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by Agnes Jasinski

As the number of returning and adult students continues to grow in an economy where advanced skills are necessary to not only land a good job but keep that job, it was only a matter of time when we'd start seeing more students in school at the same time as their parents.

We've already written about growing community college enrollment. The numbers speak for themselves—nationwide, full-time enrollment at community colleges is up 24.1 percent since 2007, with overall community college enrollment increasing 16.9 percent over the same period, according to the American Association of Community Colleges. Many of those enrolled are returning adult students who want to amp up their skill sets or start on a path toward a new career, perhaps due to a recent layoff or desire to go into a more desirable field. Community colleges have also always been an affordable option for traditional students either looking for a two-year start before transferring to a four-year university, or a two-year associate's program that will get them out onto the market faster. It's only natural then that there would be some overlap, with students and their parents taking courses at the same time.

In Illinois, college students who are 40 and older make up about 23 percent of the community college populations. A recent article in the Chicago Tribune looks at mothers and daughters taking community college courses together, such as Diana Gudowski, a 52-year-old attending Prairie State College in Chicago Heights with her 19-year-old daughter Marissa. The two found themselves on the same campus when the family decided collectively that they could not afford Marissa's first choice, the $30,000 per year St. Mary-of-the-Woods College. Marissa plans to complete her prerequisites at the community college and then transfer to Northern Illinois University. Meanwhile, her mother is taking classes toward a bachelor's of fine arts in photography; she already has an associate's from Prairie State in photographic studies. Although their courses don't overlap, their schedules do—the two carpool to campus, as the family shares one car.

"When I got out of high school, I thought ‘Cool. … Now I can take my first class at noon.' But four out of five days, my Mom starts at 8 a.m.," Marissa said in the article.

The article's focus is on mothers and daughters because the female population has been hit harder by the struggling economy. Despite some upturns, there are still more than 15 million people out of work across the country, and many of those are older women with limited educations, according to the Tribune. Are you (or your parents) interested in the community college option? Try our free college search or look through our library of resources for more information.

by Emily

From best dorm food to greatest contributions to the social good, regardless of the criteria you're using in your college search, there are likely lists available to help you find the best colleges to fit your needs. The latest college scorecard to emerge this college application season is the College Sustainability Report Card, an annual publication that grades public and private colleges and universities nationwide on eco-friendliness. For students who are passionate about the environment and want to attend a college that shares their concerns, this may be a useful list to check out.

The Report Card has been in existence since 2007, when it began grading the schools with the largest endowments on sustainability efforts. This year, it opened up its survey to other schools, promising to include any institution willing to pay $700 to offset the additional costs of research and reporting. The 2010 Report Card graded 332 schools, ranging from small private colleges to flagship state universities, with 26 schools earning the highest grade of A-. Over half of the schools surveyed earned a higher grade this year than last, despite budget cuts brought about by losses in endowments and state funding due to the recession.

In addition to the overall grade, report cards for each institution also feature grades in the following categories: administration, climate change and energy, food and recycling, green building, student involvement, transportation, endowment transparency, investment priorities, and shareholder engagement. Some of these individual scores may be especially useful elements of the college search for students interested in becoming engaged in their campus communities and contributing to the greening of their colleges. Low scores can point to things students can help improve (such as implementing recycling programs on campus), and high scores in student involvement can indicate a community of like-minded individuals willing to collaborate to bring about change.

Beyond incorporating sustainability into the criteria you use in choosing a college, eco-minded students may also want to look into the opportunities for green scholarships available. These awards may point to additional ways to help the planet, and they can also help you pay for school at your green college of choice.

by Suada Kolovic

Across the country, gun rights activists are seeking to make it possible for students to carry guns on campus. And Arkansas very own pro-gun group Arkansas Carry is the latest to do just that. They are seeking legislative support for a bill to override a 2003 attorney general’s opinion that colleges and universities can legally ban concealed weapons from their campuses – even weapons held by permit holders – if signs are posted to that effect, Arkansas News reported.

