One of which is In the Orlando area, returning veterans get boost in trying to adjust to college life.

This article makes some excellent points that colleges can use regardless of location. Institutions need to recognize that the usual support services available for students may not fully meet the needs of returning veterans.

Regardless of people’s positions toward  the war, we all can agree that veterans need all the support  they can get in order to adjust to college life.

There are at least a dozen or so “new” sites being launched every day  or so and  for people that are not so seasoned in education, its tough to distinguished which website has the better more trusted track record.

Also, as it has been discussed over the past week, we can’t control what others say about our instituitions on their own websites.

In the end, we can only hope that prospective students and parents alike look at these profiles in a objective way and have the wisdom to go to the official website and call directly should  they have any questions.

That is not the only question in my mind, but it has become more a part of my conversations than I care to admit.

It has been nearly 3 years since I’ve been on the teaching side of the classroom, mainly due to personal circumstances. Instead, I’ve been opting for the flexibility of my consulting schedule.  Also, people have been encouraging me to pursue a doctorate, but that’s another post for another day.

With the current environment not being in the best shape, it may be time to go back. After all,  they say that teaching encourages one to keep up with new technology and trends like in conferences.

Besides the technology in the classroom changing slightly and books being an edition or two ahead, I guess it would be like riding a bike, once you learn you never forget.

One of the surprising things the article stressed was that 1 out of 10 admissions officers look at an applicant’s social networking profile (i.e  Facebook, LinkedIn, Myspace.)

This just goes to show that keeping your profile “in check” isn’t just for career and job seekers.

If you are in admissions, are you looking at an applicant’s social profile?

How does it influence admissions decisions?

how good they have it.

I know I sound like my grandmother with her “10 miles walking to school with a brown paper bag to carry her books in” mode.

I was talking with colleagues about standing in the gym in the middle of cold January as an undergraduate waiting to add/drop my elective courses.

Now, students can register online or call in to sign-up for classes.

I also read in Lifehacker, that one of the options students have is actually renting their textbooks for the semester.

This is definitely one of those “why I didn’t I think of that” moments.

A few days ago, I talked to a former colleague who is currently enrolled in a doctorate program. She told me as part of her requirements, that she would  have to maintain a blog. This propelled me back to when I was teaching and I made my undergrad students maintain blogs.

Before one makes their students create a blog for educational purposes, there are some things that need to be addressed:

1. What is the purpose of the blog? Is it to chronicle a process, to record information or for research?

2. What happens to the information after the fact? Is it going to be turned into a paper, dissertation, and/or book?

3. Who “owns” the information? Is it the college’s or the student’s?

Pondering these questions, one can have a clear vision of what and how to proceed with their education based blog.

I’m actually reminded of an incident 5 years ago when I found a student’s marketing plan online. It is up to professors to set the tone now and not a day before a paper is due to lay down the law on references and formats.