right decision.

Given the inherent risks of college for students with learning disabilities, it makes sense for them to increase their odds of success by learning as much as possible about the postsecondary system prior to transition. Awareness of the pros and cons of disclosure can assist students in making an informed decision, rather than an emotional one. Ability to “vet” colleges based on the services they actually offer, and not what you read in a catalog or website, can play an important role in eventual success. Knowing in advance how many courses you can adequately handle and how much support you will need sets students up for success from the get-go. Having a student learn how to self-advocate and practice in high school prepares him for his responsibilities in college. Understanding the academic, organizational, and time-management demands of college clearly helps the student prepare both practically and mentally, as does being aware of the potential pitfalls.

Students who enter college with realistic expectations and knowledge of how to meet them are more likely to succeed. Therefore, college preparation can be a pivotal factor in success and serve as “insurance” of sorts for the actual college investment.

posted by admin on Nov 3

“How to get cheap college textbooks”…this is a question which, unlike “how to calculate accelerated depreciation” or “what is the sampling distribution of a statistic”, you probably won’t be taught in college. And yet college textbooks are very expensive- so expensive, in fact, that a full-time student can expect to spend hundreds of dollars per semester on books alone! But what if there was a cheaper way?

The most straightforward way to get cheap college textbooks is to buy them from you college bookstore used. These used books are simple to locate- they are typically shelved right next to the new copies of the same book- and will work just as well for your class as if you had bought them brand new.

Another rarely-used trick is to speak to your professor about the edition of the book you’ll be using before purchasing the one listed for the class. Sometimes, a textbook’s latest edition will contain important new material and information that the professor specifically wants to reference. Oftentimes, however, a textbook’s latest edition is similar enough to previous editions as to make the two virtually interchangeable. If your professor tells you that this is the case, then buy the previous edition, and expect to save around 50% off what you would have to pay for it the same textbook new!

Half.com is an excellent tool for buying cheap college textbooks. You can typically find a large selection of the books that you need for your classes, and browse prices based on book condition. An added benefit is that sometimes you can find the teacher’s edition of these same books, which may have CD’s or other supplemental materials that can help you with your lessons.

Lastly, you can choose not to buy your textbooks at all, but to rent them instead! Chegg.com has an excellent textbook rental program, where students oftentimes enjoy a 40-80% discount over buying the books new at their college bookstore. Better yet, for every textbook that is rented out, Chegg.com plants a tree.