Arkansas Carry sent a letter Monday to the state Department of Higher Education arguing that schools are improperly banning students with permits from legally carrying guns on campus. They argue that licensed students who carry their guns in campus parking lots – but not into buildings – risk expulsion. Currently under state law, permit holders are allowed to carry weapons on campus but are forbidden from bringing them into school buildings and events on campuses. Arkansas Carry wants students to be able to carry weapons on every part of a college campus, not just university grounds.

We’ve witnessed the tragic outcomes guns can have on campus, so how do you feel about gun rights activists pushing for legislation in the other direction? What do you think, should students with permits be allowed to bring their weapons in campus buildings?

by Alexis Mattera

A student’s first year in college is one rife with new experiences and challenges. We have plenty of info on our site to help ease that transition – from dealing with common roommate problems to overcoming writer's block in college essays to beating the winter blues – but it looks like members of the class of 2014 are having more difficult times adjusting to the college lifestyle.

An annual study found 51.9 percent of first-year, full-time students reported their emotional health was above average. That may not seem so bad but lead author, UCLA's John Pryor, said this figure is a "fairly alarming" 3.4 percentage points lower than last year and the lowest since the inaugural study in 1985 when 63.6 percent reported feeling above average. Despite these record-low levels of emotional health, about 73 percent of students surveyed generally expressed positive attitudes toward higher education, even as they struggle to fund it because they believe it will help their future earning power.

But why the disparity between low emotional health and high expectations? It’s difficult to pinpoint one specific reason but Marcus Hotaling, chairman of mental health for the American College Health Association, has a theory: When the study began in 1985, he said, many students with mental health issues did not get into college but today, they are able to pursue post-secondary degrees because of improved medication, reduced stigmas and a greater willingness to share concerns with others. "Students are more attuned to who they are, what they're dealing with, and that there's help out there," said Hotaling.

First-time college students, do you share the sentiments of the students surveyed or is your freshman year shaping up to be one of the best years of your life thus far?

by Alexis Mattera

You have just one class left until a full week off from textbooks, Scantron sheets and yawn-loathing instructors. Then, it happens: Your professor goes off the syllabus and announces a new project – a lengthy research paper, to be precise – to be handed in during the first class after break. That thought bubble above your head filled with notions of sleeping until noon and emptying your DVR goes kerplewy and your waning stress level takes a leap into finals week territory. Ouch...but that scenario may no longer occur at Cornell because of a call for change from the faculty. Is it the right choice?

Cornell’s Faculty Senate is expected to vote this month on a resolution that would "strongly discourage" surprise assignments to improve the mental health of students. The resolution, said theatre professor and chair of the Faculty Senate's education-policies committee Bruce A. Levitt, would encourage faculty members to stick to their syllabi so students can better pace themselves. "The idea was not to forbid homework over break, but to make academic work over break the choice of the student," Levitt explained.

If my school had implemented this kind of resolution when I was an undergrad, I probably would have rejoiced but having been a member of a deadline-driven profession for almost six years now, it would have been a detriment. With the advent of cell phones and on-the-go e-mail access, many bosses expect their employees to remain in constant contact even when they are off the clock – something students may not realize until they begin their first job out of college. I’m not saying students shouldn’t be able to enjoy their nights, weekends and breaks but they should be aware that after college, the work needs to get done regardless of the hour.

by Suada Kolovic

Getting a computer stolen could be a nightmare for a college student but for one tech-savvy Bentley University freshman, it became a viral dream come true.

Mark Bao discovered his MacBook Air had been stolen but was still able to access several of his hard drives and Web-Browsing history via an online backup service. What did he find? A thief with dance fever. In addition to several pictures of the thief, Mr. Bao found recordings of him dancing, which Mr. Bao took full advantage of and posted on YouTube that same night. “I thought it was hilarious,” Mr. Bao said of the evidence. “I couldn’t believe he didn’t reformat the hard drive or cover up his tracks. It was in plain sight.”

