Study Aboard A Program That is Cutting to Make It More Available

By: Ryan Dettmann

In college one of the most valuable experiences that is available to students is studying aboard. Though there is a conception that studying aboard is generally more expensive of than studying in the United States. For the most part this is true, but at several colleges studying aboard is near or a little above in-state tuition for all students. This can be a big draw to out-of-state students who generally have to pay higher tuition.

Also with big draw of in-state tuition increasingly colleges are expanding to international campuses or branch campuses. The number of these branch campuses is up 43% compared to three years ago making more places available to students to study at and immerse themselves in different cultures, which can sometimes make a student more valuable to a company even in economic hardships. Although the economy is down, colleges have tried cutting unnecessary parts in their study aboard programs or have shortened them. Another way colleges and universities have tried to do to cut costs is go to places other than Europe like South America, Africa, and Asia. But even by going to places other than Europe the ticket price which can sometimes be around $2,000, which can make it just as expensive to go to Europe. Also in places like Georgia students can get the HOPE scholarship, that can also cover the costs of study aboard programs. Though the study aboard program can be a valuable experience, some warn that the international campuses may not reflect the home campuses academic standards.

Many students have the opportunity to study aboard and should do so, because it can make a person more marketable but also knowledgeable of the world outside their community or nation. Although it is hard to cover for studying aboard costs, colleges are trying to cut down on them to make it more available to students to get a worldly higher education.

Procrastination - Your Choice

By : Utsav Akhoury





Procrastination is a term every college student should know by now.Procrastination refers to the deferment of actions or tasks to a later time. In college students are bombarded with assignments and work load. It is up to the students to keep up with the amount of work or to suffer later. According to a survey most college students abide by procrastination. They always finish their assignments at the nick of the due time.

Students feel that as long as the task is done by the due time , they have done a good job but that is not the case. By procrastinating they put more pressure on themselves as more and more work piles up. Procrastination is known to cause a lot of stress related problems with students. Due to procrastination students tend to get nervy when doing work as the due time is always their on their mind. This ultimately has a negative impact on their grade and as a result the student's academic performance goes down. Students have the choice to finish their assignments early and breathe freely without stress and nervousness. The college administration must also take certain steps to make sure students avoid procrastination at all costs.


Students need to avoid procrastinating and start working. Delay other activities and finish the work at hand before waiting for the deadline to approach. Its the student's choice.Make use of the opportunity given to attend college and come out as an ace.

To Many People Smoking?

By: William Hodges

Smoking among college students has not decreased over the past thirty years like the national smoking average has. It remains extremely high and is a concern to medical professionals all over the world. A study done by no-smoking.org reported that nearly fifty percent of all college kids had smoked some sort of tobacco product within the past year. Now this does mean that some people might not be frequent smokers but they statistics still stands out especially when compared to the national smoking average which has decreased by over half in thirty years. According to ygoy.com the percentage of smokers in the United States is about twenty-three percent which is less than half of the number that smoke in college. According to the University of Rhode Island about half of college students have “unsuccessfully quit in the past year.” This is a startling statistic because it truly shows the addictiveness of cigarettes.
It is not a new fact that cigarettes are one of the leading causes of death in the United States and this is the reason why so many people are looking into the problem with smoking in colleges. A study done by the “Statistics and Research Service” shows that there is a large correlation between the people that smoke cigarettes and their affiliation with a fraternity or sorority. This shows that smoking is largely a way for people to demonstrate that they are “cool” to other people. Many schools such as Gainesville state college have created a smoke free campus where students are not allowed at any time to smoke. This has greatly diminished students exposure to second hand smoke which has been shown to kill about fifty thousand people a year in the us alone. This problem is one that I killing many and is not one that can easily be solved. School such as Gainesville have started to make good progress in the decrease in smoking on college campuses but it is nowhere near gone.

ROTC A Program that All Colleges Should Have?

By: Ryan Dettmann

Though colleges campus are sometimes one of the most liberal places in societies, some have Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) programs. But with the Increasing debt and more people worrying about the finances, it makes ROTC programs more appealing to those with tight budgets, so should most colleges if not all colleges have an ROTC program. These programs not only help our national security, but provide those with limited access to higher education.

