Education and Finance

The Best Student Jobs - Online Job Opportunities Available for College Students

2009-03-29T03:55:00.000-07:00

Finding online jobs for students
When it comes to finding the best student jobs and online job opportunities available for college students these days, most college students are not too sure where to look. Especially when it comes to the online job opportunities part.

Trying to locate student jobs that will pay you well without scamming you is getting harder and harder. What you will soon read will change the way in which you look for work forever. You just have to know where to look for it.

Where is the money?
If you have spent any time at all searching out the best student jobs and online job opportunities for college students then you will probably already know just how easy it is to get scammed out there. Website after website are offering you up to $150 per hour but once you joined you were lucky if you made two bucks. Survey companies seem to be the worst for this kind of carry on which is a real shame for the handful of survey companies that actually do pay what they say they do.

Non scam jobs available for college students
There are still survey companies out there that are honest and treat their workers with care and respect, but only a few. With more than 7 years experience taking surveys you soon get to know the good guys from the scammers. But when you do find the good ones you can genuinely earn $10 - $15 for every hour spent in front of the computer.

It might not seem like a lot but it soon adds up. The best student jobs and online job opportunities available for college students don’t advertise that they will pay you gazillions of dollars per hour, instead they are a lot more realistic and offer normal pay rates.

Online Job Search Tips for International Students

2009-03-29T03:52:00.000-07:00

A reader e-mailed us a few weeks ago - she’s a senior at Columbia University, and she’s job searching. She’s had the usual frustrations with finding helpful information on companies’ career sites; however, her situations is exacerbated by the fact that she is an international student. Many students from abroad are treated like second class citizens (does that make sense, since they’re not US citizens?) in the job recruitment process solely because of their need for sponsorship to obtain a visa (did we get the terminology right?).

The simple truth is that employers have a wide range of attitudes towards international students, and it’s hard to know what their attitude will be before you invest time in the applications process. Not only are employers unwilling to hire students from abroad because of the false perception that hiring an international students is costly, time consuming, and likely to end up with the new hire leaving after 6 months or a year, but they won’t even be upfront with applicants regarding their sponsorship policies. Employers also worry that if they hire foreign students, they will end up with employees who have poor English skills. This is nonsense. If someone can’t speak the language that you do business in, don’t hire him or her - that’s what a phone interview is for. You don’t need to discriminate against an entire group because some are unfit for the job. Now, don’t get us wrong, there are many companies that truly do a great job of recruiting and hiring international students (we’ve heard Wachovia, Ernst and Young, Xerox, Conservation International, MTV World, IT Convergence, Institute of International Finance Citibank, Deloitte, JP Morgan, T-Mobile, and Lehman Brothers mentioned), but they tend to be large corporations that have the resources and the know-how to navigate the process - they may have done it 1,000 times before.

So we want to help our readers, since there are a good number of international students among the ranks, better identify which employers are international student friendly, and which aren’t. We can say for certain, that in our daily research of the best entry-level employers, we have seen very little mention of immigration status on career websites. The problem (besides employer attitudes towards students who aren’t U.S. citizens) is that we have absolutely no experience job searching from the perspective of an international student. Lucky for you, we’re pretty skilled at finding great career resources on the Internet, so we’re going to give you some excerpts, some links, and open the comments section for further discussion.

Many colleges and universities have great job search resources for international students (and all students), so check out what your college has to offer. If you can’t find anything, use the online career services resources from another college. One example is this Career Services handout for international students at the University of Virginia. If you want to find more guides like this one, use this Google query, which should provide some great career resources for international students.

Student Loan Basics

2009-03-22T03:53:00.000-07:00

There are two sources for student loans -- the federal government and private lenders. In order to obtain most federal student loans, you will first need to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). In most instances the FAFSA is required for all federal financial aid including federal student loans. There are four main federal loan programs:

You can learn the ins and outs of each at their respective pages on this site. The Federal Stafford loan is made in the name of the student, is based on need (only the subsidized portion), does not require a credit check (it's guaranteed by a private guarantor and backed by the government rather than credit/income/assets, etc.) and does not have to be repaid until after the student graduates, leaves school or stops attending on at least a half-time basis. Some schools offer Stafford loan directly through the federal government. These are commonly known as Direct Stafford Loans. The schools that offer Direct Loans are known as Direct Lending Schools. Other schools offer Stafford loans through banks or other lenders. These schools are commonly called FFEL schools (Federal Family Education Loan). In order to obtain a federal Stafford loan through a FFEL school, you will need to choose a lender.

Federal PLUS loans are made in the name of a parent. While they do require a credit check, the credit criteria to obtain a PLUS are generally not as stringent as they are for other types of consumer loans since they are based on Federal requirements. Repayment of a PLUS loan begins after the loan is fully disbursed. PLUS loans disbursed on or after 7/1/2008 may have payments postponed while the student is in school at least half-time, however interest is still accruing. Be sure to read your loan disclosure and contact your lender if you would like to postpone the payment on your PLUS loan. Again, some schools offer PLUS through the federal government and others offer it through banks or other lenders.

The Federal Graduate PLUS is just like the PLUS for parents except that it is made in the name of a graduate or professional student. However, the student must apply for the maximum annual limit of the Stafford Loan before applying for the Graduate PLUS. It is important to remember that the Federal Graduate PLUS requires payment within 60 days after the loan is fully disbursed. Deferment options are available while you are still attending school at least half-time. Check with your financial aid office. (Note: Servicers usually will automatically place Grad PLUS loans in deferment).

Federal loan consolidation is for student borrowers who are in repayment status or parent borrowers who wish to extend the repayment period on their current PLUS loans and obtain a fixed interest rate for those loans which might have a variable interest rate. You can combine all of your eligible federal student loans into one loan with a Federal Consolidation Loan. Consolidating also locks the interest rate you pay on your loan. In addition, by consolidating you can possibly lower your payments by extending the length of the repayment period for your loan. However, with the extended term, you will end up paying more in interest over the life of the loan.

If federal loans are not enough to cover your educational expenses, or if you want a loan that is in the student's name, there are private student loans (sometimes called alternative student loans). Private loans are made by banks and other lenders. They must be used solely for education expenses. They do not carry the federal benefits which FFELP and Direct Loans offer and the interest rates can be higher than federal loans. In addition, you will need good credit and most students will need a qualified co-signer in order to obtain a private loan. Also, while interest rates, fees and other loan program terms are competitive, they vary widely from lender to lender. It is important to compare your options before choosing a private loan. Once you have found a loan that meets your needs, you can usually apply online and in many cases get an instant decision on approval.

The bottom-line with student loans is that you do have options when you cannot pay all of your college costs out-of-pocket.

student finance guide

2009-02-13T23:54:00.000-08:00

According to data from National Statistics and The Times Higher Education Supplement, students now make up around 4% of the total UK population, making them a significant market. The UK population is also aging, as a result of a decline in fertility rates and the mortality rate (people are living longer and healthier). According to money education charity Credit Action, the vast majority of students are going to end up in debt, whilst according to 2004 Natwest Student Money Matters, graduates will now leave university with debts of almost £13,000.

These are significant figures, but with a little financial planning, they can be put into context.

If you (or your child) are about to start university, here are a few factors to bear in mind before departure:

Assume you will accumulate a certain amount of debt over your period of study, but don’t unduly worry about it.
If you can, take a gap year or some time out to earn money before going to university and where possible obtain a job that may have some relevance to your course
It helps if you take on a part time job at university, though this isn’t meant to distract from the studying. There are a number of employers who provide jobs for students, including universities. Many universities have schemes where students can volunteer (and get paid) as ambassadors, lab assistants, campus helpers and mentors: a part-time job doesn’t have to be off-campus
If you have to borrow , make sure you always establish the cheapest forms of credit available such as interest free overdrafts and student loans. However, remember to check your contracts when you graduate, it doesn’t take long for the Student Loans Company or your bank to start claiming back what was free money at university.
Don’t take out a credit card, you’re a student remember? That iPod and summer ball dress can wait! Keep it simple with a current account, savings accounts and your student loans. If you really find yourself considering taking out a credit card, seek advice before doing so and ensure you know when you can pay it back. As a student, credit cards should always be your last resort.
Budget if you can, and if nothing else avoid paying for everything on plastic (especially credit cards), you’ll keep better track of your spending by using cash and checking your balance regularly. Check your current account over the internet with online banking
Don’t just budget on the essential – rent, food, bills and books. The costs of those coffees between lectures will mount up, not to mention text (mobile phone) costs, printing, transport prices, gym subscriptions and membership fees to student clubs and societies
Do your financial homework online with moneynet, have you got the best current account and savings account?
Shop around for your insurance; moneynet can help you here too. Students are frequent victims of crime, not just with theft between students, but the anonymity of campus life means that wallets, laptops and mobile phones are easy to steal and if they’re not insured, you will lose the value of the stolen item and may have to pay for any damage incurred
Student grants, in the mainstream, were phased out many years ago, but there may be grants, hardship funds and bursaries available to specific courses and individuals. Do your homework in advance and don’t make assumptions.
Know what you want from your course and time in higher education, your finances and studies will benefit from a sense of purpose. There is nothing worse than graduating from university with debt and a minimal idea of where to move next, especially when those debts are being claimed back.

Invisible savings

OK, so there’s nothing like re-discovering a ten-pound note in your pocket, which you’d forgotten about, but below are a few tips which could contribute to finding a few extra quid each year at university.

Insurance: check out the different insurance options on moneynet to get your best quote. Household, motor and travel insurance will be likely considerations at some point during your course and you will find quotes vary considerably, so look at the different choices available.
Exploit your student card where possible and always investigate whether a company offers a student rate or student discount
Bulk buy and divide the cost between your flatmates
If you have to have a mobile phone, are you sure you have the best deal?
Do you pay the bills in your household? A quick search on moneynet will reveal whether you are with the cheapest supplier for you domestic bills, though remember to check with your landlord before changing suppliers

Savings

Stretch your student loans and birthday / Christmas cash gifts out as long as possible. Open up a savings account that would you give you reasonable access to your funds, whilst providing a higher rate of interest than you may get in a current account. If you have saved significant funds, which you believe you won’t need access to in the intermediate term, consider low risk options such as ISAs. Certain ISAs will also allow immediate access to funds and still give high rates of interest, so review the different options.

Dos and don’ts of student finance

Don’t lend money to other students, you may not get it back
Don’t borrow money from other students, if you have to borrow then you can’t afford it
Don’t give anyone else access to your PIN number, you will not be covered for missing funds
Be careful when putting your name on the gas, electricity or phone bill in a shared house. Draw up an agreement and if you doubt anyone’s commitment to pay then don’t share the bills. Standing orders are useful in a shared house, as financial contributions go automatically and directly to the bill-payer and they provide a form of commitment from all parties concerned
Look beyond freshers’ week when it comes to spending your student loan
There will always be students with more money than you, be philosophical about this and don’t try to keep up with unrealistic spending habits. If you have to borrow money for ‘good times’, remember it is your name on the credit card, your name on the overdraft and your credit record. Financial mistakes made when you’re a student may come back to haunt you in graduation

WHY STUDY ABROAD :

2009-02-13T23:34:00.000-08:00

In the "Why Study Abroad" section of this site, you can find statements about the importance of study abroad organized by the topic of a speaker's statement. Hear what speakers say study abroad can do for you-personally, academically, and professionally.

Choose to view a speaker's statement in regards to the following topics on why study abroad is beneficial:

Create Global Awareness

Promote International Security

Enhance Academic Learning

Develop Leadership Skills

Advance Your Career

Experience Personal Growth

Learn Another Language

Why Study Engineering?

2009-02-08T03:41:00.000-08:00

Engineers belong to the greatest profession in the world, responsible for almost everything that makes life worth living - from leisure activities to medical treatment, mobile communications to modern transport systems.

Within the wide boundaries of the engineering profession, there are thousands of challenging activities, in areas such as research, development, design, manufacture and operation of products and services. Activities which provide stimulating intellectual challenges with diverse and varied tasks, inevitably involving deadlines, and all added to the satisfaction of real output or delivery.

Demand for good engineers is high, in practically every country in the world. In the IT and electronics sectors in particular, there are world shortages of Chartered and Incorporated Engineers, and unemployment amongst professional engineers is lower than for almost any other profession.

Engineering degrees can lead to a vast number of career opportunities, with graduates in demand in almost every sector of the economy. The word used most often when referring to a career in engineering is variety; and electrical, civil, marine, chemical, software, systems, information and manufacturing engineering offer a host of alternative job opportunities for new graduates. Specialisations range from Automation to Power Generation and from Communications to Manufacturing. Within each of these fields, there are opportunities in research, design, development and tests, as well as management, production, marketing and sales. A degree can also provide a passport into the world of education.

Professional engineers also stand a better chance of becoming a chief executive than any other professional, outnumbering accountants by three to one!

The environment in which engineering professionals work has never been more dynamic. New materials, technologies and processes are being developed all the time. Increasing globalisation, new markets, and changing employment patterns also mean that an engineering career is now a truly international one.

How to Qualify

At school, students should take a board range of subjects covering both art and sciences. Mathematics and Physics are usually essential, but English is also important, and a foreign language desirable. Minimum qualifications for entry to an Engineering degree course are normally 'A' levels or equivalent in Mathematics and Physics, but a third subject in either the Arts or Sciences ensures a wider choice of degree options. Students without the relevant 'A' levels have the opportunity to 'convert' on one-year pre-entry courses at selected universities.

With the exception of a few specialist courses, it is common for all students to take the same subjects in the first year(s) of a degree, before going on to specialise in the final year(s), when they can choose from a number of options. For this reason, when selecting a course it is important to check what options are available, especially if undergraduates already have a specific career in mind. However, specialising in one area whilst at University does not preclude working in another field of the profession at a later date.

What type of degree?

There is a wide variety of undergraduate and postgraduate courses available worldwide, many of which are discussed in the articles listed on the left. However, in the end, the choice of which course to take must be a personal one, dependent on the aims, circumstances and preferences of the individual student.

After Graduation

A degree is only the beginning of the formation of a professional engineer. In order to qualify for membership of a professional engineering institution, or to qualify for Chartered Engineering status, graduates will often have a minimum of two years industrial training, and two years career development in a responsible position.

Embarking on a training programme in a major industry enables new graduates to develop experience of a wide range of jobs, and acquire a broad understanding of engineering activity outside their own branch. Students who were sponsored during their degree courses may already have spent time in industry, and will have started to give their academic studies an industrial perspective. Postgraduate training also offers graduates the chance to keep their career options open, as the opportunity to experience the work of different sectors of an industry can open up new areas of interest not previously appreciated.

The IEE accredits industrial training programmes, each year producing a list of companies that undertake to provide accredited training.

A Rewarding Future

There is little doubt that the world of engineering - and all that it encompasses -offers exciting opportunities for both men and women. The industrial and economic success of every nation is rooted firmly in its manufacturing and engineering base, and the skills and ingenuity of its professional engineers. The ability to research, develop and apply new technologies is essential, particularly in today's global markets.

In the UK alone, engineering-led industry contributes about 40% of its gross domestic product, and is the 'goose that lays the golden eggs' for its national economy. From space travel to household electrician, the role of the engineer is crucial. For anyone looking for a rewarding future with a wide variety of employment prospects, there has never been a more exciting time to embark on a career in engineering.

USA MBA and Business Programmes

2009-02-08T03:34:00.000-08:00

AMERICAN INTERCONTINENTAL UNIVERSITY LOS ANGELES
The MBA program in Global Technology Management at AIU – Los Angeles takes the essential skills from our International Business program and combines them with key skills from our Information Technology program to produce this Master’s program

ARTHUR D. LITTLE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
Deliver a clearly focused, practical management education based on the experiences and expertise of both Arthur D. Little's international consultants and distinguished business faculty

BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL
MBAi - Master of Business Administration International, MAief - Master of Arts in International Economics and Finance, Ph.D - Ph.D in International Economic and Finance, MSF - Master of Science in Finance (part-time)

BRENAU UNIVERSITY
M.B.A.'s in accounting, leadership development, and healthcare management are available from the Department of Business Administration, which has a 25-year history of offering M.B.A. programs.

BOSTON COLLEGE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
Committed to academic excellence and service to others, the University serves a diverse body of scholars from across the United States and more than 90 foreign countries

UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE
A. GARY ANDERSON SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
A tradition of academic excellence and an innovative student-centered curriculum characterize the MBA Program at The A. Gary Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California, Riverside.

FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
ALVAH H. CHAPMAN JR., GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS
The Alvah H. Chapman, Jr. Graduate School of Business at Florida International University (FIU), is South Florida's most important center for graduate international business and information technology (IT) management education and research.

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
SLOAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT
A world leader in management education and research, the MIT Sloan School prepares managers for success in a rapidly evolving and highly competitive global business climate

SCHILLER INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY MBA PROGRAMME
MBA program courses involve theoretical and practical applications strategic decision-making, teamwork and group mobilisation, understanding diverse interdependent environmental forces, and incorporating ethical standards into business decisions.

SOUTHERN NEW HAMPSHIRE UNIVERSITY
MBA PROGRAM
The curriculum for the MBA program is designed to prepare students for middle management and senior management positions. There is a strong international focus with many international students and several overseas campuses. A strong distance education program allows our mba to be taken from anywhere in the world.

HAUB SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, SAINT JOSEPH'S UNIVERSITY - MBA PROGRAMS
A leader in all types of executive education, the Haub School offers five acclaimed executive programs: 21-month Executive MBA, One-Year Executive MBA, Executive Pharmaceutical Marketing MBA, On-Line Executive Pharmaceutical Marketing MBA, Executive Food Marketing M.S.

THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-PAN AMERICAN
COLLEGE OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION MBA PROGRAM
The MBA Program is designed for those wanting to pursue advanced study to enhance their business and administrative careers. The degree gives the student exposure to management and the analytical decision-making skills needed to function in a changing business environment

UNION GRADUATE COLLEGE MBA PROGRAMS
Graduate Management study at Union is a very special experience. Union's first-rate faculty delivers a flexible, global curriculum within a "small college" environment with the opportunities of a strong global MBA.

VIRGINIA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY
VIU’s MBA program enables students to develop expertise in the core business areas of management, finance, marketing, and decision-making

In Study Abroad, Gifts and Money for Universities

2009-02-05T23:10:00.000-08:00

As overseas study has become a prized credential of the undergraduate experience, a competitive, even cutthroat, industry has emerged, with an army of vendors vying for student money and universities moving to profit from the boom.

Skip to next paragraph

Shea Roggio for The New York Times

Brendan Jones, a former Columbia student now in architectural salvage, spent his junior year at Oxford through an outside firm, not a program approved by Columbia. After Columbia refused to transfer those credits, he stayed at Oxford and graduated.

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Enrolled Overseas

At many campuses, study abroad programs are run by multiple companies and nonprofit institutes that offer colleges generous perks to sign up students: free and subsidized travel overseas for officials, back-office services to defray operating expenses, stipends to market the programs to students, unpaid membership on advisory councils and boards, and even cash bonuses and commissions on student-paid fees. This money generally goes directly to colleges, not always to the students who take the trips.

Critics say that these and similar arrangements, which are seldom disclosed, typically limit student options and drive up prices for gaining international credentials compared with the most economical alternative — enrolling directly in a foreign university, paying generally lower tuition to that institution and having the credits transferred. Some campuses require students to use one of several affiliated providers, but some even have exclusive arrangements with study-abroad agents, further limiting options.

Many of these perks are similar, if not identical, to ones uncovered in multiple investigations into the student loan industry, where lenders gave colleges bonuses tied to loan volume, seats on advisory boards and free travel to conferences in the race to get on so-called preferred lender lists. The similarities raise questions about how many aspects of higher education involve such little-known incentives that may have large impacts on the college experience.

For example, the American Institute for Foreign Study offers college officials a free trip to one of its overseas sites for every 15 students that sign on and a 5 percent share of the fees that students pay, according to a copy of its agreement with the University of Mary Washington; if fewer than 15 sign on, the payback is 2 percent. According to its Web site, the institute has deals with universities nationwide, including the University of California, Berkeley; Fordham and Pace in New York, and Rice in Houston.

Amy Bartnick-Blume, a vice president of the nonprofit Institute for Study Abroad, which is affiliated with Butler University in Indiana, said the institute gave colleges with which it has “exclusive agreements” up to $500 per student for restricting them to the institute’s programs in a given region. The practice in effect shuts out the competition. Ms. Bartnick-Blume said that the colleges decide whether to pass the savings on to students and that the institute had no way of knowing how many do.

“We’re all wringing our hands about how to make it possible for lower income kids to participate in study abroad,” said Barmak Nassirian, associate executive director at the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers. “But one of the reasons it costs so much is all this institutional mediation.”

No regulations govern study abroad programs, except a voluntary code of ethics from an industry trade group that limits members to “gifts that are of nominal value and that do not seem intended to influence professional decisions.”

But Brian Whalen, the president of the Forum on Education Abroad, another industry group that is charged with creating standards for study abroad programs, said more transparency was needed so that students knew about arrangements with outside providers that had an impact on their costs or options.

Dr. Whalen, who is also the executive director of study abroad at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., said overseas site visits for educators, when given in exchange for student participation in a program, crossed an ethical line. As for payments from outside providers, he said, the danger is that colleges may come to rely on the money. Then, he said, study abroad officials may think, “If it goes away, we’re going to be in trouble with our office.”

Austria Jobs 2009: PhD and Post-Doc positions Geospatial indicators for disaster risk management

2009-02-02T04:09:00.000-08:00

Info Beasiswa S1 S2 S3 diploma scholarship

Please find below the currently open vacancies at the Centre for
Geoinformatics (Z_GIS), Salzburg University – Austria.

Geospatial indicators for disaster risk management (PhD position)

The announced PhD position (30 hours/week) is available from March
2009 (as soon as possible) for 2.5 years, with an option for further
extension and contract renewal in October 2011.

Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the research coordinator at Z_GIS, and
the direct supervision of the project coordinator, the successful
applicant will function as a project collaborator (researcher) and
will perform the following functions:

· contributes to the preparation and provision of project deliverables;

· participates in workshops and meetings;

· tracks schedules of tasks;

· develops an own research plan for the PhD thesis, in line
with envisaged achievements of project- or organizational objectives.

Earth observation for energy studies (Post-Doc position)

The announced PostDoc position (40 hours / week) is available from May
2009 for 3 years, with an option for further extension and contract
renewal in June 2012.

Responsibilities

Under the overall guidance of the research coordinator at Z_GIS, the
successful applicant will function as a project coordinator (senior
researcher) and will perform the following functions:

· acts as a contact person for energy related research;

· prepares operational plans and delegation of work tasks;

· contributes to the preparation and provision of project deliverables;

· organizes workshops and meetings;

· tracks schedules of tasks;

· develops an own research plan contributing to the
achievement of project- and organizational objectives.

Detailed information is available at www.uni-salzburg.at/zgis/vacancies

: : . . S t e f a n K i e n b e r g e r . . : :
Centre for Geoinformatics | Salzburg University
Schillerstrasse 30 | 5020 Salzburg | Austria
Tel . +43 662 8044-5267 | Fax +43 662 8044-5260
mail: stefan.kienberger@sbg.ac.at | web:
http://www.uni-salzburg.at/zgis/kienberger

UK Jobs: PhD Studentships in Engineering, University of Cambridge 2009 2010

2009-02-02T03:01:00.000-08:00

Man Group PhD Studentships in Signal Processing and Statistics
Department of Engineering
Limit of tenure: 3 years

Man Group PhD Awards in Signal Processing and Statistics.

Man Group PhD Studentships are available to three-year PhD students
(whether UK/EU or overseas) in the Signal Processing and
Communications Laboratory (Department of Engineering) or the
Statistical Laboratory (Department of Pure Mathematics and
Mathematical Statistics), whose research is statistical in nature
and involves a significant practical data modelling component.

The Studentships provide ‘top-up’ awards of 9,000 a year for three
years (27,000 in total) in order to supplement other funding
sources. Three Studentships are available to start in the academic
year 2009-10, (subject to final confirmation of funding) and three
more to start in each of the two following years. They will be
awarded to the most outstanding PhD students who meet the above
criteria. Current applicants who meet the criteria will
automatically be considered.

The Studentships are supported by Man Group plc, a member of the Dow
Jones Sustainability World Index and the FTSE4Good Index. Man also
supports many awards, charities and initiatives around the world,
including sponsorship of the Man Booker literary prizes and the Man
Group International Climate Change Award. Further information can
be found at www.mangroupplc.com.

Application Procedure:

Signal Processing and Communications Laboratory: Applicants should
apply formally for admission as a Ph.D. student in the Department of
Engineering
http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/gradstud/admissions/. Applicants
for these awards should register their interest by contacting Rachel
Fogg (rff22@cam.ac.uk) and should include details of their funding
position. Further information on the Signal Processing and
Communications Laboratory can be found here: http://www-
sigproc.eng.cam.ac.uk/.

