Compass Point
A Weekly Collection of Data, Articles and Insights from the Commonwealth Educational Policy Institute
A project of the Virginia Commonwealth University's Center for Public Policy
L. Douglas Wilder School of Government and Public Affairs
Recent State and Local Education News
UVA Offers First Special Ed Master’s Program in Northern VA

NBC 29 - WVIR
August 20, 2015

A national shortage of special education teachers is inspiring the University of Virginia to offer a new training program.

The Curry School of Education is starting its first ever Special Education Masters Program at its Northern Virginia center. School leaders hope this will slow the shortage of teachers and help students discover their strengths. . .

Virginia's Public Schools Need More Money For Teachers, Say Education Advocates
WAMU 88.5
August 21, 2015

As kids head back to school, parents, teachers and administrators are gearing up for a fight in Richmond, hoping to win greater state support for public education. They say it’s time to restore cuts made during the recession and to raise pay for new teachers.

“Thirty-eight percent of our teachers are 50 years and older, and if you have enough years of service in at 50, you can retire," says Meg Gruber, president of the Virginia Education Association, who is sounding the alarm about the commonwealth's corps of educators.

But with Virginia paying teachers an average of $6,800 a year less than the national average, she says few college graduates want to teach. “We’re sliding backwards when it comes to recruiting and retaining our quality teachers. . .

Banners hung near ODU spark outrage among community
NBC 10 (WSLS)
August 24, 2015

A surprising and upsetting welcome to students at Old Dominion University after several banners were seen hanging from an off campus home.

In a photo, the signs appear to be hanging from the home’s second story balcony and read “Rowdy and fun. Hope your baby girl is ready for a good time,” another with an arrow pointing to the home’s front door said “Freshmen daughter drop off,” and a third painted on what appears to be a large white sheet says, “Go ahead and drop off mom too.”

Many students shared their disgust on social media describing the signs as offensive and an example of rape culture. . .

Saved for now, Sweet Briar College looks for a long-term fix
The Roanoke Times
August 23, 2015

Weeks into his presidency at Sweet Briar College, Phillip Stone still marvels at the energy of passionate alumnae who helped save the school just a few months ago from the fate of dozens of other women’s colleges: closure.

But he knows without a serious change in fortune, the salvation will only be temporary.

The 72-year-old lawyer sat in his office this month as dozens of former students fanned over the 3,250-acre grounds in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains to paint, pull weeds and mulch ahead before classes start Thursday. . . .

Virginia schools win with half-billion lottery payout
CBS 6 (WTVR)
August 18, 2015

The Virginia Lottery delivered more than a half-billion dollars to Virginia’s K-12 public schools. The profits for the 2015 fiscal year totaled nearly $534 million, officials announced.

By law, every dollar of Lottery profits benefits K-12 education in the Commonwealth. Lottery profits make up approximately 8 percent of Virginia’s K-12 education budget. . . .

Recent National Education News
Common Core yet to emerge as major issue in presidential campaign
EdSource
August 20, 2015

EdSource plans to track the Common Core’s role in the 2016 presidential campaign. The following is the first of our occasional reports.

So far, at least, the Common Core has not become a major issue in the early stages of the 2016 presidential campaign.

One reason is surely the result of the near total eclipse of most substantive policy discussions in the GOP presidential contest by the presence and pronouncements of Donald Trump.

But it is also true that it has not come up as a significant point of discussion in the two major GOP forums in recent weeks – the candidates’ forum in New Hampshire on Aug. 3 and the debate dominated by Trump in Cleveland on Aug. 6. Nor has it emerged as a significant issue among Democratic candidates. . .

The Newest Scourge of the Federal Budget: Graduate Students
Slate
August 19, 2015

At some point, you've probably read that the federal government makes a big pile of money every year off of student lending. But that's an oversimplification. Washington actually runs a small loss on its loans to undergraduates, who a) benefit from low interest rates and b) aren't super-reliable about paying back what they owe. In the end, the Department of Education earns its profits from two groups of borrowers: parents and graduate students. . .