In the recent couple of years, ROTC enrollment has risen significantly. The Navy Program is one of the programs that have seen this with an increase of enrollment of 17 percent. The Army has seen an increase of over 2,000 students and 1,000 for the Air Force compared to last years enrollments. There has also been an increase in the applications to military academies. With the increase in enrollment it makes it interesting why some colleges do not have an ROTC program. The debate on campuses on whether to have ROTC program is prevalent throughout the nation like Columbia University which was softly criticized by both Senator McCain and President Obama, who thought any college without an opportunity to join the military is a mistake. This debate is prevalent on several college campuses, Harvard was one of these colleges, until they decided to have their ROTC program but have it off their campus. But the need for colleges to have an ROTC is increasing and each student should have access to join the military while receiving education.

The ROTC program provides education for those who seek to serve the military while receiving higher education, but it also provides education to those who do not normally have such an opportunity. The need for colleges to provide ROTC and has been supported by both McCain and Obama.

Studying without exercising makes problems

By Jae Yu Ko

A lot of students study hard when they attempt to manage their GPA. But, if they do not exercise or take a rest while studying, they will not be able to study for a long time. So, every college has its own recreation center for students to exercise. Students can swim, play balls, make muscles, and do running. There is much difference between people who exercise and do not while studying.

Exercise helps students study for a long time in colleges. Especially, it is not good for a person to be sick during the final exam days. For example, a person usually does not exercise in colleges. He has a lot of work by the next day. He thinks that it takes at least 5 hours to finish all his work. When he gets half of his work finished and takes 3 hours, he feels that he cannot continue finishing the rest of his work. It means that because he feels tired, he cannot finish his work. When he recognized that he is tired, he needs to exercise to take a break and to help him continue studying. Finally, he could not turn in his homework to the professor. He realized that studying without exercising does not help him stay longer. Thus, exercise makes a person healthy and it is necessary for a student to keep his body healthy to help study.

It is important for a student to keep his body healthy because it helps him study. Colleges also suggest students exercising a lot before studying. Therefore, studying without exercising makes a person tired and unhealthy.

Natives and Transfers: The Discrepency in Campus Involvement

By: Kristi Painter



We often hear about the difficulties of transferring to a new school when a person is in elementary, middle, or high school. Making new friends, adjusting to new teachers, and other obstacles are faced by a majority of children, however, we rarely focus on the difficulties of transferring between colleges. Ben Terris state that a recent study, dubbed “Nessie”, shows a majority of transfer college students do not participate in major campus activities which are offered for the benefit of the student body. Comparatively, a majority of the “native” students do participate in these types of activities, such as internships and study abroad opportunities.


Over the years colleges have settled into a routine which they find is beneficial to their statistics and rankings but fail to see the harm it has on other students. “[C]olleges tend to put more effort into first-year enhancement, as a means of improving their retention rates, than into programming for older students.” Colleges should welcome transfer students just as warmly as they do freshman students so that opportunities for personal and academic achievement are not missed. If an effort was put in to “do more to engage all… students” then transfer students would feel more welcome and integrated into their new community. Without the information and guidance provided by the college itself a transfer student may be simply unaware of the opportunities provided for students. Many of these opportunities build valuable personal, academic, and business skills that can only be accessed through experience. Most colleges provide wonderful opportunities which can be hard to find by yourself, therefore, they have the responsibility of communicating to all students.

College Admissions: Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

By: Stewart Hall

College admissions are severely flawed. It is known that students filling out college applications often word their applications in ways to make them sound like better candidates. What is not discussed to the same extent is how colleges misrepresent their admissions process. The system allows for misrepresentation on both sides which completely defeats the purpose of an admissions process.

The purpose of an admissions process is to make sure that a student is a good match for a particular school. The school is supposed to accurately describe what type of environment it offers and the student is supposed to accurately describe what they are like. In theory, this allows admissions officers to find the students that will fit best at their school. The problem is that there is a conflict of interests on both sides. On the school's side, admissions officers would like to increase the school's prestige. So they may find themselves in conflict between accepting a student who will fit the best versus a student who will make the school look better in the long run. Additionally, some school's have to deal with demographics quotas which can result in conflicts of interest. Finally, the student also misrepresents to the school what they are like in an attempt to fit the "mold" that they think the school is looking for. In the end, this can lead to groups of students who do not fit correctly at the schools they are accepted to. This system does not function the way it should and it should be changed so that the needs of students and the needs of the school can be met.

