Higher education and the Census

We all know that the Census effects funding for nearly every aspect of life -- roads, schools, redistricting. 

But do you know that it has effects on higher education as well and not in the simplistic terms you would think.

Dave Moore, with the Census hotline, said that the numbers gathered during the Census count can be used during formulas to determine the amount of funding an area gets.

For example, Question 9 is the question about race and ethnicity. Title 20 is the law that helps provide for Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The information from this question is part of that formula.

I'm working on a story about this that will help clear up the higher education and Census relationship.

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Lee to CPSB: It's gonna get worse

Walter Lee, Desoto Parish superintendent and area representative for the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, paid a visit to the Caddo Parish School Board meeting last night.

It wasn't a social call.

True, Lee had worked for the district 29 years before becoming superintendent to the neighboring parish so it's not like he couldn't by a social call but there was stuff to talk about.

Besides the news of the death of a DeSoto 12-year-old, Lee discusses some changes he anticipated coming up in future BESE meetings.

Among them the radical shift from a moderate board to a more conservative board, one he says that is perfectly aligned to State Superintendent Paul Pastorek's ideology.

"I am convinced that Louisiana will go through a major transition and we will have one school system for the entire state," he said.

Lee referred to bills that will term limit school board members as well as the thought some politicians in Baton Rouge have to streamline the state's education system. One item, allowing charter schools to be approved at the state level rather than by a local board, concerned him.

He mentioned that because BESE is aligned with Pastorek's ideology, that it will be easier to pass such items.

"I personally don't see anyway to stop it," he said. "At this point BESE has lost its independence."

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SREB data on dual enrollment students

I just received in the mail, a fact book bulletin from Southern Regional Education Board, known affectionately by education gurus as SREB. That organization keeps track of education, K-12 and higher ed, in southern states.

The bulletin was about the increase in dual credit or enrollment students. In Louisiana, it's called Early Start. It's all the same name for the same thing, high school students taking college credit.

According to the information, students are taking college credit in two year universities and technical colleges. In states such as Arkansas, Kentucky, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, the percentage of high school students taking undergraduate credit and contact hours taken in public two year colleges is 5 percent.

In the Shreveport-Bossier City area, dual enrollment is big business, especially out at LSUS. Although the school is on Spring Break this week, the last figures I saw for them was that nearly 500 students were signed up for their dual enrollment offerings.

BPCC and SUSLA also offer dual enrollment.

The state pays for dual enrollment, so that they don't have to pay tuition. However, these students are counted as part of the over all enrollment of the school.

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Centenary goes green

Centenary students received  recycle bins at their campus residences today. The next step in their 2010 Energy Challenge. 

The challenge seeks to reduce the college's carbon foot print. Since January, the students have spearheaded this cause urging the campus to turn off lights and to try trayless dining. 

They recycle bins will be placed behind James and Rotary Halls.

“The campus recycling project is a continuum of the campus ‘Go Green’ energy challenge,” said Andra Armstrong, James Hall Council Vice President and RHA housing committee. “Centenary is very caring of its community and this proposal will benefit the Shreveport/Bossier community as well as help to keep Centenary's campus and surrounding environment clean.” 

With the recycle bins in place, the campus hopes to be able to recycle mixed paper, cardboard, aluminum cans, plastic bottles, magazines, telephone books, catalogs, steel food cans, mail, etc.

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In elementary school, what's an appropriate art?

Art is suppose to enlighten but do elementary children need to do a stage production of Scarface?

How do schools determine what's appropriate for students? This will be an interesting question to ask arts educators in the near future.

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Food for thought

The UK newspaper The Guardian is reporting that students who eat healthier meals, in particular those from celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, did better on their exams.

Oliver is known in this country, in non-cooking circles, as the host of Jamie's Food Revolution on ABC. The show chronicles Oliver's quest to get folks in Huntington, WV to eat better. The town is known as one of the unhealthiest towns in country.

But food for better grades? Why, yes.

As part of test preparation, schools around the country ask their students to have a good breakfast before coming to school.

Even in Caddo and Bossier, food is provided for students whose family can't afford them. The free and reduced meal program is funded through federal dollars.

Let's look at stats. Caddo serves 11,300 breakfast meals daily, and 26,900 lunches. In some schools in Caddo, the percentage of students on free or reduced meals are in the upper 90s.

Still don't understand the relationship between food and grades? Have you ever been so hungry in the middle of the work day that you couldn't concentrate?

Now imagine a healthy meal or snack and how much better you feel? It's like that.

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Centenary's Fell named new president

Katherine Fell, vice president for advancement, was selected as the University of Findlay's next president.

Fell will start at her new job July 1 succeeding DeBow Freed who will retire at the end of the current school year.

Fell has worked for at Centenary for 24 years beginning her career as an associate professor of English in 1986.