After getting a well-deserved chuckle at the expense of his robber, Mr. Bao notified Bentley’s campus police department and early Tuesday morning, the laptop was turned in to the campus police station. Though the alleged thief emailed Mr. Bao to apologize and requested that the video,“Don’t steal computers belonging to people who know how to use computers,” be taken down, he didn’t oblige. Mr. Bao says he doesn’t plan to press charges and intends to sell the stolen laptop – since he replaced his – and donate the proceeds to support the relief efforts in Japan. Do you think the thief had what was coming to him? Should Mr. Bao take the video down now that his laptop has been returned? Let us know what you think.

by Agnes Jasinski

Many colleges and universities offer students dorms particular to their fields of study. A future engineer can bunk with others interested in engineering, for example, or future educators may find a place for others interested in becoming teachers. The dorms then become learning communities, and allow students a built-in support network when they're struggling with homework or an upcoming exam.

Some schools, however, have been experimenting with communal living for interests outside of students' majors, perhaps to get more students interested in those colleges, keep students already enrolled happy, or to get students to live in the dorms beyond their first years. A recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education explores the kinds of dorm communities that are cropping up on college campuses across the country, and they're as diverse as students' interests come.

At the University of Vermont, students interested in healthy eating, anime or Harry Potter are able to live in dorms set aside for students with those interests. (According to The Chronicle, The Harry Potter dorm caters more to those interested in social justice issues, and how "magic is symbolic for an individual's ability to change the world." It couldn't be all fun.) Students at the school must come with proposals of their own for the special interest dorms to take shape, and find student leaders who will come up with extracurricular activities and collaborate with faculty advisers.

At the Georgia Institute of Technology, themed dorms explore the less academic side of science. The 160 or so students who live in the learning communities are able to find dorms based on their interests in humor, robotics, space colonization, and the science of food, according to The Chronicle. Faculty members, who say the students living in the themed dorms are more engaged in their learning able to converse about academic subjects more easily than their peers, meet with the students once a week. At Ball State University, students from all majors interested in film, video, and emerging media, are able to live in a dorm that provides them with all of the technical equipment they would need to shoot projects on their own time. The dorm cost the school about $60,000 to renovate and equip.

What kinds of themed dorms, if any, does your school offer undergraduates? Do you like the idea, or do you think students should live with others who have more varied interests? Let us know what you think about the specialized dorms.

by Agnes Jasinski

A new study from Ball State University shows further proof that students’ reliance on mobile devices is here to stay, with more students using their smart phones over their computers to access the Internet and communicate with one another than ever before.

Smart phone use has doubled over the last year, according to the study, with nearly half of phone-owning students boasting the devices. Text messaging has become students’ main form of communication, with 97 percent of students surveyed using that method to communicate, compared to 30 percent using e-mail. The study took into account 11 different surveys of mobile device usage since 2005, with 5,500 college students participating.

The study suggests that while it should be easier to reach students now with these smart phones in hand, it also makes it easier for them to multi-task and lead more hectic lifestyles. An increase in students owning more sophisticated devices has also led colleges to reconsider how to both use advancing technologies in the classroom and limiting devices where they may serve as more of a distraction. Cell phone use is still typically prohibited in the classroom, although colleges have been working to integrate other technologies into students’ curricula. Seton Hill University saw so much potential in the new iPad that they announced they would give one to all incoming students. Elsewhere, professors are embracing social networking sites like Twitter as a way to make their instruction more relevant.

Laptops in the classroom in particular have been a topic of discussion since they began cropping up on desks, assisting students in note-taking during lectures. Some professors argue that while some students use their computers appropriately, others spend entire periods surfing the Internet or perusing their Facebook pages. An article in Slate this spring looked at measures some colleges have taken to keep students tuned in to class discussion, which often means disconnecting them from wireless access. The University of Chicago’s Law School shut off Internet access in classrooms several years ago along with several other law schools, where discussion is an integral piece of the educational experience. A professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder found that those who used laptops in the classroom scored 11 percent lower on their first exam than those who took notes the old-fashioned way.

