The Tech College Blog

• Feel the heat: For-profit colleges have had a tough August. Really tough.

  8/10/2010 1:03:58 PM

  First, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), released a highly critical report on the for-profit higher education sector. The GAO report summarized the results of its “secret shopper” undercover investigations conducted at 15 for-profit colleges, including The University of Phoenix, Everest College, and Kaplan College. GAO investigators, posing as prospective students, found that four of the 15 for-profit colleges it tested encouraged fraudulent practices. For example, admissions representatives at several different schools told applicants to fraudulently remove $250,000 in savings from their FAFSA form in order to qualify for financial aid. Other applicants were encouraged to falsely add dependents to the ...

  Full story

• A big win

  3/31/2010 10:14:18 AM

  Largely lost in the celebration over the passage of healthcare reform was another huge win for students and the rest of the education community: the legislation passed by Congress includes billions of dollars for student financial aid and community & technical colleges.
  
  In addition to healthcare reform, the recently passed budget reconciliation bill cuts banks out of the student loan business and puts the federal government in charge of directly lending to students.  The savings from that change will help fund a new $36 billion allocation for Pell Grants — the biggest spending boost to the program for low-income students since it ...

  Full story

• Got productivity?

  1/5/2010 12:26:13 PM

  Community and technical colleges will continue to be the focus of significant attention in 2010 as policymakers seek ways to spur economic recovery.

  But don't expect policymakers to dole out huge sums of money to ease the massive enrollment increase.

  No, "productivity" will be the name of the game in 2010.  In fact, if you listen closely, you're sure to hear one of educators' most dreaded phrases: "doing more with less."

  Unconvinced about productivity being one of the most prominent themes of 2010?  You need only look at an ambitious project sponsored by the Lumina Foundation to wipe out any doubts:

  The Foundation recently announced $9.1 million in grants under ...

  Full story

• A great lesson

  12/23/2009 10:12:26 AM

  It is a time of great uncertainty.  But what is certain is that college administrators in Wisconsin and around the country will be constructing narratives of extreme financial hardship - and backing them up with numbers. 

  This article from Inside Higher Education provides a fantastic lesson to faculty and staff:  when it comes to college finances, don't take your administrator's word as gospel.

  As Inside Higher Education reports, numerous faculty unions across the country are taking a hard look at college budgets to determine whether administrative pronouncements match financial reality.  Several faculty unions have gone so far as to contract with third-party auditors to examine college financial ...

  Full story

• The jobs crisis

  12/11/2009 12:06:15 PM

  With the U.S. still suffering the effects of the worst recession since the Great Depression, policy makers are searching for a solution to the jobs crisis.
  
  And make no mistake, it is a crisis. No hyperbole. The official unemployment rate is 10%. When you add workers that are involuntarily part-time and those that have stopped their job searches all together, the unemployment rate is more like 17%. That means about 1 in 6 U.S. workers are either unemployed, involuntarily part-time or "marginally attached."
  
  And the jobless aren't returning to work quickly. Nearly 40% of the unemployed have been jobless for more than six months.
  
  The Economic Policy ...

  Full story

• Hate to say we told you so....

  12/8/2009 12:28:25 PM

  Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that Waukesha County Technical College's Institute for Graphics and Imaging (IGI) has run into serious problems. Read more.

  The IGI was intended to be the home of a unique training partnership between WCTC and the printing industry - a national model in which thousands of printing industry workers were to be trained.

  But promise has fallen far short of reality. Bice reports that the IGI has trained just a fraction of the workers anticipated. The Institute, which was supposed to be self-sustaining, has fallen behind on debt payments.  The situation is so ...

  Full story

• The Cliff

  12/2/2009 11:15:14 AM

  There has been a lot of talk lately about a fledgling economic recovery. The Dow has surged past 10,000 while consumer spending and incomes have ticked upwards. Meanwhile, jobless claims have fallen to the lowest level in a year and there are signs of life in the residential sector of the real estate market. These indicators have led some experts to speculate that the economy has turned a corner and has begun a long, slow recovery.
  
  These signs are – without a doubt – positive developments. But don’t be lulled into a false sense of security. A number of ...

  Full story

• Unprecedented

  10/14/2009 2:26:29 PM

  Traditionally, enrollments in the technical colleges have been counter-cyclical – up during lean economic times and down when a strong economy drives job growth. Enrollment patterns have deviated from past trends in recent years, remaining strong despite the relatively good economy in the middle of this decade. This was due in large part to skills gaps in health care, advanced manufacturing and other expanding industries.  It is against this backdrop of already-high enrollments that the WTCS System reported unprecedented enrollment growth.
  
  Given their focus on retraining, most knew that the state’s 16 technical colleges would shoulder the brunt of ...

  Full story

• Academic Leadership Council now online

  9/22/2009 4:54:42 PM

  In recent years, many faculty have expressed frustration over the lack of faculty involvement in various educational decisions.  From development of the “Prepared Learner” initiative and reconfiguration of the Associate of Applied Sciences degree, to implementation of statewide curriculum, faculty have concerns over their participation in critical decisions that impact classroom instruction and student services in the technical colleges.    

   

  As faculty, this is of great concern to you.  Faculty are responsible for the day-to-day delivery of instruction and student services in the technical colleges.  You understand the impact that educational policy changes, implementation of systemwide projects and other educational ...

  Full story

• H1N1 season

  9/9/2009 1:17:59 PM

  Well, the swine flu – sorry, H1N1 – is back after a brief respite in the Southern Hemisphere.
  
  According to the American College Health Association, students with flu-like symptoms are already beginning to show up in college health centers, although it is largely unknown whether the ill have the H1N1 virus. The ACHA will be issuing weekly flu-tracking surveillance at college campuses.
  
  The Capital Times reports that MATC-Madison has already seen a handful of confirmed H1N1 cases among its student body. UW-Madison recently said University Health Services has begun seeing more patients than usual for this time of year with flu-like symptoms. See more ...

  Full story

2. 1
3. 2
4. Next page