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Friday, May 13, 2011

U.S.News & World Report ranks black colleges for the first time


Written by TIMES SPECIAL REPORT

Washington, D.C. – Spelman College, Howard University and Hampton University top the list of U.S.News & World Report’s first annual ranking of the nation’s historically black colleges and universities, the magazine announced this week.


Morehouse College, Spelman’s counterpart for male students in Atlanta, ranked fourth.

Florida A&M University in Tallahassee came in at No. 13.

The “America’s Best Black Colleges” rankings were released on Thursday at www.usnews.com/blackcolleges , and will be available on newsstands beginning Monday, Oct. 1, in the magazine issue dated Oct. 8.

The 2008 edition of “America’s Best Black Colleges” marks the first time U.S.News & World Report has released a stand-alone ranking of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), as defined by the U.S. Department of Education.

These schools have been – and will continue to be – ranked within their appropriate categories in U.S. News’s annual “Best Colleges” issue, published annually in August, the magazine stated.

The “Best Black Colleges” issue is the latest extension of U.S.News & World Report’s expanding “Best” series which includes “America’s Best Colleges,” “America’s Best Graduate Schools,” “America’s Best Hospitals,” “America’s Best Children’s Hospitals,” “America’s Best Health Plans,” and “America’s Best Leaders.”

Additional “Best” issues are scheduled to launch later this fall.

“As historically black colleges and universities continue to play a vital role in today’s higher education landscape, we decided to create a specific ranking of them to allow apples-to-apples comparisons of these schools,” said Brian Kelly, editor of U.S.News & World Report. “This unique ranking offers for the first time an independent perspective on these institutions to help students and parents make an informed choice about one of life’s most important and expensive decisions.”

Included in this listing are any HBCUs as defined by the U.S. Department of Education that were also eligible for inclusion in U.S.News & World Report’s 2008 edition of “America’s Best Colleges.”

The ranking table lists numerically the schools in the top half of the 70 eligible to be ranked – 37 schools are listed, as four tied for 34th place. Those falling into the second half are listed alphabetically.

The “America’s Best Black Colleges” methodology closely resembles that of U.S.News & World Report’s annual “America’s Best Colleges” rankings.

The schools are ranked using key industry standards for measuring higher education quality: peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving rates.

Earlier this year, U.S. News conducted its first-ever peer survey among only the HBCUs, asking head administrators to rate the scholarship and quality of all other black colleges with which they were familiar.

This method enables consumers to make an educated choice based on an unbiased, side-by-side comparison of institutions, the magazine stated.

Critics say the U.S. News college rankings warp college admissions and distract colleges from educating students.

But Kelly, the magazine’s editor, says students and their parents come to the magazine to make sense of all the data that is available on colleges.

A complete detailing of the methodology used for the HBCU survey can be found online at www.usnews.com/blackcolleges

