Web version of five issues story

Graduation rate, general education curriculum among issues at Cal-State Long Beach

President Alexander offered his insight into these and other issues.

By Anthony Vasquez, Education reporter

LONG BEACH, Calif. (May 20, 2007) -- Ronald Treminio is a “super senior.” He has attended college since 1998, Cal-State Long Beach since 2003.

Graduation rate is one of five issues in higher education as identified by an academic database search at the Cal-State Long Beach Library. The others are tuition, grade inflation, Western history’s role in the university and professor pay. A settlement reached earlier this spring between the California State University (CSU) and the California Faculty Association (CFA) has made professor pay less of an issue.

GAINS MADE ON GRADUATION RATE

“Honestly, people don’t know what they want and you take classes because you know that you should take classes,” Treminio said.

Despite some students’ indecision about their majors and economic trends, the four-, five- and six-year graduation rates for Cal-State Long Beach have increased significantly over the past several years. Data compiled by the Consortium for Student Retention Data Exchange shows that graduation rates have made steady gains.

“The six-year rate has increased dramatically and we’re very proud of that,” J Mike Hostetler, Associate Vice President and Dean of Students said.

Hostetler mentioned that the university’s focus was more on graduating students in five to six years rather than the more traditional four. The five- and six-year rates also have improved. For those that enrolled as freshmen in fall 2001, nearly a third graduated in five years, while out of those who entered as freshmen in fall 1995, only around one in five graduated in five years.

“Today, it’s never been more important to a student that they graduate,” university president F. King Alexander said.

Alexander said that since the Learning Assistance Center was moved last year to the Horn Center, the number of students using its services has doubled.

“It’s a little bit weird that everyone’s striving for five, six years,” said Virginia Ying, a freshmen Fashion and Merchandizing and Textiles and Clothing double major.

There are various factors that have caused the six-year rate to be used as a benchmark. Dean Hostetler noted that since around 1992 it became more difficult to obtain federal financial aid and students have had to attend college longer before graduating. He said he sees that future graduation rates will increase the better first-generation students perform. As a member of the Student Success Committee, which is comprised of campus faculty, he has seen improvement.

GENERAL EDUCATION AND THE OVERALL CURRICULUM

“Our general education requirements are complicated, lengthy and hard to understand,” Dean Hostetler said.

Others disagree, saying that current general education requirements are adequate.

“Today’s job market and career pathways require a person to know a lot more than their major because they’re not going to be in one job or in one career for the rest of their lives,” Genevieve M. Ramirez, Director of the Learning Assistance Center said.

President Alexander said that a new set of general education requirements that may take effect next year would make it easier for students by lowering the number of general education units from 51 to 48.

“Students are savvy about the courses they take,” he said.

The issue of general education ties into the issue of the role Western history plays in the university. James Sauceda, Director of the Multicultural Center agrees with the notion that the general education requirements are appropriate.

“It’s a good template for the term general education,” he said.

He said he does see how depending on requirements of specific major programs, certain students will have to take more courses before graduating. It is unknown how prevalent it is for students not to be exposed to U.S. history here in California universities. In a report titled “The Dissolution of General Education: A Review of Arizona’s Three State Universities’ Programs of Study and Degree Requirements” by Marianne M. Jennings of the Arizona Association of Scholars, she argues that students in some of Arizona’s public colleges could graduate without taking U.S. history or being exposed to European philosophy. The author urges reform.

“For 200 years, people have griped about the changing curriculum,” President Alexander said.

He used as an example the Yale Report of 1828 which urged that Greek and Latin continue to be taught as a required part of a liberal education. To continue otherwise, it said, would dilute the value of a college degree and give students a “superficial” education.

Director Sauceda sees the best approach to learning about this country is to do so by learning subject matter in a “ Euroconcentric” way. This way, Europe’s contributions would not be ignored. They would serve as a core while contributions from people from other world regions would be included.

“ As this world globalizes in so many ways, the more our students understand the world in which they live in, … the better prepared they are to excel and succeed in society,” President Alexander said.

TOO MANY A GRADES?