Will a New Teacher Loan Assistance Bill Solve Anything?

Ed Central
August 18, 2015

Earlier this month, legislators in the House and Senate introduced TELORA, a bipartisan bill to improve the confusing patchwork of federal loan programs for teachers. The new proposal implicitly seeks to streamline existing programs and has the explicit purpose “to encourage highly qualified individuals to enter and continue in the teaching profession, and to ensure qualified effective teachers are encouraged to work in high-need schools.” But is it likely to deliver on these promises?

Existing aid programs for financing teacher education

Currently there are three federal student aid programs to help alleviate student debt available only to teachers. In order to attract high-quality teachers to high-needs schools, TEACH grants provide aid to prospective teachers who commit to working in certain subject areas in low-income schools for four years. The other two programs, Stafford and Perkins, provide varying levels of loan forgiveness (up to $17,500) to those teaching certain subjects in low-income schools, for a specified amount of time. . .

How much are those new first year college students paying? - And can they afford it?
As students across the United States head off or back to college campuses, a spate of news stories and reports are focused on the questions of cost and affordability.  Part of this focus is likely driven by the continuing college debt crisis.  News reports highlighted two developments - the number of borrowers who have applied for student debt relief increased 56% over the past year and new borrowing for higher education hit a 5 year low (partly driven by a decline in lending by for-profit colleges).

It's hardly news that the cost of college has increased rapidly over the past 35 years.  The chart below shows the percent increase of college tuition (the red line) alongside other common costs for people in the United States (Medical care, a new car, food and energy).



A different question is where the limits are for the willingness of students, parents and governments to continue paying those rising costs.  Basic economics suggests that as prices rise, less people will buy a product, so arguably at some point increased costs will result in less people going to college.  However, the rate of the drop-off on interested buyers (the elasticity) depends on how essential consumers judge the product to be.  One explanation of why college prices haven't reached a breakpoint is that more and more people consider a college degree essential.  The PDK/Gallup poll in 1978 found that 36% of respondents thought a college education was very important - the 2013 poll found that number had reached 70%.

While overall cost is important, another way of looking at the question is the cost as a percent of average per capita disposable income.  This is one of the metrics used by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) in their recent annual report on the cost of tuition and fees at Virginia's higher education institutions.  As the chart below shows, the average cost of attending a four-year college in Virginia is pushing 50% of the average disposable income.  For low-income students, the average cost likely is much higher.  
Recent news stories have focused on the struggles of this particular group - in California, a system long known for affordability, costs now eat up almost 2/3 of discretionary income for families making less than $30,000 per year. This has led some to ask whether financial aid should only go to students in need - though other news reports suggest that financial aid may be increasingly flowing to students from wealthier families.

For those students starting out on their college career, certainly they hope the investment will be worthwhile.  That calculation also pivots on the quality of schools.  Our 2014-15 Commonwealth Education poll asked Virginians whether they think colleges and universities are doing a good job and the general consensus is yes. The results are summarized in this week's poll snapshot.


Also this week, we share a compilation of news stories about candidates running for General Assembly seats and their comments on education. 

Sincerely,
CEPI
Poll Snapshot - Performance in Higher Education
Amid continued concerns about college affordability and value for price, public evaluation of the quality of three options for pursuing higher education is increasingly relevant. Strong majorities of Virginians think both four-year colleges and universities and community colleges are offering a quality education. Eighty percent say the quality of education at a four-year institution is good or excellent. Likewise, 78% say the same about community colleges.

Internet-based programs, where the degree is completed entirely online, received more mixed reviews. A narrow plurality of respondents, 44%, rated the educational quality of internet-based programs as either fair or poor, while 43% rated them as either excellent or good. Thirteen percent said they don’t know or declined to respond, potentially indicating that internet-based programs are still a less known option. Among different demographic groups, those with a H.S. diploma or less (48%) or some college (46%), as well as minority respondents (52%), more frequently evaluated online higher-education programs as being good or excellent.


