If community colleges were to find all the formerly enrolled students whose academic records qualify them for an associate degree and retroactively award them the credential, then the number of associate degrees awarded in the United States would increase by at least 12%. This compelling projection by the Institute for Higher Education Policy is one of the primary reasons why it is working with the Lumina Foundation for Education to roll out the three-year, $1.3 million Project Win-Win. This initiative will financially support 35 community colleges and four-year institutions in six states — Louisiana , Missouri, New York , Ohio , Virginia and Wisconsin — so they can track down and retroactively award qualified students associate degrees who, for whatever reason, never received one. It also will help these institutions identify students who have recently dropped out who are “academically short” of an associate degree by nine credits or fewer and re-enroll them to finish a degree. ON THE WEB: Movement, but miles to go MORE FROM INSIDE HIGHER ED: Why reverse transfer? “Project Win-Win has the potential to make a considerable down payment on increased degree completion goals set by state governors and the Obama Administration,” said Michelle Asha Cooper, IHEP president, in a statement. Last year, nine of the project’s institutions ran a pilot of this program during a seven-month period; they awarded nearly 600 associate degrees and identified almost 1,600 students who were just shy of earning one. The pilot, however, revealed a number of difficulties that institutions face when attempting to retroactively award degrees. “It’s not as easy as it sounds,” said Stephanie Tarver, dean of enrollment management at McNeese State University, which awards associate degrees as well and was part of the pilot program. “We were kind of bumbling around in the dark a bit. When you pull data, it doesn’t always match up like you thought it would. You have to have a lot of staff to dedicate to a project like this to keep it going.” Then, even when candidates for degrees and those just shy of them were identified, reaching them proved just as challenging. “At that point, we don’t have as much control as we do in the other areas because these students have been out for a while,” Tarver said. “We didn’t know if the contact information we had for them was accurate. We didn’t know how to get accurate information without spending lots of money to find it. Also, when we finally did make contact, some of the students were leery of us. ‘You’re calling me out of the blue and saying I’m qualified for a degree and want to offer it to me? What’s the catch?’ ” Eventually, though, McNeese awarded about 15 associate degrees, out of approximately 150 former students who met degree requirements. Officials also tracked down about 300 students who were just short of graduation and are in the process of helping those who wish to complete find a way to do so. “A lot of the students who dropped out of school didn’t realize just how close they were to finishing,” Tarver said. “The success stories we’ve had are truly heartwarming, especially for those who didn’t realize they were qualified for a degree. We made an immediate impact on their lives. Rarely have I felt we’ve impacted students as we did through this project.” Though many of the institutions participating in the project had never before made efforts to retroactively award degrees, a few of them have been doing it for a while and have found ways to integrate this into regular degree audits for current students. Anna Flack, registrar at Suffolk County Community College, in New York, noted that her institution has made it a point to search for these “lost graduates” at least once every year for the past decade. “We did this on a small scale,” Flack said. “It was really part of office procedure. {hellip} We made it part of the daily responsibilities of the degree audit staff.” With students who are just a few credits short of earning an associate degree, Flack said, the college has adopted a no-pressure approach in approaching them. “We’ve just sent letters to students, saying that can finish if they’d like to,” Flack said. ” ‘Here are the different ways you can reach that degree.’ There’s no convincing, no strong-arming, no sales pitch. ‘We just see this, and we’d like you to know about it.’ ” Those pushing the project at the national level argue that, despite some of the challenges in the degree audit process, this is a relatively easy way to boost graduation rates around the country. “This is an issue that hasn’t been raised,” said Cliff Adelman, senior associate at IHEP. “We’re saying to these institutions, ‘Hey, guys, you haven’t paid attention to people based on your criteria who’ve crossed the degree threshold. You’ve been asleep at the wheel.’ There’s all this talk about awarding these degrees, but they’re just making a lot of noise. This is low-hanging fruit.”