Another way to measure student achievement is by looking at grades. This brings about the issue of grade inflation. In 2004, Princeton University capped the number of “As” to 35 percent of all grades. President Alexander said he sees no evidence to show that grade inflation is happening here.

“Today it’s harder to get into our university than it has ever been,” he said.

He said that the university received more than 63,000 applications for the 2007-08 school year and so naturally, entering students’ performance level would be higher.

“A lot of our classes are weed-out classes,” Ronald Treminio, a senior biology major said. “So, if you can’t perform in those classes, you won’t be able to perform at any other classes.”

PAY DISPUTE SETTLED, TUITION INCREASE

Treminio and Yecenia Gomez, a fellow senior biology major, commented on other issues. The tuition for an in-state undergraduate taking more than six units for 2006-07 is $2864. Both said it is pricy enough. For 2007-08, it is expected to rise by $252--less than the $350 average increase nationwide. Both said they would have supported striking faculty had there been a strike.

The CSU and the CFA publicly settled March 25. The CFA requested that faculty be paid at comparable rates of similar institutions. Among its points, the new contract gives a 20.7 percent increase in base pay “over a four-year period.” Cal-State Long Beach CFA Chapter president Lydia Sondhi said she was “absolutely” happy with it.

Ronald Treminio, the senior biology major, said that his teachers should be well-compensated. This new contract does this. When he completes his general education requirements (if he has not already done so), he will be closer to graduating.

To contact Anthony Vasquez, email him at Anvas@aol.com or visit his web log, Education in the 21st Century, at: http://edu21.blogspot.com.

Published story

Hello all. Last Thursday I was published in the Daily 49er, Cal-State Long Beach's student paper. Here is a summary:

Graduation rates, general education and grade inflation are covered in this news story. Graduation rates at Cal-State Long Beach have been steadily increasing over the past several years. Nearly half of first-year students who entered in 2000 graduated in 2006. A proposed change in the general education requirements would make it easier for students for the number of required units would drop from 51 to 48. The issue of grade inflation is also discussed.

Entire story on the Daily 49er's Web Site.

Five issues story for class complete

Hello readers. Here we are. I know I should have posted a few times during the last two weeks, but I worked on other subjects and my story instead. Anyhow, the busiest part of the semester is just about finished.

I had a very pleasant time interviewing--in person--Cal State Long Beach's president F. King Alexander last Friday afternoon. His comments are found throughout my five issue story. I plan to post a version of it soon.

Today I will present my story and experiences of this semester to my journalism class. I did a good job during my presentation April 9. I hope to do so again.

Now, my next task is to be published. I have that taken care of.

That's all for right now. I will post soon--seriously.

Draft complete

Hello all. It has been a while since the last posting, but this is because of all the work I have been doing with this reporting class and others. The important part is that the draft is finished. Tomorrow it will be ready to present to Dr. Mulligan. Now, of course comes more and more editing. My goal is to talk to more students. Scheduling interviews is hard enough, but finding students who will talk to a reporter for even a few minutes is at times daunting. As new challenges present themselves, new adventures will begin. I will se how far I take this story. It is much too long to be published in its entirety. On second thought, maybe it isn't. Only my editors know. There is still much to do. I'll post soon.

University experience (Broadcast)

Hello. Below is the broadcast version of the previous story where the five issues were outlined. Notice the change in tense from past to present. Note also that TRT stands for total running time. Enjoy!

TRT: 0 min, 45 sec

LONG BEACH, CALIF. (March 19, 2007) -- An academic database search from the Cal-State Long Beach library shows
that rising college tuition, grade inflation, the role of U.S. history
in the classroom, teacher pay, and graduation rates are five important
issues in U.S. universities.

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators says
that tuition at a public four-year university rose 42 percent in the
last ten years. In an Internet-broadcast speech last fall, Education
Secretary Margaret Spellings said that access to college and current
four year graduation rates must be improved.

SOUND BITE: I, too, experienced the confusion and frustration many parents
face with the college selection process. I found it almost impossible to
get my questions answered, and I'm the secretary of Education.

