Methodist College
Fayetteville, NC Vol. XXXIV, No. 4 . Friday, October 18,1996
Student Aid To Colleges & Universities, 1995-96
(in millions)
Federal Loans
($28,707)
Institutional and
Other Grants
($9,962)
Federal Grants
and Work-Study
($8,657)
State Grant
Programs
($3,021)
17%
6%
Average college costs increase by
five percent, outpacing inflation
The College Press Service
NEW YORK-The
cost of college tuition will con
tinue to outpace inflation this
year, and students are borrow
ing more than ever to get de
grees, according to a new
study.
“1 had scholarships
and parental support for col
lege, [but] have been relying
on loans—about $50,000—for
graduate school,” said Derek
Larson, a doctoral student in
history at Indiana University.
His wife is also a
graduate student, and they
wonder how they’ll pay off the
loans, he said.
“I expect we’ll be
lucky to pay off our debt in 10
years after finding work, as
suming we can both find jobs
in our respective fields at all,”
he said. “I feel quite insecure
about the financial future my
investment may bring.”
According to a College
Board survey released Sept. 25,
students at four-year public col
leges and universities can expect
to pay about six percent more this
year for tuition. That’s about $ 155
more than last year.
Four-year private
schools boosted undergraduate
tuition this year by five percent,
which means students will have to
pay about $607 more.
Room and board also
jumped an average of six percent,
or $220, at public colleges and
universities, and about four per
cent, of $195, at private schools,
the study found.
Donald M. Stewart,
president of the College Board,
said that despite costs that “are
daunting to many, for most Ameri
cans, the fact remains that college
is still accessible—especially in light
of financial aid currently available.”
Study finds teacher prep needs
overhaul to achieve school reform
The College Press Service
WASHINGTON-
Not just students, but teach
ers must achieve higher stan
dards if school reform is go
ing to succeed, according to a
report released Sept. 12.
The refKjrt, issued by
the National Commission on
Teaching and America’s Fu
ture, said colleges must do a
better job of training prospec
tive teachers to handle such
tasks as computer instruction
and working with children
with learning disabilities.
The report, “What
Matters Most: Teaching for
America’s Future,” is the re
sult of a two-year study of
school, college, and state gov
ernment practices that hinder
children’s learning. It urges
colleges to make teacher education
a five-year program, which would
require four years of study in a
particular discipline followed by a
year of intensive work in schools.
It also asks that legisla
tors and educators require all col
leges of education to meet the stan
dards of the National Council of
Accreditation of Teacher Educa
tion (NCATE) by 2006 or be
closed.
According to the report:
•More than 40 states al
low districts to hire teachers who
have not met basic requirements.
•More than 12 percent of
new teachers begin without any
training, while another 14 percent
have not met state standards.
•Thirty percent of begin
ning teachers leave the profession
within five years of entering.
Election year budget
battle boon to students
Congress, president agree to largest
Pell Grant increase in 20 years
Stewart urged students
and families to keep college
costs in perspective, noting that
a majority of students pay less
than $4,000 per year. Only about
five percent of college students
attend the highest-priced univer
sities that charge more than
$20,000 per year, he said.
The study by the Col
lege Board, an association of
about 3,000 colleges, also found
that federal aid is available to
students at a record level—more
than $50 billion.
But most student-aid
growth has come in the form of
federal loans, said Lawrence
Gladieux, executive director for
policy analysis at the College
Board’s Washington office. In
1995-96, federal loan programs
provided $29 billion in aid to stu-
dents-57 percent of all available
aid.
See COSTS, page 5
By Charles Dervarics
College Press Service
WASHINGTON-Just
weeks before the election. Presi
dent Clinton and the Republican-
controlled Congress have ap
proved far-reaching gains in stu
dent financial aid that exceeded
even the most optimistic fore
casts of education advocates.
"The budget we agreed
to...contains the biggest increase
in Pell Grant scholarships in 20
years," President Clinton said
Sept. 30 after the White House
and congressional leaders
reached the end of marathon
negotiating sessions.
The agreement pro
vides a maximum Pell Grant of
$2,700, an increase of $230
above the current level. The
White House first proposed the
$2,700 level six months ago in a
budget most lawmakers called
"dead on arrival" at its introduc
tion.
The figure is also sig
nificantly higher than recent Re
publican student-aid proposals.
The House proposed a $2,500
grant and the Senate Republi
cans countered with a $2,600
maximum only 10 days prior to
the budget agreement.