Back-to-school supplies for middle school students used to mean pens, notebooks, maybe a new backpack. But for a growing number of families, the list now includes a laptop computer. “We would never send our own kids to pediatricians that were practicing medicine from the ’70s or ’80s,” says Mark Hess, principal of Sarah Banks Middle School in Wixom, Mich. “Why would we send our kids to schools that are practicing instructional techniques that are decades old? If we did that, it’d be educational malpractice.” A districtwide laptop program in the Walled Lake (Mich.) Consolidated School District starts in the sixth grade and incorporates technology in math, science, English and history lessons. Parents of sixth-graders have the option to buy a $784 laptop and enroll their child in the program; those kids are placed in a classroom where all students have their own laptops. Those not in the program have access to 7,000 district-leased laptops that teachers share on rolling carts. INSIDE HIGHER ED: Should colleges give students iPads? The 500 sixth-graders in Walled Lake’s laptop classrooms use their computers for most of the school day. They revise papers, solve math problems and even take tests and quizzes on the computer. Students also use “smart boards” and electronic clickers to key in answers, like on a game show. Better grades, test scores “It’s just another tool for learning,” Hess says. Though they were a novelty a decade ago, “in 2010, laptops should just be commonplace.” Schools across the country have a similar mind-set. In 2000, Maine entered an agreement with Apple to provide all seventh- and eighth-graders in the state with laptops. This year, Maine gave about 70,000 laptops to middle and high school students. The goal: a laptop for every student in grades 7 through 12 by 2013, says Jeff Mao of Maine’s Department of Education. The program costs $242 per student, or about $17 million each year. “Some people will say, ‘Wow, that’s a lot of money,’ but that represents less than 1.5% of the total education budget,” Mao says. School officials say laptops improve grades, boost critical-thinking skills and increase collaboration among students. Since the Walled Lake district implemented its laptop program about a decade ago, the officials say, achievement in all subjects has increased in grades 6-8. In 1999 and 2000, researchers from Wayne State University and the University of Memphis analyzed student achievement with laptops. Thirteen teachers said students had better research and writing skills, more interest in school and improved self-confidence. Most students said their research and computer skills had improved. At the Reyburn Intermediate School in Clovis, Calif. — where one-third of the students speak English as a second language — about 350 seventh- and eighth-graders own a laptop for classroom use. Teachers have seen grades and test scores rise among these students, says laptop program coordinator Debbie Allee. But learning is not just about the technology. “There’s this perception out there that laptops would improve student achievement,” Hess says. “It’s just like a calculator. Giving a child a calculator does not necessarily raise their math score.” ‘A top priority,’ even in recession Students without laptops get the same curriculum, says Walled Lake Superintendent William Hamilton. Students in the program, however, benefit from the skills they gain. “You’d have to be living in a cave to not be aware of the fact that technology is a critical part of a skill set people use in the real world,” he says. Parents, too, see the value of computer skills. Though Michigan was hit hard by the recession and has one of the nation’s highest unemployment rates, enrollment in the laptop program has not dropped in the past few years. “Because of the economy, we wondered if the program would fizzle out, but it just hasn’t,” Hamilton says. “A significant part of our community thinks this is a top priority, and they’ve hung in there.” “It’s just part of their daily routine,” says Kim Wolfe, whose four kids are in grades 2 through 7 in Walled Lake. “In the morning, they grab their backpacks and grab their laptops.” She has spent more than $1,300 on laptops for two kids and plans to buy two more for her younger kids. “This computer program is absolutely a blessing,” she says, especially for Jacob, 12, who has a reading disability. “It would take hours and hours to finish homework, but because he has a laptop, he’s keeping up with the other kids.” In 1996, Microsoft launched laptop programs at 29 schools in the USA. The company leased laptops to the schools and worked with administrators to develop sustainable laptop programs — teaching educators how to integrate technology into their curriculums. Over time, the program evolved into a non-profit and grew; more than 10,000 schools across the nation participate. While the non-profit doesn’t donate computers, it helps schools set up systems where families who can’t afford laptops can borrow or rent them. In some cases, schools don’t charge families, says executive director Susan Einhorn. And as laptop costs continue to decline, the idea of providing all students with computers is “much more feasible.”