Benifits of Excercise

By: William Hodges

During college students encounter lots of mental wear on their bodies. This comes from the extreme amount of studying and the stress that is put on them from their classes. According to the insight Journal there is a link between stress and anxiety, depression, heart disease and stroke. Along with this, stress is just not mentally fun to deal with. While college students do have to face stress, there are many ways to help relieve it. One of the best ways is exercise. According to Thomas Jefferson, a person should "give about two of them [hours], every day, to exercise; for health must not be sacrificed to learning. A strong body makes the mind strong." The benefits of exercise are not newly understood. For centuries people have realized the importance of exercise on health. But in college though, exercise is extremely important. With the change in people eating habits and lack of physical activity that comes with college, exercise is a must in any college students life. As I wrote before in a blog post, eating habits change dramatically in college and people begin to eat bad foods excessively. The best way to fix this, (other than eating correctly) is to get good exercise and to work out properly. According to teens health, it is recommended that college students get at lead one hour of physical activity in every day of the week. This will counter act the negative effects of a poor diet and help to ease the daily stress of a college student. By doing this a student should begin to feel much better throughout the day and will be able to cope with the stress of work in college much easier.

Ask For Help Whenever You Need It

By : Utsav Akhoury




Colleges have numerous resources for the student to use in case he or she is having trouble with something. These services are like tutoring services, health services, International student services, academic advising and also advising for work related subjects. But these services will not come to the students, its up to the students to use these resources when they need to but if the students feel withdrawn from using these resources, the student will continue suffering from the problem that he or she was.

Students need to have to have the courage to say ," Yes, I need help." The main reason that student services provided by colleges to students are not utilized well is that students are afraid to ask for help. The college administration needs to make sure that students are comfortable with asking for help. Promoting these services through the internet and mainly via email is the best way for students to realize that these resources are for them to use. Colleges should also hold certain mandatory seminars in the beginning of the term for students only on these services.

Once the students are comfortable with asking for help and these resources are properly utilized by them when in need, success for the students will follow. These services are for our own good and will not come crawling to the students itself unless asked for.

With Economic Problems, Are In-State Applicants At a Disadvantage

By: Ryan Dettmann

As many colleges began to endure the hard economic times that are afflicting much of the United States, many consider how much college budgets will be cut and that they’ll will have to slash their spending. But what not many are considering is how the economically suffering colleges are affecting in-state applicants and their acceptance into college. With the recent crunch in funds for colleges, colleges have turned to admitting more out-of-state student applicants putting in-state applicants at a disadvantage.

Many states have cut college funds, in some states reaching $16 billion and totaling almost $180 billion in a budget gap. This had made colleges reduce retirement contributions, even adjust furloughs, and make cuts in other areas. This has led colleges to seek other ways to bridge their budget gaps. One of the ways that colleges are trying to do is admit more out-of-state applicants, who have to pay more than in-state applicants. This has occurred at some colleges like University of Vermont who’s incoming class is three-fourths out-of-state residents and Rutgers University who are planning to increase their out-of-state acceptance from 10% to 25%. The question is where does this leave in-state students applying to in-state flagship colleges and the answer to that sometimes is that they are likely to be less favored to be accepted than an out-of-state student. This can occasionally leave students to either go to less prestigious in-state institutions or more prestigious out-of-state college, which sometimes they are more likely to go to the out-of-state.

Although some colleges money doesn’t specifically goes to the college and some states have numerous highly qualified universities, the increasing out-of-state acceptance rates are putting in-state applicants at a disadvantage in receiving an affordable higher education.

The Reason That a Teachers’ Tssistant is Needed in Colleges

By: Jae Yu Ko

Several universities today have both teachers and their assistants to teach students for a few subjects. Usually, teachers’ assistants are graduates because they have been studying in graduate schools while they teach students. It means that they may know better than older professors. As in math and science classes, teachers’ assistants work to teach students and help them learn better about materials. Mostly, students have to understand both concept and how to solve problems based on the concept. Thus, it is necessary for teachers’ assistants to help students comprehend concept and solving problems better.

A number of colleges require teachers’ assistants for some specific subjects such as math and science. To help students understand, teacher’s assistants need to go into the questions and the concept of materials. For instance, in Georgia Tech, there are a lot of teachers’ assistants on Calculus and chemistry. To understand Calculus and chemistry, students have to know the concept before solving the problems. Basically, professors teach the concept of the materials and TAs teach students how to solve the problems based on the concept. Professors without TAs burden too much for main subjects because there are excessive materials for students to learn. So, even though both professors and TAs work for students, the book is not usually completed until the semester is ended.

Teachers’ assistants play an important role in helping students understand better about the materials. Nowadays, a lot of universities use teachers’ assistants and universities which do not have any teachers’ assistants will need them. Therefore, teaching students better can affect the ranking on the college lists and the fame of colleges.

