ADVANCED EDUCATION, PART 2

WE HAVE GREAT COLLEGES IN VIRGINIA

No mistake about it, Virginia is blessed with comparably some of the best schools in the country. We have strong research universities, as well as smaller public and private colleges that have their niche in particular categories or that focus on providing the education needed in various parts of the state. All these should constantly look to do better and be a greater value for families.

RATINGS

As I wrote last week, several of our universities dropped in the ratings nationally this year according to the US News and Report. Some of those rating changes may well be because of how the Report changed the value of some of the issues they evaluated from previous years. However, the public should be aware of those rating changes and evaluate for themselves their opinions of colleges.

However, maybe instead of relying too much on other entities’ evaluations, it is time for legislators to set the rules of evaluation and require colleges and high school guidance counselors to more widely make those evaluations known to students as they make choices about where to go to college and what they should consider for their major.

I propose better things to consider are the following:

1.  What percentage of graduates are employed within five years in a field associated with their major?

2.  What percentage of graduates after five years are earning the income that was expected upon entering college?

Rating and publishing this information every year would mean far more than any national rating.

Additionally, I believe it would be a great asset for guidance counselors to require talking to students concerning what are their three most likely realms they are considering majoring in. Then show how many individuals are hired each year and their average salary.

In turn, the same information should be shared upon arrival and registering for classes. That information is already compiled by the state.

GO TEC

I wrote about GO TEC last week. Some were concerned that it was geared to compete with academic programs. Nothing could be further from the truth. Traditionally, in middle school, six graders are allowed to take one elective, such things as band, chorus, etc. What the introductory programs do is afford students to have more options.

The student can sample options in middle school. Some might discover an interest they never had before. Medical related classes could guide some to careers at every level from techs to doctors. Likewise, machining could produce more welders or more engineers.

The goal is to open our young people’s eyes.



WE LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!

We love to hear from you! You can reach us at [email protected], 434-374-5129 or P.O. Box 332, Clarksville, VA 23927.



It seemed that all our appliances had broken in the same week, and repairs were straining our budget. So when I picked up the kids from school and our Jeep started making rattling sounds, I decided that rather than burden my husband, I'd deal with it. I hadn't reckoned on my little tattletales, however. They rushed into the house with the news: "Daddy, the Jeep was breaking down, but Mom made the noise stop!"

Impressed, my husband asked, "How did you fix it?"

"I turned up the volume on the radio," I confessed.