ATLANTA (AP) — The University of Georgia won a national title this year — top party school. The Princeton Review announced Monday that Georgia is the No. 1 party school on its now infamous annual ranking. The school of about 30,000 students has been on the list 10 times since the ranking was created in 1992, but this is the first time the university has taken the top spot. For the campus — surrounded by nearly 100 bars in tiny downtown Athens — parties are just part of life from August to May each year. Many students gear up for the weekend on Thursdays and sometimes don’t rest until Monday morning. “That’s what people look forward to starting Thursday — Thursday night is the new Friday night,” said junior Andrew Chappell, 20. “The party atmosphere is such a big part of Georgia.” University of Georgia spokesman Tom Jackson said the list is not one the school wants to lead. He said he’d rather emphasize that the school made Princeton Review’s top 50 “Best Values” list or the “Green Honor Roll” of the most environmentally conscious campuses. BEST VALUE COLLEGES: Top 100 for 2010 PRINCETON REVIEW: 286 greenest colleges BEYOND RANKINGS: Scores on student engagement Georgia beat out Pennsylvania State University, West Virginia University and University of Florida — which were the top party schools over the last three years. Those three made the top 10 this year, while Ohio University ranked second. The ranking comes after several years of work by University of Georgia administrators to curb drinking on campus and tone down the party atmosphere. Since 2006 — when a student died of an overdose of alcohol, cocaine and heroin in his dorm room — university police have been hauling underage drinkers to jail rather than simply giving them a ticket. School administrators call parents on the first offense and suspend a student for two semesters after the second alcohol violation. “The University of Georgia takes student alcohol education programs very seriously and will continue to do so,” Jackson said. Those efforts weren’t helped when athletic director Damon Evans stepped down last month after being charged with drunken driving. Evans had appeared in a video message played before home football games urging Georgia fans not to drink and drive. The ranking is based on e-mail surveys of 122,000 students at more than 370 colleges across the country. It combines responses on alcohol and drug use on campus, hours spent studying outside class and the popularity of fraternities and sororities. The surveys are filled out voluntarily by students, and on average about 325 students from each campus respond, said Rob Franek, author of the 800-page book put out by Princeton Review each year with nearly 60 categories of rankings. Other rankings include best campus food, least accessible professors and most religious students. “I want to make sure we’re giving any college-bound student a very clear example of what life could be for them at any of the 373 schools in the book,” he said. Colleges dismiss the rankings as unscientific and complain that they glorify dangerous behavior. In advance of Monday’s announcement, University of Colorado President Bruce Benson sent a letter to the Boulder, Colo., Daily Camera newspaper criticizing Princeton Review and the rankings. “What I get really upset about is this is headline-grabbing, and it’s extremely unscientific,” Benson told the newspaper. His school ranked 16th on the party list this year and No. 1 in 2003. This year, Brigham Young University topped the list of “Stone-Cold Sober Schools” for the 13th straight year. The Princeton Review is a Massachusetts-based company known for its test preparation courses, educational services and books. It’s not affiliated with Princeton University. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

WASHINGTON — Adele Dalesandro stepped inside the U.S. Supreme Court wide-eyed. She spoke in whispers, trying to absorb everything about the room she had read so much about but had never seen. Her first impression was that it was much smaller than she expected. “This is not something you can replicate in the classroom,” said Dalesandro, who has taught high school government and politics classes in St. Charles, Ill., for 14 years. The teacher had become a student again. Dalesandro was part of a group of 30 social studies teachers from around the country who got a behind-the scenes look this week at the Supreme Court as part of the Supreme Court Summer Institute for Teachers. The six-day program that ended Tuesday covered subjects ranging from choosing the court’s docket to nominating a justice, an especially relevant topic this summer with the upcoming confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan . The teachers also got to meet Cecilia Marshall, the widow of the late Justice Thurgood Marshall , and Chief Justice John Roberts , who has been involved with the program since it started in 1995. It was a rare opportunity for teachers like Dalesandro. Almost half the teachers had never walked through the doors of the nation’s highest court and many of their students are said to be able to name more American Idol judges than Supreme Court ones. Lee Arbetman, director of the nonprofit organization Street Law Inc. of Silver Spring, Md., which organizes the teachers’ institute, said many social studies curriculums in public schools fail to cover the judicial branch of the federal government, something not usually found on state standardized tests, in a meaningful way. The institute tries to demystify the court for teachers, he said. “We’ve sort of seen this as an opportunity to pick up where textbooks have left off,” he said. “Courts count. What courts decide make a difference in their daily lives. The law is too important to reserve solely for lawyers.” More than 150 educators applied for the 30 spots in this year’s institute, he said. The Street Law program taps into the same vein as iCivics.org — a website developed by retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor , which encourages kids to learn more about the U.S. government through online games. Bruce Buckle, an Advanced Placement government teacher from Montoursville, Pa., said he attended this program during his summer vacation to develop an understanding of the court. “A teacher of mine used to say that a good teacher always tries to sit on the other side of the desk from time to time, so that’s what I’m doing,” Buckle said. In addition to classes, the teachers toured the Supreme Court on Friday and met in a closed-door session with court clerks. On Monday, they returned to the courtroom as the justices handed down decisions on several cases, including cases involving the war on terrorism and biotech agriculture. The program is partially paid for by the Supreme Court Historical Society. Many of the teachers are sponsored by their school districts or local bar associations and only have to pay their hotel costs. Dalesandro and Julia Hershenberg, a Garland, Texas, government teacher, snaked through the halls of the court during their free time, stopping at the gift shop to buy Supreme Court pencils for their students back home. “Oh, my gosh! I have to have a picture of this,” said Hershenberg, standing in front of a display of O’Connor’s robes. “Sandra! I love her! She’s from El Paso!” Short of meeting President Barack Obama , Dalesandro said she reached the pinnacle of her teaching career at the institute. She said she was leaving Washington with new lesson plans and renewed excitement about teaching the judicial branch, but she will not be able to explain the entire experience to her students. “They won’t have a grasp of history until they get older,” she said. “It was unbelievable.” Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A prank literally spelled out in the University of Utah student newspaper has prompted administrators to put a hold on nine students’ transcripts. The seniors wrote goodbye columns for The Daily Utah Chronicle ‘s April 28 edition. The first letter of each column is in larger type; together, they spell out two words referring to genitalia. One is penis; the other is a derogatory word for female genitalia. Editor Rachel Hanson, one of the nine seniors, said she’s concerned the administration’s response could violate freedom of the press. “It was childish and stupid, but it’s not a cause for institutional notice,” said Jim Fisher, an associate professor of communication and the paper’s faculty adviser. “It, at the very least, has a chilling effect, and at the most could be censorship. I don’t agree with the behavior at all, but I support their right to be idiots.” The Chronicle has a tradition of hiding vulgar or racy phrases in the year’s final edition. But in the past, the words were better hidden and in some cases have been tamer, like “drunk.” STUDENT NEWS: Court upholds ban on alcohol ads NOTRE DAME: Students apologize for cartoon about gay violence Students earlier this week got e-mails informing them of the holds on their transcripts and requesting a meeting with the associate dean of students. The e-mail Hanson got said the students may have engaged in “intentional disruption or obstruction of teaching, research, administration, disciplinary proceedings or other University activities,” which could be grounds for disciplinary action. The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education and the Student Press Law Center wrote a letter to university officials defending the students’ actions. “While the content in question might offend members of the campus community, it is unquestionably protected expression under the First Amendment,” the letter said. University Vice President for Student Affairs Barb Snyder told The Associated Press that all nine students were allowed to participate in commencement activities Friday. She said the hold on each student’s file would be removed after they meet with the associate dean to discuss the matter. “We’re not in any way trying to interfere with their free speech rights,” Snyder said. “The language used was offensive to many members of the university community … men as well as women.” “We’re just having a conversation about the motivation and what they learned from it, if anything,” Snyder added. Writer Michael McFall said that while he defends the use of the word penis, he thinks the group abused its freedoms by printing the other word. “We meant it in the anatomical opposite to penis,” he told The Salt Lake Tribune . “We overlooked” that the word is derogatory to women, McFall added. Copyright 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.