Statistical Laboratory: Applicants should apply formally for
admission as a Ph.D. student in the Department of Pure Mathematics &
Mathematical Statistics
http://www.admin.cam.ac.uk/offices/gradstud/admissions/.
Applications for these awards should be sent directly by email to
Dr. R. Nickl at the Statistical Laboratory
r.nickl@statslab.cam.ac.uk to include details of the applicant’s
funding position. Further information regarding the Statistical
Laboratory can be found at http://www.statslab.cam.ac.uk/.

Deadline for applications for 2009-2010: 30th April 2009

Quote Reference: NA04675, Closing Date: 30 April 2009

Interview Date(s): Interviews will be held in May 2009

The University values diversity and is committed to equality of
opportunity.

http://www.jobs.ac.uk/jobs/ZL467/Man_Group_PhD_Studentships_in_Signal
_Processing_and_Statistics/

Education in the United States

2009-01-12T18:43:00.002-08:00

Education in the United States is provided mainly by government, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local. School attendance is mandatory and nearly universal at the primary and secondary levels (often known inside the United States as the elementary and high school levels). At these levels, school curricula, funding, teaching, and other policies are set through locally elected school boards with jurisdiction over school districts. School districts are usually separate from other local jurisdictions, with independent officials and budgets. Educational standards and standardized testing decisions are usually made by state governments.

The ages for compulsory education vary by state, beginning at ages five to eight and ending at the ages of fourteen to eighteen. A growing number of states are now requiring school attendance until the age of 18.

Compulsory education requirements can generally be satisfied by attending public schools, state certified private schools, or an approved home school program. In most public and private schools, education is divided into three levels: elementary school, junior high school (also often called middle school), and senior high school. In almost all schools at these levels, children are divided by age groups into grades, ranging from kindergarten (followed by first grade) for the youngest children in elementary school, up to twelfth grade, which is the final year of high school. The exact age range of students in these grade levels varies slightly from area to area.

Post-secondary education, better known as "college" in the United States, is generally governed separately from the elementary and high school system, and is described in a separate section below.

In the year 2000, there were 76.6 million students enrolled in schools from kindergarten through graduate schools. Of these, 72 percent aged 12 to 17 were judged academically "on track" for their age (enrolled in school at or above grade level). Of those enrolled in compulsory education, 5.2 million (10.4 percent) were attending private schools. Among the country's adult population, over 85 percent have completed high school and 27 percent have received a bachelor's degree or higher. The average salary for college or university graduates is greater than $51,000, exceeding the national average of those without a high school diploma by more than $23,000, according to a 2005 study by the U.S. Census Bureau.While the United States presently leads the world with over 5,000 Montessori schools, China has expressed ambitions to replace much of their school system with the Montessori method's pedagogy. As part of a trial run towards achieving this objective, China's Minister of Education called for 1,000 teachers to receive certification from the Association Montessori Internationale in 2007. The U.S. Department of Education has no formal plans to compete against China on similar initiatives at this time.

The country has a reading literacy rate at 98% of the population over age 15, while ranking below average in science and mathematics understanding compared to other developed countries. In 2008, there was a 77% graduation rate from high school, below most developed countries

The poor performance has pushed public and private efforts such as the No Child Left Behind Act. In addition, the ratio of college-educated adults entering the workforce to general population (33%) is slightly below the mean of other developed countries (35%)and rate of participation of the labor force in continuing education is high.A 2000s study by Jon Miller of Michigan State University concluded that "A slightly higher proportion of American adults qualify as scientifically literate than European or Japanese adults".

Higher Education in New York

2009-01-12T18:41:00.000-08:00

From the majestic Adirondack mountains and breathtaking Niagara Falls to the bustle of the world financial capital of New York City, the state of New York offers visitors a spirit, energy, and beauty that’s hard to match. Similarly, the educational opportunities in “The Empire State” boast a rich and diverse array of possibilities.

Consider one of the 100+ private colleges and universities located in New York State. Each is unique. Some are large, some small. They enroll students from different ethnic and economic backgrounds, and from hundreds of foreign countries.

You can choose among more than 100 research universities, liberal arts colleges, technical institutes and specialized schools with nearly 150 campuses: 56 are in New York City; 39 are in the immediate suburbs of New York City; 35 are in “upstate” cities; and 18 are located throughout the state’s rural regions. These institutions are the focal points of their communities, providing learning and cultural opportunities.

The quality of your education matters. Quality is found in strong academic departments, small classes, caring professors, and outstanding career placement services. It’s found in how a college helps you to develop the skills to think critically, creatively, and analytically, and to express yourself effectively. You’ll want to look for low student-teacher ratios and personal attention, both in and out of the classroom. You’ll find quality at New York’s private colleges and universities.

World-class dedicated faculty, including many who are active researchers, will challenge and inspire. You’ll benefit from the experience and knowledge of alumni contacts. You’ll have opportunities to gain real-life experience and to build a personal network through internships, co-op experiences, research projects, study abroad, and exchange programs.

At any of New York’s private colleges or universities, you’ll work hard and learn more than you can imagine. Upon graduation, you’ll be confident and ready fo your career or graduate school.

Graduate Study Abroad

2009-01-09T18:03:00.000-08:00

It was a warm, rainy day when I boarded a train leaving Cannes to catch a flight home. I was 21 and madly in love with France. I had spent six months reveling in the fresh, salty Mediterranean air, learning about French wine and consuming enough croissants to pack on an extra ten pounds. As the train picked up speed, taking me away from my junior year abroad, I felt a painful sense of loss. It was the end of a once-in-a-lifetime experience: never again would I have such an opportunity to study, travel, meet amazing and diverse people, and immerse myself in a new culture. Or so I thought.

It turns out that there are a growing number of programs abroad for those of us who either couldn't get enough in college or never even had the chance. Numerous professional and graduate programs now supplement their domestic curriculum with an international component—a reflection of the ever-growing global nature of subjects like business, politics, and law.

Joy Haynes, a third year law student at Georgetown University Law Center, spent a month this past summer at University College London and earned six credits toward her law degree. While she had always wanted to study abroad in college, her busy schedule prevented her from fitting it in before she graduated. Georgetown's summer law program gave her a chance to not only learn about different legal structures in the classroom, but also experience them firsthand.

"I believe that international experience is beneficial not just as part of my legal education, but in the school of life as well," she said. "The best way to take a critical look at how and why we do things is to take a look at how someone else chooses to do them."

After learning about the English legal system she visited the local courts and sat in on cases, an experience she considers a highlight of the summer.

For more information on professional and graduate study abroad programs:

Law

The options for legal study abroad programs include short-term summer programs as well as semesters. Students must ensure that the program is ABA accredited and approved by their home institution.

Georgetown University Law Center offers six credits of study in London and plans to re-open its Florence program next summer www.law.georgetown.edu/intl/london/.

The Internet Legal Research Group, www.ilrg.com/lsahq, has an extensive database of summer and year-round legal study abroad programs.

Business (MBA)

One particularly interesting program is Temple University's International MBA degree, which combines education in three countries in one year. Cities include Philadelphia, Tokyo, and a choice between Paris, and Mumbai, India (www.sbm.temple.edu/imba).

For a list of MBA programs outside the U.S., go to www.gradschools.com/listings/intlmenus/bus_admin_intlmenu.html.

Other Graduate Study Programs

Studyabroad.com provides a good list of short-term study abroad programs for those seeking a graduate degree in education, languages, communication, and management www.studyabroad.com/grad_sab. Students may also consider enrolling as a full-time student at an international institution. Check out international.gradschools.com for more information on international graduate schools.

Schools Challenged by 4-Year Math, Science Mandate

2009-01-09T17:41:00.000-08:00

Alabama was the first state to require students to take four credits of math and four of science to graduate. Schools take very different approaches to meeting that mandate.

Robin Gray teaches algebra in a state that was an early leader in setting demanding requirements in high school math. She spends part of each day working with students who are struggling to keep up.

One of her classes is Algebra 1-A. The 9th grade course eases students into the subject slowly, presenting them with more basic material than they would receive in traditional Algebra 1. It’s an approach that Ms. Gray and fellow teachers at Jemison High School here say is essential for those teenagers to succeed in algebra before moving on to geometry and, ideally, more advanced math.

“We may have to slow down their pace, but they become great math students when they’re done,” Ms. Gray said during a break from class. “A lot of the time, it’s a maturity issue,” she said of her students. “They just need another year with algebra.”

In 1996, Alabama officials approved the “4 x 4” plan, which made their state the first in the country to require students to complete four years, or four credits each, of math and science for high school graduation. Other states have since followed suit, with policymakers arguing that higher standards are necessary to gird students for increasing demands from colleges and employers and to cultivate a capable workforce.

Alabama officials decided last year to set an even loftier goal: All entering 9th graders in 2009 must pursue an “advanced” diploma, meaning they have to complete Algebra 2, including trigonometry content, unless their families let them opt out of that mandate. That requirement will mean that Alabama, which has traditionally lagged near the bottom of all states on national tests of academic progress, has established one of the more demanding math standards in the country.

Yet Alabama’s experience with its 4 x 4 plan underscores the challenges states face in implementing such requirements. Different public schools in the state have taken very different approaches to meeting the mandates, depending on such factors as course scheduling and the needs of their student populations.

In some Alabama schools, students meet the four-year requirement by taking at least one math and science class each year, 9th through 12th grades. In schools that use block scheduling, students take extended classes lasting about 100 minutes. They receive one credit for a half-year of classwork. That allows some students to complete four years of math and science in two or three academic years. In some schools, students may not to take math during certain half-year terms, as long as they are progressing toward obtaining the necessary four credits before graduation.

The latter approach in math classes is used at Jemison High School, which serves a mixed-income population in a rural community about an hour south of Birmingham. Students take math courses in 96-minute blocks, twice the length of classes in many schools.

All students at Jemison begin their 9th grade math studies in a program called Algebra for Mastery. They are tested every 4½ weeks; students who perform better move at a faster clip through algebra, while those having difficulty are assigned to slower-paced classes, such as Algebra 1-A.

Under Jemison High’s block scheduling, students can complete the state’s four-credit math requirement by the end of sophomore year. About half of graduating seniors in 2008, however, voluntarily followed an advanced-math curriculum, school records show.

Junior Robby Winegard said he never considered following an easier path. He said he’s thinking of majoring in chemistry at Auburn University, so taking advanced math seemed like necessary preparation. He was enrolled in Algebra 2 last fall and planned to take Algebra 3 and precalculus, too.

Students in Robin Gray’s advanced geometry class at Jamison High School work on a geometry and statistics project. Ms. Gray has made extensive use of resources from a statewide program, called AMSTI, in her math classes.

—Dave Martin for Education Week

“I wanted to be able to test myself,” the 16-year-old said. “I know I’m capable of it.”

Ms. Gray said block scheduling allows her to spend much more time on math topics for students unable to grasp the concepts than she otherwise might. That was evident one day last fall, as she handed back graded tests to students in her Algebra 1-A class. Some of the 14 students notched scores of 100, but others scored in the 80s or lower.

Working with an electronic drawing pad that projects images on a board at the front of the room, Ms. Gray focused on the most troublesome items, for which she called on students to graph points and slopes on the x and y axes. In a traditional Algebra 1 class, Ms. Gray might be forced to press ahead to the next topic, she said, without as much time for review.

Students in Algebra 1-A “are given a second chance at the material,” she said, rather than just “sliding by.”

Placement the Key

At Pelham High School, roughly 30 miles north of Jemison, the approach to meeting the state’s four-year math requirement is different. Classes at the 1,500-student school are 50 minutes long, and students must take math in each of their four years in high school to graduate. The strongest-performing freshman at Pelham, who have taken Algebra 1 in 8th grade, typically take a geometry class as 9th graders. Others are put in Algebra 1 or Algebra 1-A, based on their math performance as middle schoolers, as well as teacher and parent recommendations. After the school year begins, those students can be moved up, into Algebra 1, or back to Algebra 1-A, Pam Hand, a math teacher at Pelham High, explained in an e-mail.

“We have to watch them very closely as 9th graders,” said Keri Ross, another math teacher there. “Are they doing well in algebra, or do we have to back them down?”

It’s not surprising that Alabama’s schools and districts take dissimilar approaches to meeting the state’s four-year math requirement, said Uri Treisman, who directs the Charles A. Dana Center, a research institution at the University of Texas at Austin. Schools across the country are scrambling to come up with ways to comply with rising state math requirements by using a variety of scheduling methods and curricula, said Mr. Treisman, whose center works with school officials in Texas and around the country.

While he called Alabama schools’ multiple approaches “an understandable administrative response” to the state’s requirement, Mr. Treisman said he and many academic researchers prefer that students take a year of math every year throughout their high school careers, rather than being allowed to take a semester or a year away from that subject. Staying connected to the subject throughout high school increases students’ chances of surviving college-level math, he said.

But Mr. Treisman also praised Alabama officials for attempting to hold all students to a high standard.

“The courses they’re talking about used to be the domain of the privileged few,” Mr. Treisman said. “They want to democratize access to math courses,” he added, even if that fosters a difficult “transition period” for many schools.

In the years since Alabama adopted its 4 x 4 plan, many states have raised their demands in math. Today, 18 states, plus the District of Columbia, have established or are phasing in requirements for four years of high school math, according to the Education Commission of the States, a research organization in Denver.

States have also pressed for more course-specific standards in math. Four years ago, only two states had adopted requirements that students take Algebra 2 or its equivalent to graduate with a regular diploma; 20 states plus the District of Columbia have established that mandate today, with many of those states phasing those policies in over the next several years, according to Achieve, a Washington-based organization that promotes higher academic standards. In many of the states, parents may sign a waiver that will allow their child to graduate without completing Algebra 2.

Alabama’s state board of education has also raised the bar with its First Choice plan. That policy will require incoming 9th graders to pursue an advanced high school endorsement—unless a parent agrees to let them out—beginning this fall.

Just 39 percent of seniors in Alabama’s 2006 graduating class voluntarily followed an advanced high school curriculum, state schools Superintendent Joseph B. Morton said. Such numbers are higher in affluent districts, but they dip into the single digits in many poor, rural areas, a disparity Mr. Morton described as “an atrocity.”

In districts where parents’ level of education is low, families have been less likely to demand that their children pursue the advanced high school path, Mr. Morton said. As a result, the choice of a curriculum has typically been put “in the hands of a 14-year-old,” not an appealing prospect, the schools chief added. First Choice seeks to reverse those expectations, and make the more challenging academic path the norm, he said.

The message to students is that “we’re banking on you to do better, and you can do better,” Mr. Morton said in an interview. “It’s a plan to make a really large shift in the [lives] of students.”

While some Alabama schools allow students to complete the state’s four-year math requirement by attaining the necessary credits in two or three years, that is not typical, said Cynthia C. Brown, the director of curriculum and instruction for the state education department. She also said she believes most schools are requiring students to take science their junior and senior years. State policy gives schools discretion in establishing their own course schedules, as long as they meet state requirements, Ms. Brown said.

Implementing First Choice would not be possible, Mr. Morton said, if the state had not laid a foundation by establishing a number of programs aimed at increasing students’ access to high-quality math and science courses.

Adult Education

2009-01-07T17:47:00.000-08:00

Education doesn't stop when you leave school. As we get older, as technology speeds up, as the world of work changes, we all benefit from refreshing ourselves with some education whether we are 18 or 80. Whether it's to equip ourselves for a job, just to stretch ourselves in mind and body, or even to meet some new interesting friends, there are programmes to meet all interests.

In Durham we're experts in teaching adults. So forget your school days. It doesn't matter what O Levels or GCSEs you have or don't have. You'll enjoy learning in a friendly environment (yes, our centres are nice and warm even on a November evening!).

With us you'll get lively teaching to open up exciting horizons. For more information, please contact our specialist workers:

North Durham - Carl Belshaw, Tel: 0191 3881043.
Sedgefield Area - Ian Defty, Tel: 01325 307522.
Dales Area - Ernie Sarsfield, Tel: 01388 603543.
Central Durham - Diane Mahoney, Tel: 0191 3835979.
Easington Area - Mr Robert McGouran, Tel: 0191 5184300.

People return to learning for a variety of reasons. It can:

Improve your confidence and self-esteem.
Improve your job prospects.
Improve your reading, writing, computer and number skills.
Help you to help your children with their homework.

You can choose from a wide range of subjects from:

Qualifications in Maths and English: Get a qualification in maths or English at Level 1 or Level 2. Prepare for and take the National Test online or paper based.
Improve literacy and numeracy through IT: Brush up your English and maths skills using the computer. Complete beginners to computers are welcome.
Dyslexia SOS: Dyslexia awareness and ways of supporting people with dyslexia.
Family learning: We provide opportunities for parents and children to share fun learning experiences at school and home. Parents learn how to support their children with literacy and numeracy while improving their own skills at the same time.
Careers advice: Call in for free information about jobs, training and courses.
Basic through to advanced computer courses
Language courses in French, German, Italin and Spanish
A wide range of Art courses
Relax with gentle exercise to tai chi or yoga

Small schools, big lessons

2009-01-07T17:30:00.000-08:00

Evidence continues to mount that smaller high schools get better results than larger ones. In small settings, children—particularly those who were underperforming—learn more, behave better, and are less likely to drop out.¹ Harlem’s Central Park East—a freestanding school with upward of 300 students in grades 7 through 12—graduates over 90 percent of its students, mostly from poor homes, and sends almost all of them on to four-year colleges. Experiments with small-school environments in Boston, Chicago, and other cities show similar results.

Small schools appear to work not because classes are smaller but because teachers get to know students as individuals and take an ongoing interest in their success. Unfortunately, high schools in the largest US cities tend to have enrollments in the thousands. Yet the huge school buildings most such cities have inherited can be subdivided into small learning communities, which help students in much the same way that small freestanding schools do. These smaller units can retain the advantages of size by sharing specialized elective courses, extracurricular activities, and athletic programs with other small learning communities.

Physically reconfiguring schools is only the beginning. Small-school programs require their creators to rethink the way schools are organized and governed....

Top University for a Degree in Accounting - Bakersfield, CA

2009-01-04T08:11:00.000-08:00

The School of Business and Public Administration at California State University Bakersfield in Bakersfield, California, offers a degree program in Accounting. This program awards the Bachelor of Science in Accounting.

School of Business and Public Administration at California State University Bakersfield in Bakersfield, California

Unlike many other schools of business, the School of Business and Public Administration at California State University Bakersfield has degree programs in Accounting, Business and Public Administration. Students seeking a degree in Accounting may pursue the following degree:

Bachelor of Science in Accounting: The School of Business and Public Administration offers ten different areas of concentration in its Bachelor of Science degree programs. Students may focus their study in accounting, e-business, finance, general business, economics, management, management information systems, public policy and administration, marketing and sports management. This Accounting degree program prepares students for a wide range of accounting careers, including those as a certified internal auditor, certified public accountant (CPA) and certified management accountant. Completion of the degree program automatically certifies students in their accounting field. Graduates are also able to sit for a certification examination upon completing the requirements for the Accounting degree. There are eight core accounting courses that all students must complete. These courses along with two electives include:
- Business Law
- Intermediate Accounting (I and II)
- Managerial Accounting,
- Accounting Information Systems
- Advanced & International Accounting
- Fundamentals of Taxation -- Individuals & Business
- Auditing
- System Analysis & Design
- Computer Applications in Finance

Fast Facts about California State University Bakersfield

California State University Bakersfield is a public educational institution and has a total student population of 7,711. Room and board is available to students at an estimated cost of $6,537 per academic year.

Contact Information

Address: 9001 Stockdale Hwy., Bakersfield, CA 93311
Telephone: (661) 654-2782

Adult Education Articles

2009-01-02T00:51:00.000-08:00

Articles on adult education for adult learners, teachers, and other educators. "Adult education is the practice of teaching and educating adults. This is often done in the workplace, or through 'extension' or 'continuing education' courses at secondary schools, or at a College or University. The practice is also often referred to as 'Training and Development'. It has also been referred to as andragogy (to distinguish it from pedagogy)
1: Characteristics of Adult Learners (Not Rated)

Adult learners are qualitatively different than younger learners. You certainly can “teach an old dog new tricks” by understanding the cognitive and social characteristics of adult learners. Using the right instructional strategies to maximize the learning advantages and address the learning challenges of adult learners can make all the difference in their success. Adult Learner Cognitive Characteristics 1. Generally speaking, most adult learners share the following characteristics:

2: Adult Learning Disabilities (1.67/5)

by Patrick Hartell You have to deal with a number of issues if you have a learning disability, even if that disability was diagnosed in the childhood. The issues will be different and many more in adulthood than they were in your childhood years. Hence you will have to find new ways to cope with these challenges and issues posed by the learning disability. Most children plan on marrying, having children, and being a productive member of their society. If you have a learning disability, y

3: It Is Never To Late To Learn (1.67/5)

by Rose Mary There are people who do not pursue college education during their early days. For those who do, some of them do not continue with graduate education immediately after completing their first degree. These people have several reasons for not pursuing their studies at that time. Firstly, they may lack the financial support for their study. Secondly, they may not be able to meet the entrance criteria set by the college. Thirdly, they may lack the interest to study. Fourthly, the

4: Adult Learning Theory (0.00/5)

By Gabriel Rise It goes without saying that nowadays we are all confronted with an environment of continuous change and speedy shifts. Technology has altered the very nature of business and this had greatly influenced the employment market. Jobs requiring expertise and technical skills are growing in nearly every sector of the economy. The continuous change in what employees need to know and be able to handle suggests that learning, training and education will occur over the length of a car

5: 5 Reasons Why You Should Learn a Foreign Language (1.67/5)

During the modern age, with globalization at its height, knowing one or two secondary languages has become more than a simple feat of high class and intelligence but also a strict requirement in many occasions. Whether it’s for professional, social or personal reasons, learning at least one foreign language is a must for anyone that wants to keep his or her head up high in today’s society. Let’s take a focused look on 5 of the main reasons that should turn you towards learning a foreign language

6: Online education and the challenge of motivation (0.00/5)

by Timothy D. Arnold Getting an online education is both a very thrilling proposition and a challenging one as well. It is quite exciting to learn through a very new and non-traditional form of education and it offers a set of new challenges that would compel individuals to really immerse themselves in what they are doing. Unfortunately, even with an educational format as new as online education, the same old problems that plague students would usually crop up. The most common difficulty

7: Financial Aid Options For Adults Who Want To Continue Their Education (0.00/5)

By Gary Stuart Approximately 90 million adults in the United States are now enrolled in some kind of training or educational program. Four out of every ten college students are over twenty-five years of age. Another 800,000 take the General Educational Development (GED) test every year to earn high school diplomas. Adult education and re-training is a big trend! Some of the pressure to get more education is coming from a job market that demands up-to-date skills, especially in technology.

