Durham-Based Squord Scores with TechStars - Coleman Greene is a really nice guy. He's the kind of guy who phones you back immediately when your call is dropped.

I spoke with him over the weekend — earlier than I usually use my professional voice on Saturdays. I was in my bedroom still wearing my pajamas and silently pleading with AT&T's unreliable service to not cut out again, please, damn it. My phone rang, and he bushed off my apologies with an understanding laugh. Maybe he has AT&T, too.

Coleman Greene is also a really smart guy. A Vanderbilt graduate who got his MBA at UNC, he cofounded Sqord, which celebrates its two-year anniversary in June. Haven't heard of Squord yet? You will: The company recently was accepted by Chicago's TechStars, a highly competitive three-month mentorship program that nurtures and funds companies in the early stages of development.

Self-described as a “one part game platform, one part social media, and one part fitness tracker,” Squord encourages kids to lead healthy lives through active playtime.

Using its hardware and software platforms, kids can track their movement and upload activities to their social media accounts. Whether they're running, skateboarding, riding bikes, or even taking out the trash, when they swipe their PowerBands over a Sqord SyncStation (located at home and in schools), they score points, get medals, win competitions, and can, basically, brag online to their friends about all the cool, active stuff they're doing. High five, kids. I should probably hit the gym.

Squord's inclusion in TechStars gives the company access to an impressive network of mentors and investors that can really push it from the “early seed stages” into the next, more mature phase.

“We're using this as an opportunity to polish the rough edges,” Coleman says in a subtly southern accent, his own children clamoring in the background. “We want to build a platform and a brand that is a leader in health and fitness.”

Located in American Tobacco, Squord is in good company, as that downtown destination has become pretty popular among hip Durham start-ups. But a program in Chicago, Coleman explains, makes a lot of sense for them, because they do a lot of work with BlueCross BlueShield and the YMCA, both of which are headquartered in the Windy City. (Plus, his wife grew up there.)

Colman originally reached out to TechStars in 2011 but was turned down. However, he got some good feedback. They encouraged him to keep in contact, so, throughout the year, he'd send the investors updates on the company's progress.

With four full-time employees and one heavily involved contractor on board, he reapplied — and, this time, luck was on his side. TechStars has accelerated companies like Distil, and Ubooly, putting them into the big leagues by helping them raise millions of dollars. What start-up wouldn't want that?

Keep your eye on Squord and the interesting things they're doing in the digital arena. And, if you haven't already, tell your kids to sign up.

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College Allocation Reduced for 2013 (Costly Classrooms) - Justin Capouellze works part time at the
Market Basket in Richland Township, doing anything that needs done. He also works as  a landscaper and at the commercial site of Stuver’s Nursery.

Capouellze, 20, a 2011 graduate of Greater Johnstown High School, knows how hard it is to earn money when so much has to go toward his college tuition.

His task will be even harder with an anticipated decision by the Cambria County Commissioners.



Effective with the 2014 budget, the commissioners plan to reduce the county’s allocation to Penn Highlands Community College, the school Capouellze attends.

“I’ve got to go back and look at my budget and find out where that money is going to come from,” Capouellze said.

“I’m worried about increasing my student loan debt.”

The commissioners recently notified the Penn Highlands board of directors that the county’s 2014 allocation will be reduced by $150,000 from the annual contribution of

$1.2 million, which includes $300,000 toward debt service.

The contribution does not come from Cambria County’s general fund, but rather a 1-mill dedicated tax imposed by county leaders about two decades ago when what was termed “The College Without Walls” was established.

Funds withheld from the college will be used for what Cambria County commissisoners Douglas Lengenfelder and Mark Wissinger are terming “economic development.”

Wissinger said the money is needed to cover costs associated with the planned Cambria County Economic Development Authority and setting up a foreign trade zone, which is designed to foster job creation.

“Last year, in the 2013 budget, to get enough money for economic development, we kind of robbed Peter to pay Paul,” Wissinger said.

The $150,000 cut, according to Frank Asonevich, Penn Highlands president, translates into a per student tuition hike of $75 per semester, or $150 per year. At this point, the only way to make up the $150,000 is by turning to the students, he said.

“I’m concerned if they’re going to look at the college budget and see it as a resource for other projects,” Asonevich said.

Future funding cuts to the college are not planned, said Lengenfelder who also is a member of the community college board. Prior to his election as commissioner, he taught at the college.

Lengenfelder views the funding reduction as indictive of what is happening everywhere in Cambria County government.

County offices have been forced to cut their expenses by 4.75 percent, something all are in the process of doing. The cut to the college, Lengenfelder said, is just more than 1 percent of its total annual budget of more than $12 million.

Those objecting to the cut point out it amounts to more than 12 percent of the total contribution from the county, far higher than the percentage of cuts in other budgetary areas.

Despite this, the $1.2 million the county is giving the college annually is significantly higher than what started out at $500,000 20 years ago, Wissinger said.

The total has more than doubled over the years, in part due to the action in 2005 to set the assessed ratio at 100 percent, up from the 50 percent of a property’s assessed valuation, Wissinger said.

County records show that in 2004, the college was receiving the revenue generated from

1.5 mills. Following the percentage change it was decreased to .75 mill and in 2010 increased to 1 mill.