What do you think? Would mobile devices in the classroom be helpful or harmful? What about laptops? What kinds of regulations regarding technology already exist on your campus?

by Emily

Opportunities for physical fitness and athleticism abound on college campuses, as anyone who has had to sit through a sibling's harrowing tales of intramural water polo playoffs can tell you. But should students be required to engage in campus athletics to graduate? Lincoln University, a historically black college in Pennsylvania, is saying yes, at least for obese students.

Starting in 2006, incoming freshmen at Lincoln University were weighed and measured and told their Body Mass Index, or BMI, score. Students with a BMI over 30, which the World Health Organization designates as obese, were told they'd need to take a one-credit physical fitness course to graduate. Those students are now entering their final year of college, and of those 92 students who were given that requirement, 80 have not yet completed it. True to its word, Lincoln University has sent these 80 students e-mail messages saying that unless they complete the class or "test out" by spring semester (either by "earning" a BMI below 30 or passing a sports course) they will not be allowed to receive degrees they have otherwise earned.

While promoting healthy lifestyles is increasingly becoming a priority for colleges, Lincoln's practice goes much further than other schools'. Recent media attention has raised legal questions, ranging from concerns about privacy (weighing all freshmen then making this potentially sensitive information public, or at least easily guessed, based on who has to take the fitness class) to concerns about discrimination (obese students may have underlying health issues), and the university's legal counsel is looking into whether the policy should be continued. Other concerns are also being voiced, namely related to the effectiveness of using BMI to determine risk for health issues, and the fairness of only making students above a certain BMI take a fitness course.

The class is meant to make students aware of the health risks that have been traditionally associated with obesity, but there's a long-standing contention that BMI is not an accurate measure of obesity or of health risk. Most people have anecdotal experience that easily attests to this—athletes pushing the obesity mark or tiny people subsisting entirely on fast food. Certainly, students of all weights engage in less healthy aspects of the college lifestyle, and could probably benefit from information on healthy eating and exercise. This leaves many people wondering, why the emphasis on BMI? Why not make the course a requirement for everyone, or not make it a requirement for anyone at all? And why make this course a graduation requirement, rather than simply a recommendation?

So what do you think? Should colleges make health education a graduation requirement for students? Is Lincoln University's practice an appropriate form of health intervention?

by Agnes Jasinski

It’s late in the semester, and you’ve got final projects and exams staring you in the face. Now seems like as good a time as any to skip class, either to get a jump on the above-mentioned workload, sleep in, or enjoy the warmer weather. Your professor won’t miss you in that big lecture hall, right?

Come fall, students at Northern Arizona University may be missed more than usual in those big college classes thanks to the installation of a new electronic system that will measure students’ attendance. According to a recent article in The Arizona Republic, the new system will effectively mark students present by scanning their ID cards as they walk in. That system, paid for by $75,000 in federal stimulus money, then produces an attendance report for the instructor of that course.

The system will affect the most popular — and populated — courses, typically taken in students’ freshman and sophomore years. This doesn’t mean the school will be introducing mandatory attendance policies; but instructors may be more likely now to consider attendance as a factor when awarding grades. (Most instructors in smaller classrooms already count attendance/participation as part of students’ final grades.) Students are unsurprisingly upset by the plan, calling it an invasion of privacy. According to The Arizona Republic, a new Facebook group in opposition to the measure has already collected more than 1,300 members. Some students suggest that if they really want to skip class, they’ll find ways around the new system, like handing their IDs to a study buddy so that their name is counted on that day’s roster.

In response to complaints that the process was a little too “Big Brother,” administrators say they’re doing this for the students’ own good and to lower the number of students who miss class. Those who frequently miss class will probably not do as well in school, thus increasing their likelihood that they’ll drop out of college altogether. Administrators point to a number of research studies that link academic achievement with attendance to help their cause. A study in 2001 from the University of Maryland-Baltimore County, for example, found that students scored higher on quizzes if they were responsible for signing in to class each session.

What do you think? Would you try to avoid classes that scanned ID cards? Is it an invasion of privacy, or just a way to make students more accountable?