8: Facing Your Fears as an Adult Returning to School (Not Rated) by Matt McAllister In case you hadn't noticed, career colleges aren't just for learning a vocational trade anymore. Nowadays, career colleges can help you obtain a Bachelor's, Master's, or even Doctorate Degree in just about any field of study, or they can even help you simply brush up on skills you might already have on your way to earning a certification or Associate's Degree. So while some career schools might still specialize in vocational trades like auto body repair, masonry or hair

Alternate Education Articles

2009-01-02T00:48:00.000-08:00

Alternative education, also known as non-traditional education or educational alternative, is a broad term encompassing all forms of education outside of traditional education (for all age groups and levels of education). This may include both forms of education designed for students with special needs (ranging from social malajustment to intellectual disablity) and forms of education designed for a general audience which employ alternative educational philosophies and/or methods. Alternatives of the later type are often the result of education reform and are rooted in various philosophies that are commonly fundamentally different from those of traditional compulsory education. While some have strong political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, others are more informal associations of teachers and students dissatisfied with certain aspects of traditional education. These alternatives, which include charter schools, alternative schools, independent schools, and home-based learning vary widely, but often emphasize the value of small class size, close relationships between students and teachers, and a sense of community.
1: Education and the Changing World (Not Rated)

2: For the Love of Learning: The Importance of Alternative Assessments in Education (0.00/5)

Introduction According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children’s (NAEYC) developmentally appropriate practices (DAP) position paper (1997) detailing how to assess children’s learning and development, assessment “recognizes individual variation in learners and allows for differences in styles and rates of learning” (p. 14) and “decisions...such as enrollment or placement are never made on the basis of a single assessment or screening device, but are

3: Choosing a homeschool language arts curriculum for your family (1.00/5)

What does a homeschool language arts curriculum need to have to make it useful, interesting and comprehensive? Are there language arts lesson plans which I can use over a number of ages? Well, firstly we need to consider what language arts lessons makes a language arts curriculum? It would need to include reading, writing, speaking and listening. Getting to finer details, it would need to teach writing skills from handwriting to written sentences and paragraphs. It should teac

4: Alternative Settings for Students (2.50/5)

Alternative Settings for Students Alternative Night School and Credit Recovery are new programs that have been added to Elmira City School District’s already existing alternative day high school. Elmira City School District recognizes that students have varying learning styles. They also understand the difficulty that some students face when they become credit deficient. In response for the need to prevent increased drop out rates, and attempting to

5: Getting Kids to Read - Ten Terrific Tips (0.00/5)

Teaching kids to read opens the world to them. They can go anywhere and do anything through books. But in today's age of high-tech gizmos and video games often the last thing our kids want to do is read. But there are some easy and fun ways you can share your love of reading with your kids. Implement these few simple ideas and your kids will be engrossed in a good bok before you know it. Read to Them Kids love being read aloud to. Cuddling up on the couch with a good book is a wonderful way to

6: A Look at Enriching the Prison Educational Program (Not Rated)

By Linda A. Beam Correctional educators constantly strive to become more effective when teaching students. Seeking new ideas or striving for newer and better retention techniques are constant issues faced by a correctional educator. The basic content of the curriculum for the Adult Basic Education (ABE/GED) student is math, reading, and language. From my point of view, teaching only these ‘basic needs’ and nothing else puts a strain between educators a

7: Shop for Kids: A builder learns to work with kids. (Not Rated)

I didn’t start building till I was 25 years old. Well that isn’t quite true. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of my sister, myself, and neighborhood friends building soap box derby cars, forts and kites. The technology was crude, wheels fell off, steering failed, but we had great times. We also had a great time building forts in the woods. When I was in middle school I remember another neighborhood project where we built a giant kite. It

8: Diligence At Work (Not Rated)

There was once a teacher who asked two students to do a research about a community helper. Student A set out to do an interview with a fireman. Student B set out to do an interview with any community helper available. Student A had a difficult time locating a fireman so she went back to her teacher to ask if any other worker can be interviewed. And teacher said “Yes!” So student once again set out to locate any community h

9: woodworking with kids: safety (Not Rated)

Woodworking with Kids: safety When my son Andrew was five years old, he loved hanging around the shop with me. He watched the curls come off the wood as I planed a board and wanted to try it himself. I showed him how the plane blade was adjusted, demonstrated how sharp the blade was by shaving hair off my arm, and explained how the plane straightened a crooked board edge. I was reluctant to let him handle the tool because of the sharp blade, but his enthusiasm and excitement convinced me to gi

10: Role Of Short Online Quizzes In Exam Preparation (Not Rated)

We’ve heard a lot about the conventional methods - classroom learning, practice exams, simulation-based testing - that have been employed to assist students in preparing for these key exams. Long tests and practice exams are often appropriate preparation methods however sometimes they may be too broad-based or inflexible to fit a student’s need to work on specific weak areas. Short, material-targeted practice quizzes have proven to be effective in helping students strengthen specific

How to Win at College

2008-12-31T12:58:00.000-08:00

Graduating from high school is one of the most satisfying and simultaneously scary times of your life. For the first time, you are faced with the task of navigating yourself to a successful future. Advice floods in from everybody in all directions and eventually you have acquired so much information about how to do well in college that it starts to become confusing and maybe even contradictory. Counselors and teachers try to generalize college life on a single sheet of paper, but the fact is that college is as unique as the individuals enrolled in it.

Many people say the best way to get through college with the best grades possible is to study most of the time and relax the rest of the time. While this is a terrific strategy, the whole social aspect of the college life is completely ignored. Social life plays a large role in overall well-being. College offers the best chance you will ever have to surround yourself with great people for the rest of your life. Once you build a solid foundation of friends, you will be able to assist each other in achieving the ultimate goal-graduating with good grades.

You will need to create schedules for yourself to manage your time. It is sometimes difficult for students to separate having fun and studying. If you want to make it through college, you must go to class. Oftentimes students fail out because they completely neglect going to class and doing required assignments. And then there's the complete opposite side, the students who graduate with a 4.0 grade point average but have never been to a social event in their college career. The key to success is balance. What is the point of spending approximately four years in the same place if you build no supportive relationships, good memories or funny stories?

Obviously, college is no cake-walk. You will sometimes need to lock yourself in your room and turn off your cell phone for a few hours to crack down on loaded projects and abandon all contact from the outside world. But after you are finished with the project and you know you nailed it, you should reward yourself by relaxing and having a good time. As long as there is good balance of work and play, you should have few problems. And as long as you have your work-time designated in a time slot before your down-time, you should be able to juggle the two effortlessly and, best of all, happily. To be successful, you need to create your own unique schedule; if one thing doesn't work, shift your schedule around until it does. When you and your best friends finally graduate, you can reminisce about all the great times you've had together, and talk about how college wasn't as difficult as you once thought it was going to be.

College Financing Tips

2008-12-31T12:57:00.000-08:00

The first thing you need to do when applying for financial aid is to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid—or FAFSA. You may fill out a FAFSA online (www.fafsa.edu.gov). Here are some important tips to remember when completing your FAFSA:

Complete your FAFSA as soon as possible after 1/1/2008 if you plan to enter school in the Fall of 2008.
File electronically if possible. Paper copies of the form take 4-6 weeks to get processed while electronic forms only take 7-10 days. The electronic form also helps ensure that the information is filled out correctly, since it must be completed before you can advance to the next page.
Make sure to check school AND state specific deadlines. They are usually earlier than deadlines for Federal Aid. Deadlines are the dates forms should be received. Make sure to allow enough travel time for the form to reach its destination before the actual due date.
Respond promptly to any verification requests. Delays could jeopardize your financial aid award.
Some schools require additional forms to be filled out along with the FAFSA. Check with the school that you are attending to be sure that you completed all of the necessary forms.
It is extremely important to make or print copies of EVERYTHING before you send it! Keep a folder of all your financial aid information including forms, tax returns, W-2's, etc. Having a folder will also make the verification process (if you are selected) more efficient since all the necessary information is in one place.

After you have completed and submitted the FAFSA, a Student Aid Report (SAR) will be generated. A copy of your SAR is automatically sent to the financial aid offices at the schools that you highlighted on the FAFSA as prospects. The SAR shows your family's Expected Family Contribution (EFC), which assists Financial Aid Offices in determining your financial aid award.

Next, your prospective school's Financial Aid Offices will send you an Award Letter listing the amount of financial aid for which you are eligible, enabling you to determine the remaining costs. The Award Letter also lists aid programs for which you are eligible including the following:

Federal or State Grants & Scholarships
Grants and scholarships are excellent options—usually based on need and/or achievement because they do not have to be repaid.

Work-Study
Work-study allows you to have a job while you are going to school. You receive a paycheck that can be put towards expenses such as tuition and books.

Low-Cost Federal Loans
including Federal Stafford Loans
The Federal Stafford Loan allows students to share in the borrowing responsibility and develop a credit history. Most students qualify for federal loans and there is no credit check or co-signer requirement. You must complete a Master Promissory Note (MPN) and choose a lender when applying for a Federal Stafford Loan. The borrowing limits increase each year you are enrolled.

Monthly Payment Plans — Some colleges offer tuition payment plans that allow you to spread an academic years' tuition over several monthly payments. Ask your financial aid office if this option exists.

Parental Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS) — The PLUS loan is a federally guaranteed loan based on credit-worthiness, with no debt-to-income ratio guidelines or employment verification requirements. Similar to the Federal Stafford Loan application process, parents and students must complete a Federal PLUS Loan Master Promissory Note and designate a lender.

Alternative Loan Options — Alternative student loans are private loan programs available to families after all other financing options have been considered. Most loan programs require an established good credit history, therefore a co-signer is often recommended for traditional, undergraduate students. Typically the student can borrow up to the cost of education less any other financial aid.

Editorial provided by Meghan Stebbins, Marketing Coordinator, Education Finance at Citizens Bank/Charter One

The Parent-Teacher Talk Gains a New Participant

2008-12-31T12:55:00.000-08:00

Beth Rooney for The New York Times

Syndie Sablik and her daughters Cheriden, 12, and Carrigan, 9, at a conference at Tefft Middle School in Streamwood, Ill.

STREAMWOOD, Ill. — For years attendance was minimal at Tefft Middle School’s annual parent-teacher conferences, but the principal did not chalk up the poor response to apathetic or dysfunctional families. Instead, she blamed what she saw as the outmoded, irrelevant way the conferences were conducted.

Beth Rooney for The New York Times

Scheree Issa, left, listens as her daughter, Cierra Turks, 13, and Courtney Byer, a teacher, discuss a writing assignment at Tefft.

Roughly 60 percent of the 850 students at Tefft, in this working-class suburb some 30 miles northwest of Chicago, are from low-income families. Many are immigrants, unfamiliar or uncomfortable with the tradition of parents perched in pint-size chairs, listening intently as a teacher delivers a 15-minute soliloquy on their child’s academic progress, or lack thereof.

“Five years ago, the most important person — the student — was left out of the parent-teacher conference,” Tefft’s principal, Lavonne Smiley, said. “The old conferences were such a negative thing, so we turned it around by removing all the barriers and obstacles,” including allowing students not only to attend but also to lead the gatherings instead of anxiously awaiting their parents’ return home with the teacher’s verdict on their classroom performance.

Recently, 525 parents attended parent-teacher-student conferences, Ms. Smiley said, compared with 75 parents in 2003. No appointments were needed, and everyone was welcome at the conferences this year, spread over two days that school officials called a Celebration of Learning.

Student-led conferences are gaining ground at elementary and middle schools nationwide, said Patti Kinney, an associate director for middle-level services at the National Association of Secondary School Principals in Virginia.

Although researchers have long hailed the benefits of such conferences — anointing students as the main stakeholders in their education, accountable for their performance during the school day and responsible for their academic future — their popularity appears to be increasing in part because of the rapidly shifting demographics at public schools nationwide. The classrooms, after all, are where a community’s changing cultural identity is often first glimpsed.

“I think we’re learning that every school has its own DNA, and there is not a prescription for conferences that works for every school,” Ms. Kinney said. “There is such an increasingly diverse population at our nation’s schools, the one-size-fits-all model conference just doesn’t work anymore.”

At some schools, not only are students on hand for conferences, but their siblings are also welcome, as are grandparents, aunts and uncles, even family friends.

When Mark Heller accepted a job as an assistant principal at the middle school in his hometown of Plano, Ill., he discovered that the community had changed a lot in the eight years he had been a teacher in Iowa. The population had nearly doubled to 10,000 residents, and 37 percent of the students at Plano Middle School were now from low-income families.

Bolstered by the success of student-led conferences at his Iowa school, Mr. Heller also realized that changing the model was not enough to accommodate families with limited English proficiency, many of whom work shifts at area factories.

The traditional parent-teacher conferences without a student present are always available by appointment, and sometimes necessary, for example, to discuss a private matter concerning a noncustodial parent, a family crisis the child is unaware of or a special education diagnosis.

Still, Mr. Heller is convinced that a true dialogue concerning a student’s academic progress is impossible without both the child and the parent engaged and present, and with the teacher on hand to share impressions and answer any questions the parents have about homework, standardized test scores, behavior and other issues.

First, Mr. Heller made sure to schedule the student-led conferences when as many children, parents and teachers could attend, which turned out to be over two days in late October.

Five Steps to Differentiating Spelling Instruction

2008-12-31T12:54:00.001-08:00

Good teachers differentiate spelling instruction. They get outside of their spelling workbooks and challenge their students with un-mastered spelling patterns and words. But, how to differentiate spelling in a diverse classroom is the trick. Here is a classroom-tested plan that works with all grade levels.

1. Prepare

Select twenty grade-level spelling pattern words from either a spelling workbook, an encoding assessment that targets specific sound-spelling patterns, a spelling rules-based assessment, a list of commonly confused words, a list of non-phonetic outlaw words, or a list of high-frequency words. A visit to your educational bookstore or a quick web search should provide you with these resources for differentiating spelling.

2. Pre-test

Dictate the 15—20 words (depending upon grade level) in the traditional word-sentence-word format to all of your students. Have students self-correct from teacher dictation of letters in syllable chunks, marking dots below the correct letters, and marking an “X” through the numbers of any spelling errors. Even second graders can do this instructional activity!

3. Personalize

Students complete their own Personal Spelling List of 15—20 words (depending upon grade level) in this priority order:

Pretest Errors: Have the students copy up to ten of their pretest spelling errors onto their Personal Spelling List.

Posttest Errors: Have students add on up to five spelling errors from last week’s spelling posttest.

Writing Errors: Have students add on up to five teacher-corrected spelling errors found in student writing. Oops…this commits you to mark strategic spelling errors in your students’ writing—an essential component of improving student spelling.

Supplemental Spelling Lists for Differentiating Spelling:
Outlaw Words
High Frequency Spelling Words
Most Often Misspelled Words
Commonly Confused Words (Homonyms)

But, how do the students select the right words from the supplemental lists?

Parents can be integral partners in helping their children select appropriate words for the Personal Spelling List. After completing the weekly Personal Spelling List, the student must secure a parent signature on the list to verify that each of the selected words is an unknown spelling for the student. This is to prevent students from writing down words already part of the student’s conventional spelling word bank.

Early in the school year it is a good idea to send home a parent letter explaining the role of the parent in differentiating spelling instruction. Parents can pretest their son or daughter on the words from the appendices a little at a time to determine which words are un-mastered and need to be included as part of the weekly Personal Spelling List. For those parents who will not complete the pre-assessments, the teacher can have a parent, instructional aide, or another student complete the pretests.

4. Practice

Students practice their weekly spelling words on the Personal Spelling List by writing context clue sentences or short stories, using each of the spelling words. Spelling sorts by identifiable patterns provide wonderful practice. Suggest vowel sound, number of syllables, alphabetical order, parts of speech, words with prefixes, words with suffixes, words with base words as sorting criteria.

5. Post-test

Students take out a piece of binder paper and find a partner to exchange dictation of the Personal Spelling List words. Have one student complete the entire dictation of the list prior to having the other student dictate. But, you may be thinking…what if they cheat? For the few who cheat…It would be a shame to stop differentiating spelling instruction for the many to cater to a few. Truly, they are only cheating themselves. After completing the spelling posttest, students turn in their post-tests for the teacher to gra

How to Get a 12 on the SAT Essay

2008-12-31T12:53:00.000-08:00

The SAT essay can produce time management challenges and difficulties for SAT-takers. Many students score poorly on this section; however, using the AEC TP IT 2B RCP strategies will help SAT-takers significantly increase their SAT scores on the SAT essay section.

Prewriting (5 minutes)
Spend no more than five minutes on the AEC TP planning. You get no points for planning.

1. First, read the one-sentence question that begins the Assignment section. This is the critical writing direction for your essay. Ignore reading the rest of the Assignment section.

2. Next, read the text of the boxed Excerpt above. The excerpt provides some background information on an issue to help you frame your thesis statement. This excerpt appears after the Think carefully about the issue presented in the following excerpt and the assignment below direction. Don’t bother to read the citation, unless you want to quote from it later in the essay.

3. Read the Assignment again and Circle the subject of the essay.

4. Write a one-sentence Thesis Statement as a declarative statement at the bottom of the essay directions page. A good thesis statement will mention the subject, will state the key words of the writing prompt, and will directly respond to the writing prompt with a specific point of view. Decide whether the prompt calls for more of an explanatory or argumentative response. Do not write a split (divided) thesis. Do not take an overly-controversial point of view.

5. Quickly Prewrite the two body paragraphs underneath your thesis statement, using key words for the two topic sentences and the two or three major details for each body paragraph.

DRAFTING (17 minutes)

6. Turn to the Section 1 Essay Box at the beginning of the answer sheets. You will compose your four paragraph essay on these lines. Indent all paragraphs, beginning with the Introduction. Your Introduction should consist of three-sentences. Select two appropriate Instruction Strategies from the list below as your first two sentences, using connecting transition words.

Introduction Strategies BAD RAP

1. Background—Sentences that briefly explain the setting or help your reader better understand the thesis statement.

2. Question to be Answered—A sentence worded as a question that asks either a question needing no answer (rhetorical question) or a question to make the reader think of a question that will be answered in the essay.

3. Definition— Sentences that explain the meaning of a key word that may be unfamiliar to the reader or help to narrow the focus of the subject.

4. Reference to Something Known in Common—Sentences that refer to a fact or idea already known by most people, including your reader.

5. Quote from an Authority—Sentences that quote an authority in the subject of the essay. It must list the name of the authority.

6. Preview of Topic Sentences—Sentences that list the subjects of each body paragraph topic sentence in the order they appear in the essay.

7. Write the Thesis Statement after the two Introduction Strategy sentences, revising as needed from the Prewrite. This is the last sentence of your three-sentence introduction.

8. Referring to the Prewrite, compose the 2 Body Paragraphs, beginning each with a topic sentence. The topic sentence appears in the first position of a body paragraph 80% of the time. Consider the fact that your readers expect your essay to conform to this standard and place the topic sentence as the first sentence of your body paragraphs as is expected. Don’t surprise your reader. Make sure that your topic sentence expresses the main idea of the body paragraph as a declarative statement and is not a subset of any major detail within the paragraph.

9. Your body paragraphs should include two or three major details, each supported by two or three minor details. These detail sentences must include both evidence and your analysis of the evidence. Skip two lines after each body paragraph to allow for later revision. The subject matter of the prompt will be general enough for you to cite evidence from the following sources:
-your personal experiences
-content from middle school and high school classes
-content from literature
-current and past events

Vary the types of evidence that you present. No one is convicted for first-degree murder based upon one type of evidence alone, such as fingerprint evidence. Use several types of evidence from the following list to convince the reader of your point of view.

Types of Evidence CeF SCALE

A comparison means to show how the subject is like something else in a meaningful way.

An experience used as evidence may be a commonly known event or an event of which there is limited knowledge.

A fact means something actually said or done. Use quotes for direct or indirect quotations.

A statistic is a numerical figure that represents evidence gained from scientific research.

A counterpoint states an argument against your thesis statement and then provides evidence against that argument.

An appeal to authority is a reference from an authority on a certain subject.

Logic means to use deductive (general to specific) or inductive (specific to general) reasoning to prove a point.

An example is a subset typical of a category or group.

10. Compose a Thesis Restatement as the first sentence of your conclusion paragraph. In other words, state your thesis statement in a different way that will lead smoothly into your two Conclusion Strategy sentences. Make sure that your thesis restatement covers the whole prompt, not just part. Select two Conclusion Strategies and use transition words to connect, if needed. Leave the readers with a finished, polished feel to your essay. Do not add any additional evidence to your conclusion.

Conclusion Strategies

1. Generalization—Sentences that make one of your specific points more general in focus.

2. Question for Further Study—Sentences that mention a related subject or question that is beyond the focus of the essay.

3. Synthesis of Main Points—Sentences that pull together the points proven in the essay to say something new.

4. Application—Sentences that apply the proven thesis statement to another idea or issue.

5. Argument Limitations—Sentences that explain how or why your conclusions are limited.

6. Emphasis of Key Point—Sentences that mention and add importance to one of the points of your essay.

7. Statement of Significance—Sentences that discuss the importance and relevance of the proven thesis statement.

Proofread (3 minutes)

11. Save no more than three minutes to Proofread the entire essay. If the body paragraphs need an additional sentence, add it in on the skipped lines. The readers understand that your essay is a rough draft, so using editing marks is certainly appropriate. Squeeze additions in above the line, rather than in the margins. Don’t take risks with spelling and vocabulary words.

Writing Style

-Write neatly in print or cursive. Don’t write too small or too large.

-Don’t use big vocabulary. Keep your writing concise and simple.

-Although the SAT publishers say that the readers will not mark down for use of the first person voice, use only third-person pronouns to emphasize objectivity.

-Although the SAT publishers say that the readers will not mark down for use of narrative elements, avoid mixing the writing domains and stick with exposition.

-Don’t try to be unique—no raps or poetry please. Write in formal essay style.

-Don’t include slang, idioms (figures of speech), contractions, abbreviations, strings of prepositional phrases, or parenthetical remarks.

-Keep pronoun references close to subjects in long sentences to make them clear. Make sure to keep pronoun references in number agreement.

-Avoid passive voice.

-Use specific and concrete nouns. Avoid general and abstract nouns.

-Don’t split infinitives, end sentences with prepositions, or use intentional fragments.

-Avoid gender-specific pronoun references by making them plural.

-Don’t write a concluding statement at the end of body paragraphs.

-Don’t overuse the “to-be” verbs. Maintain the same verb tense throughout the essay and limit your use of the “to-be” verbs to no more than two per body paragraph. “To-be” Verbs: is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been

-Don’t rely on adjectives to do the job of solid nouns and verbs.

-Vary your sentence length and sentence structure.

-Vary your grammatical structures by including a variety of Sentence Openers. Frequently, writers over-rely on the Subject-Verb-Object (Complement) pattern.

100 Day Counting Exercise for Elementary Math Students

2008-12-31T12:52:00.001-08:00

It is fun to celebrate with your class after you have spent 100 days at school together. This is a great elementary math game. In order to do this accurately, you will need a system of keeping track of the days at school with your students. A tally can be used for this purpose. One way to do 100 Day is to have different centers at which students spend a certain amount of time before you ring a bell that tells them to switch activities. 100 Day is great to celebrate with students from Kindergarten to Grade Four or even to Grade Six if older students are combined into groups with the younger children and can then help them do the activities.

Fruit Loop Necklace

Have children count out 100 fruit loops and string them onto a string or licorice to make an edible necklace. Having them place ten fruit loops in each cup of their ten-frame egg cartons makes the counting easier for younger children. They can also make a pattern for this necklace to practice another Math concept.

100-Day Glasses

Make a pattern for glasses made out of the number 100. It would be good to have the 100 outlined only so that students can color it in. The eyeholes will be in the 00. Run off a pair of glasses for each student. You will also need to precut, on a paper cutter, a construction paper or manila tag head band onto which each child’s glasses can be fastened. Have a volunteer cut out the 00 with a small utility knife ahead of time so students only have to cut out their glasses. The volunteer will also need to staple the glasses on to the headbands. When the students are finished decorating and coloring, an adult or older student can size the headbands and staple them closed.

Paper Clip Chain

Have students work in pairs or groups of three to make a paper clip chain with 100 paper clips. Alternatively, have pairs make a chain of 10 or 50 and join chains to make 100. These chains can also be used to measure things around the school or on the playground.

Horizontal Tower

Have students make a tower of 100 Lego or Unifix blocks. Have them lay the tower down on the floor for construction as a tower of 100 would be too tall and would keep falling. Students can work with a partner or in groups of three.

Do 100 Exercises

Have the students do 10 jumping jacks, 10 hops on one foot, 10 toe touches, etc., up to 100.

100 Years Old

Have students draw pictures of themselves when they are 100 years old. These drawings are often very cute and very funny!

100 Piece Puzzle

Have a larger group of older students put together a 100-piece puzzle.

100 Stamps

Have the students use stamps and stamp pads to make 100 stamps on a plain piece of white paper. The students can then write the number 100 on the page.

How to Maximize Results with Effective Algebra Practice

2008-12-31T12:51:00.000-08:00

How much time do teenagers really have for practice? Since they spend hours on the internet and TV, they sleep in on the weekends and they don't appear to get paid big bucks by the hour – it may seem that they have all the time in the world just for practicing algebra. Well that might be the case for countries like Japan, Korea or Singapore, but nowhere near it in the US. The average teenage would spend a few hours a week at best on the entire school duties. The only way to get them to spend more time on homework would be to include watching reality TV shows on the weekly assignments... The problem with algebra, comparing to other school duties - is that it's not simply memorizing stuff, but performing tasks that are more complex than almost anything else they need to do. Let's look for example at the following math problem:

"Jane, Paul and Peter can finish painting the fence in 2 hours. If Jane does the job alone she can finish it in 5 hours. If Paul does the job alone he can finish it in 6 hours. How long will it take for Peter to finish the job alone?"

Solving this kind of a problem can take something like 10-20 stages: understanding the data, assigning variables, using formulas, constructing the equations, combining like terms, finding a common denominator, opening parentheses and so on. Now consider what happens when someone makes a mistake on one of the steps? Obviously that person will end up with the wrong answer. However the biggest problem is that they have a slim chance of finding the error. Most likely the kid will be frustrated and angry about the wasted time, and will move on to the next question. If that one won't work either – that will be the end of math practice for that day.

