Test 2

A colleague texted me a link to this clip from a recent CBS News story entitled "The Price You Pay: The Spiraling Cost of College". I'm embedding the segment below, starting at the 1:10 mark (but feel free to watch in its entirety). Check it:



I have to take issue with one key thing in this report; the host picked seemingly random spots on College Avenue to "survey" Penn State students.

Sorry to bother you. Hey, I've got a quick question: raise your hand if you're from Pennsylvania.

Nevermind that this statement is a statement and not a question. More importantly, it is also not scientific.

Tony Dokoupil questions (as best as I can tell from the clip) approximately seven students at a CATA bus stop, and only one is from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Quick math: that's 14 percent of the students "surveyed". Ouch. That really looks bad.

But hey, all institutions of higher education have thing cool thing called a Common Data Set. Penn State's is HERE. At the Common Data Set you can find all sorts of interesting... well... data about the institution. Things like the University Factbook that describes in nuanced detail student residency:

source: Penn State Factbook

Well, would'ya look at that! In-state students outnumber out-of-state students by more than 30 percent! And that's if you include Penn State's online World Campus (which you would expect to have a higher out-of-state population - and does not have a tuition differential based on residency). If you take the World Campus out of the equation, then you find that it's a nearly 40 percent difference.

Even at the University Park campus - the largest and arguably most visible nationally - there is a 15 percent difference in in- versus out-of-state students.

[Note: This is only the undergraduate data, as that is what the segment seems to be focused upon. If you're interested in the whole kit and kaboodle, hit that info here.]

But of course this data doesn't support the picture that Mr. Dokoupil is trying to paint: we universities spend SO much money that we have to intentionally focus our efforts on students that will pay a higher tuition rate (i.e. out-of-state and international students). Granted, the appearance of over-indulgence at LSU with the "lazy river" is an on-the-nose example of that.

So what are colleges doing with all of your extra money? Some of it goes to teaching of course. But most does not.

What "extra" money? The students' tuition dollars? How is that "extra"? And where is your data to support the assertion that it's not going to teaching? How much is some? How much is most? The questions go on and on...

In the interview portion with Dr. Renu Khator, the president and chancellor of the University of Houston, he asks why institutions don't scale some things back to keep the cost of tuition down. Given that question, I find it interesting that he didn't report on or even mention the fact that in July the Penn State Board of Trustees APPROVED A TUITION FREEZE FOR PENNSYLVANIA STUDENTS FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW:

Penn State trustees have approved a 2019-20 budget that would freeze undergraduate tuition rates for Pennsylvania resident students at all campuses for the second straight year, and the third time in the last five years.

The total cost of attendance will still increase about 1 percent due to previously approved housing and dining services increases, but Penn State President Eric Barron called the proposed tuition freeze a key part of his plan to keep Penn State affordable to as many Pennsylvanians as possible.

Sorry. Am I yelling?

Are out-of-state and international students important to the life of an institution? Yes. Do colleges and universities develop strategic recruitment initiatives to target out-of-state and international students? Absolutely. However, that does NOT mean that a land-grant institution like Penn State is only enrolling those higher-paying populations.

I will certainly concede that there are areas in higher education where plenty of criticism is worthy; the rising costs of tuition and the salaries for executives and coaches, to name a couple. But I believe that the part of this segment where he targets Penn State is not one such area that is worthy. Data is fun, perhaps Mr. Dokoupil should have actually included some in his reporting while he was on campus.

So, I got the chance to play for a bit last night and, while I hate the fact that I don't know where I'm going on the new island, the gameplay is MUCH improved. The screenshot above is a couple of minutes before I took a 3rd place with 8 eliminations (for reference, I average two or three per game). After that game I took a silver medal in a match where I had seven kills.

This morning I played a "quick" game (is there such a thing?) while I was on the stationary bike at the gym. Six eliminations and a 2nd place - while maintaining 90-100 RPMs!

Check out the Chapter 2 trailer:



The screenshot that I posted above doesn't really do the new version much justice. The look and feel - while familiar - are quite different. The graphics appear to be more "clean" than in the prior seasons/chapter. The weapons in your cache look different than before, and some even act differently. And, perhaps most noticeable, the map is completely different. More locations, and a lot more space to explore.

And all of this feedback is based on my mobile experience. PC and console versions are bound to be even better.

So, what do you think? Was it worth the wait of the Black Hole?

Dark. Funny. And I think that David Harbour makes a great Oscar The Grouch.

Beginning with tests in September of next year, the ACT has committed to offering three new features:

1. Section re-testing:

ACT Section Retesting helps students focus study efforts on individual subjects that are part of the ACT test (English, math, reading, science, or writing) without having to study for the entire test again. ACT Section Retesting is available to all students who have taken the full ACT test. Students can retake one or more single-section subject tests at approved ACT test centers across the US, to improve their scores.

2. Online testing:

Online ACT Testing will allow ACT’s testing experience to better align with how today’s students often prefer to learn and the mode they prefer for testing. Starting in September 2020, students will be able to choose to take the ACT test online or with paper. Giving students a choice allows them to focus on what’s most important: doing their best on the test. Students who take the test online will get faster test results. In fact, students will receive their multiple-choice test scores and ACT Composite score as early as two business days after the test date. This allows students to make better, more informed, and timely decisions about the schools and scholarships to which they apply.

