The Building Case for a New GI Bill

We here at VaHigherEd.com are intrigued by the growing national dialogue about the need for and possibility of a new GI Bill.  No one should be surprised by the conversation.  After all, the original GI Bill carried significant benefits for the entire nation.

According to a 1986 Congressional Research Office study, each dollar invested in the World War II GI Bill yielded $5 to $12 in tax revenues, the result of increased taxes paid by veterans who achieved higher incomes made possible by a college education.

That comes from this story published on the CBS News website.  The article contends that not only are the current higher education benefits military members receive inadequate, but the men and women in uniform are also misled about them.

The Pentagon sells an educational dream to recruits. In addition to promising tens of thousands of dollars for a service member’s college education, recruiters promise future soldiers that they’ll be able to “attend college anywhere they are based and even in the combat zone through Internet classes offered from the college they are enrolled in.”

But most Iraq War veterans say that’s a promise that exists only on paper.

It seems this topic isn’t going away any time soon.

Posted by Jeff Kraus

Virginia U.S. Senator Continues Call for New GI Bill

A Richmond Times-Dispatch story from earlier this week focuses on the continued efforts of U.S. Senator Jim Webb (D-Va.) to create a new GI Bill for those now serving in the nation’s armed forces.

He has introduced the Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2007, which would match the benefits World War II veterans received.

“If we believe that our veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are the new ‘greatest generation,’ we must recognize their education as a cost of war and offer them the benefits they deserve,” Webb said.

The original GI Bill had an impact on America’s economy, standard of living and global competitiveness for most of the second half of the 20th century.

The GI Bill put college and homeownership within reach of millions of returning veterans who most likely would not have had the opportunity before the war, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Millions of vets who would have flooded the job market opted instead for education. By the time the original GI Bill ended on July 25, 1956, 7.8 million of 16 million World War II veterans had participated in an education or training program. From 1944 to 1952, the VA also backed nearly 2.4 million home loans for World War II veterans, the veterans department says.

The GI Bill paid tuition, room and board, and provided a stipend for all World War II veterans.

Considering the way America’s higher education attainment rates have stagnated for so long, what could the impact of a new GI Bill be?

Posted by Jeff Kraus

VCCS Horticulture Students Bring Holiday Magic to the Executive Mansion

For the second year in a row, community college horticulture students from across Virginia volunteered their time yesterday to help prepare the governor’s mansion for the holiday season.

“It’s not every day you get to come in here and decorate,” said Sheryl Hall, a Virginia Western Community College horticulture student.  “I could never turn down an opportunity to say I decorated the governor’s mansion.”

“It’s a wonderful experience,” added Dena Parker, a student of J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College.  “It’s a hands-on opportunity you carry with you.”

Follow this link to view pictures of the decorating.  And this link will carry you to a television news story Roanoke’s WDBJ7 did on the decorating.

Posted by Jeff Kraus

Money Committees Hold Retreats and Prefiling for 2008 Begins

The 2008 General Assembly session, which begins on January 9, will be here before you know it.

Last week, both the House Appropriations Committee of the General Assembly and the Senate Finance Committee held their annual retreats.  The retreats are annual events to help the members focus on  trends, budget knowns and unknowns, and economic conditions that they will be facing when they come to Richmond in January. 

HAC’s staff has estimated that the budget shortfall predicted by Governor Kaine for FY 2008 is valid, and that the budget gap in FY 2009 could be between $50 and $150 million.  For FY 2010, HAC staff projects that the economy will rebalance and revenue will meet expected expenses. The Senate Finance Committee’s staff has predicted a $554 million shortfall in FY 09, and up to $204 million in extra revenue above anticipated expenses in FY 10.

HAC’s retreat, held in Fredericksburg, allowed members to spend considerable time learning about the housing slowdown and subprime mortgage issues and resulting disruption in the capital markets.  The HAC retreat also had a briefing on Higher Education Restructuring featuring two representatives from the State Council of Higher Education in Virginia (SCHEV), the State Council of Higher Education Executive Officers, and Tony Maggio of the House Appropriations Committee staff.  The presentation concentrated on the levels of decentralization currently allowed in Virginia (Level I, Level II, and Level III), the role of SCHEV, and the affect of restructuring on affordability and access to currently underserved populations. 