So what can be done to avoid frustration and wasting time? With new subjects or ones of difficulties, real-time feedback is imperative (see my article on real time feedback). They can get it by asking for help from the teacher, other kids, family, friends or online - but no one should be left alone in this battle. A frustrated teenage will start avoiding the subject and develop an "algebra phobia". It is much better to move on to the next subject and continue only with someone that can help and provide feedback. So here are the top 10 tips for effective practice:

1. Do not spend too much time and energy on a single exercise. Make a fair effort to solve the exercises, but if it doesn't work – move on and get back to it with some help.

2. Allocate enough time. Don't start Algebra practice if you have less than 30 minutes. You don't have to use it all, but just the thought of what comes next can kill the practice.

3. Don't allow interruptions. No emails, IM, Cell phone, parents or anything else. There is no better excuse to stop the practice then welcoming an interruption.

4. Set clear reachable goals before you begin – and meet those goals.

5. Practice as soon as you can after the class ended. Like paying bills and dentist appointments, practice is usually done at the latest possible time (and for the same reasons). However doing it while the material is still fresh in the mind can save a lot of time.

6. Always start a new subject with the easy ones. Do not skip them even if they seem too easy – they will help getting the principles memorized

7. Make sure you understand before you start. If the explanations are unclear, ask someone or use the internet to find out. Don't waist too much time trying to solve an exercise while you still didn't figure out what is it that need to be done.

8. Clear your head. If you have urgent things to do – do them first, if they're not urgent write them down and get them out of your consciousness.

9. Use a calculator (not the one on the computer). It will save you time and "stupid" mistakes, and besides, you need to get use to it since it will be your only friend at the test.

10. Play background music (if it doesn't disturb you). Not too loud and not to exciting so it won't form an obstruction. Music can serve as a white noise blanket that masks all other interruption (phone rings, opening doors, calling someone, etc).

Education and the Changing World

2008-12-31T12:50:00.000-08:00

Teachers And The Teaching Profession

How important really is the teacher in the education sector? Many people rely heavily on the teacher at schools for the education of their children. At the same time, educational institutions also take pride of their teachers’ capabilities to impart knowledge on the youth. They invest heavily on recruiting the best teachers to be part of their staff. It seems, therefore, that these educators play a central role at schools and in the education sector, in general. In this article, the characteristics of a good teacher and his/her responsibilities will be discussed in an in-depth manner

Teachers are an integral part of a learning institution. You cannot find one school that has no teacher in its staff. Of course, it cannot be called a school if it does not have teachers. A teacher is a person who is responsible for conveying knowledge to the students to prepare the latter to become productive and competitive members of the society. As amply called, a teacher teaches the students on the relevant information, skills and experiences they need in accordance with the established curriculum.

A good teacher has the quality and capability of effectively conveying knowledge and wisdom to the students. This is important as the teachers are the trainers of the new generation of citizens, who will be the heirs to the society. It is the task of the teacher to train well and prepare the youth to face the challenges that will come upon them once they have graduated from school. A teacher has the responsibility of passing the knowledge from generations pass to the future caretakers of society. These tasks have been made greater by the development of society and the advancement of technology.

As society and technology progresses, the challenges that are facing the teachers are also becoming enormous. They must be able to cope with up with the rapidly advancing technology along with their teaching methods. At present, more and more students are hooked up with the Internet. Thousands of information, a number of which are harmful to the students, are posted on the web. This could prove detrimental on the learning process of the students. Teachers must be able to screen, or at least find a way to screen, these things or give clarifications on these unwanted information.

On the other hand, teachers can take advantage of the technological innovations. They can also use this technology to improve their teaching methods. If they are linked with other schools, they can use the convenience of the Internet to communicate with other teachers to share experiences, methods and information on effective teaching.

It can be said, therefore, that teachers are very important in the development of society. Without them, the passing of knowledge, accumulated from the past generations, to the new generation of caretakers of the society will not be possible. This responsibility bestowed upon their shoulders is an enormous task. The profession of teaching is one of the noblest professions in society. As the great philosopher Aristotle once said, there are only three true professionals in society; they are the lawyers, the doctors and the teachers.

Top Schools for Health Psychology

2008-12-30T06:56:00.000-08:00

Continue reading for education and career information for those interested in studying Health Psychology. This article includes a list of selective universities offering this major.

Training for Careers in Health Psychology

Those interested in wellness and behavior may want to consider the field of Health Psychology. Professionals in this field often provide counseling. Issues addressed include addiction, diet and eating disorders. Since this is a broad field, many students choose to specialize in a particular area.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, www.bls.gov, the employment rate in this field is expected to grow faster than many other occupations. There are specific education requirements for those entering the Health Psychology field. Professionals must have a bachelor's degree as well as a master's degree or a related counseling field. Some states also require professionals to acquire a license as well. Many schools, colleges and universities offer these programs.

Top Schools for Health Psychology

(Source: U.S. News, www.usnews.com):

1. Iona College-

This college offer certificate, bachelor's and master's degree programs.

-Undergraduate Student Body: 3,425; Faculty to Student Ratio: 1:15; Tuition Costs: $20,980; Average High School GPA of Incoming Freshmen: 3.4; Test Scores of Incoming Freshmen: ACT: Not Listed, SAT: More than 40% had scores 1000-1099.

2. Philadelphia University-

This university has a rich tradition, founded in 1884.

-Undergraduate Student Body: 2,706; Faculty to Student Ratio: 1:12; Tuition Costs: $22,140; Average High School GPA of Incoming Freshmen: 3.3; Test Scores of Incoming Freshmen: ACT: Not Listed, SAT: More than 50% had scores 1000-1099.

3. Pepperdine University-

This institution has an average freshman retention rate of 88% as reported by U.S. News.

-Undergraduate Student Body: 3,201; Faculty to Student Ratio: 1:12; Tuition Costs: $30,860; Average High School GPA of Incoming Freshmen: 3.6; Test Scores of Incoming Freshmen: ACT: More than 50% had scores 24-29, SAT: More than 40% had scores 1200-1299.

Top Schools for Liberal Arts and Humanities Programs

2008-12-30T06:55:00.000-08:00

Keep reading for education and career information for those interested in studying Liberal Arts and Humanities. This article lists selective colleges offering Liberal Arts and Humanities programs.

Training for Careers in Liberal Arts and Humanities

Those interested in literature, foreign languages and history may want to consider a higher education in Liberal Arts and Humanities. This program usually involves a combination of various subjects including English, literature and philosophy. Students who pursue this education often become teachers, either in K-12 schools or colleges because they have an understanding of many different subjects. On the other hand, high school and college teachers often must specialize in a specific area and seek licensing in their respective states.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor (BLS), www.bls.gov, the job outlook for teachers is expected to be good, growing as fast as average compared to other professions. The availability of positions varies depending on the state and the individual region within the state. The experts at the BLS report that some states with the highest demand include California, Idaho, Hawaii, Alaska, Utah and New Mexico.

There are specific education requirements for those pursuing a career as a teacher. Students need to obtain at least a bachelor's degree in Liberal Arts and Humanities or some related field. They also need to receive a teaching credential. Other career options for graduates of Liberal Arts and Humanities degrees include writing, management, advertising and public relations. This education is available at schools, colleges and universities.

Top Schools for Liberal Arts and Humanities

(Source: U.S. News, www.usnews.com):

1. Williams College-

This college is ranked first in the category liberal arts by U.S. News.

-Undergraduate Student Body: 1,991; Faculty to Student Ratio: 1:8; Tuition Costs: $31,760; Average High School GPA of Incoming Freshmen: Not Listed; Test Scores of Incoming Freshmen: ACT: Not Listed, SAT: More than 50% had scores 1400-1600.

2. Amherst College-

This institution has an average freshmen retention rate of 97% as reported by U.S. News.

-Undergraduate Student Body: 1,638; Faculty to Student Ratio: 1:8; Tuition Costs: $33,035; Average High School GPA of Incoming Freshmen: Not Listed; Test Scores of Incoming Freshmen: ACT: More than 60% had scores 30-36, SAT: More than 60% had scores 1400-1600.

3. Swarthmore College-

This college has a rich tradition, founded in 1864.

-Undergraduate Student Body: 1,474; Faculty to Student Ratio: 1:8; Tuition Costs: $31,516; Average High School GPA of Incoming Freshmen: Not Listed; Test Scores of Incoming Freshmen: ACT: Not Listed, SAT: Not Listed.

Best Of Finance For The Best Of Education

2008-12-26T07:17:00.002-08:00

To forge ahead and have a bright career prospect, it all depends on the level of education. Be it in the field of medicine, engineering, IT, aviation, you need to have a good expertise and for the same you have to spend a certain amount of money. In the present circumstances, education is an expensive affair and this is where those belonging to the low income group have to face a lot of difficulties. However, the issues related to finances too can be sorted out with the help of student finance. Through this loan program, you will be able to take care of all the expenses pertaining to your education without any worry.
The program is indeed flexible and offers the best financial package attached with the best terms and conditions. Further, the programs also accommodate students with a history of bad credit, so that they too can take care of their educational expenses. With the amount derived, you can use it for purposes like paying admission fees, hotel dues and mess charges, expenses on books and computers along with some to tackle personal needs.
Funds for students can be availed from various sources, but it is the federal government through which you derive the funds at fairly easy terms and conditions. Federal loan is offered to your further in the Stafford and Perkins loan schemes. The interest rate charged is comparatively low. Interesting these schemes of the finance is meant only for the students belonging to the economically weaker section.
If you have failed to source the funds from government sources, then you can prefer to avail the funds from private lenders. Private lenders offer the funds by categorizing it in to secured and unsecured form. Secured form of the funds offers a bigger amount at comparatively low rates. On the other hand, unsecured form of the funds can be derived without any collateral. Although the interest rate charged will be marginally high, a proper research of the market will help you to access a better loan deal.
About repaying the debts, you will only start making payments only after you have completed your studies and got a suitable job.
Student finance enhances your chances of taking a proper education without worrying about the financial aspect.

7 Tips For Increasing Your Sales With A Guarantee

2008-12-26T07:17:00.001-08:00

People are more likely to buy your product or service if you make their decision as easy as possible
Based on the techniques of hypnosis and Neuro-linguistic Programming, you want them to picture in their mind what it will be like in the future after they have bought it.
It may be difficult for them to do that if there is too much risk involved so your marketing task is to remov the risk.
The way you do that is through some sort of guarantee
Most potential buyers will be a bit skeptical of buying whatever you sell and a guarantee removes a significant part of their risk.
People want to know that you will "put your money where your mouth is." If you have confidence in your own product or service, this will help your customers feel at ease, leading to more sales.
For this reason, the concept of "risk reversal" is crucial
If you can't stand behind your offer with a guarantee of some sort, people are likely to purchase from someone who does. So make sure you don't help the competition by missing out this part of your offer.
Some people are too scared to offer a guarantee as they worry that people will take them up on it.
The reality is that some will but, provided you deliver good quality and don't make unjustified claims, you will win more business by having the guarantee than you will lose in this way.
Here are 7 ways you can get the best results from your guarantee
1. Promote the value of your guarantee
Specify the details as though it is another product that adds value to your offer. Spell it out in plain, simple English. Make sure it is "no questions asked" to help put your customers at ease.
2. Make it personal, if possible
It's useful to help people see that there is a person behind the guarantee. So consider making it a "personal pledge" or a "personal promise" written to the buyer.
3. Longer is better
The longer the guarantee period, the more comfortable the buyer will feel - and longer guarantees typically lead to fewer refunds. In the extreme version, people only pay after they have tried it out to their satisfaction.
4. More is better
A guarantee that offers 'more than your money back' is very appealing. Let your customers keep something even if they decide to return the product. This helps them see the purchase from you as totally risk-free - because you're the one with all the risk.
5. Be creative
Think about what the customer really wants and consider offering guaranteed results rather than offering money-back. For example, a computer repair shop that will fix your machine even if it takes 5 trips back to the shop will really stand out from the crowd. No "or your money back" needed!
6. Make it prompt
When a customer asks for a refund, make sure it is prompt and courteous. Consider them a priority as it's better to refund the money than to have an unsatisfied customer.
7. Work on reducing refunds
Whatever you do, there are always likely to be some people who will ask for refunds. It is a simple fact that customers change their minds or were just looking for something else. Take the chance to get some feedback and see if you need to make changes.

Online Banking Services: Enjoy Fast And Hassle Free Banking

2008-12-26T07:16:00.001-08:00

After liberalisation of the Indian economy, the banking scenario has undergone various changes. These days, depositing and withdrawing money do not consume much of our time. Moreover with the passage of times, the banks have become the most reliable bodies for investment and the saving purpose. However, one cannot ignore the fact, that earlier the procedures of depositing and withdrawing money from the banks used to be very stressful tasks. But these days, the online banking services are relieving the people to a great extent. The Internet is actually performing the role of a genie in our fast and steady lifestyle. It has touched every aspect of our lives in the truest sense.

The online banking services have changed the concept of banking globally. Now almost everything seems to be a click away . In other words, we can say that we can do any formalities of banking just with a click of mouse. This facility has enhanced various factors such as comfortability and consuming less time. With the development and introduction of the advanced technology such as the Internet has actually contributed to the enhancement of the banking services. This finally lead to the development of the online banking services. One can access these services from anywhere and at any possible time. From the comfort of your cozy living room or your office room, you can now easily deposit and withdraw money. The long queues to deposit or withdraw money have now become the stories of the past.

Getting Free Money From The Government

2008-12-26T07:13:00.000-08:00

There are government grants to help people start or expand small businesses, debt grants, college student grants, and even grants to help single mothers pay for daycare. Even if you’re thinking about buying a new home, you can receive free money from the government.

Those who do know about these programs are getting checks in the mail in as little as 7 days, and these are not small sums of money. Student can get their entire college tuition paid for and small business owners are cashing checks for as much as $200,000.

Best of all, this is money that never has to be paid back. Free government money is just that – money that the government gives you to help you out financially. As long as you use the money in accordance to the terms of the grant, you’ll never be asked to repay the money.

The easy part is finding the available grants. The work has already been done for you and organized in a searchable database. Just request a copy of the free grant CD, and you’ll have instant access to over 3,000 grant programs that giving out billions of dollars. From there all you need to do is ask for the money and cash your check.

Study abroad with other Americans?

2008-12-25T06:01:00.002-08:00

When you choose to study abroad, sometimes you inevitably will be sitting in a classroom filled with other Americans. To some, this may seem completely illogical. You go to study abroad to meet the locals — not locals in your own country. However, studying abroad with Americans has its advantages and disadvantages. Here are are some advantages of study abroad with Americans from Student Traveler Magazine.

But of course, there is always the other side of the coin with studying with other Americans. Here, an article in Student Traveler Magazine discusses the disadvantages of studying abroad with Americans.

Language, language, language. We’re not just focusing on Monty Python accents and Cockney slang; at least in England it’s still English. But if you study abroad in a non-English-speaking country and want to attend a local university, be sure your language skills are up for the challenge. You’ll be shown no special favors generally, but of course, your fluency will improve exponentially.

Most U.S. schools and study-abroad companies charge the equivalent of a full semester’s tuition at an American university to study at a foreign college. But native students at those schools are usually paying much less than you, sometimes by a matter of several degrees, meaning their spending habits will probably outpace yours, particularly at the pubs. Remember to take it easy.

Each country has its own official, nonsensical way of dealing with paperwork and rules, and that extends to schools. (“Of course we don’t require advisers to inform students when they take abrupt, month long vacations”). American-run programs abroad tend to handle all the bureaucracy for you, which can be a huge benefit. This also applies to the level of academic rigor: you know what you’ll get with an American-run program, but the foreign classes can be crushingly hard or easier than taking the London Tube.

Summer study abroad

2008-12-25T06:01:00.001-08:00

Summer programs are ideal for students who want to get away from the comforts of home for a little while. Why not take a break from the usual academic routine, and get some university credits out of the way in an international location? Most universities offer summer study abroad programs or exchange programs. Here are some of the most popular summer study abroad destinations:

1. Spain
Summer study in Spain is ideal due to warm the climate and sunny weather. Cities like Barcelona and Madrid have excellent universities and is ideal for the student who can immerse him or herself in its relaxing lifestyle and endlessly fun nightlife.

Madrid: http://www.studyabroad.com/programs/academic/madrid
Barcelona: http://www.studyabroad.com/programs/academic/barcelona
http://www.aifsabroad.com/spain/
http://www.cccs.com/

2. France
For those attracted to studying the finer things in life, the city of Paris is a cultural Mecca of art, literature, architecture, fashion, and cuisine. Paris is the perfect place for the art student. The country has some of the most famous museums in the world, and home to artists Monet, Degas, and Cezanne. To find out how to spend a summer studying in the City of Lights, check out http://www.studyabroadparis.org/ for more information.

http://www.summerstudy.com/paris/index.cfm
http://www.parissummerstudy.com/

3. England
Don’t want to spend your summer abroad trying to learn a completely different language? Consider England–all the flair of a European country without the language barrier. Plus, England is home to some of the oldest and most well known universities in the world. The University of Cambridge hosts summer schools for a variety of topics, including art history, science, literature, and medieval studies. Or consider the University of Oxford. Twenty-four British prime ministers have been educated at the university, and the city of Oxford has plenty of shops, markets, theaters and pubs, and is located 80 minutes from bus to London.

Cambridge Study Abroad programs: http://www.iiepassport.org/webapp/controller/PassportSearchResultsInt?programid=&country=225&fieldofstudy=&language=&academiclevel=&duration=&worldarea=&city=&organization=&restrictions=&exclude=&sponsorid=&failurl=&daad=&germany=&state=&formatid=&austsplash=&australia=&sponsorname=University+of+Cambridge

Oxford University Web site: http://www.ox.ac.uk/

4. Japan
You’ve got plenty of options in a place like Japan. Japan is a place where a student will surely be enamored by the thrill of its bustling, technologically advanced cities, and also by the natural, scenic beauty of its countryside. Japanese society places utmost important to high-quality education, and there are plenty of summer school options to choose from.

https://www.iesabroad.org/IES/Programs/Japan/Tokyo_Summer/tokyoSummer.html
http://www.ccisstudyabroad.org/program.php?link=japan_tokyo_summer
http://www.ciee.org/program_search/program_detail.aspx?program_id=1741&type=part
http://www.temple.edu/studyabroad/programs/summer/japan/asian-studies.html

5. Australia
Christmas break in July? Only in Australia. Since the country lies in the southern hemisphere, the weather is different to northern hemisphere weather and the Australian Christmas takes place in the height of summer. Their winter is actually from June to August. Australia has several summer programs from various universities with programs including Wildlife and Conservation, internships, and Australian Film, Literature & Media programs, and programs specializing in marine biology.

http://www.study-australia.com/?id=132
http://australearn.org/Search/Programs/ProgramID129/

6. Brazil
This large South American country is one of the newest study destinations, with the marvelous city of Rio de Janeiro attracting most of its international students. Nature lovers will also revel in Brazil, as over half of the country is covered in forest, including the largest rainforest, the Amazon. Students can also study Portuguese, the official language, through Brazilian summer programs.

http://www.ciee.org/program_search/program_detail.aspx?program_id=124
http://www.newpaltz.edu/studyabroad/prog_summer_portuguese.html
http://studyabroad.rutgers.edu/program_brazil.html
http://www.temple.edu/studyabroad/programs/summer/brazil/index.html
http://www.intraxstudyabroad.com/brazil/summer-cultural-immersion

Graduate study abroad

2008-12-25T05:59:00.000-08:00

If you’re looking to continue your studies after finishing undergrad and are eyeing grad schools, why not look overseas? You will have a great time traveling to a new, unique destination and get some international experience for your resume. You might even save some money: many programs abroad are shorter than their equivalents here in the states, and since many are subsidized by their government. It’s also far cheaper, since a year in the states can run you more than $60,000.

One caveat with studying abroad: since there is more to deal with in terms of visas, funding (see below), and figuring out which kind of plug adapter you’ll need for your Xbox, you need to start planning earlier than you would for local grad schools. For example, most counselors recommend beginning the process for obtaining a Fulbright scholarship two years ahead of your proposed start-date at school, so either begin to plan junior year or realize you might have a year between schools to focus on your application.

Funding is also a very big part of getting to study abroad, since you’ll have to learn the ins and outs of looking for scholarships and grants. Financial aid is more complicated than just applying to your prospective school’s financial aid department. Many international schools have some sort of aid, but you really should look into scholarships, since you may be eligible and less debt is always better than more debt. A great website to look into funding is the aptly-named http://www.studyabroadfunding.org/ , which has a database of most international scholarships that is searchable by country, degree, subject, and other criteria. It’s quite an impressive and informational resource.

There are a couple of incredible websites that have large listings of all the programs available to students looking to study abroad. One of the best is at http://www.gradschools.com/international-programs.html, which is a searchable database of programs. Also check out:
http://www.princetonreview.com/graduate-schools-programs.aspx?uidbadge=%07
http://www.studyabroad.com/grad_sab/?WT.srch=1&gclid=CIamxoasmZYCFQVfFQodXDiU5w

You can study all of the same subjects you would study here in the states, but there are a few locations that end up being a little more popular for American students. Here are three of them:
• England / the UK
There are thousands of programs scattered throughout some of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world (Oxford and Cambridge, anyone?) in the UK. You can study whatever you want, whether it is Chaucerian prose or international law (plus you’ll get some studying in on the important subjects of afternoon tea, cricket, and proper spelling of words like colour and centre). Here are some UK-specific websites in addition to the ones noted above:
o http://www.topuniversities.com/country_guides/uk0/
o http://www.britishcouncil.org/usa-educationuk.htm
o http://www.britishcouncil.org/usa-education-advisors-us-study-abroad-faqs.htm (this site is “brilliant!” – it gives you a rundown of how schools work in the UK)
o http://www.hero.ac.uk/uk/home/index.cfm (this is a mammoth site, billed as “the official gateway to universities, colleges, and research organizations in the UK”)
o http://www.postgrad.ie/study_abroad/uk.html

• Australia
Always a popular travel and study abroad destination, Australia has some top-notch graduate programs. You can get your degree and then go on a walkabout or waltz Matilda. Here are a few websites you should check out, mate:
o http://www.topuniversities.com/gradschool/graduate_programs/country_guides/australasia/
o http://www.education.gov.au/goved/go/pid/10 (the Australian government’s international student portal)
o http://www.australiainfo.net.au/areas/escolas/school.php
o http://www.australearn.org/programs/degree_programs/
o http://www.degreesabroad-cis.com/australia.htm

• China
China’s here, it’s important, and we need to do everything we can to build strong business and academic relationships with the world’s newest superpower. Here are a few places you can find information about studying there as a graduate:
o http://www.studyabroad.com/china.html
o http://www.spainexchange.com/study_abroad/graduate_programs2-CN-en-px.htm
o http://www.ciee.org/study/scholarships.aspx#china

• India
Again, India is an incredibly important country on the world stage right now, and there are limitless business opportunities there. Here are a few websites to get you going:
o http://www.umabroad.umn.edu/programs/graduate/moreInfo.html
o http://www.spainexchange.com/study_abroad/graduate_programs2-IN-en-px.htm

Good luck, and have fun!

3 Common Mistakes of Online Students Make

2008-12-23T01:25:00.000-08:00

Many working individuals choose online education as their prefer channel to earn a degree. By becoming online students, they can earn a degree that can help in their career while maintaining their current employment and home live. However, a simple mistake such as choosing the wrong school and selecting a wrong online degree program could harm your chances of finding success. Here are 3 common mistakes make by online students. Get to know these mistakes and avoiding them can help you to become a success online student and be graduated with a degree that worth the value that can help in your career path.

Mistake #1: Enrolling in a non-accredited online degree program.

If you have enrolled in a non-accredited online degree program, you degree may not be accept by your future employers. Accreditation by an accreditation agency that is recognized by U.S Department of Education is important to ensure the value of your degree and being accepted widely in the job market.

Before enrolling into any online degree program, check to see if your preference online university is accredited by the proper national or regional association. If you realize that your degree program is unaccredited after you have signed up the online degree program, the best solution is try to transfer to a university that is, but before you do so, check with the new university about their transfer policy, you may be allow to salvage some of you work.
Mistake #2: Not Taking Online Courses Seriously

Not every online students will success and complete their degree program finally. This is because not every online student is able to self-motivate to do their best without an instructor standing over their shoulder. If you want to successfully complete your degree, you need to change your behavior and taking the course seriously. A proper time management is needed to allocate time for your work, family and online study. You should plan your own schedule that allows you to stand focus on your work and family while getting your assignment done.

Mistake #3: Pay for Online Degree Out of Your Own Pocket

Did you know that there are tons of financial aids to fund your college study? Although many of financial aids require you to attend a physical 2- to 4-year college courses, but many financial assistance are available for online students as well especially those financial aids funded by corporate to their employees. Hence, you should check with your company on any financial aid available for it employees. Many companies have funds allocated to their employees if they want to earn a job related degree online.