3. Reporting of super scores:

To support the growing trend of students taking the ACT test multiple times, score report options will now provide the option for students to send their best ACT test results to colleges and include a calculated ACT Superscore. Superscoring allows students to submit their highest scores for college admission and scholarship purposes. The Superscore is a recalculation which shows the highest possible composite score across multiple ACT tests and ACT Section Retests. It reflects the average of the four best subject scores from each of the student's ACT test attempts.

The impacts of this on the evaluation process for students' applications remains to be seen. However, the impact on the admissions process will be immediate.

At Penn State, we do not "superscore" an applicant's SAT or ACT exam scores (the College Board explains superscoring really well here). So if the student requests the superscored exam results to be sent to Penn State, then we aren't getting the data that we want in order to evaluate the application properly. This is just one example of a complication of these new "options" for students. I haven't dug too deeply into it yet, but I'm certain that there will be others.

But my follow-up question is this: now that the ACT will be doing this, how long before the College Board follows suit?

Give me a Guy Ritchie heist film and I'm a happy camper!

Loved Snatch. Loved all of the Robert Downey, Jr. Sherlock Holmes movies. There are few Guy-Ritchie-directed films that I don't like.

Plus, you throw some Matthew McConaughey and Colin Farrell and I'm hooked!

Welcome news to anyone who is a fan of the continuity of the MCU:

Sony and Disney have announced they will team up for a third film in the Spider-Man Homecoming series.
Marvel Studios and President Kevin Feige will produce the film starring Tom Holland, which has a release date of July 16, 2021. Spider-Man will also have an appearance in a future MCU film, as arranged with the partnership.

[snip]

"I am thrilled that Spidey’s journey in the MCU will continue, and I and all of us at Marvel Studios are very excited that we get to keep working on it," [Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige] said in a statement. "Spider-Man is a powerful icon and hero whose story crosses all ages and audiences around the globe. He also happens to be the only hero with the superpower to cross cinematic universes, so as Sony continues to develop their own Spidey-verse you never know what surprises the future might hold."

I'm sure fans are alight with glee at the news. But, the best response that I have seen comes from Peter Parker himself, Tom Holland (via Instagram):

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Tom Holland (@tomholland2013) on Sep 27, 2019 at 8:41am PDT

Y-E-S.

There's a lot that is being discussed at the 2019 NACAC National Conference. Of course at the top of mind for many in our profession is the continued fallout from the Varsity Blues admissions bribery scandal, as well as the impending court decision regarding affirmative action and Harvard University. But an issue that might have slipped past you is the antitrust lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice against NACAC.

As many as 215 voting delegates from NACAC's 23 affiliates now have an important decision before them. Saturday they will vote on whether to remove several sections from the association's Code of Ethics and Professional Practices. Those sections restrict colleges from offering incentives for early-decision applicants, prevent them from recruiting first-year undergraduates who have committed to another college and limit how they recruit transfer students.

NACAC members who don't comply with the code can face penalties including loss of membership or being unable to participate in college fairs. NACAC currently has in place a moratorium on enforcing the code, however.

Removing the sections from the code of ethics is a step toward NACAC signing a consent decree in order to resolve a two-year Department of Justice antitrust investigation. Saturday's vote is generally expected to endorse the provisions' removal and make other changes so that NACAC leaders will be able to negotiate a consent decree, despite some members' reservations and plans to protest.

NACAC leaders have pushed to reach a consent decree rather than fight antitrust charges in court because of the high cost of litigation, the time it would take to fight charges, the possibility of affiliates or member institutions being ensnared in a continuing investigation and the possibility that an extended investigation would harm the association's reputation.

In short, the federal government is arguing that some of NACAC's rules that prohibit colleges from giving incentives to students at different times throughout the admissions process, and forbid colleges and universities from "poaching" students who have committed to attend other institutions hurt students by limiting their choices.

Is having choices bad? Not at all. Does the notion of having to recruit and yield students up to the first day of classes each fall sound terrifying to admissions professionals? You betcha.

I'm not attending NACAC this year (a couple of my current Penn State colleagues are), but I kind of wish that I was there to get the temperature of what is going on in the profession. This has been a strange/interesting/shocking year for those of us in the field. It'll be interesting to see where things go from here...

Look carefully at this Deadspin article, or you might miss it:

Disney’s Marvel Studios reigned Friday night at the 45th Annual Saturn Awards at the Avalon Hollywood in Los Angeles. Avengers: Endgame, the highest-grossing film in Hollywood history, led the night in wins (six) and nominations (14) with actors from Marvel productions taking home the lion’s share of gala’s gleaming hardware.

The finale installment of the Marvel big-screen saga was named best comic-to-film release. Robert Downey Jr.’s swan song performance as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, in Endgame earned him the best actor in a film award. (Downey will be seen in the role of Stark one more time, however, in the Marvel prequel Black Widow in May 2020.) Josh Brolin, who portrayed the calculating, grape-colored alien despot called Thanos, won as the best supporting actor in a film for Avengers: Endgame as well.

