#post secondary education

[allthecanadianpolitics]

THE PRO-PALESTINE GAZA SOLIDARITY ENCAMPMENT AT MCGILL UNIVERSITY NEEDS URGENT ASSISTANCE.

The police has intensified activity on the lower field encampment. HEAD OVER THERE NOW IF YOU'RE IN MONTREAL!

[mindblowingscience]

Dropping out early is one of the main concerns in online higher education, especially during the first year of a degree. An interdisciplinary team of researchers from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC) has developed a new system based on artificial intelligence algorithms that makes it possible to identify on a daily basis those students that are at risk of failing and can automatically take early action by sending personalized messages to reverse the situation. According to the researchers, this continuous monitoring helps reduce the time between the first signs of risk and the system's intervention to help prevent students from dropping out. The technology has been pilot tested with 581 students enrolled on first-semester courses in a number of the UOC's Faculty of Economics and Business's bachelor's degree programs and has been found to reduce dropout rates and increase participation during the semester.

Continue Reading.

[sisaloofafump]

For bonus points, how long have you been attending class on campus, and how long into your attendance did you start having dreams set there, and whether the architecture is more or less accurate than any dreams set in grade schools or workplaces.

Based on some conversations with friends.

[unav3rse]

Is weird that i wanna figure out where my crush is going to post secondary??? 🤓

[j33persworld]

universities love to make things as difficult as humanly possible for their students eh

[outofcontextstuff]

[100dayproductivity]

19/100.

We are 5 days into the new year and 4 days since my last post. I did do a gut reset on the 1st. I did send out messages of greeting to the people I had in mind, and I got together in person with two of them so far. Another responded to me and I have yet to reply back again. I have de-decorated the tree but have yet to take it down. I have not done up invoices. So I'm only partially through the things I wanted to get done this week. But I have to set those aside for now because today is the day I deal with The Thing.

The Thing is a legal document from my ex pertaining to my younger teen child. I need to consult with my lawyer before I sign anything. But before I get in touch with my lawyer I need to read over the document line-by-line and make sure I know what questions I need to ask my lawyer, as well as come up with alternative solutions to the things I don't agree to (and I already know there are things I don't agree to). The reason for the legal document in the first place is because of a major life-change my ex is making that is unfortunately going to affect me: he is moving abroad and wants to take my child with him. This makes me very sad. I've been avoiding dealing with this but today is the day I have to deal with it.

I have this feeling of paralysis when I think about opening the document and reading it. Even now, as I write this. This post itself is just another avoidance measure. But at the same time, writing these posts has often been what helps me push past the paralysis and get the thing I'm avoiding done.

If you're wondering why I don't just say no to my child moving abroad with his father, it's because said child wants to go (has been brainwashed to want to go?) He's not super-gungho, but he is never super-gungho about anything so that's not an indicator of his desire to leave vs stay. He has expressed that he thinks it might be interesting to go.

I would prefer he stay living with me, his mother, and finish high school in the country my parents came to for a better life, and his father's grandparents came to for a better life. It doesn't make sense to me that my child, the descendant of immigrants, is now not going to benefit from the sacrifices made to get here. I would prefer he stay here and spend the summers abroad, when his sister would also be able to spend summers abroad. It really doesn't make sense to me that he would not be here when his sister comes home for holiday breaks during the school year, and that he would be here when his sister goes to visit their father during the summer. We have never separated them before, why would we separate them now?

It also doesn't make sense to me that all of a sudden an opportunity to go to high school abroad is so vital to a child of ours' success in the future. My older child completed high school here and she is excelling in university now. I don't know why my younger child suddenly needs some sort of "better opportunity" than his sister had.

The argument being made is that if my child completes at least three years of high school abroad, then he would be eligible to attend university for free abroad. I don't know the truth of this. One would think one would need to be a citizen of a country that offers free post-secondary tuition in order to be eligible for the free tuition. I really don't know anything about it. I suppose that's part of the problem here. My ignorance about the school system abroad. However, bottom line is that we have been saving for our children's educations since they were born so we already have the bulk of the money needed.

I'm going to look into this tuition thing, because I feel like it's a load of bs.