This year, Cambria is facing a chicken and egg question – which comes first, Lengengelder said.

“With this, we will have a dedicated $150,000 a year for economic development, something the county has never had before,” he said. “It’s great to have an education, but if you have no jobs, it becomes an additional problem.”

A similar amount was carved out of the 2013 budget earmarked for economic development at the Johnstown/ Cambria County Airport.

The scope of Lengenfelder’s plans were larger than the all-volunteer airport authority wanted to tackle and the full $150,000 is still intact after Lengenfelder, in recent days, returned a $75,000 check to the county, Cambria County Controller Edward Cernic Jr. said.

Lengenfelder said the money will be used this year as efforts progress to form the authority, geared at economic development, and the $150,000 from the college will replace that county allocation.

Formed in 1993 as Cambria County Community College by commissioners Wissinger, Kathy Holtzman and the late Ted Baranik and later changed to Penn Highlands, the college has branch campuses in Richland, Ebensburg, Somerset and more recently Huntingdon.

The college is one of Holtzman’s most significant accomplishments.

“It’s my baby,” said Holtzman, who serves as vice president of the board. “It’s grown beyond my imagination.”

Holtzman said she has mixed emotions about the funding cut.

“I hate to see that happen, but I understand the position the commissioners are in,” she said. “We have to take our hit here, everybody is getting cut.”

Commissioner Thomas Chernisky said a vote on the initiative to cut the college’s contribution is a long way off.

“A lot can happen between now and the end of the year,” he said. “I’m not going to be supporting it, but we’ll vote at budget time.”

Penn Highlands is one of the fastest growing colleges in the state, Chernisky said, and deserves kudos for all it has accomplished in tough times.

“The college is an investment and a real economic generator for our county. We need a trained workforce,” he said.

Passing the cost of the cut onto the students is a move Holtzman is opposed to. She plans to come to an August meeting between the college board and Penn Highlands Foundation with some ideas about bringing the business community on board.

“I think we have to make up the money in other ways,” she said. “Businesses have an interest in the community college and we need to look for new revenue sources we can tap.”

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Debt a drag on UK youth - Hard times - Young adults are finding it almost impossible to break free from their parents, both emotionally and financially, as they struggle to become independent, a British study has revealed.

A survey of 1500 people aged between 18 and 30 by The Co-operative Group found that debt had become the "new normality" for their generation.

Student loans, credit cards, loans and overdrafts were the main sources of debt, with almost a third admitting they are hiding the state of their finances from their parents.

More than four out of five of those questioned are receiving financial support from their parents, needing help to buy food or repay debts.(see HERE)

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Most also turned to their parents to help find a job, give them lifts, or do household chores, the report says.

The study also revealed that 18 to 30-year-olds were earning over £7000 ($A10,645) a year less than they thought they would in relation to their age and education, while one in 10 did not feel their job matched their qualifications.

Two-fifths of those surveyed were dissatisfied with their lives, believing they should have achieved more.

Martyn Wates, deputy group chief executive at The Co-operative Group, said: "It should not be forgotten that it is these young adults who are ultimately going to shape the future of Britain for years to come, so they need support and encouragement to thrive which, in turn, will only be positive for the future of the country.

"Whilst it is positive to see that young people believe that they will one day earn a healthy salary, the survey has signposted that the earnings of 18 to 30-year-olds do not currently live up to expectations which highlights that, for now at least, this ambitious group may have to re-evaluate their ideals."

The research also revealed that one in four young adults had never climbed a tree or played the traditional British game of conkers and one in eight had never ridden a bike.

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Pulitzer Center 2013 Student Fellows Announced - The Pulitzer Center and its Campus Consortium partners are pleased to announce the nearly two dozen students selected to receive international reporting fellowships this year. The fellowship recipients will report on a range of global issues from around the world and be mentored by Pulitzer Center-supported journalists and staff over the course of their projects. The reporting fellowships are awarded to students who attend colleges and universities that are part of the Pulitzer Center's growing Campus Consortium educational initiative.. Depending on the arrangements with each educational institutions, one to two students are selected as fellows. A unique arrangement with the College of William and Mary incorporates a seminar in which up to a dozen students work on individual reporting projects, generally without a travel element.

Most of the students undertake their reporting during the summer, but several already have begun their projects. Catherine Schurz is a Guilford College senior studying criminal justice and political science in the pre-law program who undertook her reporting project in London in spring 2013. She is examining the case of convicted murderer Gary Dobson. Dobson was one of five suspects accused in the 1983 stabbing death of an 18-year-old black man by a group of white teenage boys in a racially motivated attack. The suspects were found not guilty. The High Court of the United Kingdom reversed double jeopardy in 2003, allowing two of the original suspects, including Dobson, to be tried twice for the same crime. Both were found guilty this time. From March to May 2012 Cate was an intern at the visiting center of Belmarsh Prison in London just months after the conviction.

Elon University senior journalism majors Kassondra Cloos and Rachel Southmayd completed their project in January 2013, reporting from an organic, sustainable farm in Cuba. Before the fellowship, Cloos interned for Al Jazeera English and the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs in Washington, DC. One of her pieces from the Pulitzer Center reporting project was published in the Huffington Post. She is now has working at The Gazette in Colorado Springs. Southmayd has held senior reporting and editor positions at Elon's student newspaper, The Pendulum, and internships at The Coastal Point, 60 Minutes and the Cape Cod Times. She also freelanced for Delaware Beach Life magazine.

