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
CEPI in the News
Education Editorial: Choosing a college major
NBC 12
(July 20, 2014)

Articles of Interest
State & Local Policy

What's Expendable?:  Tensions at Mary Baldwin signal competing understandings
Inside Higher Ed,
July 21, 2014

Interviews with top college officials and a number of professors (most of whom requested anonymity for fear of reprisal), as well as a review of more than a hundred pages of internal documents obtained by Inside Higher Ed, reveal an institution in transition -- and in conflict. At Mary Baldwin, the administration’s focus on enrollment growth through new programs has left some faculty members convinced that the liberal arts college no longer has liberal arts at its center.

College officials maintain the institution has not strayed from its liberal arts mission. What’s occurring at Mary Baldwin, they say, is a philosophical dispute. A handful of professors are clinging to a conception of the liberal arts grounded in discrete disciplines -- an idea college officials say is outdated.

“We’re at a time in education when we’re moving beyond the disciplines that were created 100 years ago,” said Sarah Flanagan, chair of the academic affairs committee on Mary Baldwin’s Board of Trustees and vice president for government relations and policy at the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.

Haun tapped for state chief academic officer position
Charlottesville Tomorrow
July 18, 2014

lbemarle County’s Assistant Superintendent Billy Haun has been named chief academic officer at the Virginia Department of Education.

Steven R. Staples, Virginia’s superintendent of public instruction, said he is “delighted” to have Haun on board.

Federal Policy

Appeals court upholds affirmative action in Fisher v. Texas
Politico, July 15 2014

The University of Texas at Austin can continue using affirmative action in its admission policies, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled Tuesday.

The university’s use of affirmative action is narrowly tailored, and Texas lacks other workable ways to increase diversity, the court said, after the U.S. Supreme Court remanded the case in June 2013.

This Way Up: Mobility in America
The Wall Street Journal
July 18, 2014

Dakota Blazier had made a big decision. Friendly and fresh-faced, from a small town north of Indianapolis, he'd made up his mind: He wasn't going to college.

"I discovered a long time ago," he explained, "I'm not book smart. I don't like sitting still, and I learn better when the problem is practical." But he didn't feel this limited his options—to the contrary. And he was executing a plan as purposeful as that of any of his high-school peers.
As the commonwealth's colleges and universities prepare to welcome another crop of students, Compass Point takes a look at some aspects of the ongoing debate around the value of college education. 

Many of the debates on this topic center around whether college graduates get a good return on their (or their parents) investment.  The Economist recently ran a story titled "Is College Worth It?" along with graphic showing a selection of U.S. universities, their cost and the average annual return for students over 20 years.  (The graphic was based on data compiled by Pay Scale, a research firm.)  UVA topped the list in 2013, with an annual return of 17.6% (compared to 15% for Harvard, 13% for Princeton and Yale, and 3.4% for investing in U.S. Treasury bills).  Some colleges on the list had a negative return on investment and the writers concluded both that not all colleges have an equal return but also that the major chosen makes a large difference (many of the top ranked schools are institutes of technology.)

In this same area of inquiry, Dr. Bosher's thoughts on choosing a major highlights the fact that not all majors earn equally and that during a recession, the disparity may be even more pronounced.  (Incidentally, UVA (in-state tuition) did not stay at the top of the PayScale rankings, dropping into a tie for 14th in the 2014 rankings, right ahead of Virginia Tech.)

The differences between majors and the fact that colleges exist within a market economy means some institutitions, like Mary Baldwin college, are having difficult debates about whether traditional liberal arts majors should be sustained in their current form, despite relatively few students choosing them. 

Of course determining value is more complex than what return an individual realizes.  Charles Steger, president emeritus of Virginia Tech, noted at SCHEV's recent higher education research summit (summary here) that educational competitiveness plays a key role for society in attracting and retaining businesses as well as generating tax revenue that can be plowed back into socially beneficial investments like education.  A virtous circle can result.

Likewise, student debt loads are an important part of the equation.  If you're interested in seeing how Virginia schools stack up on this aspect of value, SCHEV also has some great resources on Graduate Debt.

In keeping with the theme of the value of higher education, this week's poll snapshot looks at opinion among Virginians about whether knowledge and skills or a college degree are more important for success. 

We also continue excerpts of Dr. Vacca's look at education law issues likely to be important in the year ahead with a look at Privacy issues. 

Sincerely,
CEPI
Poll Snapshot:  What is needed to succeed?
In our most recent poll, a representative sample of Virginians were asked which they thought was more important for young people to succeed - knowledge and skills to do a specific job or a degree from a well-respected university.  As can be seen in the chart below, most (59%) thought knowledge and skills were more important than a degree (even from a well-respected university).  Only 29% selected a degree as being more important and 8% volunteered that both were important.

Interestingly, Virginians are more likely to think skills/knowledge are important than respondents in a national poll conducted by Gallup in October 2013 where 47% thought the degree was more important and only 50% though skills/knowledge were the top things needed for success.

























Looking at the breakdowns by region, people in Northern Virginia and Western Virginia both were more likely than folks in the rest of the state to think a degree was most important, even while a majority still cited skills/knowledge as being of top importance.  Does the economy of these two regions place a higher emphasis on formal degrees?  We can't say from our poll, but it's interesting to think about the possible reasons for the difference.

There also is an interesting difference along income lines.  Those with household incomes under $50,000 and those over $100,000 are more likely than those with income between $50,000 and $100,000 to say a degree is most important.  Only 17% of the middle-income bracket see the degree as more important while 34% and 36% of the lower and upper income brackets see the degree as most important.  Perhaps those earning in the middle-bracket are more likely to work in industries where most of their skills were learned on the job.  Again, we can't say, but it's interesting to think about. 

(To read the full results of the poll, visit our website. Question 20 is the question cited above - topline results are on page 34; crosstabs are on page 68.)

Potential Issues in 2014-15:  Privacy
Excerpted from Dr. Vacca's June 2014 Ed Law Newsletter

"Potential Issue Producers
Based on my review of this year’s court decisions, a tracking of stories reported in the popular media, and a review of current literature in education law, I have identified for brief and general discussion the following seven topics where potential legal and policy issues are likely to emerge during the 2014-2015 school year: common core, school finance, special education, charter and non-traditional programs, school prayer, cyber bullying, and privacy.

Privacy. A basic expectation is that the personal property belonging to a person belongs to that person and to no one else. Personal property should be “let alone.” Personal lives outside of school in the community are included in a person’s private world. Because employees (administrators, teachers, staff) and students in public schools expect that their computers, cell phones, iPads, book bags, pocketbooks, brief cases, lunch bags, jean and jacket pockets, written correspondence, et al., as well as their private lives, are off-limits to unauthorized persons, policies and procedures must be carefully written, publicized, and explained to avoid legal ramifications.

In 2014-2015 a need to collect outside-of-school, community-based information on students and their families will continue to grow. Privacy issues are likely to spring up as efforts are made to provide all students equal access to a quality education (including supportive services) in a safe and non-disrupted learning environment.

Next school year privacy-based issue producers involving students and staff will encompass such topics as search and seizure (especially looking for weapons and drugs on campus); the collection of family-parent background information (especially non-English speaking parents, and socio-economic condition); access to mental health information (especially the early identification of students in need of help and early intervention); increased reliance of interagency agreements and record sharing between school personnel and police agencies (especially where gang activity, violence and/or child abuse are suspected); and the possible use and abuse of prescription drugs."

To read the full update, visit our website.