[urbanventures]

Preparing the Launchpad

Urban Ventures expands College & Career opportunities through new partnerships and programs for high school students

A group of high school students spills out of an Urban Ventures van. “Welcome,” a friendly voice greets, “we’re glad you’re here.” The students, gathered from Washburn High School, are on a college visit at Augsburg University. “I’ll show you around,” the tour guide invites, “Hopefully, you can see yourself here.” Touring colleges is just one of the initiatives of the recently expanded College & Career Center at Urban Ventures. As UV continues strengthening cradle-to-career services for local students, the past year brought an enhanced focus on  teenagers  about to finish high school.

The work began by forming greater partnerships with nearby high schools. “The schools have a lot of people who say they want to partner,” says Jason Thompson, the College and Career Center director. “But usually that means they want the school to fit into what they’re already doing. Urban Ventures was able to come in and say, ‘We opened this center for you. What do you need? How can we support what you’re doing?”

The response confirmed the need in the under- resourced schools. Jason continues, “The guidance counselors in our nearby high schools are amazing, but I was surprised to learn there are only two or three counselors for 1,600 students. They’d say, ‘The main thing the kids need is more people caring about their future.’”

All of the nearest high schools now have a “UV Club.” Each month, Jason and other Urban Ventures staff members come to teach a career-centered class. Students explore college and trade school options, take part in mock job interviews, get feedback on building and writing a good resume, and receive support in applying for financial aid.

The UV Club is also a great chance to network. Jason explains, “When a kid says they want to go into business, I tell them, ‘Urban Ventures is connected to many major corporations in town, I can get you a meeting to learn from one of their executives.’ Or if they are interested in Finance, we can connect them with our financial firm partners. They’re learning it’s not just what you know but who you know. Once that networking light bulb clicks on, the students start asking to set up meetings or come by our office to figure out the next steps.”

Students are also invited to learn about other Urban Ventures programs. Through the College and Career Center, students have begun participating in other programs like music and athletics. Jason recounts a recent tour of the Urban Ventures campus, “The teachers thought there would be maybe ten kids. Another forty signed up to come along. It went from a small group to needing a bus.”

With partnerships in place at five nearby high schools, and an existing network of universities and businesses to work with, the Urban Ventures College and Career Center is creating a strong launchpad for students considering their future after high school.

“Our goal is for every high school student in Urban Ventures programs to have a post-secondary education plan and to support them in pursuing that plan. But not just UV kids, Our hope is that we can help hundreds of other students not just dream about college, but provide the plan and support they need to get there.”

[allthecanadianpolitics]

A UPEI student says he's spent the past six years feeling frustrated about his inability to get around campus. 

Antwaun Rolle has been at UPEI since 2018 and is graduating this spring with a political science degree. 

He gets around using a wheelchair. He says 80 to 90 per cent of the campus is inaccessible to him without help. 

"Sometimes it's a little bit embarrassing, or sometimes I would feel like a burden because I didn't want to always ask people," said Rolle. 

"The summers are a little bit easier, but I would say the winters are about impossible." [...]

Continue Reading.

Tagging: @newsfromstolenland

[pianisteducator]

Trends - Wellbeing

I had several noon hour conversations with another fellow instructor, Deirdre. We had a lovely routine of meeting for lunch every 2 or 3 weeks. One trend that we spoke about frequently was the trend for instructors to overwork or not set good work boundaries. We both notice this division, where some instructors do take care of their wellbeing by setting "off" time while others do not. I must admit that I do check my emails from students daily - 7 days a week. On evenings and weekends, I would say that I triage emails. If they are not urgent, they get answered the next business day. If something is urgent, I will send a quick reply. Deirdre is good at keep her emails to business hours, which I think is great!

Having some designated "off" time, helps both Deirdre and I to stay motivated, energized, and present for our students. It helps us to avoid burn out, which is so common among young educators. I also like to make sure that I do things to fill myself during "off" time, like going for a walk with my dog, seeing nature, or hearing a good concert.

Not only does "off" time help us, but it sends an important message to our students - balance and taking time for yourself is vital. It is an important priority that can be easily overlooked. I know that I overlooked it often during my doctoral studies and my body and mind felt the negative effects.

What are the ways that you take care of yourself as an educator?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

[weirdozjunkary]

I need to scream, I hate my schools website so much I fucking can’t I agh!

[adultish-momma]

Contract Law

In which Azul finds out that Yuu passed their law class for good reason.

Warnings: Book 3 spoilers, if we still warn for that.

AN: So out of the three mermen, Azul decided to intermittently participate. Honestly, this monster is fairly self-indulgent, I'm that person who always reads every contract I come across, and I literally screamed when Azul said Yuu would have to belong to him. So enjoy an educated Yuu.