My emphasis.

Ethan Anderton at SlashFilm adds to the fun:

Even though this is a surprising development, it makes perfect sense. Black Widow has been confirmed to take place between Captain America: Civil War and Avengers: Infinity War. That means Tony Stark is still very much alive, just like Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson), and since the former agent of SHIELD was Team Iron Man during Civil War, it would make sense that the two would run into each other after the events of that movie. More than likely it’s just a brief appearance before Black Widow heads off for her solo adventure, but hey, we’ll take more Robert Downey Jr. however we can get it.

How awesome is that?! Although, before I get too hyped about it, Downey Jr. will likely appear in a cameo-sized role, a la Spiderman: Homecoming (more than a Stan Lee cameo, but less than a title-card credit showing). Should be a cool flick no matter how you (or Black Widow) slices it. I'm most excited to see how they portray Red Guardian.

Of late, my daughter has been forcing me and the family to watch Stranger Things on the Netflix. Of all of the characters on that show, David Harbour's Chief Hopper is by far my favorite character. I think he's going to be awesome as Red Guardian:

It's something where I didn't think that I would nerd-out because I thought I was a cool adult.

Indeed man. I say that type of thing just about every day.

Ouch. That's rough. The above image is an actual screen grab from a real email that I received at work.

While I would love to honor this poor student's request and just straight-up deny them, unfortunately that's not how it works (as Rick Clark likes to say).

You see, when a student submits an application for admission to Penn State, we have to evaluate it. We are obligated to do our due diligence and determine if the applicant is qualified for admission to the campus and program to which they have applied. We take very seriously the idea that a student has been thoughtful about their application, and taken the time and effort to complete and submit their best application for admission to our undergraduate programs.

So, as you can imagine, we work with all kind of students and families. It's always great to have applicants that come from families that are all about Penn State. But, I would imagine that, for every student who wants to attend because someone in their family did, there are probably ten students who feel like the one pictured above.

I can practically hear the tension-laden argument while trying to force the student into the family car for a campus visit. "OMG DAD -  I DON'T WANT TO GO TO PENN STATE. What the hell is a Nittany Lion anyway?!"

I get it student, I do. But unfortunately I cannot deny admission to a student who may be qualified. That wouldn't be right. But maybe if I chat with your parents...

So, given that, this part is for the sibling/mom/dad/aunt/uncle/grandparent: lay off of your student. They have enough pressure to deal with during their senior year in high school. They don't need you adding even more by insisting/requiring them to apply to your favored institution of higher education. Be supportive in the choices that your student makes. If they want to visit a list of schools that are the antithesis of your favored school, let them. If they want to spend all of their application fees at schools that you don't approve of, fine. At the end of the day, your student needs to find a school that fits them. Not you.

Think of it this way: when your student is done with college, are you going to dictate the employers where they will apply for jobs?

(if you read that question and even considered a 'yes' answer, then we need to chat privately)

Part of the learning and maturation process in higher education is the opportunity that students have to make their own decisions. They decide when and what they eat. They decide with whom they will be friends. They decide what time they'll go to bed - and when they'll wake up. They decide on a program-of-study, and what classes to take. They decide on an eventual career path.

If you give your student the space to make these decisions on their own beginning in high school, they won't feed the need to email the admissions office asking for a denial letter. And that'll be a plus.

credit: Lucasfilm

It's official: the Wife and I are now founding subscribers of Disney Plus (or is it Disney+? What's the branding here gang?).

If you've been living under a rock - or not reading my stuff - I've previously talked about the new streaming service HERE and HERE. Oh, and HERE, and HERE. I might be a fan. Maybe.

Anyway, after long deliberations, I conned my partner-in-crime to lock-in to a three-year subscription (because we were offered a reduced rate, or something).

Everything that you need to know about Disney's streaming service can be found at CNET's great write-up.

What's the Disney streaming service?
The Disney Plus streaming service will be a competitor to video streaming services such as Netflix, HBO Now and Apple TV Plus. It's a paid subscription without any advertising, and it gives customers access to a vast library of Disney's and Fox's legacy content as well as new, exclusive TV shows, movies, documentaries and shorts.

Awesome, right?

But, while I'm certainly excited about the collection of all of the nerd-heavy movie series (like Star Wars and the entirety of the Marvel Cinematic Universe), what I'm most interested in are some of the new television series that connect to those movie universes. I'm talking about Loki, Hawkeye, Falcon & The Winter Soldier, and the poorly-named WandaVision (all from the Marvel side of the house). And we should DEFINITELY throw in some Mandalorian for good measure.

Now, add to that the news that Disney Plus will be running classic animated shows (like X-Men and Spider-Man) - and I can't wait for November to get here!

Editor's note: at no point have I been compensated to post anything about Disney Plus or associated Disney properties. For all I know, it could wind up sucking. I am merely a fanboy who is excited at the prospect of having all of these great movies and shows in one place. Wannafightaboutit?