When it comes to specific outcomes, strong majorities say Virginia colleges and universities are doing a good job in all four areas examined. Seventy-two percent of Virginians say colleges and universities are doing a good job in producing graduates in scientific fields and 69% said the same about providing the skills that will be useful in obtaining a job. Sixty-five percent say the state schools do a good job preparing students for the workforce needs for the future. A slightly smaller majority (62%) thinks they are doing a good job developing students’ writing and communication skills.

Different age groups evaluated higher education outcomes somewhat differently. Respondents in the 18-34 year-old group were significantly more positive about the performance of colleges and universities in the areas of producing graduates in the scientific fields (81% said good job) and in developing students’ writing and communication skills (76% said good job). This was different from other age groups, with the gap in perception being greatest when compared to respondents 65 or older where only 47% felt colleges were doing a good job at developing students’ writing and communication skills.

To read the full poll, visit our website.

Education and the 2015 Election

As we get closer to the 2015 General Assembly elections, once a month we're compiling excerpts of stories and op eds that report on and/or feature the voices of General Assembly candidates and that connect to their views on, or experience with, the education sector. CEPI does not endorse candidates and provides this compilation as a public service.

NEWS STORIES

Gecker praises Watkins; Sturtevant says politics should play no part in selecting judges
Richmond Times-Dispatch
August 18, 2015

The four-way battle for the 10th District seat could prove decisive in which party controls the Senate, now divided between 21 Republicans and 19 Democrats.

“There are only a handful of races in the House and Senate that are contested this year, and this is one of the most competitive,” said Margaret Nimmo Crowe, executive director of Voices for Virginia’s Children.

The first part of the forum focused on public policy issues for children and adolescents – children living in poverty, teens who age out of foster care in Virginia after age 18, mental health services, and prekindergarten early childhood education.

Durfee, Gecker, and Sturtevant all strongly supported the state’s early childhood initiatives, but Loser denounced any government role in prekindergarten education.

“It’s not the government’s job to educate,” Loser said. “It’s the government’s job to allow for opportunity to get an education.”

ELECTION 2015: McDougle will seek re-election
Richmond Times-Dispatch
August 5, 2015

Sen. Ryan T. McDougle (R-4) has declared his candidacy for re-election to the Senate of Virginia. He is chairman of the Virginia Senate Republican Caucus.

“During this current term,” McDougle said. “I have applied my conservative principles to achieve better results for Virginia. I have spearheaded the successful effort to bring long overdue reforms to Virginia’s antiquated ABC, to strengthen protections against sexual predators, and to implement changes to ensure all of our public schools are providing our children with a quality education."

OPINION

Our view: Questions for General Assembly candidates
The Roanoke Times
August 5, 2015

What will you do to help this part of the state attract more young people? We don’t just have an economic problem; we have a demographic problem. We have an older population — which isn’t necessarily a problem in and of itself, until those workers retire and need to be replaced. We’re going to need an influx of younger adults just to keep the jobs we have, let alone fuel economic growth for new ones. This may not be a legislative issue; this may be more a question for candidates for boards of supervisors and city councils who have the power to help create the amenities that might attract that population — but it would still be interesting to see if General Assembly candidates have even thought about this at all.

What will you do to hold down rising tuition at Virginia’s four-year colleges and universities? This year, the cost of attending Virginia’s public colleges has gone up an average of 6 percent, up from 5.8 percent last year and 4.3 the year before that. When Republican George Allen was governor in the ’90s, he imposed a controversial freeze on tuition — well, controversial among college administrators. Tuition-paying parents and students loved it. If more funding for higher education isn’t on the table, should this be?
To read the full newsletter, visit our website.