The Senate Finance Committee held their retreat in Blackburg at Virginia Tech.  The Senate Finance Committee’s segment on Higher Education focused on base budget adequacy, affordability and financial aid, faculty salaries, and the affect of the current budget reductions.  The Committee learned about the importance of the state funding research and development in institutions of higher education.  The Committee also heard a presentation on Capital Outlay, where they learned that all of Virginia’s higher education institutions will need 1.2 million more square feet by 2014 and that the  Virginia Community College System’s portion of that would be an additional  638,000 square feet.

Prefiling of bills for the 2008 session of the General Assembly began yesterday.  A total of 7 bills have been prefiled to date.  The budget bill will be introduced by the Governor on December 17.  At least 2,900 more bills expect to be filed before the deadline of January 18.

Posted by Ellen Davenport

Higher Education in Virginia’s U.S. Senate Race???

Former Virginia Governor Jim Gilmore made it official today.  He is running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by John Warner.  Gilmore is the second former governor to announce his candidacy for the seat.  Mark Warner formally declared his candidacy weeks ago.  Political pundits expect Gilmore and Warner to be THE candidates in the race.

It seems that higher education is not a priority issue for either candidate – at least not yet.

Jim Gilmore’s campaign website  includes a list of six top issues.  Higher education doesn’t make the cut.  Though he does include this in his bio:

As Governor, Gilmore kept his campaign promises in both areas including hiring 4000 new teachers to reduce class sizes, reducing college tuition, implementing stronger educational standards, and for the first time ensuring all lottery profits went to education.

Mark Warner’s campaign website is set up differently.  It’s a blog, not a traditional website.  It’s only mention of higher education comes from this blurb in his bio information:

[Warner's] administration inherited $6 billion in budget shortfalls, and ended with a surplus that allowed the largest single investment in K-12 education in Virginia history, a reinvestment in one of the nation’s premier public college and university systems, and a record investment in cleanup of the nation’s largest estuary: the Chesapeake Bay.

Considering the increasing conversation in Washington about the need for a new GI Bill for those returning from service in Afghanistan and Iraq, it will be interesting to see what role – if any – the issue of higher education takes in Virginia’s U.S. Senate race.

Posted by Jeff Kraus

Is the Head of the Class Reserved for the Firstborn?

Whether or not your go to college may come down to one simple factor: your birth order.

That’s one of the unusual take-aways from this cover story in Time magazine from a few weeks ago.

(As the eldest of three boys, I was intrigued by the story but it had to ride around in my briefcase for awhile before I had a chance to read it.)

firstborns are generally smarter than any siblings who come along later, enjoying on average a three-point IQ advantage over the next eldest—probably a result of the intellectual boost that comes from mentoring younger siblings and helping them in day-to-day tasks. The second child, in turn, is a point ahead of the third. While three points might not seem like much, the effect can be enormous. Just 2.3 IQ points can correlate to a 15-point difference in sat scores, which makes an even bigger difference when you’re an Ivy League applicant with a 690 verbal score going head to head against someone with a 705. “In many families,” says psychologist Frank Sulloway,  “the firstborn is going to get into Harvard and the second-born isn’t.”

Perhaps, the article says, because of that disparity people who are firstborn tend to achieve more professionally.

In a recent survey of corporate heads conducted by Vistage, an international organization of ceos, poll takers reported that 43% of the people who occupy the big chair in boardrooms are firstborns, 33% are middle-borns and 23% are last-borns. Eldest siblings are disproportionately represented among surgeons and M.B.A.s too, according to Stanford University psychologist Robert Zajonc. And a recent study found a statistically significant overload of firstborns in what is—or at least ought to be—the country’s most august club: the U.S. Congress.

No doubt, my younger brothers may have a thing or two to say about that story.

Posted by Jeff Kraus

Ms. or Mrs.? A touchy subject – apparently! Tell us what you think!

We are deep in the throes of planning for our annual workforce development and career pathways conferences.  Today’s priority is nametags.  Little did I know such a task could turn into one of the most passionate debates I have ever encountered while working in my office. 

Using our online registration system, an attendee is prompted to submit a courtesy title of Mr., Mrs., Ms., or Dr. When I reviewed the list of nametags, I noticed that a colleague had changed all of the ”Mrs.” to “Ms.” When I asked why, she responded,

“I made everyone a Ms. because Mrs. is not a professional title.”

In my opinion, it is a personal choice to decide how you prefer to be addressed – in personal settings, as well as professional settings.  I do not see a problem with addressing yourself as a “Mrs.” (assuming you are married) in a professional setting.  However, a few of my colleagues highly disagree with me.  They think it is ”demeaning and antiquated” to use the “Mrs.” title in a professional setting.