"It is a tremendous privilege to be invited to serves as the next president of the University of Findlay," she said. "The University has a very distinguished history, and I'm honored to have this opportunity."

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My story on the Lampkins Collection at SUSLA ran today.

This was an amazing story to tell. SUSLA has a small archive compared to LSUS who has an entire floor dedicated to it.

Archives, especially in a city the size of Shreveport, are important because they provide a safe haven for the area's history. They also provide insight to times gone-by. Lampkins' collection is like that. He attended Shreveport's high school for black students during segregation. He opened his own school in the 1950s and even though in Caddo Parish Schools.

For musicians, this collection is also a gold mine. Among the items are recordings of jazz musicians that available anywhere, even iTunes.

The collection will be open to the public fall 2010.

The archive is also a story of growth for SUSLA, whose enrollment has soar during the past two semesters. The strength and prominence of a school is determined by several factors: winning sports teams, research dollars, faculty research, library, and archives. For a school SUSLA's size, this was a substantial get.

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Jobs in higher education

It's March, the time of year in higher education when jobs are being lined up for the upcoming school year. If your a grad student, this is time when you look for a job...but not in Louisiana.

After a series of budget cuts to higher education, schools had to freeze open positions and some are not filling adjunct positions.

According to higheredjobs.com, an online job board for positions at colleges and universities, Louisiana has 55 positions open for faculty and staff. The school doing the most hiring is Nicholls State in Thibodaux.

Louisiana, however, has more jobs available than neighboring state Mississippi, which only has 26 listed. Arkansas has 67 jobs and Texas has 1,193, which has the highest number of job openings in the country.

Losing faculty to other states is a worry for some colleges. In a recent conversation with Paul Sisson, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs at LSUS, he feared that some faculty jump ship to other neighboring states who are hiring.

This worry comes at the heals of neighboring southern states like Texas that are making a bigger push in higher education setting aside dollars for research.

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Centenary prez gets ceremony...finally

After nearly a year, Centenary's B. David Rowe will be installed as president of the college -- ceremonially.

When Rowe started at Centenary in August, he had to hit the ground running. School was starting. The economy was playing jumping jacks with the endowment. And the dean of students suddenly passed away.

So time for an official ceremony was a bit strained.

April 8, at 2 p.m.at the Gold Dome, Rowe will have his ceremony, definitely a perk of being a president.

A college presidential inauguration or investiture, in case you've never been, is grand event. There are usually a week's worth of events including receptions with alumni, a dinner or two, and the actual ceremony. The big ceremony includes faculty dresses in the academic robes, a speech from the board of regents representative, and a speech and/or battle cry from the person of the hour.

However, the festivities for Rowe are reflective of the campus' hard economic times. The event will be one day with a concert and a reception in addition to the ceremony.

To learn more or RSVP click here.

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SUSLA recruits with rhymes

SUSLA's Student Government Association is organizing a recruitment day. Special guests will include Louisiana rappers Bay Bay, Mystikal, and Hurricane Chris.

AnWhat Entertainment is putting this event together along with the campus' SGA. Nnena Oka, that company's representative, said the event isn't a concert so much as a way to motivate high school seniors to apply to college. SUSLA in particular.

"This (event) is to raise awareness and to bring up the college rate, its also motivation to stay in education," she said.

Motivation is needed. The drop out rate for Caddo Parish, according to the 2009 Kids Count survey, is 8.6 percent. Meaning, that 1,107 students didn't make it to graduation.

Break that number down by racial lines, however, you have a bigger story. According to the same report, 11.1 percent of black students dropped out before their senior year of high school.

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Centenary prof wins award

Centenary accounting and finance professor Barbara Davis is the recipient of the 2010 Federation of Business Disciplines Outstanding Educator Award.

Davis is the Samuel Guy Sample Chair in Business Administration. She received the award March 5 during the Southwest Finance Association‘s annual meeting in Dallas, Texas.

“Barbara has been a longtime active member and has held every office in the Southwestern Finance Association,” said James Philpot, President of the Southwestern Finance Association. “The membership of the association knows that Barbara works tirelessly for her students, institution and the profession.  Her work with the SWFA has assisted colleagues worldwide in furthering their scholarly work.”

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Louisiana not the only ones feeling the cuts.

This story from the Chronicle of Higher Education reminds me of a conversation I've had with one of the administrators from ones of the local campuses.

He said the time not to panic was last year. Today, panic.

And so we're in a state of panic in higher education in Louisiana. Cuts have lead to drastic decisions short of massive layoffs.

Since Dec. 2008 each school's budget has been cut. Here's how it breaks down,

SUSLA -- $1.4 million


BPCC -- $2.75 million


I'll update this post with LSUS' total soon. 


Every state is having issues with budgets being slashed and higher education isn't any different. 

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