Student Success: Reversing the Graduation Crisis

By: Kristi Painter

In schools across the country students are being neglected because of poor administration and faculty practices. Universities have lessened their focus in aiding students that are in academic trouble, whether it be because they do not understand the course materials or are simply lazy. Kevin Carey reports that Graduation rates at Chicago State have been on a steady decline for the past two decades, going as low as twelve percent. “Chicago is the city where dreams of college graduation go to die.” Chicago State, and many others, have extremely low standards and do nothing to motivate their students to achieve success in the classroom or in their lives. Very little, however, is being done to right this situation. Some universities are facing the loss of accreditation but, unfortunately, the accreditation boards have very loose standards themselves. Therefore, it is difficult to tell when a university is truly out of bounds.

It seems that through all of the accreditation chaos an important element has been forgotten: the students. Today’s failing universities should be concerned first with the students who are directly affected by the low graduation rates. The Georgia Institute of Technology is a good example of an institution which helps its students to succeed despite difficult course work and hectic schedules. The Office of Success Programs at Tech provides numerous workshop and tutoring opportunities for struggling students. It really does not matter how difficult a given institutions course work is. If the institution does not provide their students with the knowledge of how to be successful, their students will continue to be unmotivated and not graduate.

Does Our School Encourage Lazy Students?

By: Stewart Hall

The argument that today's students have the wrong attitude towards learning continues to be a hot topic in higher education. Some people believe that students are too goal oriented and see college as just another step to getting a job rather than an enhancement of the self as it should be viewed. While these people tend to blame this on the general attitude of our generation, it may have a lot to do with the way schools are now run.

The attitudes of students may actually have a lot to do with the policies and assessment criteria of today's universities. Probably the biggest problem with students that are lazy is the disconnect between their attitude and the attitude necessary to succeed in a job. In many jobs, the worker is competing against other candidates and him/herself to impress their. It seems that the real disconnect may be a result of the difference between how students are evaluated and how employees are evaluated. Students are evaluated on whether or not they complete the requirements of an assignment on time. Employees are evaluated on how productive they are, as well as how innovative they are. In the workplace, 100% is not pre-defined. It is defined by the quantity and quality of work attained by the highest performing worker. If we want students to take on the attitudes of a person in the workplace and be better prepared for a career, it may be time for a change in how students are evaluated.

Be Safe, Not Sorry

By : Utsav Akhoury





Through out college life, one has to be safe and not try to be a brave heart and take risks. Risks such as leaving the dorm late at night alone , or leaving his or her possessions open to the world thinking nothing will happen. The main reason why college crime rate has dramatically increased in the past few years is that students think that it is impossible that they might become a victim of crime.

Students , especially freshman, get the feeling of independence when they arrive in college. They do not easily accept that they too can become victims of certain crimes if they do not live with safety. Common on campus crimes are burglary , grand theft auto , and sexual offenses. This all happens because of the carefree attitude of students. They need to take responsibility of their actions and they need to choose whether to be safe or be sorry. Campus police have a huge responsibility on their shoulders and students make it more difficult for them when they stop being safe. Students must foremost travel with a group of people , especially after dark and they must always keep their vital possessions with themselves or locked up in their dorm rooms.


Students must realize that, they are not under the protection from their parents but they are now individuals responsible for their own actions. College's must make sure that students realize this early on so as to avoid any sort of harm to the students.

Theft in Higher Education

By: William Hodges

Feeling safe and that your valuables are safe is slowing diminishing on college campuses. As crime increases students can’t help but feel like they are starting to become prisoners at their own school. According to collegestudentsaftey.com “One of the most common types of campus crime in this day and age is theft, including dorm room theft.” “[T]he reality is that over 80% of all crimes reported at colleges…are property crimes.” Because of this students need to keep valuables with them at all times and never leave their book bag anywhere out of sight. Common items that are stolen from college students include “cell phones, laptops, cash, credit cards, iPods, and bicycles.” Having many of these stolen can have costly consequences for the owners.

Many schools have started to implement camera systems all over campus instead of just around big buildings. This helps to deter a lot of the theft and if something is stolen it is much easily recovered. Although camera systems are being implemented at many universities, it does not help in the matter of dorm room theft which is one of the most common versions of theft on campuses. Many college students forget to lock their doors when leaving their dorms and many will prop their doors open when using the bathroom or taking a shower so they do not have to bring a key with them. This is prime time for a thief who could be in and out of your dorm room with a television in the matter of seconds. College students need to start being much more aware of their belongings and start trying to actively prevent theft even when they feel like they are safe and that no one is going to steal their belongings.

Professors: Should They Be Considered Researchers Instead?