So, I did a little research and found Emily Post’s business etiquette which states that in a business situation, “Ms.” is the default address, unless you positively know that a woman wishes to be addressed as “Mrs.”  Considering attendees chose to address themselves as such, we should not change their courtesy title to fit our subjective opinions.

In the end, we have chosen not to use courtesy titles at all.  However, I am still intrigued as to how it would be demeaning and antiquated to refer to yourself as a “Mrs.” in a profession setting?  I have asked several friends and colleagues for their opinion.

The majority of my friends consider it to be a personal choice and have no negative connotation of those who wish to address themselves as a “Mrs.”  On the other hand, there are quite a few who feel adamant that the “Ms.” should always be used in a professional setting, and it would be considered the “smart thing to do.”

What do you think?

 Posted by Heather Millar 

This Week’s Election Results Will Affect VA Higher Education

The dust has settled from Tuesday’s election of all 140 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates and the Senate.  So what does it mean for higher education in Virginia?

The Democrats won four seats in the Senate, increasing their majority membership in that body to 21-19.  The Democratic majority in the Senate bodes well for Governor Tim Kaine and his legislative agenda including the biennial budget and public pre-school for 4-year old children.  Kaine is slated to introduce his 2008-2010 budget on December 17. 

J. Chapman “Chap” Petersen (D) defeated Sen. Jeannemarie Devolites Davis (R).  George Barker (D) won in the race against incumbent Jay O’Brien (R).  John Miller (D) defeated Patricia Stall (R) in the 1st District’s seat currently held by Sen. Marty Williams (R).  Sen. Nick Rerras (R) lost to political  newcomer and pediatric neurologist Dr. Ralph Northam (D). 

 Two retiring Republican Senators, John Chichester and Russ Potts, chaired powerful committees in the Senate.  Chair of Senate Finance Chichester will likely be succeeded by the senior Democratic member of that committee, Charles Colgan.  The chairmanship of Senate Education and Health, formerly held by Sen. Potts, could go to either Sen. Richard Saslaw (who should become Senate majority leader and is supposedly interested instead in the chairmanship of Senate Commerce and Labor) or Sen. Edward Houck. 

The House now has a 54-44-2 Republican majority.  Prior to the election, the numbers were 58-40-2.  One of the key committee chairmanships that will soon be determined  is that of chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, currently occupied by retiring Delegate Vincent Callahan.  Contenders for the job of HAC chairman are rumored to include Independent Lacey Putney from Bedford and Republican Phil Hamilton of Newport News.   

Posted by Ellen Davenport

Truckers Needed! Southside Virginia Community College Helps Meet National Demand

Did you know there was a trucker shortage and that this could easily affect our economy if American can’t find people to drive commercial trucks?

According to the American Trucking Association, the truck industry has a national shortage of 20,000 drivers.  It predicts the shortage will increase to 111,000 by 2014 given the current deomgraphic trends.  Without enough drivers to haul the nation’s products, expect delays on those items you both want and need.  If we are unable to find more drivers, shipping costs will continue to rise which means consumers will potentially see higher prices. 

We are proud to announce that one of our own, Southside Virginia Community College, saw the urgent need for trained truck drivers and has officially opened its third site in the Greenville/Emporia area offering Truck Driver Training.  Since opening the first Truck Driver Training site in 1996, the college has served over 1,200 students.  The college has sites at Pickett Park in Blackstone and one in South Boston.

“We are glad to be over here, we have been talking about coming to Greensville/Emporia for a long time,” said Duncan Quicke, coordinator of SVCC’s Truck Driving Training program.

Peggy Wiley, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors for Greensville County, said “This facility is an important part of the continuing efforts by the City of Emporia, Greensville County and SVCC to enhance adult education opportunities in our community.”

With the opening of this new site, SVCC can train 216 drivers a year.

Dr. John Cavan, SVCC President, noted that Quicke knows how to “get things going and keep them going.”  He also noted the persistence of Robert C. ‘Bobby’ Wrenn for continuing to push for a site to be located in Emporia/Greensville.

For more information on upcoming classes at the new site, call 434-336-1000.  Financial aid is available for eligible students in the program.

Posted by Heather Millar.

CollegeWebEditor.Com highlights VaHigherEd.com blog

Karine Joly of CollegeWebEditor.com posted an article about blogging and VaHigherEd.com, featuring a Q&A with our own Jeff Kraus.