University of Chicago junior Yiqing "Linda" Qiu took a semester abroad to study in Botswana in spring 2013 and is now exploring the "Diamond-Cattle-Water Paradox." She will look into Botswana's water usage and management policies to examine a limited water supply faced by the country due in part to livestock production and its four profitable diamond mines. Qiu, an international and environmental studies double-major, is a news production intern at GabzFM and serves as news editor for The Chicago Maroon.

Among the students undertaking reporting during summer 2013 are two Davidson College juniors Jonathan Cox and Adrian Fadil. Cox is a political science major who will travel to Andhra Pradesh, India to report on the effects of a highly publicized Aarogyasri Public Health program that intends to make health care affordable for the rural poor. This trip will be his second to India. Cox also spent 14 years living in Romania and has traveled to Europe, Mexico, and Turkey. Fadil is a junior English major whose proposed a project will take him to the West Bank to report on the effects of Israeli occupation on Palestinian farmers. Fadil spent fall 2012 farming throughout the region. He also has spent time in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Spain, France, England, Egypt, and Cyprus.

Loyola University Chicago junior Shirley Coenen will trek south to Chile to report on the volatile relationship between the government and Chilean youth who are demanding change in their country. Coenen is an international studies and journalism double major and an intern at El Instituto Cervantes. She also is assistant news editor for The Loyola Phoenix and has written for USA Today College.

Senior Devon Smith studies history at Westchester Community College. She will report from northern Ireland, an area rife with tension and segregation, on conflict between religious communities and "peace walls" that physically separate these communities by religious belief. High Point University junior Henry Molski will be nearby to cover Scotland's debate over whether to secede from the United Kingdom. On September 18, 2014, Scottish citizens – from 16-year-olds on up – will vote on the issue. Molski, a communication major with a concentration in journalism, serves as a sports and organizations editor and staff writer for the Campus Chronicle and an admissions ambassador for the University. He is a Dean's List scholar, Presidential Scholar and treasurer of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

South Dakota State University graduate journalism student Melisa Goss will examine human trafficking in Cambodia, writing victims' stories as well as documenting the methods used to acquire slaves and current efforts to prevent this exploitation. Goss has a Bachelor of Arts in theology and philosophy from the University of Sioux Falls and has written freelance pieces for The Christian Century, Throne Publishing and BizNOW magazine. She has also spent time in South Korea.

Eleanor Klibanoff, a junior political communication major at The George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs, will travel to El Salvador and Nicaragua to report on women's healthcare and the effect of the countries' abortion laws. After abortion was made illegal in 2006 maternal health has declined and the number of mothers under age 15 has risen 48 percent. Klibanoff has interned for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague and for The Nicaragua Dispatch. She is a member of GWU's University Honors Program.

Nicholas Swyter, a sophomore at the University of Miami double-majoring in broadcast journalism and international studies, heads to Panama to report on the controversial construction of the Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam. Flooding caused by the dam may displace more than 36,000 indigenous Ngobe-Bugle in the semi-autonomous region. Swyter has served as a MetroTV News intern in Indonesia and reported for the King's College of London international politics journal. He is a contributing blogger to the Huffington Post.

Brandice Camara is pursuing a master's degree in human development with concentrations in social justice and nonprofit management from Saint Mary's University in Minneapolis. She will journey to Guinea to study its state of maternal and child health, which is among the worst in the world. Camara will focus specifically on the Donka hospital in the capital city of Conakry. She writes that "newborns suffering from malnutrition, HIV, malaria and vitamin deficiencies crowd a small ward where one incubator is used to sustain the life of multiple babies, simultaneously." Camara works with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities and has served as program coordinator for Hands Across the World Catholic Charities La Cruz Community Program.

As the world's population continues to expand and bring with it larger economies, water rights issues, hydropower in particular, come to the forefront. On the banks of the Kosi River, between Nepal and the Indian border state of Bihar, conflict over rights to its water has dragged on for decades. Photographer Steve Matzker, who graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in December 2012, will report from the Kosi during its flooding season. Matzker, who also earned a degree in liberal studies from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in 2003, is the 2013 recipient of the John H. White “Keep in Flight Award” and was named 2013 runner-up Student Photographer of the Year from the Illinois Press Photographers Association. Matzker will be paired for the reporting project with Jennifer Gonzalez, who also received her bachelor of science in journalism with a specialization in photojournalism from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in December 2012.

The Wake Forest University fellow, Jawad Wahabzada, plans to visit Rio de Janiero, Brazil to explore the 2014 World Cup-sponsored relocation efforts in the region and their effects, especially on children of the favelas, or shanty towns. Wahabzada has worked on documentaries in Afghanistan, India, and United States, including his project on child laborers, "Children of Kabul." His work has been featured on CNN International, CNN Heroes and NPR, and screened in film festivals in Canada, Russia, Denmark, Finland and the United States. Wahabzada is a senior studying communication, film production and religion at Wake Forest.