Another good place to search for free money and cheap study loan is Internet. You can search those scholarships and grants that open for application from search engines or you can get help from free scholarships services to help you find the scholarships that you are qualify for.

In Conclusion

You need to avoid the common mistakes make by most online students and know how to use the available resources such as financial aid that can ease the cost of tuition. You should also look serious about your degree program and plan a time schedule for online study that can fit into your time while ensuring your degree program is accredited by a proper national or regional association.

Earn Your Degree Online If You Are Ready For It

2008-12-23T01:23:00.000-08:00

Online education becomes popular these years as more and more busy working adults are signing up for an online degree program to upgrade their knowledge and working related skills so that they are ready to continue compete in the highly competitive job market. While online degree program is a good option for working adults to earn their degree online, not all online students will success to complete all the online courses due to the students can't adapt to the different learning style of online education. Hence, you should only get your degree online if you are ready for it.

If you are considering an online degree program, before you make up your decision, it is a good idea to check how different learning style of online education work. Then, consider the online learning style whether it fit you. By taking into consideration of online learning process in your decision-making process, it may help you to make more informed decision about online learning.

Here are a few factors to consider if you want to successfully earn your degree online:
1. Effective Time Management
If you want to handle your job and online study, you need to arrange your time and effectively manage your time so that you won't overlap your job and your study. Although the flexible schedule of online degree program can fit into your busy schedule, many working's online students are too busy and allocate all their time for their work and find no time for their online study at all. The main failure behind this is the student is unable to effectively manage his own time so that while busy in working, there is time allocated for his study.

2. Able To Be Self-Motivated
In online learning environment, you are connected to your lecturers and peers through online channel unless the course requires you to attend a certain hours of class-based tutorial; No body will watch up at your back to motivate your study, remind you on your assignments and push you to move your steps toward completing your courses; You have to do all by yourself. If you can't motivate yourself to carry out tasks during the online learning process, you are at risk to give up in half way. Hence, you must be self-motivated to be successful.

3. Learning By Reading In Text Format
Many online courses have integrated video and audio learning lessons for their online students, but the fact is majority of the learning materials are still in text format. For a working adult who need to read document at work should have no problem with it. But to those who are not uses to study by reading text format, you need to prepare for it.

4. Able To Use Online Resources
Many people know how to surf internet, access to email, chat and forum and these are the basic requirements for online education. In additional to that you need to be able to use these online resources to support you in your online study. Internet is the largest information hub where you can find almost any information you need. You need to be able to source for information online and ask questions and get your answers using these online facilities. The online university which you enrolled your online degree program will provides you with various online resources such as help-desk, online learning system, virtual communication channel with peers and lecturers & etc, you need to prepare yourself to familiar with these system and use them effectively to assist you in your online study.

Online Education: How To Know If It's Right For You

2008-12-23T01:22:00.000-08:00

"Online education could be the perfect path to improving your job skills, finishing a degree, or changing careers," says Susan Deane, Author of ONLINE EDUCATION, Is It For You, "especially if you want to improve your lifestyle and income."

The problem is that not all online education is right for everyone and there are important pitfalls and traps to avoid.

As an online education expert, Susan Deane takes the mystery out of deciding how or if to pursue an online course with her simple tips and strategies based on experience as a student, teacher, and now, course developer.

If you're considering online education, first take this easy quiz (and be honest!)

Online education was meant for you if most of these statements describe you-
- I cannot commit to a regular schedule.
- My family and/or work responsibilities make it difficult to attend regular college classes.
- I don't have specific degree prerequisites.
- I'm motivated to succeed.
- I have the determination to complete a course successfully.
- I want to accelerate my degree completion.
- I want to complete courses that are not locally available.
- I sometimes travel for business or pleasure.
- I enjoy communicating using my writing skills.

Still not sure? You might try taking a course to find out! There's very little to lose and LOTS to gain.

When it comes time to select a full online study program, here are some guidelines for avoiding the pitfalls and traps that are out there:

DO:
- Ask around for recommendations. If you don't need an accredited degree, a professional speaker or trainer might be your best online teacher.
- Expect to work for your degree. Online does not mean free ride.
- Be realistic with how many credits you can handle at a time.
- Pick a degree or course that really interests you, especially if self-discipline is not your strong suit.
- Most universities offer some credits for life/work experience and of course you may be able to test out of some required classes. Expect that the experience and skills you have need to be verifiable before you can apply it to a degree program.

AVOID:
- Scams that are sneaky and often copy entire websites of real colleges but delete the contact information. Refer to the directory put out by the Council for Higher Education Accredidation to be sure you have a legitimate degree program. Those few minutes of online search can save you a real headache later.
- Sites that care more about your credit card than your skill level and past education.
- Life-experience only degrees. They may sound easy, but are never legitimate and there are laws being passed that make them illegal to use on certain job applications. (Really, who wants a doctor who has never taken a medical class but watched a lot of reality tv?) Don't expect your experience to save you more than a quarter to a half of your education time and cost.

Fitting your lifestyle:
- If you don't work well alone, find a study buddy. Preferably a co-worker or local friend. They don't have to even be working on the same thing.
- Use your own personal computer. You'll be glad you did.
- Schedule class time and study/homework time. While flexible hours means you pick when, they still need to happen sometime. Portable MP3 players may give you even more flexibility with finding time to listen to recorded lessons.
- Take advantage of study groups, online forums, your professor's email, and local study buddies.

Take the quiz, try these strategies out and you'll easily and confidently enjoy earning the legitimate online degree you want without putting your life and work on hold.

How to Compare Online Universities

2008-12-23T01:14:00.001-08:00

Although there are many online universities available, choosing the best online university that offers your preference online degree program can be a challenge. You may know what type of program you are looking for, but narrowing your list to the programs that contains the courses which meeting your requirements may be difficult. Here are five considerations which can help you compare online universities based on a few important factors.

1. Compare Online Universities Accreditation

I believe you have seen the word "accreditation" mentioned in many online education guides and articles. It's the most important factor to consider when comparing online universities. If you earn a degree from an online university with regional accreditation, your degree will be accepted widely in the job market, and it helps you to have easier time finding jobs after graduation. You may want to continue to a higher education in the future, which you most probably will use your degree to apply for graduate programs, and a degree from an accredited online university will enable you to transfer your credit easier because these online degrees are accepted by most schools.

2. Compare Online Universities Residency Requirements

Not all online degree programs are offered 100% online, some universities requires their online students to attend a certain hours of physical classes on campus; others may require once a week for group meeting among students on group coursework discussion, or perform their lab work at school. Hence, when comparing online universities, you need to consider the residency requirements that best fit your schedule especially if you are a working individual or traveling to campus is a concern to you.

3. Compare Online Study Schedules

Although one of the key features of online education program is "flexible schedule", but not all online universities allow you a full flexibility to study at your own pace, you may need to meet strict deadlines, or you are required to logon to the online classes at a fixed time to attend real-time learning sessions. If you are a working individual who have un-fixed working hours or a frequent traveler for job assignment, then you may prioritize on the online universities that allow you to study fully at your own pace.

4. Compare How Online Universities Carry Out Examination

There are online universities allow students to complete course exams entirely online, with open-book tests, while others may require their students to attend the exams at a proctored testing center. If you prefer to take open-book examination, then online universities that need you to attend closed-book tests might not be the best option for you.

5. Compare Online Universities Admission Requirements

Each online university has it own admission requirements; some schools have a very lengthy application process that require you to attend interviews, writing an essay or get a recommendation letter for your admission application, while others may have simple and easy admission process. When comparing these online universities, you need to ensure you are able to meet the admission requirements before you submit your application.

Online Study Tips - 6 To-Do Tasks in First Week of Study

2008-12-23T01:12:00.000-08:00

After you have enrolled into an online education program, the next thing to do is preparing yourself to attend online classes. Your first week in an online class can be a little disorienting as you may not familiar with the online learning system used by the school. You need to learn how to navigate a virtual "classroom", interact with peers and professors through online system and familiar yourself with the online learning environment. Here are 6 online study tips that you can do in the first week of your online learning:

1. Review the course requirement

Once you received the course requirements for every subject, go through the requirements carefully to ensure you can really handle the workload. Many online students tend to dropout half-way of the course after they find out that can't cope for the course. Don't let this happen to you, if you find out the course is not suitable for you after reviewing the course requirements, and you decide to dropout the course, do it before the school's withdrawal deadline so that you can get a full or partial refund of your payment.
2. Buy text books and other materials

Buy all the textbooks and other course materials early so that you won't fall behind on your online study. Many schools have their own online bookstore or a recommended list of bookstore where you can purchase the course textbooks and other materials.

3. Upgrade computer hardware and install required software

Is your computer meeting the online system requirements? Most online learning system can be accessed directly from general internet browser such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla Firefox, but those online learning system may only run well in certain minimum version of internet browser such as IE 6.0 or Firefox 2.0, then you need to upgrade it if yours is an earlier version. The school may requires you to install their software on to your computer, make sure you read the software requirements and upgrade your computer if necessary before you install the software.

4. Get to known each other with your teachers and peers

Your online teachers may never get to know you if you are in an online course with a lot of students. Take an initiative to briefly introduce yourself by using online course message board to let your teachers aware about you. A teacher who knows a little bit about you will be more likely to help you through the course. Establish yourself as an active member in the online class, take the initiative to get to know your peers and trade your email or other online communication accounts with them. You will your life in online study much easier if you have made up your network between teachers and peers.

5. Plan your learning schedule

You should always balance your family, career (if any) and your online study life. The life balances can only be achieved with a proper time management. Establish a regular study schedule and stick to it with your best efforts. Let your friends know that you are unavailable during these times and plan your family time to fit your study schedule so that it won't crash with each other.

6. Marks the tests and assignment schedule on your calendar

One of the key factors for success online students is "self-motivation", nobody will look at your back and remind you on your assignment due date, and the tests schedule. You should be self-motivate enough to record all of the assignments, test, essays and project on your personal calendar once you receive a syllabus, which normally will be given out at the beginning of the online course.

Should You Earn Your Degree Online?

2008-12-23T01:10:00.000-08:00

Should I earn my degree online? You may ask this question when you are in middle of deciding which channel to go for in earning your degree. Earn a degree online have many advantages and an online student can benefits from the flexibility and convenient of learning environment provided by an online degree program. But, not all students who pursue their degree online will be successfully complete their degree program, because you need to have certain characteristics in order for you to success as an online student. This article will help you to understand the advantages of pursuing your degree online and what are the characteristics of a successful online student.

Advantages Of Online Degree Program

Flexibility to fit into one's busy schedule is one of major advantages offered by an online degree. If you are a working individual who are looking to enhance your knowledge and get an extra degree that is related to your working field, but you don't intend to on-hold your current job just to meet the purpose; then, an online degree offers a perfect solution.
Nowadays, online degree programs cover almost every subjects offered by traditional "brick & mortar" colleges which you can choose one that meets your needs and fit into your busy working schedule.

In general, it is more cost effective pursuing your degree online as you can cut off many expenses such as traveling or transportation cost and other college expenses because you can attend the classes online from home. In additional, many college books are in electronic format which you can view or download from the online school learning system, it save your expenses in buying the text book. Besides that, the tuition fee for online degree program is cheaper and you can complete your degree in much shorter of time.

An Online Degree Program May Not Right For You

Many students follow the current education trend and taking their degree through online education without considering whether they are the right candidate for this new education channel. That's why many students fail to complete their degree after wasting their time and money but without meeting their purpose of earning a degree for any reason.

Self-motivation and good time management are two important factors for you to success as online student. If you prefer to follow a pre-set schedule like what traditional degree programs do and your need someone watching at your back to encourage you in completing your study. Then, online study might not be your call.

You must also be able to adapt to a new learning style of online education. If you think like most students who failed their online study, online education is just the same with the class-based learning style; then you might end up at same result with theirs. You must be able to effectively learn by reading text format learning material instead of learn by listening in lecture hall. In additional to that, online learning style requires you to be able to get yourself familiar with the uses of online resources such as internet, online library and online learning system offered by the online school. If you do not like this type learning styles as needed by online study, traditional education might be better suite you.

Summary

There are many advantages of pursuing a degree online and you can benefit from these advantages if you decide to earn your degree through online education. But, be sure to evaluate yourself to ensure that earning a degree online is a right decision.

Study Abroad At Online University - One Click Away From University Abroad

2008-12-23T01:09:00.000-08:00

Once upon the time, study abroad is a big deal, a lot thing need to get prepared before you can departure to start your educational journey at university oversea. With the available of online universities that offer various online degree programs, you can across the border and reach any of university worldwide with a click of button and earn your degree comfortably at your prefer location. Online universities have enabled people to study abroad from home with the minimum education budget that affordable by anyone.

The definition of "study abroad" means the arrangement by which a student is enabled to complete part of his/her college program at university or college located at another country. Traditionally, if a student go to study abroad, he/she need to physically travel to that country and live there for a certain years to complete his/her courses. Tuition fee for study abroad is not cheap, parents need to allocate a good lump sum of money if they want to send their children to study abroad, or the students need to get a scholarship that is enough to support them in their oversea study. Beside that, traveling cost, insurance, living expenses, cost for applying a study visa & etc need to be budgeted for. Hence, it may not affordable for many people.
On the anther hand, you can now study at any university located out of country easily through online universities. Many prestige universities are now offer their degree programs online that enable students from any country of the world to enroll into their degree programs. You can study abroad by just crossing the internet border through your modem and study your favorite courses offer by any country worldwide without the need to go out from your home. The best thing about study abroad through online university is you learn at your own pace and design you own schedule that best fit your busy time and continue with your job (if you already get a job after graduate from high school) while earning your degree at home.

Online degree programs cover almost all types of majors. You can search for your favorite online degree program easily from internet. Then, request for the details information from the universities that offer your degree of choice. Information requests are free of charge; hence, you should utilize it to get the necessary information on your short listed online degree programs and fine review all the courses offered in the programs before you make up your decision on which online degree program to enroll with. Many online universities have made their academic advisor online for chat at the university's website; you can easily get your questions answered by the academic advisor through the online chat session.

Once you have decide to "study abroad" through online degree program, you need to get ready basic requirement for online study, which include an internet connected computer or laptop with at least average processing power and broadband level of modem connection. Last thing is your commitment to complete the course.

Are you ready to departure for your study abroad? Click your mouse button & get connected to internet. You will reach the university at oversea in a second.

How Not To Be Lonely When Studying Online

2008-12-23T01:02:00.000-08:00

You've decided that taking some online courses will be the most convenient way for you to earn that degree you've been seeking. However, you soon come to realize that studying online is a bit different than the traditional classroom in the sense that you do not have personal contact with anyone and cannot just "talk" with them directly.

Therefore, it can get quite lonely when you're attempting to complete online courses, since you will be working alone for the most part, reading the material, logging on and commenting about different topics that are posted, and completing the assignments and tests assigned to you.

However, there are some steps you can take to make the online classroom experience a little more socially friendly.

First, try to connect with the other students who are taking the online course with you. You can join them on the message board and discuss the topics being discussed in the online course, as well as assist them if they have problems with the assignment. They may do the same for you when you have difficulty with an assignment as well.
Second, see if any of your fellow classmates live near you; if so, you could suggest meeting together in a study group to help one another learn the material. This can help you have more personal contact with your online classmates.

Third, it's important that you log onto the course a minimum of 5-6 times a week, if not more; staying up-to-date with what the professor and your classmates have posted on different topics can help you concentrate on the course material and make you feel more like you're in a traditional classroom setting.

If you log on less often and fall behind, it will be very difficult to catch up, and being that you alone will have to make the effort and commitment to catch up, this will just increase the feelings of loneliness, which could further hinder your ability to complete the online course. So don't fall behind; attend online class religiously just like you would a traditional classroom.

Fourth, make sure that you take some time away from the computer and spend some quality offline time with family and friends. This can help to give you a break from the "isolation" of attending classes online.

If possible, try talking with them about what you are learning online and how the process works; this can involve them in what you are doing and they may provide additional motivation for you to stay with and complete the online coursework even when you don't feel like doing so by asking you what you are learning online, how you like the experience of online coursework, etc.

Fifth, discuss your online coursework with your colleagues at work. Tell them what you are learning and describe the process of how you are learning it online. This may increase their curiosity of online coursework and they may want you to keep them updated on how it is working out for you, further encouraging you to finish the online coursework. In addition, they may even want to take an online class themselves; you might even take some future online classes together, which can help you from becoming lonely the next time you decide to or need to take an online course.

Nowadays, online courses can be just as educationally beneficial as their offline counterparts, but you need to be aware that online coursework requires less human interaction, and therefore, you need to adjust accordingly to make sure you stay committed and complete your online courses.

THE PROJECT FOR LEARNING ABROAD, TRAINING AND OUTREACH (PLATO): An integrated study abroad, training, certification, and diversity outreach program

2008-12-17T05:58:00.000-08:00

Study abroad is one of the most effective ways to develop international perspectives that promote global understanding, yet too few U.S. community college and university students take advantage of this opportunity. For those who do study abroad, too many participate in programs with limited orientation prior to study abroad and find a disconnect, rather than an integration of the study abroad experience into their home campus degree programs. Many times, recognition of the added value of the study abroad experience by the institution, employers, and participants upon the student’s return to the home campus is also lacking.

This is a problem for many U.S. college and university students and is exacerbated by unacceptably low levels of participation by African American students (3.4%), Latino/Hispanics (5.1%), Native American (0.5%) and Asian/Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders (6.0%) [IIE, Open Doors 2004]. Many underrepresented student populations are left out of current study abroad recruitment and outreach. As Craig writes in The Black Collegian, “Our world is rapidly changing politically, socially and economically, yet the vast majority of African-American students believe that study abroad does not have any relationship to their career [Craig, S., “Reflecting The Norms of an International Society,” May 1998].” Many underrepresented students who can benefit from study abroad lack the information, resources, and support for study abroad that can motivate participation. For many of the institutions that have served these groups, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), the challenges are significant. In California, for example, community colleges serve over 2.5 million students of which the majority are non-traditional students. Of that total, according to California Colleges for International Education (CCIE) Director Rosalind Raby, only about 3,800 students took part in study abroad programs over the past year. This reflects a participation rate of just over 1/100 of one percent. This is unacceptable. According to the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), approximately half of all minority undergraduate students attend a community college (47% of African-American students, 56% of Hispanic students, 48% of Asian/Pacific Islander students, 57% of Native American students).

For those students who do study abroad, effective orientation is critical for students’ success. Very few (estimated at less than 50 of the more than 1,500 US colleges and universities offering study abroad) U.S. colleges and universities provide a comprehensive pre-study abroad for-credit orientation course. It is critical that students with a limited background in the languages and cultures of the world, as well as a limited understanding of the U.S.’s role in the world, receive additional academic learning in order to take full advantage of their foreign experience. In addition to emphasizing academic study, it is critical to preparing students to live in another country and culture. PLATO Initiatives

In 2004, the U.S. Department of Education awarded a FIPSE Comprehensive Program grant to the Center for Global Education at Loyola Marymount University, with project partners (listed below) to begin work on the Project for Learning Abroad, Training and Outreach (PLATO). More recently, the IFSA Foundation awarded the Center a grant to enhance project efforts. The PLATO Project is creating an integrated, multi-dimensional program of initiatives to address the needs of students who study abroad, the institutions from which they originate and to which they return, and the administrators, teachers and students at the K-12 schools and community colleges from which study abroad participants will come. The project consists of seven primary initiatives:
1. Outreach to Underrepresented Students for Study Abroad
2. Pre-Study Abroad Online Learning Course
3. Retention Resources and Mentor Message Boards for Students During Study Abroad
4. Post-Study Abroad/Re-entry Online Course
5. International Honors Certificate
6. Faculty/Staff Development Modules
7. K-12 and Community College and Home Campus Outreach.

PLATO will assist in outreach to underrepresented students, orientation, and training before study abroad, on-site (while abroad), and post-study abroad. With the assistance of the FIPSE, the IFSA Foundation, and project partners, the first national Pre-and Post-Study Abroad Online Course — in conjunction with an International Honors Certificate after study abroad — will increase diverse student participation in study abroad, global knowledge and language learning as well as foster international understanding, cooperation, and trade. This innovative, effective, and replicable strategy will increase diverse student participation in study abroad, improve teacher development and preparation, facilitate K-12 and Community College outreach efforts, ensure curriculum integration, and provide much-needed access to information regarding health and safety issues abroad. Due to its low-cost, Internet-based format, the project will be readily disseminated, adopted, replicated, expanded, and accessed to achieve a widespread impact and benefit to the greatest number of students possible. PLATO will be a model for local and national collaboration to support study abroad efforts at any U.S. college or university. The project will assist institutions working on increasing participation in study abroad, encouraging diversity of participants, promoting health and safety, and enhancing the value of study abroad programs for its students. PLATO resources are intended to motivate students to develop an understanding of other countries, regions, languages, and cultures through direct personal experience and enhanced international understanding.

In order to implement this project, the Center has begun collaboration with an initial group of project partners, including:

American Association of Community Colleges (AACC)

American Council on International Intercultural Education (ACIIE)

California Colleges for International Education (CCIE)

California State University System: International Program Office (CSU)

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania (CUP)

Consortium for North American Higher Education Cooperation (CONAHEC)

Council for Opportunity in Education (TRIO Programs)

Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU)

Institute for International Public Policy (United Negro College Fund Special Programs Corporation)

SAFETI (Safety Abroad First – Education Travel Information) Consortium

Southern California Consortium for International Studies (SOCCIS)

University of Arizona

University of California System: Education Abroad Programs Office (UC)

UCLA Center for International Development Education

University of Hawaii System: Office of International Affairs (UH)

Project partners provide feedback for all aspects of Project design and implementation. Involvement in the Project is not restricted to these original partners. Similar to the Center’s SAFETI Clearinghouse consortium of institutions that share materials for study abroad health and safety, the PLATO Project will formalize a national consortium of higher education institutions that share resources and information related to participation for underrepresented students and comprehensive pre-departure and re-entry orientation for study abroad. The Center’s SAFETI Project involves work with the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of State, the Peace Corps, higher education associations, and over 200 colleges and universities. Similarly, the proposed PLATO consortium will integrate efforts from various higher education institutions, governmental and non-governmental organizations, national student affairs organizations, offices for ethnic and intercultural services, and ethnic studies academic departments at institutions across the nation.

Duration of the Study Abroad Sojourn

2008-12-17T05:53:00.000-08:00

The current U.S. approach to study abroad programming is dominated by two conflicting truisms. The first, ‘Longer is better than shorter’; the second, ‘Something is better than nothing.’

The first truism stems back to the traditional ‘Junior Year Abroad’ of the 1920’s. It assumes that duration is one of the most important variables in the many factors that influence the degree of long-term impact an overseas sojourn can have on students -- along with thorough preparation in advance of the overseas year, full language and cultural immersion during it, and informed re-entry and curricular articulation back on campus, all of which can affect outcomes significantly. Proponents of long-term programming argue that it is cross-cultural skill-building which makes overseas study different from domestic study and constitutes its primary pedagogical value. Building such skills, it is thought, can only be achieved by living and learning long enough on the terms of a foreign environment to understand its inherent values and to form friendships with those who call it home. Those institutions which favor long-term programming [which these days refers both to academic year and semester programs] believe that it is the combination of high-quality instruction with serendipitous experiential learning taking place outside of the classroom which teaches U.S. students invaluable lessons about themselves, the new cultural milieu, and the people who live there.

In 1990, the IIE/NAFSA/CIEE National Task Force on Undergraduate Study Abroad issued a ‘mandate’ not just for increased numbers overall, but for a greater diversity of program types, geographical locations, and student backgrounds. It called attention to the fact that, for a variety of personal, academic, and economic reasons, many students are unable or unwilling to spend a quarter, semester, or full year of their degree studies abroad. This is where the second truism comes in. Those for whom traditional study abroad is not perceived to be an option include:

Students with double, or even triple, academic majors, and thus with tightly-structured degree studies

Students in technical or pre-professional fields such as engineering, architecture, education, etc., with lock-step curricular sequences

Students who cannot afford the loss of income from an on- or off-campus job, part- or full-time, for a semester or year, from four- and especially from two-year colleges,

Students who cannot be released from family responsibilities for an extended period of time

Students who have not traveled and are unwilling to take the leap for a long period of time, but who would consider some exposure of a shorter duration with a group

Students returnees from study abroad who wish to do so again, but can’t take a semester or year away, often during their senior year

A growing variety of short-term program opportunities have therefore evolved to serve the needs of these ‘non-traditional’ students. Indeed, the dynamic growth in overall national numbers and the diversity of program types, locations, and student backgrounds over the past decade or so is due almost exclusively to short-term programming. The typical short-term program is conducted between academic terms, over Spring Break, or during the summer months. It is usually faculty-led and discipline-specific. Short-term programs require good planning and direction in order to maximize the learning potential of the overseas environment. Proponents argue that short-term study abroad is an excellent recruiting tool for semester and/or academic year program participation.

