In poor economy, expect surge in applications to state schools - The Boston Globe

In poor economy, expect surge in applications to state schools - The Boston Globe

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Yes we can.

Our new President-Elect, in his ever techno-savvy strategy, has launched www.change.gov. Across the banner was the following quote from Barack Obama:

"Today we begin in earnest the work of making sure that the world we leave our children is just a little bit better than the one we inhabit today."

There's a lot of promise and a level of expectation our country has never seen before for our new President. After the last 8 years, it's not surprising that some of us are waiting for the other shoe to drop; it's just too good to be true. We'll have to wait and see, and Barack has already begun the expectation-lowering messages ("I will not be a perfect President" and "there will be challenges," among others). But what I feel is really different is that this time, so many people are willing to work with him, to help and support an administration of change. The mobilzation of the masses is near-revolutionary.

On change.gov, they ask for stories of American Moments, about what this election has meant to us. I share now what I sent to change.gov:

I am one of the Millennials. I voted in my first presidential election when I was 18, in 2000, only 5 months out of high school. After 9/11, when I was just a sophomore in college, I remember feeling so jaded about America, and what it meant to be an American. The flag had been commercialized into lapel pins and car magnets, a symbol of blind patriotism in a fear-gripped guns-a-blaze post 9/11 America. I was not proud to be an American. I was embarrassed.

On the evening on November 4, and into the wee hours of November 5, I felt something I have not felt in almost 10 years. I live on a college campus, and there were students hugging each other, jumping up and down, parading on the street in a spontaneous midnight march around campus - it was a beautiful sight. Inspiring. As I watched our President-Elect speak that evening, the American flag didn't look so trite. To be honest, it didn't look like the joke it has been for the last 8 years, with various leaders parading in front of it like a bad punchline.

For the first time, I saw the American flag as something built on ideals, and that our new President-Elect would remind us of and guide us toward to the foundational principles on which this country was built. I had this warm, fuzzy feeling like when I was a kid, reading about our Founding Fathers in elementary school. I got choked up when Obama spoke about what changes will we have made 50 years from now- what will our children live to see? For the first time for me, the American flag was about possibility. It was about truly coming together as a nation to build this nation together.

For the first time as a Millennial, I am excited to be a part of this generation, and to contribute to my country rather than rebuke it. This is the first time I’ve felt like I’m willing to give our country the chance, because I feel like it’s taken the chance on us to make a change. For the first time in my life, I am actually proud to be an American.

Thoughts on the financial crisis

Our President has recently announced he would like to hold an open forum on our institution's current financial situation. Earlier in September, an email went out to the entire community assuring the campus that we are in a good financial state. Word has trickled out that our President has opened what is normally a closed meeting to the campus at large is that email was entirely too optimistic, and that things have changed since then.

I think the normal fiscal clamps such as hiring freezes and no merit pay this year are to be expected. What I worry about is downsizing.

I emailed back and forth with some colleagues about what these impending financial times could have on higher education. We speculated that institutions such as mine, a private, top-tier liberal arts school will feel the impact the most, with smaller classes of freshmen, and potentially lower rates of retention. I think large state schools will see a huge rise in freshmen classes, simply because they can't afford the private school tuition, but want a comparable, affordable education. If a student is aiming for Boston College, they might settle for somewhere like UMass-Amherst. I think loan packages, as we have already seen, are going to be key in comparing matriculated class sizes between privates and publics.

I think for-profits are also going to be hit really hard as well. Where I do see for-profits gaining ground is through online education. Online education makes sense for the student that can't afford to go away to school right now, and allows them to work full-time at the same time if they have to. It's an attractive option for cash-strapped families.

My colleague working for a large state school also mentioned that community colleges are going to see huge influxes of students. Get the work done at one school, transfer, and get the degree with the better school name on it. She suspects that community colleges are going to eat a lot of the population with large financial aid packages headed to state schools. Especially with our new administration, there will be a strong push from Washington for affordable higher education opportunities, starting with our community colleges.

While state schools might lose some of their population from those migrating to community colleges, I countered that their absence would be made up by those students who can't afford private. This creates a volatile possibility of higher expectations and demands of our state school systems, as they flock to the affordable school, and yet their isn't the fiscal support to meet their demands. Capitol projects everywhere are getting slashed, and often these are for much needed campus resources, including new student housing.

She also brought up that schools such as mine, with a high alumni support base, may see significant drops in donors and their amounts. People just won't have the money to give back to their college and universities like they used to.

These are definitely uncertain times in higher education.

Remembering Dr. Zenobia Lawrence Hikes

Virginia Tech Press Release
NASPA Remembers Dr. Hikes
Virginia Tech Student Newspaper Article

What a loss to the field. This is so sad. I feel really lucky that I got to see her at NASPA this year.