Three students – two from Boston University and one from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – will combine their international reporting projects with work at the Pulitzer Center's Washington, DC, office during the summer. Varsha Ramakrishnan, a master's in public health candidate at the Bloomberg School, is a physician from India who is majoring in health in crisis and humanitarian assistance. Her project will focus on dowry violence in India, with reporting from district hospitals in the states with some of the highest reported violence of this kind: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The two Boston University students will also undertake reporting projects focused on global health issues as part of their fellowships. Lusha Chen, a senior with a focus on broadcast journalism at the College of Communication, has had internships at UNICEF's media section in New York, WDHD-TV's public affairs/program services section in Boston, and China Central Television's "Insight Program"in Beijing. Kerstin Egenhofer, a graduate student in the School of Public Health, came to Boston University from the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she received her undergraduate degree in anthropology along with a Five Colleges Certificate in African Studies.

As part of a pilot program, the Pulitzer Center is partnering with the University of Pennsylvania's Africa Center to provide support for two students' reporting projects this summer. Diksha Bali, a junior studying English (creative writing) and economics (operations and information management), will travel to Ghana through UPenn's Africa Center and report on issues related to the growth of rural communities, such as waste management. Bali has been a public speaking advisor at UPenn's Communication Within the Curriculum program and project implementation intern at The Student Leadership Project, a start-up at Kipp West School. Bali also has been a staff writer and general assignments reporter for The Daily Pennsylvanian. Luke Messac will spend time in Malawi reporting on the effects of health user fees at hospitals and health centers, especially on the rural poor. The country has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, but its ongoing economic crisis has helped to keep the debate over fees alive. Messac graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University, where he was a Truman Scholar. He is working toward his MD/PhD in history and of science at UPenn. He is a Gamble Scholar and student editor of The New Physician, and he sits on the board of trustees at the American Medical Student Association.

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Telling ‘Advantage’ for Chinese Applicants - Wake Forest University is launching a new programme for
Chinese high school students intended to help “bridge the gap” between the Chinese and US educational systems and provide students with “incontrovertible” video evidence of their academic readiness, which Wake Forest will send to college admissions offices on their behalf.

“Our notion was by going to the high schools and providing exposure to Western-style pedagogical
practices, we’ll both have a better sense of who’s applying, at least in some cases, and we’ll have a head start on integrating students once they’re here,” said Rogan Kersh, Wake Forest’s provost.

American colleges have struggled both with validating the credentials of the increasing numbers of applicants from China - the number of Chinese students in the US has increased by 139 per cent in five years, and the heavy involvement of agents in the application process has brought with it concerns about fake transcripts, essays and letters of recommendation - as well as with helping students adjust to American classroom practices once they arrive. Intensive English or pathway programs frequently cover acculturative academic content, such as oral presentation skills or citation practices, but Wake Forest wants to bring that content to Chinese students before they graduate from high school.

Ann Cunningham, an associate professor of education at Wake Forest, has spearheaded the development of what’s called the Wake Forest Advantage curriculum, which focuses on four core learning skills - academic research and inquiry, academic discourse and communication, exploring US college and university culture, and refining individual learning strategies - and emphasises collaboration and reflection.

Wake Forest has partnered with the company EdisonLearning, and will be offering the curriculum in several formats. It will offer a two-week intensive summer academy, taught by its own education faculty and teacher education alumni and students; it will employ and train local teachers to deliver the curriculum in an after-school setting; and it will train instructors at partner high schools to teach the content during the normal school day. In the latter case, Wake Forest enters into a financial relationship directly with the high school; otherwise, the 72-hour summer academy costs $1,500 (£970), while students who take a 90-hour after-school programme pay $2,500.

One key difference is that students in the after-school programme, but not the summer academy, produce a “digital portfolio” that Wake Forest will distribute directly to US admissions offices upon their request. The student-created DVDs will show the students engaging in common Western-style classroom practices – such as giving presentations, debating with classmates, and working in groups - as well as reflecting on those experiences. A team of school teachers in North Carolina will evaluate the videos, which will be placed in envelopes sealed with gold, silver or bronze stickers to indicate the students’ level of preparedness for a US classroom.

“Just having a course like this under their belt is going to be a good sign for a university admissions office,” Dr Cunningham said.

However, Parke Muth, a consultant and former director of international admissions at the University of Virginia, questioned the value both to students and to admissions officers given that the only evaluative grade is a colour-coded seal. “For $2,500, you get a star,” he said. “That to me just isn’t worth it.” By contrast, he said, a signed letter from a Wake Forest faculty member describing the student’s progress in the classroom would be much more valuable to admissions officers.

“This sounds like a really good money-making venture potentially,” Mr Muth said.

Professor Kersh, the Wake Forest provost, maintained that profit isn’t a main motive behind setting up the programme. “It’s much more important that we have a clearer sense of who these applicants are, and that we can at least in a small way help prepare them for the very different college and university experience in the US. If it winds up being more lucrative than we imagine that certainly would be nice, but that’s not what we’re modelling or expecting,” he said. The programme has been piloted at the Dulwich College International High School Programme, in Jiangsu Province, China. The intensive academy will be run for the first time this summer and Wake Forest hopes to enter into partnerships with up to five high schools this autumn.