While some college and universities remain fully committed to traditional semester or year models of study abroad, and others send almost all students on short-term programs, most campuses these days offer a hybrid of options, short and long, each geared to the variety of demands, needs, and interests of its students and faculty. In order to understand how this mix varies from campus to campus, it has become important not just to measure how many students a given campus sends overseas annually, but what ov

Top 10 Myths About MBAs

2008-12-17T05:44:00.000-08:00

The Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree is gaining popularity with each passing year. They are marketed as the one-size fits all solution for your career and your bank account. Traditional classroom settings, online programs, executive formats, are just some of the options. Before you or your company invests in an MBA, dont be fooled, know what youre getting in to.

Myth 1: An MBA will make you money.
Most people think that all you have to do is get this degree and your boss will throw money at you. Well consider this: there are more job seekers than jobs, and MBAs are becoming common place. An MBA no longer differentiates you. MBA holders are finding more and more, that experience and who you know are more valuable than a degree.

Myth 2: You need an MBA to make money in todays world.
Contrary to popular belief todayÃ¢??s richest people are not the people who have been to the best Business School (B-School). The road from rags to riches takes more to navigate than a 2-3 year degree. MBA students often get lulled into a false sense of security and rest on their laurels, while skilled business people use tried and true old money methods to accumulate wealth.

Myth 3: Youll learn the secrets of business at an MBA Program.
What you learn how to do at an MBA program is how to make other people money, not how to become wealthy yourself. MBA schools are in the business of selling degrees and selling graduates. After they sell the degree to you, they sell you, the graduate, to employers. Employers are self-interested and need people who will make the company money, not make money themselves.

Myth 4: An MBA is good for business, government, and non-profits.
Just because businesses, governments, and non-profits all use balance sheets, doesnt mean they all need the same solutions. MBA programs gloss over the nuance with one-size fits all techniques, that when applied to the real world at best add no value. Often what is needed is observation and thoughtfulness, not textbook strategies.

Myth 5: Learning business from a school is better than learning on your own.
MBA programs claim to have a monopoly own business knowledge, yet they dont teach basic business principles like ownership. With the advent of Web 2.0 a new wave of rich individuals has come on the seen. Do you hear them saying: Its all thanks to my MBA? No.

Myth 6: An MBA is your ticket to the inner circle.
No degree can open a door to the inner circle. You can only gain access by interacting with people, people who can find MBAÃ¢??s for a dime a dozen at your B-School. Getting into the inner circle takes time, tact, and a mastery of human relationships.

Myth 7: An MBA will help you start or enhance your own business.
One area the MBA programs are lacking is in teaching students how to be business owners. They dont teach you how to incorporate, how to find accountants and attorneys, how to do your taxes, how to protect your money, etc. This body of knowledge is kept away from MBA classes purposefully because B-Schools are in business to provide a labor force, not create a new generation of wealthy individuals.

Myth 8: Getting an MBA is the best way to advance your career.
It common knowledge the 50-70% of jobs are found through connections, not because of your degrees. So why then do B-Schools tell you that the best way to advance your career is through a degree? A brief study of human interaction or interpersonal relationships can develop more opportunities and connections for you than 3 years in class.

Myth 9: An MBA increases your network.
MBA programs have networking events to bring business people, employers and students together. The problem is this: MBA curriculums donÃ¢??t teach the basics of positive human interaction, like listening. Just bringing people together is inadequate. This is why there are still a high number of students graduating B-School unemployed.

Myth 10: An MBA program will teach you how to be a leader.
Leadership is more than remembering information from a textbook, listening to speakers, and demonstrating your knowledge. Leadership encompasses every aspect of a persons being and requires more than a few credits at B-School to master. Many students looking to graduate as leaders are sorely disappointed when reality sets in after they receive their diploma.

I encourage you to teach yourself business. That way youll know that your educator has your best interest at heart.

A Positive Study Environment Promotes Better Learning

2008-12-17T05:41:00.000-08:00

Parents can support and encourage their childrens successful learning by helping them create a positive study environment. Here are some of the ideas we give to parents of children who have attended SuperCamps academic summer camps for youth and teens.

Students spend a lot of time studying at home (we hope!) so why not help them take responsibility for their study space and make it work for them? With just a little effort it can actually be a positive, appealing area where they feel comfortable and motivated.

Within SuperCamps teen summer camps, instructors build an awareness of an important concept that is worth remembering when creating a positive study environment at home. Everything Speaks means that everything in the environment sends a message that either enhances or detracts from learning. Think about tidy versus cluttered chaos, light and airy versus dim and dark, inviting and functional versus any old place.

Location
As they say in real estate, location is everything. Find a place thats quiet and free of distractions so, if possible, not the family room or the dining room table! The ideal is a defined study area in your childs bedroom.

Furnishings
Make sure home study areas have good lighting (ideally, natural light and a lamp), shelves for reference books and supplies, if needed. Obviously, theyll also need a desk or table with space for their study materials as well as a work area thats not cramped. And a comfortable sit-upright chair will help them stay alert and focused.

Resources
Make sure your kids dont have to waste valuable study time looking for a pen! Help them stock up on pens, paper, and pencils, and have them all within reach, not just somewhere in their room! Also make sure they have whatever reference material they need.

Music
Some classical music is brain friendly and enhances the study environment. Baroque music helps students to focus and to access their most resourceful learning state. The music optimizes the functions of the brain that store and retrieve information. Many (most?!) children will think that their own music is best, but try to convince them to try baroque they may well notice that it makes their study time easier, and want more! Suggest that they try some Bach, Handel, or Vivaldi while theyre studying and save their own music for breaks. If your kids are resistant, a first step might be to suggest that they choose music that does not have words words interfere with the part of their brain they need to study effectively, even if theyre not consciously listening to the words!

Affirmative signs
Positive signs will remind your childs subconscious mind of his or her potential to learn. Help your child create an inspiring atmosphere by making some signs use lots of color (our brains love color!) and the following ideas to get you started:
I BELIEVE IN MYSELF
EVERYTHING I DO DESERVES MY BEST EFFORT
LEARNING IS FUN AND NATURAL!
EVERY CHALLENGE OFFERS A GIFT
I AM UNIQUE AND VALUABLE
I AM RESPONSIBLE FOR WHAT I CREATE
I CAN LEARN THIS!
EVERYONE HAS THE RESOURCES TO BE SUCCESSFUL

Another good idea is to have an achievement area (a bulletin board would work well) for awards, papers with good grades, and lists of accomplishments. A bulletin board would also work well for posting study schedules and reminders of project due dates.

Homework support
Your show of interest, support, and guidance in helping your child create a positive study environment at home will go a long way toward establishing great homework habits. Its also a good idea to create and agree on homework guidelines so you can continue to work together toward success. Why not have a special lunch together and set up a plan that will work for both of you? You could also consider a reward for consistently following the plan.

Homework time: Sometimes its not easy because of extracurricular activities, but try to define a specific time each day that homework will be started.

Distractions: Fewer distractions equals more productive time. Make a plan with your child about the timing for phone calls,net browsing, and play time.

Breaks: Breaks are important. Research shows that students remember more of the information learned at beginnings and endings of study periods. Thus, better retention is experienced when frequent breaks are taken. A ten-minute break after each hour of study time will enhance learning.

Flexibility: You will both need to agree to be flexible sometimes homework will have to start a bit later, sometimes a family commitment will mean starting a little earlier, sometimes a break may need to be slightly longer than five or ten minutes. Flexibility keeps you and your child connected!

education and business grants!

2008-12-16T16:52:00.000-08:00

Business Grants!

If you are thinking of starting or expanding a business, this is the category for you. Did you know Ross Perot started his first company with FREE Government Grant money? Or that Amazon.com, Ameritrade and Ritz Camera all received money to start or expand their businesses?

The U.S. Government understands small business is essential to a vibrant economy. Small business grants are available to start a new business or expand an existing one, equipment financing, acquisition of a new or existing business, rent, salaries, office expenses, overhead.

There are also many programs available to help women start and operate their own businesses. Remember, this is free money that never has to be repaid. You can also use this money to pay yourself a salary as you start your new business.

The Government also gives Low Interest Loans, NO interest loans loan guarantees, free management consulting help, free help to prepare a business plan, free help with your invention, free marketing help, free legal help, free technical help and even free tax help.

Each Year, over one million people receive FREE grants to start a new business or expand an existing one.

Educational Grants!

Grant Money for preschool children and nursery school education, private, primary and secondary schools, men and women to further their education, scholarships for athlete’s, business management, engineering, computer science, medical school, undergraduate, and pursue your business ventures or secure your personal financial situation.

You will find many foundations and federal/state agencies offering assistance for educational needs in the UncleSamsMoney grant directory.

Education Loan - That Helps You to Complete Your Higher Studies

2008-12-16T08:11:00.001-08:00

Before the advent of loan market, people depended on their friends, relatives and money lenders for financial help. At that time, they had paid high amounts of interest for taking debts. Due to the high interest rates, most of the people suffered a lot in repaying their debts. This led them to get drowned in debts deeply and most-often they never came out of their financial crisis. By keeping the financial position of these type of people, most of the governments had taken right steps and started offering loans at low interest loans via government banks. As the loan market is growing day by day, many of the private banks and companies entered in this field to offer loans.

There are different types of loans available in the present day market. These loans can be taken to satisfy either your personal or business needs. Car loans, home loans, educational loans, two wheeler loans and travel loans come under the category of personal loans. Because these loans satisfy all types of your personal needs. To extend your business as well as to start a new business, you can avail a loan from any bank or money lender. These borrowings are called business loans.

Many private and public banks and money lending institutions are helping the students, who want to go for higher studies by sanctioning educational loans to them. To avail these loans, the students are not required to submit any of their property document as a security. Like unsecured loans, anyone can take these loans just by submitting some of the required documents to the lender. These documents include an address proof, proof of the marks list of qualifying exam, admission letter from the institution in which you are going to join, identity proof and some other documents that your lender needs to sanction you the loan. Most of the lenders sanction these loans at very low interest rates. The main advantage of taking educational loan is that the borrowers can repay this loan after the completion of their particular course for which they have taken the loan. These loans help the students to reach high positions and to realise their dreams true.

Home loan is one of the personal loans that can be taken either to renovate their home or to construct a new home. They are the best sources for the people, who can not spend huge amount of money at a time for purchasing a house. Two types of home loans are available in the present day loan market. They are fixed interest rate loans and the floating interest rate loans. This classification has been done on the basis of interest rates of these loans. The borrower, who wants to get a loan for home, he/she should mention the purpose of taking loan clearly. Depending on the income, financial position, repayment capacity, the lenders will decide the loan amount that they are going to sanction. The interest rates of home loans vary from one lender to another.

Just by having a clear idea of the loan market, you can select the best lender for education loans, who offers you loan at a very low interest rate with flexible repayment options.

For more to know on Home Loans just visit PaisaWaisa.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alice_Erin

Careers and Education in Social Sciences

2008-12-16T07:48:00.001-08:00

Careers in the social sciences can be pursued in psychology, social work, consumer science and every related field. Degree programs in social sciences provide communication, research and investigatory skills necessary to understand both the human condition and how society interacts with itself. A bachelor degree can provide entry into many career fields in the social sciences. However, graduate degrees are increasingly becoming the standard for the fields of psychology and social work. Some graduate with an interdisciplinary degree in a social science for the purpose of studying society's impact on another discipline, such as finance, law, economics, education or engineering.

Financing Higher Education

2008-12-16T07:42:00.000-08:00

Higher education faces problems throughout the world: universities are underfunded, raising worries about quality; student support is inadequate; the proportion of students from disadvantaged backgrounds is lamentably small; and the financing of universities in many countries is regressive, since the money comes from general taxation but the major beneficiaries are from better-off backgrounds.

No longer only a consumption good enjoyed by an elite, tertiary education is an important element in national economic performance and a major determinant of a person´s life chances. Thus, the expansion that is taking place internationally is both necessary and desirable. But higher education is costly, and faces competing imperatives for public spending. Its financing is therefore important and immensely sensitive politically. Despite the problems, widespread agreement exists on two core objectives: strengthening quality and diversity, both for their own sake and for reasons of national economic performance; and improving access, again for both efficiency and equity reasons. If it is not possible to rely wholly on public funding, it is necessary to bring in private finance—but in ways that do not deter students from poor backgrounds. Much of this article addresses that issue. The arguments, though ostensibly about higher education in richer countries, apply more broadly to tertiary education and to developing economies.

What can economic theory teach us?

Economic theory offers a useful perspective for analyzing higher education. First, the days of central planning are gone. Students are potentially well-informed consumers, better able than planners to make choices that conform with their interests and those of the economy. Though that proposition is robust, there is an important exception: people from poorer backgrounds might not be fully informed, emphasizing the need for scholarship finance.

On the supply side, central planning, whether or not it was ever desirable, is no longer feasible. In response to technological change, there are more universities, more students, and vastly greater diversity of subject matter. Thus the myth that all universities are identical and should therefore be funded equally is no longer sustainable. In principle, differential funding could be implemented by an all-knowing central planner, but the problem is too complex for that to be the only mechanism: mass higher education requires a funding system by which institutions can charge different prices to reflect their different costs and missions.

Note that this approach leads to very different conclusions for school education, where the model of the well-informed consumer is less plausible and the case for a more standardized product stronger. The argument for regulated market forces in higher education is not primarily ideological, but rooted in the economics of information.

A second lesson from economic theory is that students should contribute to the cost of their degree. Higher education creates benefits that transcend the individual—benefits in terms of growth, social cohesion, and the transmission of values. Thus, taxpayer subsidies are rightly part of the landscape. However, students also receive significant (often substantial) private benefits. It is therefore both efficient and fair that they bear some of the costs.

The point bears emphasis. Many people argue that tertiary education is a right and should therefore be financed from taxation. However, the fact that something is regarded as a right does not mean that it should be tax-financed. Access to nutrition is a basic right, yet nobody argues that it is wrong to charge for food. The moral imperative is not about instruments (for example, prices) but about outcomes, that is, that a bright person should be able to go to the best school or university irrespective of his or her financial circumstances. In addition, the worldwide collision between expanding tertiary education and fiscal pressures means that reliance on tax finance creates downward pressure on quality. The historical record shows that tax finance has done little to widen access, while, as noted, tax finance is deeply regressive. If it is unfair to ask graduates to pay more of the cost of higher education, it is even more unfair to ask non-graduate taxpayers to do so.

However, most students cannot afford to pay for higher education, leading to the third set of lessons from economic theory—well-designed student loans have essential core characteristics.

Income-contingent repayments—repayments calculated as x percent of the borrower´s subsequent earnings, collected alongside income tax—protect access because the loan has built-in insurance against inability to repay; and, because repayments are collected alongside income tax, they protect the lender from the risk of making an unsecured loan.
Loans should be large enough to cover fees and, at least in richer countries, also realistic living costs, making higher education free at the point of use.
Loans should attract an interest rate broadly equal to the government´s cost of borrowing.

The question of interest rates is worth examining. Many countries, including Australia and Britain, offer loans at a zero real interest rate, that is, there is a blanket interest subsidy. This policy, however, does not achieve a single desirable objective. The subsidy is enormously expensive, the resulting shortage of funds being inimical both to quality and access. This point is not fanciful. The communist experience demonstrates that subsidies can easily lead to shortages; in this case, the fiscal cost of the interest subsidy results in loans that are too small—which harms access—and simultaneously crowds out taxpayer support for universities—which harms quality. To make matters worse, interest subsidies are deeply regressive. They do not help students (graduates make repayments, not students). They give relatively little help to low-earning graduates, since unpaid debt is eventually forgiven. They do not help high-earning graduates early in their careers—with income-contingent loans, monthly repayments depend only on earnings; thus interest rates have no effect on monthly repayments, but only on the duration of the loan. Accordingly, the major beneficiaries are successful professionals in mid career, whose loan repayments stop earlier because of the subsidy than would otherwise be the case. This is not the target group that education policymakers had in mind. In contrast, targeted interest subsidies are useful.

The resulting strategy

The theory suggests a three-part strategy:

Element 1, deferred variable fees: Universities are financed from a mix of taxation and tuition fees. Each university sets its fees, which are covered by a loan entitlement. Variable tuition fees are controversial in Europe, although less so in Central and Eastern Europe, and are taken for granted in the United States and many countries in Asia. Fees give universities more resources to improve quality and, through competition, help improve the efficiency with which those resources are used. That is not an argument for law-of-the-jungle competition but for regulated markets. Counterintuitively, variable fees are also fairer since they reduce the regressivity of a system based on tax finance.

The obvious argument against fees is that they deter students from poor backgrounds. That is true of up-front fees, but not when students go to university free and make a contribution only after they have graduated. This brings us to the second part of the strategy.

Element 2, income-contingent loans: Student support is provided through a loan with income-contingent repayments. The loan entitlement should be large enough to cover fees and, in richer countries, living costs, with an interest rate broadly equal to the government´s cost of borrowing.

If loans cover fees, the package closely resembles "free" higher education. Students pay nothing at the time they go to university. Part of the cost is paid through taxation and part through their subsequent income-contingent repayments. From the viewpoint of the graduate, the latter differ from tax in only two ways: they are paid only by people who have been to university, and they do not go on forever. Thus, income-contingent loans are logically equivalent to free higher education financed by an income-related graduate contribution.

The viewpoint from the ministry of finance is somewhat different. Though loans eventually bring in private resources, a loan scheme, by definition, has up-front costs because it lends the money first and receives repayments later. It is therefore useful to distinguish the fiscal costs of loans (that is, money that is never repaid, for example because of an interest subsidy) from the cash flow costs, which relate to money that is eventually repaid. Fiscal costs are a major concern in all countries; and in poorer countries, the cash-flow costs are also a major concern. Ideally, it should be possible to meet those costs by borrowing from the private sector, but—particularly in a developing country—private lenders will charge a substantial risk premium unless there is a government guarantee; and if there is a government guarantee, the loans will be classified as public. Potential solutions exist in this highly technical area, but require considerable care in design.

Element 3, active measures to promote access: The first two elements free up resources to finance the third—active measures to promote access. There are two causes of exclusion: financial poverty and information poverty. Any strategy for access must address both. Financial measures include scholarships. Information poverty is inadequately emphasized. Action to inform school children and raise their aspirations is critical. The saddest impediment to access is someone who has never even thought of going to university. Moreover, students who are badly informed about the costs and benefits of higher education will be reluctant to borrow—this is the group for whom taxpayer support is essential. Finally, problems of access cannot be solved entirely within higher education. More resources are needed earlier in the system, not least because of the growing evidence that the roots of exclusion lie in early childhood.

Reforms in Britain

Reforms in 1998 brought in income-contingent loans, for which loud cheers. Beyond that, however, the system in Britain had serious problems:

central planning continued, with controls over student numbers and fees;
fees were introduced, set by the central government and the same for all subjects at all universities; and there was no loan to cover fees, making them an up-front charge;
loans were too small to cover living costs, let alone fees, and incorporated a blanket interest subsidy; and
the reforms abolished the previous system of tax-financed student support.

The reforms enacted in 2004 address most of these problems and broadly conform with the three-part strategy above, offering a useful framework for other countries.

Tuition fees. From 2006, the reforms replace the up-front flat fee with a variable fee between £0 and £3,000 per year. Students can pay the fee up-front or can take out a loan, in which case the student loans administration pays the fee directly to the university, whose financial position is therefore broadly independent of how students choose to pay their fees. This is a regulated market, notably through the imposition of a maximum level of fees. As discussed earlier, variable fees improve efficiency. They are also fairer: they reduce the regressivity of tax finance, and they are directly fairer, in that students do not have to pay the same fee at a small local institution as at an internationally famous one.

Loans. The 2004 reforms improved the system by extending loans to cover tuition fees and by increasing the loan for living costs. They also raise the threshold at which loan repayments start: from 2006, graduates will repay 9 percent of earnings above £15,000 per year (the previous threshold was £10,000).

From the student´s perspective, the situation is little different from the days of "free" higher education: her fees are paid on her behalf, and money is paid into her bank account to cover living costs. From the graduate´s perspective, there is an additional payroll deduction, alongside income tax and social security contributions until the loan is repaid.

In one important respect, however, the loan arrangements conform with neither theory nor best practice—the 2004 reforms continue the interest subsidy.

Action to promote access. The 2004 Act restored grants (income-tested scholarships). From 2005, students from poor backgrounds will be entitled to a grant of £2,700 per year, in addition to a loan. The intention is that no student from a poor background will be worse-off because of the reforms. In addition, there is help for people with low earnings after graduation—any loan not repaid after 25 years will be written off. And 10 percent of the loan of new teachers in shortage subjects is written off for each year in the state system.

The Act also brings in an Access Regulator—another aspect of a regulated market—whose task is to ensure that universities have satisfactory plans to widen access. Those plans can include scholarships for students from poor backgrounds, and outreach to schools to improve the information available to schoolchildren.

These arrangements, which come fully into effect in 2006, bring in additional resources and strengthen competition, both of which contribute to quality, and redistribute from better- to worse-off, contributing to access. That does not, however, mean that the scheme is perfect. Some commentators argue that the cap on fees is too low. This is a balancing act. If fees are liberalized too rapidly, the delicate political balance may not hold, but if fees are kept too low for too long, most universities will charge the maximum, approximating a system of flat fees, reintroducing central planning by the back door. The major continuing problem with loans is the expensive and regressive interest subsidy. That said, there is much in the U.K. reforms that other countries could usefully emulate.

The greatest challenge

Economic theory and practical experience offer solutions to avoidable problems, such as:

a) unsustainable public spending;
b) public spending that is hijacked by the middle class;
c) loans absent, or badly designed, so that they bring in few, if any, extra resources;
d) economic constraints on universities, which reduce incentives for efficiency; and
e) specific design features that are costly (interest subsidies), administratively demanding (income testing), or both.

These are widespread, though (b) and (d) are less of a problem in countries with variable fees.

The three elements in the strategy above—deferred variable fees, income-contingent loans, and active measures to promote access—are applicable to any country that can collect income tax, and hence student loan repayments, effectively. They offer a benchmark against which countries can assess future policy directions (see box).

The state of play elsewhere

All major industrialized countries are grappling with the issue of financing higher education. The British government showed considerable courage in addressing serious political obstacles. Other governments will have to do the same sooner or later. Their task should be made easier by the example of countries like Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom.

The United States does well on fees, but less well on loans, which are not income-contingent, nor collected as a payroll deduction, and generally attract an interest subsidy, and less well also on promoting access, since scholarship arrangements can be criticized both for parsimony and complexity.
Canada is actively considering income-contingent loans.
Australia introduced fixed tuition fees (that is, the same fees for all subjects at all universities) in 1989 and has only recently and partially started to liberalize the system. Australia also has income-contingent loans, but the loan incorporates an interest subsidy and does not cover living costs.
New Zealand came close to getting all three elements right in the 1990s but was burnt by moving too fast and, as a result of electoral pressures, reintroduced costly interest subsidies in 2000.
Most countries in mainland Western Europe and the Nordic countries have yet to address fees. In many European countries, tuition fees for higher education are a no-go area—a Nordic education minister used the word "taboo."

For developing countries, however, a challenge that haunts commentators is how to design a loan that mimics income-contingent repayments when there is a large informal sector and only limited capacity to collect income tax. This is, perhaps, the greatest challenge of all.

If the necessary prerequisites are not in place, the wrong option is to instigate a large-scale loan scheme and assume that things will somehow turn out right. What other options might be available?

finance higher education out of taxation on a small scale (say 1 percent of GDP) to provide good quality higher education for a few students, or lower quality for more students;
rely on private finance, accepting that this will restrict access to students whose families can afford to pay and, perhaps, a small number on scholarships;
introduce a small-scale loan scheme, accepting that it will have a high default rate and high administrative costs;
use taxpayer resources to pay for (say) two years of university education, leaving the rest to private finance; and
use development assistance to ease the trade-offs between the previous methods.

The disadvantages of private finance or a premature loan scheme are clear. It may be that the last two options, designed as a package, offer the best short-run use of limited public finance and, by avoiding a loan scheme that becomes discredited, leave open the option of introducing loans once institutional capacity allows. At that stage, the existence of an effective mechanism for collecting repayments opens up the possibility of raising part of the start-up costs from nongovernmental sources, including international financial organizations and commercial lenders.

Master of Engineering: Civil Engineering Degree Overview

2008-12-14T03:46:00.000-08:00

A Master of Engineering: Civil Engineering degree is great for people who have a degree in civil engineering and want to further their skills in the field. A Master of Engineering: Civil Engineering program will provide you with specialized knowledge about the supervision of the construction of roads, buildings, airports, tunnels, dams, bridges, water supply and sewage systems.