Lobbyists attributed
the change to fear that the White
House might provoke another
government shutdown to embar
rass Congressional Republicans
just before the election. But
GOP leaders were intent on not
allowing the president to take
credit for increases in Pell and
other programs.
"We've increased edu
cation spending off the board,"
said Rep. Randy Cunningham
(R-Calif.), one of a number of
lawmakers who criticized
Democrats for taking unfair
shots at the GOP on education.
Overall, the final agree
ment contains an additional $3.5
billion for education above the
budget for fiscal 1996, which
expired Sept. 30.
"It's the best budget
that we've had in a long time,"
said David Merkowitz, director
of public affairs for the Ameri
can Council on Education. "We
certainly would hope that this
would not be a one-year won
der."
Merkowitz, who char
acterized the education cuts pro
posed last year as "truly
Draconian," credited grassroot
student campaigns for educating
members of Congress on student
aid and making it an election-
year "litmus test issue." "The
overall picture on student aid is
overwhelmingly positive. We've
come a long way since January
1995," he said.
Among other student-
aid programs, work-study
emerged as a clear winner with
an increase of $213 million, or
34 percent. The bill provided
$830 million for these programs,
which goes a long way toward
meeting a White House goal of
$1 billion in funding by the end
of the century.
The agreement also
dropped a House plan to termi
nate new capital contributions
for Perkins Loans, a campus-
based program. The final plan
allotted $158 million, the same
as the president’s request. This
amount is also $90 million more
than the level floated in a Sen
ate-proposed compromise last
month.
Here is how the agree
ment affected other higher edu
cation programs:
•State Student Incen
tive Grants: The pact earmarked
$50 million, up significantly from
current funding and earlier GOP
plans. The House originally
wanted to terminate the pro
gram, while the Senate coun
tered with $13 million.
•Supplemental Educa
tional Opportunity Grants; The
agreement provided $583 mil
lion, the same as 1996 funding.
•TRIO: Congress
agreed to $500 million, up $37
million from 1996 for a program
that help recruit disadvantaged
students for college.
See STUDENT AID, page 5
•Fewer than 75 percent
of all teachers have studied child
development and have degrees
in their teaching subject areas.
“No more hiring un
qualified teachers on the sly,” the
report says. “No more nods and
winks at teacher education pro
grams that fail to prepare teach
ers properly. No more tolerance
for incompetence in the class
room.”
According to the re
port, because of changing demo
graphics, the nation must replace
half its teacher workforce within
10 years. The Department of
Education predicts the public
school teaching force will grow
from 2.8 million teachers in 1991
to 3.3 million by 2002.
Flying high
..
The Monarch Dancers demonstrate their skill and nexibility during a halftime performance at the football
game against Salisbury State Sept. 21. From left to right are Meredith Wolter, Leslie Miller (front), Margaret
Parrish, and Stephanie Legg. (Photo by Jamee Lynch)
INSIDE
Health and wellness housing a growing trend
across the country page 2
The show goes on for The Tempest despite a fire
which destroyed the set page 5
MC twins may be identical, but they’re still
competitive page 5
Athletes must behave like role models page 6
MC students, faculty feel prepared to meet
challenges facing educators in today’s schools
By Mike McDermott
Editor
A recent study has
found a disturbing number of
teachers leaving the field of edu
cation. It seems that many do
not feel ready to deal with the
problems that they are facing in
schools today. With the growth
of the population, as well as the
crime rate, teachers are having
to deal with issues and situations
that have not been prominent in
the past. There are those who
still wish to remain in the field,
as well as those who plan to en
ter it, despite the issues that they
will inevitably face.
There are solutions to
the problem. At Methodist Col
lege, which is NCATE approved,
education of future teachers
seems to be the predominant
method of dealing with today’s
academic dilemma. It seems a
common belief that society’s
woes have found their way into
the classroom, but can and will
be overcome. It is also believed
that teachers are, for the most
part, prepared educationally
upon leaving college, but some
think that there could be im
provement in specific aspects of
daily life in the profession.
Dr. Gilda Benstead, the
director of the Methodist Col
lege Division of Education,
said, “The students must pass re
quired intensive training in cur
riculum and they are admitted
(into teaching) only after achiev
ing competency by passing
PRAXIS I.” It is agreed among
Methodist College education
students and professors that the
educational foundation is well
intact.
There are contingen
cies, however, which can lead to
confusion for new teachers, but
as mathematics professor Mrs.
Patricia Jones states, “One can
not be one hundred percent pre
pared in every situation.”
See MC TEACHERS, page 5