Also, last fall, the regents of the University of Colorado made it optional
for a student’s rank to be posted to transcripts. Regents say that in
the face of grade inflation, this is a better representation of scholastic
performance.

Thursday's Comments

Once my interview story is corrected, I'll repost it. Today, I began my interviews in the College of Education at Cal-State Long Beach. I interviewed Judy Walker from the Education Career Services office. I learned some neat things, which I'll share in the days to come.

Classmate Interview

This assignment showed me how it is to work under the pressure of a deadline. Our task was to interview a fellow classmate and compose a decent story based on information collected. In about an hour and a half, I did it. Looking back, I liked doing it. It's something that I'll have to get used to if I truly want to pursue a career in reporting. Here it is.

One talented artist
By Anthony Vasquez, Education Reporter

LONG BEACH, CALIF. (March 12, 2007) -- Sarah Al-Mullah is a junior journalism major at Cal-State Long Beach. She’s also an artist. Her artistic hobbies include photography, playing the guitar and piano and creating wax sculptures.

Al-Mullah, who was born in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has lived in Southern California for the past 10 years. Going to the beach with her family is one of her fondest memories of Dubai. She laments the privatization of certain beaches which has restricted where ordinary people can go to have a good time.

Since graduating from high school in 2003, she has studied film, studio art, and record production at UC Irvine and two other local community colleges. She transferred to Cal-State Long Beach this last fall.

This upcoming weekend, she will be auctioning off some of her photographic work at a silent auction. In April, she will be playing piano at a fund raiser for a local women’s shelter in Long Beach. This fall, she and a fellow artist are planning to have an art show exhibiting their wax sculptures.
On the piano, she plays contemporary classical music. She can play many genres on the guitar including rock and Spanish guitar. She has recorded two CDs of her musical compositions.

Just in case a scene good enough to photograph comes across her path, she likes to carry a digital camera. As with her music, she does not like to alter her photographic work.

“I don’t really like editing my photos,” she said. “I mean, I might you know, change the lighting just a little bit on the computer, but other than that, I think it defeats the purpose of the whole idea behind taking pictures.”

She is considering joining the Peace Corps after graduation. She would like to go to Africa, in particular Morocco. She has taken French in school. She can also read and write Arabic although has a limited speaking ability.
She has a positive outlook regarding her future. She hopes to one day live in France or Italy creating works of art for the public’s enjoyment. She is focused on improving her writing as well as artistic skills so that one day, her dream of living an artist’s life is realized.

“It’s, I guess, up to me now to make sure I carry it through and do the best that I can and train as much as possible to ensure, you know, the most success that I possibly can,” she said of her current status.

She appeared very pleased that her involvement in many extracurricular activities are allowing her to demonstrate her talent to the world.

The University Experience

Hello. The previous story had some commentary along with it. What follows is based only on facts I have gathered. Enjoy!

Issues of the university experience
By Anthony Vasquez, Education Reporter

LONG BEACH, CALIF. (March 5, 2007) -- An academic search through the Cal-State Long Beach library has identified tuition, grade inflation, U.S. history’s role in education, professor pay, and graduate rate as important issues in public universities in the United States.

At the University of Virginia, tuition plus room and board for an in-state student for four years amounts to $68,000. According to the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, tuition at a public four-year university has risen 42 percent in the last 10 years.

Grade inflation was addressed by the regents of the University of Colorado. Last fall, they opted to allow a student’s ranking to be posted to transcripts of those students who requested the information. It is believed that this is a better indicator of student performance as opposed to grades.

In Arizona, analysts at the Goldwater Institute published a report that accused the University of Arizona of giving courses with a more global, multicultural perspective greater weight in general education requirements.

Professor pay is another controversial topic. There is a divide between those who think that professors are being paid too much when benefits such as bonuses and incentives are factored into their pay. On the other hand, the California State University Faculty Union may strike for better pay. They feel that professors are not being paid what others in comparable universities are paid.

In an Internet-broadcast speech last September, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings said that education in the country had slipped behind global competition. She identified access to college and sustained graduation rates as vital to the nations higher education system.