Managers within the field of Civil Engineering must be aware of many aspects of the design process, from construction costs and expected project lifetimes to government regulations and the impact of possible environmental hazards. A Master of Engineering: Civil Engineering will prepare you to do all this as well as hold administrative or supervisory positions, from construction site supervisor to city engineer.

A Master of Engineering is an academic or professional master's degree that uses lectures, laboratory work, coursework and exams to provide an intense focus in the field of engineering. United States Master of Engineering degree programs are usually professional in nature, and offered as an alternative to the more theoretical Master of Science in Engineering degree. Master of Engineering programs typically last about two years and involve writing a thesis.

With a Master of Engineering degree, you should expect good work opportunities and a high starting salary. Because technology in the field of engineering is continually evolving, engineers will need to pursue ongoing continuing education.

A Master of Engineering: Civil Engineering degree is a good option for students who want to pursue a managerial career in the field of engineering, and many programs provide an administrative focus. In order to earn a Master's Degree in Civil Engineering degree, students need to enroll in a graduate program that may last up to three years. The Master of Engineering: Civil Engineering degree degree allows students to develop the management skills needed to supervise other engineering professionals while expanding their own knowledge of engineering mathematical and technological principals. This program is designed for those who have a bachelor's degree in an engineering-related subject.

The Master of Engineering: Civil Engineering degree can be demanding. It may have advanced classes in mathematical theory, structures, managerial responsibility, business ethics and strategic marketing.

Courses offered in such a program might include:

Advanced Manufacturing Management Systems
Advanced Structures
Civil Engineering Management
Civil Engineering Economy and Administration
Engineering Management-Principles and Practices
Engineering Project Management
Engineers to Mangers-A Transition
Team Management and Leadership
Network Analysis
Optical Properties of Materials
Physical Metallurgy
Fluid Mechanics
Linear Differential Equations

To attend a Master of Engineering: Civil Engineering degree program, you must have a bachelor's degree from an accredited university or college. Often, students must also pass the GRE and submit a personal statement and letters of recommendation. Some programs may well have their own additional requirements.

Upon completing the Master of Engineering: Civil Engineering degree program, you will be prepared to manage team projects and other engineers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (www.BLS.gov), the median annual salary for engineering managers is over $90,000.

According to the US Bureau of Labor, the field of civil engineering should experience average employment growth through the year 2014. More civil engineers will be needed to design and to construct safer and higher-capacity pollution control, water supply, and transportation systems, large buildings and building complexes. Now is a great time to get your Master of Engineering: Civil Engineering degree!

College Life: Splitting Finances With Roommates

2008-12-14T03:44:00.001-08:00

A little help for moving in with roommates.

Moving in with roommates allows college students to rent a bigger house and split the costs of living. Roommates provide friendship for all those late night masquerades and weekend game days. But not everything is all sweet and dandy. Roommates are often messy, lazy deadbeats. Just in case you get stuck with one of these slackers, here are some tips to make sure you don't get stuck with all the bills.

Plan ahead of time

The best way to avoid any financial conflicts down the road is to plan everything out ahead of time. This can be a touchy situation, especially if your roommate is a life long friend or significant other. If any problems arise, explain to your roommate that you just want to avoid any major fights down the road and would rather get things straightened out now. (For the sake of the relationship, of course.) Items you want to discuss:

Cable bill
Utilities
Rent schedule
Internet and phone service

Some things can get tricky. Say you are willing to pay for basic Internet, but after a while your roommate wants high speed. Discuss changes in advance.

Relationships

Relationships are another hot topic. Most of the time problems stem from one partner getting into a relationship with a person that doesn't leave. Will the roommate cover the costs of having an extra person around 24 hours a day? If this situation comes up, sit down and talk to your roommate. Show them bills from before and after the relationship. Make a list of all your food that gets eaten when you aren't there and confront them on this.

Divide Equally

Some times one roommate uses way more things than another. Say your roommate has a collection of giant fish tanks that use tons of water and electricity. You can get to the bottom of this without coming off like a cheapskate. (Unless of course you are the over-user.) First, split the costs of everything that is used equally. Then, bring up how you are sick of working to pay for the stupid fish tanks, but if you can throw a party this weekend, and he will pay for the booze you will call it even. Since your roommate is paying for something you both benefit from, he will be more likely to fork over the extra dough. Or, just try and squeeze him for the extra utility money.

College Finance: Three Steps to Get Out of Debt

2008-12-14T03:43:00.001-08:00

College students have a reputation for spending, often beyond their means. If this is true and you are buried in debt, here are three steps to get this negative balance behind you.

Lenders are happy to lend to students. College credit cards are available at every turn on campus. And students are happy to borrow. The fact that most college students are young and out on their own for the first time says they have limited financial experience. Lenders know many parents will bail out their kids if their debt grows too large. They offer plastic at lower standards than the average person can qualify for. Thankfully there are other ways of getting out of debt, just in case your parents can't foot the bill. Here are three steps.

Step One: Change Your Plastic Habit

The only plastic in your wallet should say DEBIT on the front. Debit cards draw money directly from your account so you aren't spending what you don't have. Make sure your bank will stop your withdrawals at a zero balance. Many banks will let you keep spending and than charge you huge fees. Also, credit is not necessarily bad. Credit is a good tool to increase your financial flexibility. The key to credit: use modestly and wisely.

Step Two: Lower Balance Rates

Tired of making payments and watching your balance barely budge? This is because your interest rate is so high you are getting killed just to make it to the next month. But you have some options. Credit card companies don't want to have to take a loss on the balance or lose you as a customer. Their is a good chance that you can get your rates lower just by calling your company and explaining your situation. If they don't lower your rate out of mercy, you have one more course of action at your disposal - make a threat. Websites such as CardWeb.com and Bankrate.com list current credit card offers and rates. You can often find cards that will let you transfer your balance and have a 0% APR for months or up to a year. You have the choice of applying for these new deals or threatening to leave your current lender unless they can match.

Step Three: Attack your Balance

Do whatever it takes to lower your balance. Remember: run for the door when the bar tab is due. Tackle your high interest debt first and work your way down the line. Always pay the minimum amount on each card (assuming you have many) so you don't ruin your credit. Creditors have been known to jack up rates on customers who miss their due dates. Bankrate has a debt reduction calculator to help you get on a schedule. You just punch in your numbers to figure out how long it will take to pay off your bills.

College Finance: How to Get a Raise

2008-12-14T03:42:00.001-08:00

Think you are worth more money than your boss is paying you? Learn these steps to get your salary up to par.

It seems logical that most employees want more money than their company is currently paying them. More money is good, that is a no-brainer. It's often the case that people are legitimately worth more to the firm than they are currently being compensated. If you feel this is your case, here are some steps you can take to increase your paycheck.

Find Out How

Before you begin your quest for a raise, you first need to understand how raises are distributed at your company. Is there a performance goal? Are raises given after a certain length of time? According to daily USAToday.com, a good rule of thumb is to wait at least six months after being hired before asking for a raise.

Bargaining Power

Your first step to getting a raise is to prove you are worth the big bucks. If you believe you deserve a raise, this should not be a problem. Financial commentator Suze Orman (suzeorman.com) says there is absolutely no reason why you need to worry about discussing your compensation. If you truly deserve a raise, it will be your boss doing the worrying. One way to get past your doubts: question yourself. If you were in your bosses shoes, what would you do. Is losing you worth the risk?

Align Your Interests

The reason you are demanding a raise should be solely based on work performance. Just because you want to start saving a down payment for your first condo doesn't mean your boss is obligated to pay you. But if you can prove an increase of benefits to the firm, you should have a good chance of getting the firm to increase the benefits to you.

Meeting Time

Set up a meeting with the checkbook, I mean, the manager who writes the checks. But first send a little memo to the bosses' office. Suze Orman recommends writing a little list that details your tasks and how you complete them. Make sure your manager understands your responsibilities. An advance memo will also make sure your boss is not taken off guard. This will provide a chance for your supervisor to think it over beforehand.

Preparation

When you go into the meeting, make sure you have supporting documents, such as e-mails and any evidence to back up your contributions. Have a plan to guide your manager. Set some goals ahead of time. Figure out exactly what you want, why you are worth it and how you are going to get it.

If you don't get everything you wanted, well, take the offer or decide if you want to jump ship. One thing all the experts recommend: don't resort to begging. Whatever happens, make sure you leave the office with dignity.

Applying for Student Aid - Filling Out the FAFSA

2008-12-13T00:52:00.001-08:00

Filling out the FAFSA should be a studen'ts first step in securing financial aid. This article explains what the FAFSA is and tells you how to apply for student aid.

FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. According to those at College Board, www.collegeboard.com, FAFSA is the financial aid application form you'll use in applying for work-study programs and federal and state student grants and/or loans.

How to get FAFSA Applications

You can choose to fill out a paper application or an electronic application. The electronic-version, found at FAFSA on the Web, www.fafsa.ed.gov, has become increasingly popular because applicants can submit and track their applications online. Those at College Board also report that filing an application online reduces the process time by one to two weeks. You should only complete the FAFSA application through the government's official website.

If you don't have access to the electronic application, you can find the paper application at your high school's counseling center or career center. You can also find the paper application at local libraries and financial aid offices at local colleges.

Information You'll Need to Complete the FAFSA

Unless you're completely independent, you will be using your parents' income tax information. Their income tax information will be one factor considered by those processing the application to determine the type of financial aid you can receive and how large an amount you qualify for.

Here is the list of specific documents that are needed. (Source: FAFSA on the Web, www.fafsa.ed.gov)

Social Security Number (The number issued on a social security card.)
Driver's License
Most Current W-2 Forms and Other Financial Records of Money Earned
Most Current Federal Income Tax Return
Most Current Untaxed Income Records
Most Recent Bank Statements
Most Recent Business and Investment Mortgage Information
Alien Registration Number or Permanent Residence Card (If you're not a U.S. Citizen.)

When Do You Need to Send In the FAFSA?

When you send in the FAFSA application, the financial aid you'll receive will be granted for the same academic year for which you applied. You need to apply each year until you're finished with college or until you no longer need any financial aid. Check with FAFSA on the Web for your state's deadline dates because they vary from state to state.

A Guide to Establishing a Budget for College Students

2008-12-13T00:51:00.001-08:00

This guide walks college students through the different steps of establishing a budget.

Just like handling your classes, handling your budget is another part of the college life. When you begin college, you may want to establish a budget to help you manage your finances.

What's Your Income?

Your first step should include establishing what type of income you have. If you're working your way through college, you may have limited income once you pay for tuition or other loans. Perhaps your parents are helping you pay for college and supplying you with a monthly allowance. After making a list of your incoming money, tally it up and see what you have to work with.

Figure Out Where Your Money Goes

After you find out how much you have coming in, you need to figure out how much is going out. Some traditional methods involve carrying a mini spiral notebook and logging in your expenses. If you use this method, you may want to make categories to help you stay organized. You will want to keep track of your expenses for about a month, which allows you to really know what you're buying.

Establish Your Budget

After you've kept your log for about month, you can begin establishing a budget. Start by making a list of the things you have to spend money on, such as:

Rent
Utilities
Books
Tuition
Food

The items shown above are usually set in stone. You probably won't be able to talk the electric company into giving you a better deal. However, other expenses are more flexible.

These expenses include eating out at restaurants, going to clubs and going to movie theatres. When you're establishing your budget, you will want to make sure that you'll be able to pay for the necessities. If things are tight, you will have to make concessions on the other expenses.

10 Affordable Meal Ideas for College Students

2008-12-13T00:49:00.000-08:00

College is expensive, but your dinner doesn't have to be. This article contains just ten of the hundreds of affordable meal ideas perfect for the student budget and schedule.

College is expensive, as are textbooks, rent, utilities, gas and so many more necessities. Because study time can often clash with one's job, college students are particularly prone to breaking the bank. Still, a student's gotta eat! Here are some cheap meal ideas for even the most frugal of students.

Nepalese Noodles: The days of noodles + boiling water + seasoning powder = a complete meal are over. Today's college chef can use these incredibly inexpensive packets as a base for a number of dishes. Consider adding chicken or shrimp, carrots, snap peas, and a few dashes of toasted sesame oil. Like Thai? Stir fry cooked noodles with a bit of liquid, adding peanut butter, coconut milk and veggies. While original recipe Ramen can be a bit unhealthy--particularly in terms of sodium content--you can adjust it to make it as healthy as you'd like. Visit MattFischer.com/ramen for more unique ramen recipes.
Grilled Cheese and Soup: All you need is a can of soup, loaf of bread and a bit of cheese. Great for sick or rainy days, this simple classic is both hearty and light on the wallet.
Frozen Meals: Frozen dinners are especially nice on lazy days or during all-day study sessions. Be warned, however, than many of these dinners contain an enormous amount of salt and fat, so shop wisely to avoid the Freshman Fifteen.
Burritos: Few things are cheaper than tortillas, beans, rice and cheese. Add salsa, chicken or beef and any other Mexican staple you can get your hands on.
Chicken Breasts and Veggies: Consider buying frozen chicken breasts in bulk-the savings are substantial. Whip up some canned or frozen veggies on the side, and you're set.
Spaghetti: Spaghetti and jarred pasta sauce are both cheap and easy to make. Add some hamburger for a heartier meal.
Cheeseburger Pie: Brown up some hamburger and stir in a bit of flour, tomato sauce, ketchup and mustard. Put in a casserole dish and top with sliced cheese and pre-made biscuit batter. Bake until the biscuits are done and voila: Cheeseburger pie! Try with different meats and sauces for a variety of new casseroles. Condensed cream of mushroom and cream of chicken soup, egg noodles and chicken, for instance.
Stir-frys: Stir-frys are fantastic because, like Ramen, they can be as healthy and diverse as you'd like. Add a few of your favorite veggies to a skillet or wok and heat up. Add some cooked chicken or beef and pour over bottled sauce or make your own with soy sauce, chicken stock and corn starch. Heat until sauce thickens and serve over rice or noodles.
Deli Meat and Tuna: My bologna has a first name...and so does my pastrami, turkey and ham. Lunch meat is versatile, as is canned tuna. Make a sandwich or throw on top of a salad. Couldn't be simpler-or cheaper.
Eggs: Eggs are affordable, delicious, and, in moderation, healthy. Make a breakfast burrito, stir up with some leftovers for a creative scramble or omelet, or fry up in a stir fry or fried rice. You can even stream into boiling chicken stock and add some scallions for a Chinese egg drop soup.

Focus on Financial Aid Terminology and Words to Know

2008-12-10T08:33:00.001-08:00

Part I. The Application Process

FAFSA—Free Application for Federal Student Aid. A detailed form that is the first step in applying for federal aid, offered by the U.S. Department of Education. The FAFSA is available from colleges, high school guidance counselors, public libraries, and on the Internet. Only one FAFSA needs to be completed each year, even if you are considering several different colleges. You may be able to use the FAFSA to apply for state and college aid as well. Contact your state agency and financial aid administrator to find out whether you can use the FAFSA to apply for state and college aid and to learn what types of aid may be available to you.

The Department of Education is in the process of phasing out the paper FAFSA, and recommends that students complete the FAFSA online.

CSS Financial Aid PROFILE—A supplemental need analysis document used by some colleges and private scholarship programs to award their non-federal aid funds. Early in your senior year, participating colleges may ask you to file a PROFILE so that a predetermination can be made of your financial aid eligibility at that school. The PROFILE does not replace the FAFSA—you must still file a FAFSA in order to be considered for federal student aid. You should file a PROFILE only for those colleges and programs that request it. PROFILE registration forms, which are processed by the College Scholarship Service (CSS), are generally available from high schools or colleges.

Financial Aid Package—Describes the total amount of aid that a student receives. A package generally consists of several parts: grants/scholarships, loans and jobs. Grants and scholarships are considered “gift aid.” Loans and jobs are considered “self help”.

Part II. Types of Financial Aid

Grants and Scholarships—Money given to a student that carries no stipulation of repayment is known as a scholarship or a grant. Scholarships and grants can originate from the federal or state government, private sources or the college itself. Grant eligibility tends to be based on need; when need is high, the grant aid tends to be high as well. Scholarship eligibility is often based on financial need, academic achievement, particular talents or skills, or a combination of one or more of these factors. In some cases, the terms “grant” and “scholarship” are used interchangeably.

Loans—Any program described as a loan requires repayment, usually with interest, to the source of the funding. Loans often come from the institution or private lender. Generally, the greater the financial need, the larger the loan. A variety of repayment options are usually available, and sometimes permit payment to be deferred while the borrower is enrolled in school. The time frame for loan repayment can be as little as two to three years, or as long as twenty years. Many banks and lending institutions now make special loan programs available to help parents finance their student’s education. These loans are not based on financial need, but can help stretch the family’s budget over the years of schooling. Loans may be referred to as “self-help” aid.

Jobs—On- and/or off-campus employment for hourly wages during the academic year. In some cases, the jobs are designed to complement the student’s field of study. Jobs may also be called “self-help” aid.

Part III. Federal Student Aid Programs

Eligibility for federal student aid programs, except the Federal PLUS loan and unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loan, which we’ll describe later, is primarily based on financial need. Families demonstrate need for federal student aid by completing and filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), available from colleges, high school guidance counselors, public libraries, and/or the Internet.

Federal Pell Grant—The largest single aid program. Grants are awarded to students demonstrating high financial need and are not required to be repaid. Using FAFSA data, financial need is determined according to the Federal Methodology, a formula established by Congress to assess the family’s ability to contribute to the student’s educational costs. For each eligible student, the Department of Education forwards funds to the school, which are then delivered to the student’s account at the school, or are paid directly to the student. The maximum award varies annually, according to the level of federal funding. For the 2007-2008 school year, the maximum Pell Grant is $4,800.

Federal Perkins Loan (formerly National Direct Student Loan)—A federally funded campus-based loan that is administered by the college aid office. Students do not apply separately for the Federal Perkins Loan—it is awarded to eligible students as part of an aid package at the college. A fixed five percent interest rate is charged annually after completion of studies, and a grace period is specified in the promissory note. The average Perkins Loan for the 2005-2006 school year (the most recent information available) was $2,166.

Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG)—A federal campus-based grant awarded to students who demonstrate significant financial need. Like Federal Perkins Loan, students do not apply separately for FSEOG—it is awarded to eligible students as part of the aid package at the college. The average Federal SEOG for the 2005 – 2006 school year was $599.

Federal Work-Study (FWS)—A part-time work program awarding on- or off-campus jobs to students who demonstrate financial need. FWS positions are primarily funded by the government, but are also partially funded by the institution. FWS is awarded to eligible students by the college as part of the student’s financial aid package. The maximum FWS award is based on the student’s financial need, the number of hours the student is able to work, and the amount of FWS funding available at the institution.

Federal Family Education Loan Program—This term encompasses two separate loan programs: a student loan known as the Federal Stafford Loan; and a parent loan known as a Federal PLUS Loan. A FAFSA must be filed for Federal Stafford Loan consideration.

Federal Stafford Loan—A long-term, low interest rate loan administered by the Department of Education through private commercial lending agencies (banks, credit unions, etc.). The maximum amount a dependent, undergraduate borrower can receive is $3,500 for the first year of study; $4,500 for the second year of study; and $5,500 for third year and beyond, with a limit of $23,000 for an undergraduate education. Students can borrow Federal Stafford Loan funds regardless of financial need. However, if financial need is demonstrated, the federal government may subsidize (i.e., pay to the lender) part or all of the interest while the student is in—school and during grace and deferment periods. If the student does not demonstrate financial need, part or all of the loan will be unsubsidized—that is, the student, rather than the federal government, is responsible for the interest during in-school, grace and deferment periods.

Federal PLUS Loan—A long-term, variable interest rate federal loan that is capped currently at 8.5 percent and is available to the parents of dependent students. Like Federal Stafford Loans, Federal PLUS loans are administered by the Department of Education through private commercial lending agencies. There is no set limit on the amount of Federal PLUS funds that a parent may borrow; however, the maximum loan cannot exceed the student’s portion of the cost of education minus any other aid the student receives.

William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program—A program almost identical to the Federal Family Education Loan Program, except that the federal government is the lender and the funds are delivered directly to the school. If the college the student plans to attend participates in the Federal Direct Loan Programs, he or she will apply for a Federal Direct Stafford Loan and/or a Federal Direct PLUS Loan, rather than a Federal Stafford or Federal PLUS Loan. Federal Direct Stafford Loan applicants must file a FAFSA, and if eligible, must complete a promissory note provided by the college. Federal Direct PLUS Loan applicants must complete an application available at the college.

Part V. Institutional Aid

Institutional Scholarships and Grants—Non-federal gift aid programs administered by the college. Institutional grants are generally based on financial need. Institutional scholarships are often awarded based on particular abilities or skills in areas such as athletics, music, or academic achievement. These scholarships are often renewable for each college year, usually contingent on the student continuing to engage in the activity that prompted the award, or, in the case of academic achievement, maintaining a certain grade point average.

Study Abroad Programs Broaden Your Horizons

2008-12-10T08:32:00.001-08:00

Study abroad – traveling to another country for formal academic study – isn’t just for language majors anymore! Most universities have some kind of study abroad program, allowing students to earn academic credit while participating in an overseas educational program.

Why Study Abroad?
The benefits you acquire from a study abroad experience are countless. Here is a sampling of what it can do for you:

• Gain first-hand knowledge of another culture.

• Enhance your resume by building the skills employers look for, including independence, self-confidence, cross-cultural communication, and ability to deal effectively with differences.

• Immerse yourself in a foreign language.

• Make lifelong friends.

Study abroad can provide you with enormous benefits that you won’t believe possible until you do it! And in today’s ever-shrinking world, overseas experience, once thought of as educational enrichment, has increasingly become a necessity in many professions and careers.

Types of Study Abroad Programs
Thirty years ago, the only students who studied abroad were foreign language or humanities majors. Today, study abroad is much more diverse, offering something for everyone. Virtually all academic disciplines, from the humanities to the sciences to professional preparation, are represented in the international study programs currently available.

Now, students can study abroad for various lengths of time. Programs 30 years ago were predominantly a full academic year (hence the name “Junior Year Abroad”), while today’s programs range from 2 weeks between semesters during the winter break to 3-12 weeks in the summer to a full semester or academic year. Students choose the program length and academic disciplines that best suit their personal and academic goals. And just as there are programs in many academic disciplines for various lengths of time, students can also choose from a wide variety of program types.

Are you an adventuresome or independent student? Then you might choose to participate in an exchange program, where you directly enroll in a foreign university that has an exchange agreement with your home university. Exchange program students have a wide variety of course options available to them since they take the regular courses at the host university, just like other students from that university.

Do you need a structure that is a little more familiar? Many universities offer study abroad programs which are based at a foreign university, but maintain elements of structure from the home campus. For example, you might travel to the program site with other students on a group flight. Worried about your language skills? You might take classes for visiting students that are taught in the country’s native language, but are geared toward non-native speakers. And programs of this type usually have the benefit of a home campus faculty member or a specially-designated foreign staff member to serve as “resident director,” to provide services like academic advising, troubleshooting, and cultural adjustment.

Would you rather go overseas with a group of your classmates and professors? There are structured, short-term programs led by a home campus faculty member in which you participate with classmates. These programs are often thematically focused and offer regular home-campus courses, making credit earned easily fit into your degree plan. Logistical arrangements, such as housing and field trips, are made for you in advance, so these programs are a comfortable and easy way to gain international experience.

How Do You Pay for Study Abroad?
Many students and parents are surprised to learn how affordable study abroad can be. Universities frequently allow the most common forms of financial aid — grants, scholarships, loans — to be used for study abroad programs. If you’re interested in using your regular financial aid for a study abroad program, consult with your campus financial aid office.

When you look for a study abroad program, first determine your needs and interests. Compare the features and costs of various programs to find the best match. The total cost of a program depends on a variety of factors, including: credits taken, program length, local cost of living, international and local transportation, and program type.
Along with regular financial aid, you can take advantage of special scholarship programs to help defray the cost of study abroad. Many colleges and universities offer study abroad scholarships, as do local and national organizations.

Start Planning Now!
It’s never too early to begin thinking about study abroad. Early planning makes credit transfer easier and ensures that you’ll be able to put all the financial resources at your disposal to work. Talk to your academic advisor as soon as possible about your interest in studying abroad. Visit a college or university’s study abroad office. Talk to your parents. Thousands of U.S. college students study abroad each year. You can, too!

