Can Colleges become more efficient?

1.Public Agenda

"Keep Tuition down by Making Colleges More Efficient | Public Agenda." Public Agenda. 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 21 Oct. 2011. <http://www.publicagenda.org/discussion-guides/keep-tuition-down-making-colleges-more-efficient>.

Summary Public Agenda is, "an innovative public opinion research and public engagement organization, works to strengthen our democracy's capacity to tackle tough public policy issues." They want to close the gap between the politicians opinions and the public opinions and make sure the public's views are represented in decision making. In this article their goal is to keep tuition down by making colleges more efficient by becoming more competitive and making better use of techniques ssuch as distance learning to reach more students at lower costs. I think this site is very useful because it also offers solutions, arguments for, and arguments against, and they are simply public opinions. Because they are public opinions however, the authoritativeness is slim, but I think it just shapes the picture for us nicely.

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• Can colleges become more efficient

Kelley Boone

2.STUDENT EFFICIENCY

A STUDY ON THE BEHAVIOR AND PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS AND THE DETERMINANTS OF GPA

Nelson, Rebecca. "STUDENT EFFICIENCY: A STUDY ON THE BEHAVIOR AND PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY OF COLLEGE STUDENTS AND THE DETERMINANTS OF GPA." Issues in Political Economy. Mary Washington College, August 2003. Web. 21 Oct 2011. <http://org.elon.edu/ipe/nelson FINAL.pdf>.

Summary This is a study done on the behavior and productive efficiency of college students and the determinants of GPA. It discusses the difference between how students behave in regards to just caring about their grades or actually learning the material. It says GPA is often the determinate when getting a job after college and it frustrates the teachers who don't care about giving grades but simply care that the students learn and know the material. Teachers get frustrated when the students are too focused on their grades. Students see college simply as a means to an end, the key to a good paying job. There are many variables that affect students performance in college. They surveyed students and collected information to study and concluded that students become more efficient the older they get in actions that affect their GPA. This is one study done at one college using 126 students. I think it is rather authoritative in the sense that it is a study and not opinion based.

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• Can colleges become more efficient

Kelley Boone

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3. Benefits of a College Education

"10 Benefits of a College Education"

Nohel. "10 Benefits of a College Education." College to Careers. University of Phoenix, August 2010. Web. 23 Oct 2011. <http://www.collegetocareers.com/10-benefits-college-education-2/>.

Summary I found this article really helpful. It gives quick facts that argue the benefits of a college education. It talks about salary, careers, and competitions that come when trying to find a job and tells the benefits of having a college education. It also talks about personal matters such as learning how to provide for oneself and so on. This article is really helpful for trying to get a quick background knowledge of reasons why people go to college. It definitely argues for a college degree.

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• Benefits of a College Education

Shannon Scola

4. Benefits of a College Degree in One Graph

Klein, Ezra. "The Benefits of a College Degree in One Graph." The Washington Post, 11 Aug 2011. Web. 23 Oct 2011. <http://wiki.gonzaga.edu/alfino/index.php?title=Can_Colleges_become_more_efficient%3F&action=edit&section=3>.

Summary I just thought this was an interesting graph giving the statistics of degrees during this state in the economy. It is just a little background information.

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• Benefits of a College Education

Shannon Scola

5. There are Not Many Benefits of a College Degree

Kawamoto, Dawn. "Financial Benefits of a College Education Are Smaller Thank You'd Think." Daily Finance, 24 May 2011. Web. 23 Oct 2011. <http://www.dailyfinance.com/2011/05/24/financial-benefits-of-a-college-education-are-smaller-than-youd/>.

Summary This article argues the opposite side having a college degree. It states that there is not very much financial difference in careers from those who have college degrees and those that do not. Even in this economy there are still not enough people for jobs, such as plumbers, which does not require a college degree but does pay better than other jobs, and pays almost the same as the average job with a college degree.

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On Google:

• Benefits of a College Degre

Shannon Scola

Improved Efficiency in Colleges, and Other Pipe Dreams

Luzer, Daniel. "Improved Efficiency in Colleges, and Other Pipe Dreams by Daniel Luzer | Washington Monthly." The Washington Monthly. 15 Nov. 2010. Web. 24 Oct. 2011. <http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/college_guide/blog/improved_efficiency_in_college.php>.

Summary This is an article from a newspaper based in Washington DC. They say their goal is to report problems with the government and solutions to the issues. It seems very unbiased. This article analyses a report done

Not Finished

Kelley Boone