“These [types of] programmes really are designed to ensure student success,” said James Cross, associate provost and senior international officer at Champlain College, in Vermont. Champlain also has a presence in Chinese high schools: it offers a one-year bridge programme at Datong High School in Shanghai which focuses on English language skills and American classroom and university culture. Students are granted conditional admission to Champlain pending successful completion of the programme.

“There are other benefits to this – branding and the like. But more Chinese students do want to come to the United States, and those schools that want to accept them want to make sure they’re quality students who can be successful in the classroom. That really is the bottom line,” he said.
Source : www.timeshighereducation.co.uk

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Looking Works to Control the Cost of a College Education - Among the most significant barriers facing
Vermonters who are seeking a college degree is the cost of an undergraduate education. Sterling College, a leading voice for environmental stewardship in the United States, is making a new commitment to providing financial aid to graduates of Vermont high schools, as well as associate degree recipients and transfer students.

Sterling College is committed to providing access to students who wish to pursue studies in Ecology, Environmental Humanities, Outdoor Education, or Sustainable Agriculture. While Sterling is a private college, it has committed to match in-state public
university tuition of the University of Vermont, for all Vermonters who gain admission for September 2013.

Sterling College is only one of seven federally recognized work colleges helping students reduce tuition and living expenses through on-campus work. Additionally, the College’s Board of Trustees recently limited the increase in tuition to only 2% for 2013-14. “The board understands that these are very challenging financial times for families in Vermont, and it is our intention that Sterling help ease the transition for students who want access to our unique programs of study,” said Wendy Koenig, Sterling College trustee and chair of its Enrollment Committee. (see HERE)

“We know that the growing career opportunities associated with the Sterling College curriculum are the most important areas of challenge facing society in the 21st century, and, that Vermont is the epicenter in the nation for studying critical disciplines focused on food, water, health, energy, soil, climate, and education, as such, it is essential that students who aspire to become environmental stewards have access to a Sterling education,” commented Matthew Derr, Sterling’s new president at the College’s most recent admission open house.

“Sterling College is taking important action to support Vermonters who aspire to earn a college degree. The College is committing itself to keeping educational costs under control. I commend President Derr’s leadership on both access and affordability,” offered Congressman Peter Welch of the College’s recent actions. (see HERE)

“Sterling College is committed to educating future generations of environmental stewards, and providing financial aid is a key commitment we make to see that that happens” continued President Derr. “We think big and act on our convictions, whether it’s divesting our endowment from fossil fuels or offering scholarships to climate justice activists.

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From Americans to Canada for College Education - Americans are increasingly leaving the country to
seek an education in Canada, where college tuition costs are significantly lower and the quality of education is high.

Over the past decade, the number of Americans who enrolled in Canadian colleges has risen by 50 percent. About 10,000 Americans are currently enrolled at universities in Canada, the Institute for College Access & Success reports.

“Undergraduate students that complete [school] in Canada have tremendous access to the best graduate programs right now in the world,” Paul Davidson, president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, told AP. “So, if you’re a student that wants to pursue graduate studies,
a Canadian degree will serve you very well, indeed… They also are a passport to a good job.”

And that passport comes at a much lower price: Undergraduates in Canada pay an average of about $5,000 in tuition fees during each undergraduate year, while undergraduates at a private university in the US pay an average of $32,000 each year, according to the Institute of Education Sciences.

Some American universities charge nearly $50,000 per semester, which often forces students to take out hefty loans to afford a basic undergraduate degree. (see HERE)

Eric Andreasen, a college student from Maine, told NBC News that he chose to attend Montreal’s McGill University because of the low tuition cost. A four-year undergraduate program at McGill cost him what it would have cost for just one year at George Washington University in the US capital.

“When the financial packages came in, it was a no-brainer for me,” he said. McGill is ranked 18thon US News & World Report’s ranking of the world’s 400 best universities and some refer to the school as the “Harvard of the North”.

“At McGill I believe I’m paying at most $20,000 with tuition and housing,” Jamie Berk, a fourth-year college student from Pennsylvania, told USA TODAY. “Which is pretty good, it’s about a little less than half of what a lot of Americans pay for private university.”

Those who graduate from an American university carry an average of $26,000 debt, causing nine percent to default on their student loans within two years. And with low-skill jobs largely replacing high-paying ones, hundreds of thousands of college grads are finding themselves working minimum wage jobs post-graduation. 

“Money is definitely a factor,” 20-year-old Leah Ott, a physiology major from Houston, told NBC News. She and her two sisters all attend universities in Canada. (see HERE)

And as Americans continue to discover the benefits of attaining a high-quality education in Canad, more students may choose to head north – especially since the cost of education continues to rise in the US.

About six percent of undergraduates at McGill are Americans, and at the current rate, that number could double within the next twenty years.

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Why Students lag in financial literacy - The Wall Street meltdown of 2008 and the ensuing recession did little to help make high school seniors In real terms, that might mean that students might have difficulty understanding the impact of a poor credit rating, the relationship between consumer spending and higher unemployment or how inflation can eat away at pay raises.
Students’ scores of economic literacy changed little between 2006 and 2012, suggesting that the national discussion about the millions of jobs that were lost and homes that were foreclosed didn’t translate to

higher academic achievement. During that period, several states added an economics course to high school offerings and some started requiring it to earn a diploma.

