5/18
Penn in the News
A round-up of Penn mentions in local, national, and international media.
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Penn In the News
Switchback: The Startup Strategy That Might Be Right for You
Research that finds the benefits of a “switchback” approach for technology entrepreneurs co-authored by David Hsu of the Wharton School is highlighted.
Penn In the News
Student Debt in America: Lend With a Smile, Collect With a Fist
The American student loan crisis is often seen as a problem of profligacy and predation. Wasteful colleges raise tuition every year, we are told, even as middle-class wages stagnate and unscrupulous for-profit colleges bilk the unwary. The result is mounting unmanageable debt. There is much truth in this diagnosis. But it does not explain the plight of Liz Kelley, a Missouri high school teacher and mother of four who made a series of unremarkable decisions about college and borrowing. She now owes the federal government $410,000, and counting. This is a staggering and unusual sum.
Penn In the News
Campus Libraries Rethink Focus as Materials Go Digital
Sari Feldman, president of the American Library Association, sees a coming transformation of academic libraries thanks to technology. She says they are taking on greater roles in creating teaching materials and scholarship — and preserving tweets as well as books.
Penn In the News
Discount Much?
Is a high discount rate a guaranteed trouble sign for colleges? Not necessarily, experts say -- sometimes colleges can leverage discounts to increase revenue, at least if they are increasing enrollment. But maintaining very high discount rates can be a risky strategy and an indicator a college is in distress. The average discount rate offered by colleges to first-year students has risen significantly in recent years.
Penn In the News
How Much Can Campus-Crime Reports Tell Us About Sexual Assault?
The statistic was shocking: Nine out of 10 colleges reported no rapes on their campuses in 2014. That finding, released on Monday by the American Association of University Women, seemed to contradict recent surveys of female undergraduates, as well as an oft-cited — and controversial — statistic that one in five women are sexually assaulted during their time in college. Advocates and researchers agreed something was amiss. But what do the low rates of rape reports — drawn from the campus-crime-reporting law known as the Clery Act — really mean? Here are three possibilities:
Penn In the News
The Missing Low-income Students
Since 2008, student aid from federal and institutional sources has increased. Political and foundation leaders have also focused on the importance of a postsecondary education, and the need to increase college attainment. But in the years since 2008, the proportion of low-income recent high school graduates who enroll in college has seen a significant drop, according to a new analysis from the American Council on Education. In 2008, 55.9 percent of such high school graduates enrolled in college. By 2013, that figure dropped to 45.5 percent.
Penn In the News
‘MOOCs, High Technology and Higher Learning’
Where are massive open online courses now, and where are they going? Robert A. Rhoads, professor of education at the University of California at Los Angeles, tackles those questions in MOOCs, High Technology and Higher Learning (Johns Hopkins University Press), in which he places MOOCs in the broader context of open courseware. In the book, Rhoads formulates seven theses about MOOCs to frame his arguments, writing that the loosely defined “MOOC movement” presents problems of diversity, faculty life and academic freedom, among others.
Penn In the News
Data-mining Firm Searches for Voters by Combing High School Yearbooks
John DiIulio of the School of Arts & Sciences is mentioned for guiding former students as they developed a data company that focuses on taking social-network analysis offline.
Penn In the News
Why So Many New Graduates of Elite Colleges Flock to the Same Kinds of Jobs
New graduates of elite colleges are concentrated in just a few career paths, in consulting, finance, and tech. Why is that? Amy J. Binder, a professor of sociology at the University of California at San Diego, wanted to find out, so she and her collaborators studied how students at Harvard and Stanford Universities are channeled into those fields — what the researchers call "career funneling." Their findings, which focus on the role universities themselves play in promoting certain careers, are out in a new paper published by the journal Sociology of Education. We caught up with Ms.
Penn In the News
College Enrollment Rates Are Dropping Especially Among Low-income Students
Low-income high school graduates were far less likely to enroll in higher education in 2013 than in 2008, a downward trend that came at the same time the Obama administration was pushing to boost college access and completion, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data. College enrollment rates have fallen for all students since 2008, which is not surprising given that the economy has improved since then and therefore more young people can find jobs right out of high school.