Oh! Before I forget: @dandelionwhisp Enjoy my metaphorical feeding of octopus to 1(one) Azul Ashengrotto.

"I'm not signing this"

Azul Ashengrotto physically stutters when the Prefect pushes away his contract. Everyone in the room seems to have their own reaction to the bold declaration from the magic-less student. The Leech twins (they haven't quite figured out how to distinguish between the two just yet) displayed amusement if one's eerie giggles and the other's mocking chuckles were anything to go by. Jack, who bless his heart, only seemed to get stiffer at the sudden turn in atmosphere. And Grim, well...

"NYAAAA?!?! What do you mean you aren't signing the contract Prefect?!" The monster has settled on just beating on Yuu's legs. No claws, yet. "Henchhuman you can't just abandon the Great Grim to life as a dish rag!"

"I must say", Azul's voice has risen about Grim's yowls of betrayal. "You have surprised me. For someone so adamant about their desire to release their friends from my contracts, you give up on them incredibly quickly." He then turns to the cat look-alike crying at the Prefect's feet. "I do feel sorry for you, just a poor soul having to rely on a useless and cowardly housewarden."

"Oh, so you're backing out of the deal Ashengrotto?" At this point, for their safety, Yuu has lifted Grim by the scruff, holding the thrashing and cursing ball of furious fluff far away from the squishy parts of their body. Since the beginning of the negotiations, the Prefect has had a face of stone. The only change has been an upward tick of their eyebrows at Azul's assumption.

"Am I backing out of the deal?" The cracks in the housewarden's mask are starting to show, his steady voice making way for the indignation to shine through. "I'm not the one refusing to sign a contract. All the terms we have already verbally agreed on are now just on paper, and you are the one refusing to hold yourself accountable by signing the scroll."

"I never said I wouldn't sign a contract. I said I wouldn't sign this contract. Because these are not the terms we agreed on." They pull the contract back towards themselves, skimming intently. They drag one finger carefully down the scroll while blindly reaching for the discarded pen. They acknowledge the more put-together twin (Jade?) when he hums to gain their attention, pen held aloft in his open palm. A seemingly innocent gesture, but Yuu has figured out by now that this particular trio of Octavinelle students is exceptionally good at twisting an act of supplication into a threat.

Yuu isn't too worried about it though. They might not remember personal details, but the feeling of power that the negotiations and the business meeting has flushing through their system assures them that this is familiar territory.

"We agreed that should I fail to win our bet, you would earn the property rights to Ramshakle dorm. As you have just stated aloud, you plan to rope me, and assumedly the ghosts of Ramshakcle as well seeing as they also reside on the property, into your winnings should I lose. And you have intentionally left the wording of the contract vague so you could accomplish that."

Yuu takes a moment more to continue marking up a certain paragraph of the contract.

"... But wouldn't he be able to do that no matter how he worded it?" Jack inquires, rubbing his neck sheepishly at his lack of understanding. Grim, who had considerably calmed down while sitting in the beastman's lap, also considered his Prefect's words. "He'd own Ramshackle dorm and we're Ramshackle students so he would essentially become the new housewarden, right?" Grim finally asked, turning to the only human he truly trusted.

Ah, to be removed from the intricacies of politics and loopholes and double meanings.

"No, I only agreed to give him the rights to the property. Owning the rights to someone's property does not mean you would own that person. They're two completely separate things in the eyes of the law. Something Azul is well aware of."

"Honestly Prefect," Azul finally snapped, pushing his glasses up his nose to hide the irritation building in his eyes. "You're making a mountain out of a molehill." He waved his hand in the direction of the contract, leaning back against his desk in a clearly fake show of nonchalance. "If you intend to go through with the deal, then sign the contract. I'm only offering this opportunity once."

"I'll gladly sign the contract. Once you rewrite it."

Yuu shoved the newly annotated contract back into Azul's hands. He briefly glanced down, just enough to skim their notes, before snapping his eyes back up to meet the Prefect's steady stare. Before, their eyes had been steely and cold, unforgiving under his scrutiny. Now, he could see something warming the ice of their glare.

"Yuu I am a very busy man. The lounge is still open and I must be making my rounds soon. I do not have the time and I am very quickly losing the patience to attend to your-"

"A shame really." The Prefect broke their impromptu staring contest first, turning to gather their things. "Oh well, I'll tell Crowley that I tried. Come on Jack. Grim, I'll get all the soap out of your fur when you return home."