2008 “America’s Best Black Colleges” Rankings
1. Spelman College • Atlanta, GA

2. Howard University • Washington, DC

3. Hampton University • Hampton, VA

4. Morehouse College • Atlanta, GA

5. Fisk University • Nashville, TN

6. Tuskegee University • Tuskegee, AL

7. Claflin University • Orangeburg, SC

8. Xavier University of Louisiana • New Orleans, LA

9. Dillard University • New Orleans, LA

10. Johnson C. Smith University • Charlotte, NC

11. Tennessee State University • Nashville, TN

12. Winston-Salem State University • Winston-Salem, NC

13. Florida A&M University • Tallahassee, FL

14. Morgan State University • Baltimore, MD

15. Virginia State University • Petersburg, VA

16. Bennett College • Greensboro, NC

16. Elizabeth City State University • Elizabeth City, NC

16. North Carolina Central University • Durham, NC

19. North Carolina A&T State University • Greensboro, NC

20. Tougaloo College • Tougaloo, MS

21. Alcorn State University • Alcorn State, MS

22. Clark Atlanta University • Atlanta, GA

22. Oakwood College • Huntsville, AL

22. South Carolina State University • Orangeburg, SC

22. University of Maryland Eastern Shore • Princess Anne, MD

26. Alabama Agricultural & Mechanical University • Normal, AL

26. Albany State University • Albany, GA

26. Delaware State University • Dover, DE

26. Jackson State University • Jackson, MS

26. Kentucky State University • Frankfort, KY

26. Stillman College • Tuscaloosa, AL

32. Lincoln University • Lincoln University, PA

32. Mississippi Valley State University • Itta Bena, MS

34. Bluefield State College • Bluefield, WV

34. Fayetteville State University • Fayetteville, NC

34. Miles College • Birmingham, AL

34. Norfolk State University • Norfolk, VA

Source: U.S.News & World Report
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Promote your work on the TLT Group Summer 2011 Reading List!


As summer approaches, we hope we've got some more time to catch up on all the reading we’ve set aside.

The TLT Group is very pleased to be publishing our first ever Summer Reading List in the coming weeks!

[What we read this summer will likely guide our online BookGroup discussions throughout the 2011-12 academic year.]
A special section of our Summer Reading List will be devoted completely to works published by our own Individual Members – that’s you!
If you have an article or book that you would like us to promote, please contact Micul Ann Morse with the appropriate information. Please include a very brief synopsis, the website where your work can be accessed or purchased, and "Summer Reading List" in the subject heading of the email.
Your commitment to the TLT Group is much appreciated. We’re looking forward to reading your work!

Best,
Rebecca
kurtz@tltgroup.org
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TLT Group FridayLive! Faculty-Student Collaboration on Course Design


Start May 20, 2011 02:00 PM - 03:00 PM

Location Online meeting info in Registration Confirmation Email [also check your Junk folder] and via email 24 hours prior to event start

RegistrationOpen to the public - Free
If you're new to a TLT Group event, please become an Online Institute Registrant member for free to participate (and consider becoming an individual member!)

Guests: Peter Felten, Elon University

Some institutions are attempting to increase student engagement through faculty and students designing classes together. Surprising results have been discovered: students want demanding assignments, teaching was harder than students thought, e.g. But not all are convinced that course design collaboration is wise. In this session, Peter Felten will join Steve Gilbert to share how his team at Elon University undertook student-faculty collaboration almost five years ago. Peter's team has written and spoken widely on the topic and we welcome their insight into some key questions about collaboration: What works/doesn't work? What are the greatest obstacles? What set of conditions are necessary for collaboration?

NOTE: Login instructions for the session will be sent in the Registration Confirmation Email. Please check your Junk folder as sometimes these emails get trapped there. We will also send an additional login reminder 24 hours prior to the start of the event.
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University Business: College Students Complete 96-Mile Capitol Journey To Protest Higher-Ed Budget Cuts


About a dozen college students this afternoon ended a 96-mile, 60-hour journey to the Capitol steps.

They walked from Mankato to St. Paul (for the second time) to protest cuts in state aid to higher education.

Gov. Mark Dayton and a number of lawmakers, including House Higher Education committee Chairman Bud Nornes, met the group on the Capitol steps.

The House and Senate aim to cut higher-education funding by an additional $300 million this year, which would roll back state aid to Minnesota’s two largest university systems to pre-2000 levels. The shape of those cuts is being worked out in conference committee, which is scheduled to meet this afternoon.

MORE
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Tomorrow Professor Blog: TP Msg. #1100 Institutional Interventions That Promote Sophomore Success


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The White House Blog: Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools


May 12, 2011
Over two years ago, when the President and the First Lady first arrived here at the White House they were adamant that they wanted the arts to be alive and well here at the People’s House. And they started inviting artists to visit and perform - jazz musicians, then country music stars, classical musicians, Latin singers and dancers, Motown greats and, just yesterday, America’s best poets and spoken word artists.

