University Business - June 2010 - (Page 16)

Behind the news Financial Literacy Program Pays Off with Award HeLPing STudenTS LeArn HOw TO geT A firm grip on personal finances is getting more attention in higher ed. The College at Brockport, State University of New York, is this year’s winner of the national Student Loan Program’s (nSLP) Financial Literacy Leadership Award. The award recognizes institutions that provide strong education about this money matter to students. The Brockport campus was recognized for hitting a number of milestones: • Program impact. Officials reached an estimated 1,100 students over a five-month period by adapting their financial literacy program to reach students in the venues they know best—the classroom, residence halls, student unions, and online—which increased accessibility. Brockport also coached parents with the same financial skills to help reinforce what their students were learning on campus. • Collaborative approach: Brockport executed the program through several campus offices: financial aid, undergraduate admissions, first-year experience, student support, and residential life, among others. • Innovative methods: Brockport extended limited financial literacy resources by using nSLP financial counselors to teach money management skills, training volunteers to teach and mentor other students, and supplementing in-person training with online training. Brockport officials hope students will learn to borrow fewer college loans and carry less credit card debt. “we think students who are adept at managing money are less likely to have financial problems that can cause them to drop out of college,” says Scott Atkinson, assistant VP of enrollment management. To learn more about Brockport’s efforts and nSLP’s financial literacy award, visit www.nslp.com. —M.H. U Surveying the Transfer Process Thanks To rankings lisTs, everyone has some idea of The criteria colleges and universities use when deciding which first-year freshmen applicants to admit. The check list for transfer students, however, hasn’t been as well documented. a recent report from the national association for College admission Counseling sheds some light on the qualities institutions look for in transfer students. Based on a supplement to the 2006 admission Trends survey administered by naCaC, the Transfer admission survey was built with guidance from andrew flagel, associate vice president for enrollment development and dean of admission at George Mason University (va.), who was working on a dissertation. some of the results confirmed flagel’s expectations, says david hawkins, director of public policy and research for naCaC. for instance, postsecondary performance trumps high school grades with more than 90 percent of survey respondents rating overall postsecondary gPa as “considerably important.” “nothing predicts college success more than college success,” hawkins says. The transfer questions were included in a section of the admission Trends survey that rotates on a regular basis. hawkins says they will probably be repeated this year or next with the 2006 data serving as a baseline. he admits other organizations are much more experienced with the transfer process than naCaC, but still hopes high school and community college counselors will find the new data informative as they guide students through the transfer process. a Pdf of the report is at www.nacacnet.org/Publicationsresources/research /documents/Transferfactsheet.pdf. —Ann McClure government Faults VA Tech in 2007 Shooting THe VerdicT iS in, BuT THAT dOeSn’T necessarily mean Virginia Tech agrees with it. A report by the u.S. department of education of the tragic shooting spree in 2007 that left 32 people dead concluded that the university should have provided more rapid information. After two students were found shot in a dorm, the report said, there was a delay of nearly two hours before an e-mail threat advisory was issued to the rest of the school. That delay was a violation of the federal clery Act that requires institutions to give timely warnings of crimes that could endanger students and employees. SOUND BITE “Virginia Tech failed to issue adequate warnings in a timely manner,” said the report, which was released May 18. But school officials contend they “acted appropriately in their response to the tragic events of April 16, 2007, based on the best information then available to them,” according to a written response. “Prior to the norris Hall shootings,” the response said, “all the evidence indicated that a crime of targeted violence had occurred and there was not an ongoing threat. This was not the conclusion of one police department, but three independent agencies.” —Tim Goral ‘i t really fits into the notion of access, which is what we do. —Norma Kent, spokeswoman for the American Association of Community Colleges, on the proliferation of midnight classes at community colleges ‘ 16 | June 2010 universitybusiness.com http://www.nacacnet.org/PublicationsResources/Research/Documents/TransferFactSheet.pdf http://www.nacacnet.org/PublicationsResources/Research/Documents/TransferFactSheet.pdf http://www.nslp.com http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - June 2010

University Business - June 2010
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Behind the News
Sense of Place
Financial Aid
Internet Technology
2010 Higher Education Guide to Audio/Visual Services
Green 2010
Viewpoint
The Quest for Internationals
What's New
End Note

University Business - June 2010