The findings show that more than half of students leave high school without an economic knowledge that federal officials consider proficient. In 2012, 39 percent of students had a basic understanding of economics while 18 were considered below basic.

“This is exactly what I would have expected,” said Annamaria Lusardi, a distinguished scholar at George Washington University who on Wednesday testified to a Senate subcommittee about students’ economic skills. (See HERE)

“Financial literacy is like every topic; they don’t learn by osmosis. Just because you read the Wall Street Journal, you’re not going to learn about interest compounding,” Lusardi said, noting headlines were no substitute for instruction.

About 10,900 high school seniors at 480 public and private schools took the economics test as part of the 2012 National Assessment of Educational Progress, more commonly called “the nation’s report card.” (See HERE)

But among Hispanic students, performance rose, narrowing the gap between their scores and those of their white classmates.
financially savvy and less than half of them have a solid understanding of economics, according to an Education Department report released Tuesday.

Source : www.spokesman.com

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Internship Hunt, Students choose Boston for Jobs - Due to the various types and sheer number of
internship opportunities in Boston, students come to the city to get a taste of their desired careers.

“There’s a great number of schools in the Boston area [and] there are many fine employers looking for the best talent,” saidJames French, assistant dean for career services at the Boston University School of Management. “We have an excellent relationship with the companies in the area, but also across the country and across the world, and employers know the quality of our students and are very much attracted to them.”



French said in the BU Feld Career Center, he helps connect students with business internships in the city. (see HERE)

“In the past 12 months, 230 employers have visited us to meet our students,” he said. “They’ve posted over 1,600 jobs and some of those are internships and others become permanent jobs.”

Cesare Grieci, manager of staffing and employee relations at American Students Assistance, said ASA started seeking younger interns who could provide more insight on how students are dealing with educational loans and debt.

“In the beginning we started hiring the upperclassmen who were toward the end of their college years,” he said. “But we found that we weren’t giving ourselves enough exposure to the people entering into school.”

French said students who get the best internships have high academic standing but also know how to interact in social situations.

“Being very prepared for interviews, knowing how to interact with a potential employer, knowing how to behave and how to be productive all show that you can add value [to the company,]” he said.

Some students said they came to BU specifically for its internship programs and opportunities.

Morgan Perry, a College of Communication junior, said she transferred to BU because there were several internships in the city for her major. (see HERE)

“I was attending school at the University of Pittsburgh and realized that there were not as many opportunities for internships in my field there,” she said. “Not to mention that [BU has] one of the best communication schools in the country.”

Perry said she completed two internships and plans to intern for Digita in Boston this summer.

“My internship at Digita was really competitive to get, but my two other internships were less competitive because they are smaller companies,” she said. “Getting an internship in Boston has been relatively easy, [so] long as you are persistent and not too picky.”

Chloe Conceicao, a College of Fine Arts sophomore, said her previous internship at Mazda helped her gain valuable experience in the workforce.

“It makes you take responsibility because you have to be there on time every day,” she said, “and you don’t leave until you get your work done.”

Source : dailyfreepress.com

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Ohio State Men's Basketball Student Managers - The squeaking of brand new Nikes against polished hardwood fills the expansive interior of an empty Schottenstein Center. Bouncing basketballs, blowing whistles and exhausted grunts combine to form the soundtrack of a Buckeye basketball practice. Some of the members of the Ohio State men’s basketball program stand drenched in sweat, hands on their hips and watch as others participate in drills.

These spectators and participants combine to comprise an indisposable crew on the floor, but they aren’t the basketball team. They’re the seven members of the Ohio State men’s basketball managerial staff.

While the actual team wins the games and earns the headlines, the staff supporting the team is happy to sit behind the bench on game days, out of the spotlight. They’re OK with the idea that the outside world has no clue how important they were to coach Thad Matta and his teams’ preparations for victory.

“A lot of people just think we’re all ‘water and towels’ and just kind of there,” said Weston Strayer, manager and a fourth-year in marketing. “But they don’t understand just how much time and work we put in each week to the program.”

Their contributions are noticed by those who pay attention though.

“The managers do everything you really don’t want to do, and they do it with a smile on their face,” said senior forward Evan Ravenel. “They’re one of the key components to our team, and we wouldn’t be half as good without those guys.”

A typical OSU student gets up, goes to class, maybe goes to work afterward and then juggles homework with a social life. The managers have those same obligations, but in addition to their school obligations, they deal with between 35 and 40 hours a week of unpaid work for basketball activities.

They show up for 10 a.m. practice an hour before to set up. They stay two hours after to rebound for players who want to get extra shots up or to run errands for coaches. It can end up being a five-hour shift. On game days, they’re there for the pre-game shootaround five hours before tip-off and will stay at the arena for the next eight hours, through the pre-game team meal and the game itself.

During the games, they take advanced stats for the coaches, set up chairs on the court for the team during timeouts and manage Matta’s play-calling whiteboard.

“Once the game starts, nothing we have done is going to change anything, but preparation-wise, we definitely help them out where we can,” Strayer said. “We try and do our best to help them prepare and make everything a little bit easier for them.”

The man in charge of the managers is David Egelhoff, director of basketball operations. He’s been on the OSU staff for 10 years and in his current position for seven. In addition to handling the day-to-day, off-court activities of the basketball team, he handles the application and hiring process of the team’s managers and serves as their boss.