But it’s not all about artists coming here to play for the First Family. The President and the First Lady believe it’s imperative that the best, the brightest and the most creative should share their talents, their secrets, their successes – their failures -- and teach and inspire the next generation, like Elizabeth Alexander, Rita Dove, Billy Collins, Kenny Goldsmith, Alison Knowles, and Aimee Mann did yesterday at an afternoon student poetry workshop in the State Dining Room.

The arts are not just for those who go on to become professional artists. Research shows that girls and boys, young men and women who have art classes are more likely to be engaged in their classes, attend school, achieve better test scores, and graduate. In fact, just last Friday, the President’s Committee on the Arts and the Humanities released a stellar report, Reinvesting in Arts Education: Winning America’s Future Through Creative Schools, which details the powerful role that arts education strategies can play in closing the achievement gap, improving student engagement, and building creativity and nurturing innovative thinking skills.

Education is one of our nation’s most important investments. And an education without the arts is incomplete. As a candidate, when President Obama spoke about remaining competitive in the global economy and the importance of innovation, he said that meant not only teaching our children science and math skills but also encouraging them to think creatively and be rewarded with all that comes with being engaged in creative endeavors: the awareness that comes with self-expression; the sense of strength that comes when you share your authentic voice; and a fresh, innovative perspective on problems of all stripes when you’re using all of your brain. Failure to invest in a well-rounded education for our children will thwart our efforts to lead in a new economy where critical thinking and creativity will be the keys to success.

That means that arts education can’t be an afterthought — an investment that our schools can make only after they’ve solved all the other challenges they face. Instead, we must see it as a tool for keeping students more engaged, for closing achievement gaps and lowering dropout rates. My office, along with the Department of Education, is working with the President’s Committee to take next steps on the report’s recommendations and work with other government, private and philanthropic partners as well to realize a complete and competitive education – from cradle to career – for all children.

Melody Barnes is the Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council
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Dillard University Summer 2011 Dining Hours


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Afro-American Book Stop May 2011




UPCOMING EVENTS

DIVA DAZE



BOOKSIGNING/DISCUSSION

THIS SATURDAY MAY 14 12:00 NOON

"FOR MY ROMANCE NOVELIST LOVERS"

MEET & GREET FEATURING

"BEVERLY JENKINS"

along with



PAMELA LEIGH STARR

ANN CLAY

LACONNIE TAYLOR JONES

KAREN GRIGSBY BATES
___________________________________________________

THE AFRO-AMERICAN BOOK STOP'S



ESSENCE MUSIC FESTIVAL WEEKEND

AUTHOR EVENT/BOOK SIGNINGS

SATURDAY JULY 2, 2011 1-3 PM

MARY B. MORRISON

ASHLEY & JAQUAVIS

WAHIDA CLARK

J. M. BENJAMIN

ERNEST HILL

"MORE TO COME-STAY TUNED"






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Dr. Tracey Wilen Book: .edu: Technology and Learning Environments in Higher Education


The Internet has transformed higher education by changing the way universities and colleges teach students. As a result, many institutions are struggling to understand how the next generation of Internet technologies, including Web 2.0, multimedia, virtual presence, gaming, and the proliferation of mobile devices, will impact their students and infrastructures. .edu: Technology and Learning Environments in Higher Education explores how higher education institutions can use these technologies to enable learning environments. In the future, students will have complete access to any higher education resource, including expert scholars, lectures, readings, courseware, collaborative dialogues, information exchanges, hands-on learning, and research, no matter where they are located. When fully enabled, this new learning environment will blur the lines between on- and off-campus experiences and remove barriers to learning and research, greatly improving the accessibility and quality of education globally.
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Text and Academic Authors Association (TAA): TAA Podcasts


Download MP3 files of recorded TAA audio conferences and listen at a time that is convenient for you. You can also listen right from the TAA website.
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