"So that's it," Azul called, the frustration and irritation and downright offense cracking his voice. "You're just going to wa-"

The Ramshackle Prefect whipped around in the doorway to Azul's extravagant office. One hand gripped the doorjamb in an attempt to curb and contain their shaking rage. The other hand moved their flyaway hair out of their face so everyone in the room could see the unbridled anger in their eyes. Eyes that had once been as cold as a frozen sea now swirled like a tropical storm, the ice in their eyes melted by the warmth of their offense.

"If you were hoping to make a deal with a naive and gullible idiot Azul Ashengrotto, I am not your intended audience. I know for a fact that it would take you less than a snap of your fingers to have your golden contract rewrite itself. I will not sit here and let you bully and gaslight me into signing a legally binding contract that is so obviously stacked against me. I can afford to walk out of this room with no deal made. The question left to be answered, is can you afford for me to?"

Azul Ashengrotto was, at the end of the day, desperate. At the end of the day, Azul was the person in this meeting who wanted something. And while they might not actively point it out, Yuu was well aware of the upper hand that provided them in these negotiations. So they showed no visible reaction to the snapping of the Octavinelle's housewarden's fingers, nor Floyd's giggles, nor Jade's hum of amusement as he once again held out a pen to Yuu. They instead reviewed the contract (mentally making a packing list when they noted the new wording surrounding the collateral clause), and finally, finally signed their name on the dotted line.

The temperature in the room had considerably chilled, the tension between the two housewarderns more than likely to blame. While the Ramshackle Prefect and Jack packed up their belongings, the sophomore considered his newest "client'. Azul was frustrated and annoyed with the gall of this, this otherwordly nobody to put up a fight about the details of his contract. Not to mention that they were spot on with their spotting of his loophole, and he's mourning the excellent free labor the prefect would've provided to his new location.

Yuu on the other hand was downright offended at how stupid the lilac-haired man thought them to be. They could also feel the pressure to come through starting to build. While their own servitude was no longer on the table, Yuu was justifiably worried about losing the place they've made into a home. They've spent months of time and resources on turning the derelict "fixer-upper" into a place they were proud to call their home. And maybe, and Yuu would deny this if asked, but just maybe they were sick and tired of how much everybody underestimates them.

It's that small, damaged bit of pride that stops Yuu at the doorway once again to say one last thing.

"I aced each and every one of the contract law classes I've ever taken. Try to swindle me again Ashengrotto, I dare you"

[enhanced-operatives-division]

Improvement :3

[tomorrowusa]

There's been another tranche of student debt forgiveness by the Biden administration.

The Biden administration on Friday announced another $5 billion in debt forgiveness for 74,000 student loan borrowers. Why it matters: Although the Supreme Court blocked Biden's signature student loan forgiveness plan, his administration has found alternative ways to provide relief to more than 3.7 million people.

The Republican Supreme Court has tried to block student loan relief, but the Biden administration hasn't stopped looking for legal ways around SCOTUS for specific groups of Americans burdened by such debt.

Since 1981 Republicans have serially backed enormous tax breaks for their filthy rich contributors, but they vehemently oppose loan forgiveness for middle class and poorer taxpayers.

House GOP advances bill to block Biden’s student loan repayment program

Supreme Court, Republicans to blame for lack of debt forgiveness, students say in poll

In general, Republicans oppose higher education. Their base is made up of dumbass morons who believe conspiracy theories and they need more voters like that who won't question the bullshit that comes out of the GOP.

The Republican jones for deregulation since the Reagan-Bush era has led student debt to spiral out of control. The vicious circle of more burdensome loans feeding ever-increasing tuition fits well into the GOP agenda. It's a system that discourages post-secondary education for anyone who isn't rich.

President Dwight Eisenhower was no radical. But he knew what made America strong. The highest federal income tax rate for the filthy rich during most of his administration was 91%. And it was universally regarded as a period of enormous economic growth and prosperity.

A portion of that tax revenue went into the National Defense Education Act which, among other features, provided for grants and loans for post-secondary education – particularly for STEM, teacher education, and foreign languages. That was the impressive start of the federal student loan program. It was never meant to be a permanent chain around the necks of college graduates.

National Defense depends on smart Americans. But certain Russia-friendly Republicans have no interest in standing in Putin's way.

[spineless-lobster]

if one more person asks me about college applications i’m going to burst into tears and rip their face off with my bare hands