Successful Transitions 10 Tips for College Freshmen

2008-12-10T08:15:00.000-08:00

There will be so much on your mind when you are about to say goodbye to high school and start your college career. You will be excited and perhaps a little worried about the workload and the new social scene on your campus. And, if you are living away from home for the first time, you are about to experience new living arrangements, food, and daily routines, and all of these will be very different from the life you know.

I've watched college freshmen go through this transition for nearly 30 years and from this, I've noticed that some handle the change much better than others. What makes for a smooth transition to the social aspects of college life? Lots of things. But here are 10 strategies for a successful transition to college that I've observed to be most helpful.

Communicate regularly with the people at home. Establish a minimal schedule of phone calls or emails to your family so you commit to keeping up regular contact. I've seen students cut off contact with their families, especially when things don't seem to be going well (such as when their grades suffer or the student is engaged in social activities parents won't approve of). Don't sever your tie to your family. Your family still cares about you and can be tremendously helpful as you transition to college life.
Commit to your new environment. I've seen new students who go home at every opportunity and who don't make an effort to meet new people on campus. Your family and high school friends are important, but so, too, are the people around you. Embrace new friendships and actively seek them. Otherwise, you'll be living in your past and never fully acclimate to college life.
Pay attention when you are sick. You may never before have had to determine on your own whether you are sick enough to warrant medical attention. I've seen students dismiss obvious symptoms of illness, making matters much worse than they need to be. Have a digital thermometer at school with you and use it to take your temperature if you're not feeling well. Admit when symptoms of illness or injury persist. Go to your campus health center or another health care provider if you're not sure if you need medical help. Let medical professionals decide for you; that's part of their job.
Join. Your campus will have a dizzying number of extracurricular activities available to you. Choose at least one and join it. You will make new friends, fill your time in a positive way, and feel more connected to your new school. Also, commit to attending campus programs; go to the football or basketball game, the concert, the lecture. Do this even if you wouldn't naturally gravitate toward such programs. Try new things and participate – that's the key.
Choose a healthy lifestyle. The "Freshmen 15" is real. (That's the tendency for college students to put on 15 pounds during their first year on campus.) Your college dining hall will be filled with lots of great food choices. You could choose to gorge on French fries and ice cream. Don't. Opt instead for the salad bar. Your friends may also entice you to eat pizza with them every night or to go to an all-night doughnut shop with them at 3:00 a.m. Occasional blow-outs like these are fun and won't do much harm. However, frequent caloric overindulgence will catch up with you. Eat a balanced diet and don't be a stranger to your college gymnasium. And, hard as it may be, get the sleep you need. There's no shame in saying no and going to bed early when you're tired.
Dress for the weather. Check the forecast before you head out each morning. Become acquainted with an umbrella. Many high school students would rather be caught dead than carrying an umbrella, but trust me, it's OK to have an umbrella in college and you'll be glad to have one. Wear warm clothes when it is cold. I know that sounds like silly advice, but I can't tell you how many times I've seen a college student shiver in my class or on campus because he or she is wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and sandals when it is freezing outside. Be sensible.
Guard your safety. College students are sometimes lulled into believing that they are safe when they're not. Always be aware of where you are and who is around you. Don't leave your backpack or other belongings unsupervised. Lock your dorm room or apartment when you leave it. Take steps to ensure that you're not walking in the dark by yourself. Go with a friend or take advantage of your campus escort service if you have one. Plan ahead and make good decisions so you don't put yourself in a dangerous situation.
Don't loan or borrow. Every college residence hall or apartment seems to have at least one person who asks to borrow clothes, money, even a car from a fellow resident. Don't be that person and don't loan anything to that person. I've seen terrible things happen and friendships destroyed when expensive or sentimental things are loaned and never returned or returned with damage.
Take pride in your school. Wear school T-shirts and sweatshirts. Learn and sing your school song and cheer. Put a school decal on your parents' cars. I've observed that students who are proud of their school and show the world their pride in these ways seem to make a better adjustment to campus life.
Seek help. If you're not feeling right about your transition to college life, seek out the help offered to you on campus. Your resident advisor (RA) may be a good starting place. Also look into your school's counseling services. Many students need a little help in adjusting and there's absolutely nothing wrong in seeking that help. In fact, it's the smart thing to do.

HIGHER EDUCATION IN USA UNIVERSITIES

2008-12-08T01:27:00.001-08:00

WHY CHOOSE TO STUDY IN USA

The higher education in USA is a buyers market. You can actually demand, and get, what is best for you. American society is enormously diverse and complex. Important differences exist between geographical regions, between rural and urban areas, and between social classes. In addition, the presence of millions of immigrants who came to the United States from all corners of the world with their own culture and values adds even more variety and flavor to American life. Come study in top universities in USA through Global Opportunities - your international education consultant based in India.

Nearly 600,000 students from all over the world came to the United States last year to study at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Without a doubt, America offers very high quality post secondary education. There are more than 4,000 public and private colleges, community colleges and universities in the USA, including over 600 public four-year colleges and universities and over 1,650 private four-year colleges and universities.

These traditional institutions enroll nearly 15 million students. In addition, more than 6,250 other non-collegiate postsecondary institutions offer specialized vocational and technical training.

Any student can find an appropriate program within the rich and diverse higher education system. This is true whether you are seeking career-oriented vocational and technical training from a community college, a liberal arts education from a small private college, an undergraduate science degree from a prestigious research institution, or one of a variety of programs offered by a multipurpose university. High quality educational programs are offered in all types of institutions at prices that vary as much as the programs and institutions themselves.

The United States also offers limitless opportunities for sports, recreation, and entertainment. Cities large and small offer numerous indoor and outdoor opportunities. Almost every city or town in the United States with college and university students will likely offer those students ways to kick back, run around, and have a good time.

World class learning institutions with cutting edge technology, endless study choices, worldwide recognition, a diverse mix of people and culture, flexibility in terms of course schedules and hours, and a globally focused course curriculum, all make the US one of the most attractive student destinations in the world.

Study in America

2008-12-08T01:10:00.000-08:00

Study Science in USA

America has cultivated a great number of scientists. The last century has produced leading figures such as J. Robert Oppenheimer who was a theoretical physicist, best known for his role as the scientific director of the Manhatten Project, the World War II effort to develop the first nuclear weapons. Edwin Powell Hubble was one of the leading astronomers of modern times and laid down the foundation upon which physical cosmology now rests. America offers a rich culture of all the sciences – you can study the stars, the earth, human or animal organisms or the genetic make-up of mammoths.

In America, you can study science at some of the world’s newest and most prestigious universities as well as benefit from a multi-cultural community. Studying science in America means that you learn in an atmosphere where knowledge, research and expertise is gladly shared and pooled; where learning and intellectual growth are stimulated and cherished.

You can study your chosen subject as a theory or practical course – you may even end up being the one to invent the solution to Global Warming or a cure for a previously untreatable disease. Or you may just wish to accumulate knowledge in order to pass it on to the next generation. Whatever your ambitions, we can help you choose the right combination of course and college in order to pursue your career goals.

Study abroad statistics

2008-12-07T04:01:00.000-08:00

Facts & figures on U.S. students abroad and international students in the U.S.

U.S. Students studying abroad

• In 2003/04, about 191,000 American students studied abroad in foreign countries. Ten years ago, approximately 76,000 took part in such programs abroad. That represents a 250% increase in study abroad participation over the last decade.

• Several students study in English-speaking countries, with the UK (32,000 students) and Australia (11,500 students) landing in the top 10 study abroad destinations. Italy and Spain and Italy are nearly tied at spots #2 and #3, each with about 60% of the students that study in the United Kingdom each year.

• Around 40% of students go abroad during their junior year. That means that 60% go abroad at some other time during their studies.

• More women study abroad than men. About 65% of participants each year are female, 35% male.

• The majority of study abroad participants choose to study abroad for one semester (38%) or during a summer term (37%). Only 6% of those studying abroad go for a whole academic year, down from 14% ten years ago. While a decade ago only about 2% of students participated in study abroad programs that lasted less than 8 weeks, today those who choose a program of less than 2 months in duration amount to about 9% of participants.

• Only 7.5% of students studying abroad are foreign language majors. A greater number of students have majors in social sciences, business fields, humanities, and arts.

International students studying in the US

• Over 565,000 international students were enrolled in U.S. universities and colleges in 2004/05.

• The number of international students in U.S. higher education has leveled off in recent years due to a number of factors, including the obstacles to obtaining student visas since 9/11 and the rising cost of tuition in the United States. In the face of these difficulties, some potential international students instead opt to study in other English-speaking countries or to take advantage of improved educational opportunities in their home countries.

• Nearly half of all U.S. international students come from one of 5 countries: India, China, Korea, Japan, and Canada. Students from Asia make up 58% of the enrolled international students in the U.S.

• In 2004/05, international students spent $13.3 billion in the U.S., most of which derived from sources outside of the U.S.

• The University of Southern California enrolls more international students each year than any other U.S. university. In 2004/05, over 6800 students from other countries studied at USC.

• The 5 U.S. states that attract the most international students, in descending order, are California, New York, Texas, Massachusetts, and Florida. The foreign students in these states make up about 42% of all international students in the United States.

• The most popular fields of study for students from abroad are in business fields, engineering, mathematics, and computer science. These account for over 43% of declared majors of international students.

Study abroad organization

2008-12-06T14:36:00.001-08:00

Study abroad organizations, also referred to as study abroad providers, are organizations that facilitate or administer study abroad programs. Such programs are often designed for undergraduate university students seeking to pursue educational opportunities in a foreign country, though there may be some options for postgraduate, high school, or continuing education students as well. Commonly, these organizations work in partnership with accredited institutions of higher education. They typically oversee the enrollment of their students in classes abroad and award academic credit transferable to students' higher education institutions in their home country.

Many study abroad organizations focus on a particular academic field or a specific region of the world. AustraLean, for example, is an organization that exclusively manages academic programs in Australia and the Oceania region. Likewise, The Center for Cross-Cultural Study administers university-level programs specifically in Spanish-speaking locations and virtually all of its available courses are taught in Spanish.

In some instances, study abroad organizations administer their own classes in a foreign location for the students enrolled in their academic programs. Others may assist students with course selection and direct enrollment at a foreign university. Often, organizations offer the option for students to enroll in a combination of courses at independent academic centers and local universities in a location overseas. In all situations, these organizations usually provide additional services such as health insurance, cultural travel excursions, housing, and some meals.

civil engineering

2008-12-06T01:53:00.000-08:00

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works such as bridges, roads, canals, dams and buildings.Civil engineering is the oldest engineering discipline after military engineering, and it was defined to distinguish it from military engineering. It is traditionally broken into several sub-disciplines including environmental engineering, geotechnical engineering, structural engineering, transportation engineering, water resources engineering, materials engineering, coastal engineering, surveying, and construction engineering. Civil engineering takes place on all levels: in the public sector from municipal through to federal levels, and in the private sector from individual homeowners through to international companies.

Until modern times there was no clear distinction between civil engineering and architecture, and the term engineer and architect were mainly geographical variations referring to the same person, often used interchangeably.^[7] In the 18th century, the term civil engineering began to be used to and exchange, and in the construction of ports, harbours, moles, breakwaters and lighthouses, and in the art of distinguish it from military engineering.

Civil engineering is one of the oldest of the engineering professions. Ancient feats such as the building of the Egyptian pyramids and Roman road systems are based on civil engineering principles.

Civil engineers can be found in all areas of society from small private contractors to municipal agencies, federal government organizations, and the military. One of the largest civil engineering organizations in the United States is the Army Corps of Engineers, which despite its name is a primarily civilian organization focused on the development of canals, locks, and dams; flood control, and other public works projects.

Civil Engineering Education

Because civil engineering focuses on the study of structural systems, the core courses in a civil engineering curriculum reflect this. Most civil engineers start their learning with basic physics and calculus courses. Later courses can include geology, soil mechanics, and design of steel structures. A civil engineering curriculum is usually rounded out with advanced classes that match the student's desired specialty, which may hydrology, development of concrete structures, and highway design, among other specialties.

Branches of Civil Engineering

Some of the branches of civil engineering include:

Transportation – This branch of civil engineering is concerned with developing transportation systems, including highways, airports and runways, and rail systems.
Environmental – Environmental engineering involves wastewater treatment, air pollution management, and the handling and processing of hazardous wastes.
Geotechnical – Geotechnical engineering includes the design and construction of rock and soil based structures, including foundations and retaining walls.
Structural – Structural engineering includes the design and construction of steel structures, including buildings, bridges, tunnels, and offshore structures such as oil rigs.
Water Resources – This branch includes construction of dams, canals, and water pipeline systems, as well as conservation and resource management.

Civil Engineering Professional Societies

The primary American professional society is the American Society for Civil Engineers (ASCE). ASCE is the oldest professional engineering society in the United States, having been founded in 1852. ASCE is the leader in the development of standards related to civil engineering topics. One of the most well known ASCE activities is its annual National Concrete Canoe Competition, where college students design, build, and race canoes made from concrete. Many other societies exist that focus on facets within the civil engineering profession. Some of these societies include the Institute of Transportation Engineers and the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers.

Civil engineers have been vital to the advancement of the human race, and continue to benefit humanity through the development of structures and systems that are used daily by millions of people.

Why study abroad?

2008-11-30T04:29:00.000-08:00

10 reasons why you should study in a foreign country

Have you considered studying abroad, but are not sure whether it's worth your time? If you ask anybody who has studied abroad, he or she will most certainly tell you that it is a life-changing experience and one of the most rewarding things he or she has ever done. Perhaps you're not certain what benefits you can reap from an extended stay in a foreign country. Here are 10 very excellent reasons why you should take the plunge:

1. Study abroad is the optimal way to learn a language. There is no better and more effective way to learn a language than to be immersed in a culture that speaks the language you are learning. You're surrounded by the language on a daily basis and are seeing and hearing it in the proper cultural context. Language learning happens most quickly under these circumstances.

2. Study abroad provides the opportunity to travel. Weekends and academic breaks allow you to venture out and explore your surroundings - both your immediate and more distant surroundings. Since studying abroad often puts you on a completely different continent, you are much closer to places you might otherwise not have had the opportunity to visit. Some more structured study abroad programs even have field trips planned in or around the curriculum.

3. Study abroad allows you get to know another culture first-hand. Cultural differences are more than just differences in language, food, appearances, and personal habits. A person's culture reflects very deep perceptions, beliefs, and values that influence his or her way of life and the way that s/he views the world. Students who experience cultural differences personally can come to truly understand where other cultures are coming from.

4. Study abroad will help you develop skills and give you experiences a classroom setting will never provide. Being immersed in an entirely new cultural setting is scary at first, but it's also exciting. It's an opportunity to discover new strengths and abilities, conquer new challenges, and solve new problems. You will encounter situations that are wholly unfamiliar to you and will learn to adapt and respond in effective ways.

5. Study abroad affords you the opportunity to make friends around the world. While abroad, you will meet not only natives to the culture in which you are studying, but also other international students who are as far from home as yourself.

6. Study abroad helps you to learn about yourself. Students who study abroad return home with new ideas and perspectives about themselves and their own culture. The experience abroad often challenges them to reconsider their own beliefs and values. The experience may perhaps strengthen those values or it may cause students to alter or abandon them and embrace new concepts and perceptions. The encounter with other cultures enables students to see their own culture through new eyes.

7. Study abroad expands your worldview. In comparison with citizens of most other countries, Americans tend to be uninformed about the world beyond the nation's boundaries. Students who study abroad return home with an informed and much less biased perspective toward other cultures and peoples.

8. Study abroad gives you the opportunity to break out of your academic routine. Study abroad is likely to be much unlike what you are used to doing as a student. You may become familiar with an entirely new academic system and you will have the chance to take courses not offered on your home campus. It's also a great opportunity to break out the monotony of the routine you follow semester after semester.

9. Study abroad enhances employment opportunities. Did you know that only 4% of U.S. undergraduates ever study abroad? Yet, the world continues to become more globalized, American countries are increasingly investing dollars abroad, and companies from countries around the world continue to invest in the international market. Through an employer's seyes, a student who has studied abroad is self-motivated, independent, willing to embrace challenges, and able to cope with diverse problems and situations. Your experience living and studying in a foreign country, negotiating another culture, and acquiring another language will all set you apart from the majority of other job applicants.

10. Study abroad can enhance the value of your degree. While abroad, you can take courses you would never have had the opportunity to take on your home campus. In addition, study abroad gives your language skills such a boost that it is normally quite easy to add a minor in a language or even a second major without having to take many more additional courses after the return to your home campus.

Education and finance

2008-11-22T01:33:00.000-08:00

Education
Education encompasses both the teaching and learning of knowledge, proper conduct, and technical competency. It thus focuses on the cultivation of skills, trades or professions, as well as mental, moral and aesthetic development. Formal education consists of systematic instruction, teaching and training by professional teachers. This consists of the application of pedagogy and the development of curricula. In a liberal education tradition, teachers draw on many different disciplines for their lessons, including psychology, philosophy, linguistics, biology, and sociology. Teachers in specialized professions such as astrophysics, law, or zoology may teach only in a narrow area, usually as professors at institutions of higher learning. There is much specialist instruction in fields of trade for those who want specific skills, such as required to be a pilot, for example. Finally, there is an array of educational opportunity in the informal sphere- for this reason; society subsidizes institutions such as museums and libraries. Informal education also includes knowledge and skills learned and refined during the course of life, including education that comes from experience in practicing a profession.

Primary education
Primary education consists of the first years of formal, structured education. In general, primary education consists of six or seven years of schooling starting at the age of 5 or 6, although this varies between, and sometimes within, countries. Globally, around 70% of primary-age children are enrolled in primary education, and this proportion is rising. Under the Education for All programs driven by UNESCO, most countries have committed to achieving universal enrollment in primary education by 2015, and in many countries, it is compulsory for children to receive primary education. The division between primary and secondary education is somewhat arbitrary, but it generally occurs at about eleven or twelve years of age. Some education systems have separate middle schools, with the transition to the final stage of secondary education taking place at around the age of fourteen. Schools that provide primary education, are mostly referred to as primary schools. Primary schools in these countries are often subdivided into infant schools and junior schools.

Secondary education
In most contemporary educational systems of the world, secondary education consists of the second years of formal education that occur during adolescence. It is characterised by transition from the typically compulsory, comprehensive primary education for minors, to the optional, selective tertiary, "post-secondary", or "higher" education (e.g., university, vocational school) for adults.Depending on the system, schools for this period, or a part of it, may be called secondary or high schools, gymnasiums, lyceums, middle schools, colleges, or vocational schools. The exact meaning of any of these terms varies from one system to another. The exact boundary between primary and secondary education also varies from country to country and even within them, but is generally around the seventh to the tenth year of schooling. Secondary education occurs mainly during the teenage years. In the United States and Canada primary and secondary education together are sometimes referred to as K-12 education, and in New Zealand Year 1-13 is used. The purpose of secondary education can be to give common knowledge, to prepare for higher education or to train directly in a profession.

Higher education
Higher education, also called tertiary, third stage, or post secondary education, is the non-compulsory educational level that follows the completion of a school providing a secondary education, such as a high school, secondary school, or gymnasium[citation needed]. Tertiary education is normally taken to include undergraduate and postgraduate education, as well as vocational education and training. Colleges and universities are the main institutions that provide tertiary education. Collectively, these are sometimes known as tertiary institutions. Tertiary education generally results in the receipt of certificates, diplomas, or academic degrees.
Higher education includes teaching, research and social services activities of universities, and within the realm of teaching, it includes both the undergraduate level (sometimes referred to as tertiary education) and the graduate (or postgraduate) level (sometimes referred to as graduate school). Higher education in that country generally involves work towards a degree-level or foundation degree qualification. In most developed countries a high proportion of the population (up to 50%) now enter higher education at some time in their lives. Higher education is therefore very important to national economies, both as a significant industry in its own right, and as a source of trained and educated personnel for the rest of the economy.

Adult education
Adult education has become common in many countries. It takes on many forms, ranging from formal class-based learning to self-directed learning. is the practice of teaching and educating adults. This often happens in the workplace, through 'extension' or 'continuing education' courses at secondary schools, at a college or university. Other learning places include folk high schools, community colleges, and lifelong learning centers. The practice is also often referred to as 'Training and Development'. It has also been referred to as andragogy . A difference is made between vocational education, mostly undertaken in workplaces and frequently related to upskilling, and non-formal adult education including learning skills or learning for personal development.

Internationalisation
Education is becoming increasingly international. Not only are the materials becoming more influenced by the rich international environment, but exchanges among students at all levels are also playing an increasingly important role. In Europe, for example, the Socrates-Erasmus Programme stimulates exchanges across European universities. Also, the Soros Foundation provides many opportunities for students from central Asia and eastern Europe. Some scholars argue that, regardless of whether one system is considered better or worse than another, experiencing a different way of education can often be considered to be the most important, enriching element of an international learning experience.

How not to study?

Do you remember yourself reading sentences after sentences of your books, but without actually concentrating on it? That is called a casual reading. A casual reading through the books doesn't help much. That is because, the concepts just pass by the mind, without being able to associate themselves with your understanding, or your memory. But the time that you spend in such casual reading never comes back. Moreover, it is boring. Study without concentration is an utter waste of time and energy. Avoid it.

The secret of concentration

There is no big tricks to develop concentration. If you want to improve your concentration in studies, you just need to enjoy what you read. There are books teaching you meditation, etc that claim to improve your concentration. I have tried a few of them, but personally I feel that the claims are over exaggerated by the authors. I discovered a simple technique that simply works wonder for me. I benefited immensely from the technique, and now I want you to benefit from the secret. The secret to concentration is being able to develop interest in the subject.

How to develop interest in the subject?

Simply stating, information is not at all interesting. But most curriculum books just provide information. Even intellectual concepts are presented as if they are information. That is the reason why curricular books are so often dreaded by students. But information becomes interesting when we discover the underlying concepts in them. So if you want to make your study hours interesting, try to discover the concepts yourself. Do not just believe what is said in the book. Let whatever you have to learn, be learnt not just as information, but as concepts that YOU have re-discovered.

Study tips

Make separate self study note book for each subject.
When you sit to study a subject, do not forget to be ready with your self study notes and pens(at least 2 colors).
With each line you read from the book, make questions, as if you are going to make a tough question paper in that subject. This will force you to concentrate on the subjects.
Note down the questions in one color and the answers in another. But write the answers from your understanding, in your own words. Don’t copy paste from book.
The tougher the questions you have made, the better you have concentrated. And the longer you are going to remember what you have learnt.
The most important thing is this: REVISE your notes. This would hardly take 5 minutes for every hour you have spent in making the question and answers. If you miss to revise, then the extra effort that you have put to make the notes will simply be wasted. But every revision will pay back at least 10 times of what you have invested.
Solve examples and exercise questions. You will be surprised to see that you are able to solve most of them.

Revision tips

Jolt down what all you want to revise in a particular study session.
Assign the time that you can afford to spend on each topic of revision.
Open your self study notes. But don’t just read through all that you have written, else your mind will start wondering, day dreaming, etc.
Read only the questions. Hide the answers. Try to recall the answer you have written. Check your memory.
If you are able to think some new questions and answers in your mind, add them to your notes.

When to revise?

Every day night, before sleep, revise all that you have noted down in your notes.
Every weekend, revise all that you have noted down during the week.
Before the exam, all that is needed for the exam.

If you have genuinely followed up to this, congratulations!!! You have noted down your success, and before the exam, when everyone else will be cramming, you are revising your success as a fun game.

Finance

finance refers to the concepts of time, money and risk and how they are interrelated. Banks are the main facilitators of funding through the provision of credit, although private equity, mutual funds, hedge funds, and other organizations have become important. Financial assets, known as investments, are financially managed with careful attention to financial risk management to control financial risk. Financial instruments allow many forms of securitized assets to be traded on securities exchanges such as stock exchanges, including debt such as bonds as well as equity in publicly-traded corporations.

Finance is used by individuals (personal finance), by governments (public finance), by businesses (corporate finance), as well as by a wide variety of organizations including schools and non-profit organizations. In general, the goals of each of the above activities are achieved through the use of appropriate financial instruments, with consideration to their institutional setting.Finance is one of the most important aspects of business management. Without proper financial planning a new enterprise is unlikely to be successful. Managing money (a liquid asset) is essential to ensure a secure future, both for the individual and an organization.

Personal finance
It is the application of the principles of finance to the monetary decisions of an individual or family unit. It addresses the ways in which individuals or families obtain, budget, save, and spend monetary resources over time, taking into account various financial risks and future life events. Components of personal finance might include checking and savings accounts, credit cards and consumer loans, investments in the stock market, retirement plans, social security benefits, insurance policies, and income tax management.

Corporate finance
It is an area of finance dealing with the financial decisions corporations make and the tools and analysis used to make these decisions. The primary goal of corporate finance is to maximize corporate value while reducing the firm's financial risks.

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