Yesterday, Thursday, May 21, the University of California (UC) Board of Regents unanimously voted to eliminate the SAT and ACT as a requirement for all first year applicants by 2025. Over the next five years, the UC will phase in the elimination of the SAT and ACT scores from consideration in first year admissions. For…
Recovery from the recent massive job losses around the globe will likely not be swift nor immediate. In the United States, 14.34 million more people are unemployed than the total jobs created over the last decade since The Great Financial Crisis of 2009. In other words, in eight weeks, all the jobs created during the…
Last Thursday, May 14, California Governor Newsom announced 2020-21 budget revisions, including cuts to higher education, given the projected $54 billion loss of state revenues. Although he proposes a $376 million cut to the University of California (UC) system affecting 285,000 students and a $404 million cut affecting 500,000 California State University (CSU) students, the…
In my recent conversation with Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle, I discussed the changes to the college admissions process starting in Fall 2021, as well as sentiment about the value of a college education. Although colleges are non-profit organizations, which in the collective culture are imagined to be altruistic endeavors where the potential…
Although more states are beginning to reopen, which is progressing everyday, the degree of “reopening” will vary given the differences in political inclinations of each city, county and state, as well as the severity of the COVID-19 outbreak in a particular region. And, although states, counties and/or cities may be lifting shelter-in-place orders, as Goldman…
Beginning with the first Advanced Placement (AP) exams on Monday, May 11, thousands of students were unable to submit their answers. As students continued taking additional tests during the week, more and more students reported technical difficulties and expressed frustrations about not being able to submit their answers. For the students who experienced technical glitches…
Choosing an academic major, or a set of college courses in a particular speciality, is not simple. Students often equate “academic major” as “career-training“, yet academic knowledge doesn’t always immediately translate into “job”. Often, students will still need to understand their aptitude, so they can find an application for what they know, or “to get…
With many different colleges amending admissions policies to be test-optional, no longer requiring SAT or ACT scores to be submitted with first year applications, as well as many K-12 schools and community colleges shifting grading policies to universal Pass/No Pass or expanding Pass/No Pass options for students at least for the Spring 2020 semester, the…
With school closures and the substitution of distance learning, every student is learning to be self-directed, rather than teacher-guided or parent-approved. Although parents worry their children are falling behind, maybe they’re actually catching up, trying to reconnect with their authentic selves, discover more about their interests and aptitudes, which unfortunately, students can lose, in the…
In a recent interview with Gabrielle Wanneh of Education Week, I discussed my Open Letter to The College Board about the 2020 Advanced Placement (AP) Exams. In my piece, I specifically highlighted the issues about the integrity of the the modified, online format, which as of Monday, May 11, thousands of students have begun taking:…
On May 11, University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Chancellor Pradeep Kholsa initiated the inaugural round of voluntary testing of the 5000 residents who chose to continue living in the residence halls scattered around the La Jolla, CA campus, since the closure of campus in mid-March. Students are live test subjects, participating in a trial…
Soon-to-be college students would be wise to listen to college graduation speeches. Students can learn how to make more effective choices during college by heeding the advice of those who have achieved a degree of accomplishment and notoriety, increasing their odds of realizing their vision and generally living more purposefully. In 2015, John Waters, film…
In 2019, average state funding per full time college student was still lower than the 2009 levels, the beginning of The Great Financial Crisis. Given projected reductions in state revenues for 2020, higher education leaders will likely again experience reductions in state subsidies starting this fall, as we discussed earlier. Students would be wise to…
Awoken at 6:46 am on the Saturday after the 4th of July, through groggy consciousness, I registered the staccato sounds of a teenage texter. I recalled that The College Board released the 2019 AP (Advanced Placement) Exam scores (at least in California) on that fine morning. His texts were the first of many I received…
As state revenues shrink, the subsidies to public K-12 schools and higher education systems will shrink proportionately, effectively increasing the (or likelihood of) fiscal deficits for educational institutions. In a recent Bloomberg News article discussing the economic state of affairs in California, the fifth largest state economy in the United States: California Governor Gavin Newsom…