By: Ryan Dettmann

Throughout the decades education has progressed and with it teachers and their responsibilities. Now most teachers or professors have limited responsibilities in teaching and spend most of their time teaching. But few have considered or done anything about how this effects students. The movement of responsibilities from teaching to research has made it harder for students to learn or get ahold of their professors if they need help.

In the Merriam-Webster dictionary a professor is defined as “a teacher at a university, college or sometimes secondary school” or a “one that teaches or profess special knowledge of an art, sport, or occupation requiring skill.” But in today’s higher education teaching is a small meager part of professors work. The breakdown of their time spent in areas can vary but is generally around 75, 15, 15 with 75 percent being time spent in research, 15 percent of it teaching, the rest being other academic responsibilities. This little amount for teaching puts students as a small part of the professors job and emphasis on research. One of the main reasons why colleges emphasize research is because it is one of the main ways colleges get there funding. Also with tenure students can sometimes get difficult or bad professors, because of tenure. But the American Association of University Professors is considering to revise the tenure system that would replace the existing one. One of the main parts is its emphasis on teaching more at teaching universities while at research universities there should be more on research, but both of them will be balanced several years at the university and achieving tenure.

The current system in which professors time is focused takes away from teaching, though it is a beneficial to have professors researching forefront of new information for their field. But with the new draft on tenure it may even out research and teaching a some helping students learn more effectively.

Problems of Online Classes in Colleges

By: Jae Yu Ko

Many students take required classes to learn lesson in colleges. Besides going to classes, there are a number of online classes in colleges. It means that students have classes with their laptop or have classes in their rooms. However, there are several problems that students take online classes. If speaker and students’ laptops do not work well, they will not be able to listen to the professors carefully and cannot concentrate on classes. Therefore, to reduce those problems, systems for students should work well.

Online classes have several problems. Colleges usually give language classes as online classes because professors can easily explain the language through online. For example, while professors are explaining something important through the speaker in Japanese class, students really have to listen to the professors and say answers through it to professors. But, their laptops do not work suddenly and they have to participate at least one time per class. When their laptops started to work, classes are already finished and those students could not participate. So, their grades went down. As seen in the example, online classes have a few technical problems while students are in classes. Or if faculties’ laptops do not work well, classes will be cancelled. In this respect, going to classrooms is more effective than taking online classes.

Taking online classes bring several technical problems. It indicates that students cannot listen to what professors say carefully and they have to manage their laptops to reduce their technical problems. Therefore, colleges should care about these problems and when students register online classes, they will have to recognize it.

Reality or Ruse: Questioning the Financial Crisis in American Higher Education

By: Kristi Painter


It is hard to overlook the current financial state of America which has affected a majority of the population in a significant way. Common sense might tell you that if the situation is affecting every other section of the nation then it would be hitting the universities also. Our knowledge was supposedly confirmed when most tuition rates throughout the country were raised but according to Howard Bunsis,“at many campuses, there's no financial crisis at all”. Some colleges are gaining more revenue than before and many have enough savings that a financial crisis does not set them back at all. However, if this is true, why are tuitions being raised and faculty salaries being lowered?

University administrators have again set their priorities in a very businesslike manner, money first. They realize that a college education has become the standard for most young adults. We attend college even if it puts us into debt because we believe that it will give us a better future. They also realize that the faculty demands are low among all the universities making it very hard for a faculty member to quit one school because of a lowered salary. Universities are using their students and faculty and not focusing on the possible educational consequences. A lesser paid faculty member may spend their time worrying about how they are inadequately compensated for their efforts or even about if they will be able to make ends meet. Harming the educational quality of a university should not be the first thing universities resort to when their business is threatened by financial issues.

Freshman Forgiveness: Truth or Excuse?

By: Stewart Hall

A number of colleges such as Kent State and Case Western have decided that it is necessary to have a freshman forgiveness policy that allows students to re-take classes that they took their freshman year. Critics of this policy say that freshman need to learn to be responsible adults in their first year and therefore should be responsible for their grades. This may be true; however, it takes a bit of time to learn how to do this, and this period of learning should not be counted against students forever.

College is about learning. It takes time to learn. Expecting freshman to perform as responsible adults from the moment they arrive on campus is a bit like giving a final exam on the first day of class. The change from living at home to living by yourself at college is a very drastic one. There are more things to do and fewer enforced restrictions. Learning to balance activities and make good decisions is the process of learning to become a responsible adult. Just as students cannot be expected to learn academic topics immediately, they should not be expected to learn new lifestyles immediately. So, it is a good thing that schools have freshman forgiveness policies because these realize that learning is a process whether you are learning mathematics or life skills, and these schools treat each in a similar way.