It’s a position his past has qualified him for.

Egelhoff served as a student manager for OSU’s basketball team from 1998 to 2002 under former OSU coach Jim O’Brien. He said his times as a manager make up some of his favorite college memories.

“I’ve made lifelong friendships, not only with the managers but the coaching staffs and players I’ve worked with as well,” Egelhoff said. “We had a really enjoyable time doing a lot of things … those experiences we had were pretty special to me.”

The sheer quantity of time the managers spend with each other has allowed them to form a special bond.

“It’s a great group of guys, we joke and mess with each other and it’s a lot of fun,” Strayer said. “We kind of joke when we walk out of the tunnel (during home games), they announce the ‘three-time defending Big Ten champions’ and then we all kind of just come out before everyone, so I always wonder what people think when they see us in the suits walking out by the team.”

Evan Kurt, a third-year manager and a fourth-year in marketing, said the experiences of going to the Final Four and to different venues around the country have made managing the “best time” of his life.

While the managers know they will never make the game-winning shot, they also are aware that their weeklong contributions before the 40-minute games are vital.

“There’s a lot that goes on at practices that people don’t see. If you don’t know all about what goes on behind the scenes, you don’t really understand,” Kurt said. “Game to game, it’s players and coaches who determine success, but behind the scenes, it’s us helping everybody improve and helping everybody get better.”

The managers’ reward for the hours upon hours of dirty work isn’t fame, money or recognition. It’s something less tangible, but something the managers say is much more important.

“The sense of being a part of the team,” Strayer said. “It’s one thing to be a fan, but to be emotionally involved, and to be with the team all the time and to be a part of the team is something I’ll never forget.”

Ravenel, a player who has played on three Big Ten championship teams and two Final Four teams, expressed the team’s gratitude for its managers.

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As STEM education programs take hold, Colorado seeks common vision - Students in Travis O'Hair's Creative Engineering class at Skyline High School had grown accustomed to designing solutions to problems stemming from hypothetical hurricanes or earthquakes.

Then he introduced them to a 10-year-old girl from a neighboring elementary school whose debilitating joint condition made it impossible for her to operate a water fountain. She became their "client," and their adaptive-technology project became more than just a school assignment.

"They became very invested in their product," said O'Hair. "They felt like they had a mission, or vision, around what they were building."

O'Hair's class, and its project-based learning, represent just one cog in a burgeoning approach to STEM education — shorthand for science, technology, engineering and math — embraced by the St. Vrain Valley School District and many others.

While a proliferation of grass-roots efforts isn't necessarily bad, stakeholders from education and business are seeking to apply greater coordination to dozens of disparate STEM programs whose popularity spiked in recent years.

Experts such as Brad McLain, who co-directs the XSci Experiential Science Education Research Collaborative at the University of Colorado Denver, said agreement on a set of common goals could streamline what's now a collection of scattered initiatives.

"Having the ability to go after what you're interested in, or even compete for the grant money that's out there, is a healthy thing, like a competitive marketplace in the private sector," he said. "But pulling in the same direction is important, so we can do our own thing in service to larger goals."

The Colorado Department of Education created a new state position last May, financed by federal Race to the Top funds, that administers $500,000 in federal grant money for STEM programs.

But at this point, the definition of a STEM program in K-12 education can mean almost anything, from programs that emphasize math and science, to schools that offer an engineering course, to districts that want to integrate STEM throughout the curriculum.

"We need a vision that moves us forward instead of everyone doing their own thing," said Violeta Garcia, Colorado's newly minted STEM education coordinator. "To have a vision with common goals seems appropriate at this time, but it's not happening yet."

It's getting closer, though.

Colorado Legacy Foundation, in conjunction with the governor's office and a variety of other groups, has been working on a project to more clearly define criteria for quality initiatives and collaboration. Once that framework has been established, both public and private entities can determine how to replicate and grow successful programs — and where industry partners can invest resources.

An online portal will help students and educators connect the dots between those programs and illuminate STEM pathways through school to workforce. Organizations looking to fund STEM initiatives could also use the information to determine which gaps in the pipeline they'd like to fill.

"So how can we take what's good about everything, how can we harness that energy and find common ground and purpose and get everybody moving in the same direction?" said Heather Fox, spokeswoman for the Colorado Legacy Foundation. "That's where there's renewed energy and push."

Even at the federal level, there's a push to consolidate and coordinate. President Barack Obama's proposed 2014 budget, while pumping up funding for STEM education by nearly 7 percent, calls for trimming the number of federally funded programs in half to more precisely target the money.

Launched amid concern over the ability to fill the growing ranks of science- and engineering-related jobs, particularly as those fields expand in Colorado, STEM education has gained traction in the K-12 arena as schools have pursued initiatives both large and small.

DSST Public Schools have grown since 2004 to enroll more than 2,000 students at six STEM charter schools — with big plans for expansion that will more than double enrollment.

CEO Bill Kurtz last week testified before a U.S. House of Representatives education subcommittee on the factors that have contributed to those schools' high performance.

St. Vrain Valley, aided by associations with the University of Colorado at Boulder and IBM, has constructed a STEM program that begins in preschool and encompasses six elementary schools and two middle schools that feed into Skyline High School.