Five issues in public universities

I have identified five issues of importance on public universities in the United States. It took time, but I have results. The five issues are: the rising cost of college, grade inflation, U.S. history’s role in education, professor pay, and graduation rate. Below are brief descriptions of each. Of course, more information is to follow in the coming days.
The price of college tuition keeps on rising. Analysts have information indicating that the cost of tuition has risen much faster than inflation. A recent study said that students are not attending their first-choice colleges because of this. Some families have a hard time paying for college and rely on scholarships. It is a problem that needs to be fixed so that students can get the education they need in order to compete in this globalized society.
Grade inflation is an issue that also needs to be addressed. Some universities are giving out a disproportionate number of As and Bs which puts C-average students near the bottom of rankings. This needs reform because a C grade is supposed to be a middle-of-the-road grade, not a grade signifying poor work.
There are some who criticize some policies which give more priority to global views rather than teach the history of the United States and Western thought. At this point, it is unclear how big of an issue this is, but it is worth exploring in order to see what best satisfies educational needs. The topic is especially relevant to general education issues.
Professor pay seems to be a hotly debated issue. Some say that professors are paid too much while others think the opposite. It greatly varies from state to state.
What is more clear is that more and more jobs are requiring college degrees. The education department has estimated that 90 percent of new jobs will require at least a Bachelors’ degree. This means that access to college, and just as important, graduation from college are two important issues. Graduation rates are low in some colleges. Closer examination is needed to see what the problems are.

The Rising Cost of Tuition

I have found more information and resources on my topic. As I was reading chapter 5 of my textbook entitled Inside Reporting: A Practical Guide to the Craft of Journalism, by Tim Harrower, I found the address to the National Education Writers Association. The address is www.ewa.org.
The association was created by newspaper reporters in the United States in 1947. It now has over 1,000 members in this country and in Canada. Associate members include public information officers in schools and colleges. This website and the resources found there will become a valuable source of information in my search for relevant issues.
Another website with lots of resources is that of The Chronicle of Higher Education. It’s address is www.chronicle.com. This site even has a section for students.
So, thus far my two issues are those of assisting students who are English language learners in public K-12 schools and of high school exit exams. Today I’ll share an issue relevant to public universities. The issue is about the rising cost of college tuition. In a Jan. 28 story from The Washington Post, “Forget Yale – Go State” by Kathleen Day, financial planners say that people who are too affluent for government aid, but not wealthy enough to not suffer a dent in the pocketbook from high tuition costs (otherwise known as the middle class), have to keep three things in mind. They are that they need to be able to think realistically, be honest about the real goal of going to college, and be willing to choose value over prestige. There are just so many factors that must be taken into account. As it is right now, the best way to save for a child’s college tuition is to start saving money in a state-sponsored 529 plan. These plans are run by individual state governments which then hire asset management companies to run the plan. The plan gets its name from its section in the Internal Revenue Service code.
The best way to save in one of these plans is to start before the child is born under a parent’s name. Then, when the child is born, the name for whom the plan is intended replaces the original one. Some information for this post came from an article from howstuffworks.com. The URL for it is:
http://money.howstuffworks.com/5292.htm
I will continue to post more information as it is made available to me. For now, I know that I have my third issue: the rising cost of college.

The Plan

Hello. My name is Anthony. I am a sophomore at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). This web log is a result of an assignment for my journalism class. Jour311 is about the information gathering process and how it leads to publishable news stories in a variety of media. I selected a news beat on Jan. 29. My beat is education. My plan is to investigate various issues regarding the educational system in the nation, state, and local area. I have thus far identified two interesting topics. The first has to do with students who are English language learners. According to a Christian Science Monitor story published last month, there are 5.8 million such students in the nation’s schools. Since the story focused on elementary school students, I assume this does not include university students. The next issue has to do with exit exams. In many states there is a controversy going on regarding whether or not they should be given. My plan is to learn lots more about the nation’s and state’s schools. I also intend to see how CSULB is preparing future teachers to confront these and other issues. Above all, I’ll keep it as accurate as I can and have a good time with my reporting.