Students who successfully complete the prescribed courses of the "STEM Academy" can earn guaranteed admission to CU's engineering school. That's one reason enrollment has more than tripled from 40 to 130 over the last four years.

"We'll have changed the culture of that whole feeder," said Regina Renaldi, an assistant superintendent in the district. "If we have the success we think we'll have, it will be easy to replicate and sustain in another feeder."

The efforts, aided by a $16.6 million grant from the Race to the Top program and $3.6 million from Investing in Innovation, also have attracted lots of outside interest. Sporadic visits from other districts have turned into a steady stream that necessitated a twice-a-month tour schedule.

It hasn't hurt St. Vrain Valley to have a big hitter like IBM, with many employees in the Longmont area, as a partner.

"The public is realizing the need to start early, not wait until high school or middle school," said Ray Johnson, IBM's corporate citizenship manager. "I was hearing 6-year-olds use the word 'prototype.' "

The district drew on collaboration with Adams 12 Five Star Schools, which three years ago launched its STEM Magnet Lab, one of the first K-8 public STEM schools in Colorado, said Kellie Lauth, the district's science and STEM coordinator.

It started small, with only 250 students. By year's end there were 483 families on the waiting list, and the school expanded to double its original enrollment.

Last year, Adams 12 closed a failing middle school and reopened it with an identical K-8 STEM model with 920 students. The wait list exceeded 300 families.

As students from the K-8 model now move on to high school, Lauth has been working on turning Northglenn High School into a comprehensive STEM high school that will begin operation next fall.

In all, Adams 12 will have more than 4,000 students in its K-12 STEM pipeline at three sites identical in design and with more than 50 strategic partnerships. The district did it all without grant money and at a time of severe budget constraints

Lauth said she's asked all the time how STEM can remain relevant in a few years, when some other initiative becomes education's flavor of the month.

"It's because we don't define it by four letters, but by a teaching and learning vision directly tied to workforce readiness and the promise to have children well prepared," she said. "That need is never going to be gone. We stay relevant because we're constantly hitching ourselves to industry and to what they need, to their problems, to their different careers."
Source : Denver Post

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University helps Erica combine study and rugby - WHEN Erica Fowler first picked up that oval-shaped
ball at age six, she was surrounded by a bunch of smelly little boys.

Rather than running away, she embraced being the only girl on the field.

Erica played rugby union with boys until Year 5 when she was told she could no longer be a member of the team - a bunch of kids she considered her best mates.



The 20-year-old Peregian Beach resident went on to play with girls, which she says was when the "rough stuff" began.

"When I was playing with the boys, they didn't want to touch me because I was a girl," she said.

"It was a shock to the system when I first played with the girls because I was actually being tackled.

"Girls are rough."

Now a member of the Noosa Dolphins Phinettes Women's team and the Stingrays Women's Sevens side, Erica juggles her love of rugby with her paramedic science studies at the University of the Sunshine Coast.

Her dual passion for sport and her career was recognised yesterday when she received one of two USC Encouragement Foundation Rugby Scholarships. (see HERE)

Erica is believed to be the first female rugby sevens player in Australia to receive the scholarship, which will provide $3000 for each year of her degree.

Fellow scholarship recipient Luke Kimber, a Sunshine Coast Stingrays player studying to be a physiotherapist, said seeing a woman recognised for her success in rugby was great.

"It's a pleasure to watch Erica play," he said. "She's a great player and she deserves all the recognition."

The scholarship will help Erica complete her degree while undertaking work experience with Queensland Ambulance Service, doing part-time work with ASSIST First Aid and playing rugby.

She hopes to realise her ultimate dream - making the Australian Women's side - by 2016 for the Rio Olympics.

Source : http://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au

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Collaboration is Key to School Success - The lack of diversity on the Abilene Independent School District’s board of trustees’ was frequently brought up by the community during the four-plus months the board took to fill its Place 7 vacancy.

With all six current board members being white in a district where 41.6 percent of its students are Hispanic, 40.2 percent are white and 12 percent are black, the need to address the ethnicity issue was pushed to the forefront.

Hardin-Simmons University associate professor and board appointee Kelvin Kelley said it’s disappointing that race played such a large role in the discussion leading up to Monday night’s unanimous vote to name him the board’s seventh member.

Kelley is the first African-American to serve on the board since 2000, only the third to serve in the district’s history and only fifth minority trustee ever.

“It’s disappointing and I acknowledge it for what is, but in reality I don’t have to play by those rules,” said Kelley, Hardin-Simmons’ student diversity programs coordinator. “If your primary goal is student achievement, then it doesn’t matter who the student is. I had Hispanics, Caucasians and African-American students in our (Campus Advocacy) Program.” (see HERE)

Board President Stan Lambert reiterated Tuesday that seeking diversity wasn’t the board’s “main focus” in the appointment.

“We were looking for the best qualified individual,” Lambert said. “(Kelley) had outstanding qualifications and experience and was very eager and willing to jump into a middle of what is very difficult and challenging times for school boards.”

However, trustee Robert Laird said he was looking for a diverse candidate to appoint.

“My desire in the appointment process was to find a candidate with diversity in mind,” Laird said. “He works at Hardin-Simmons, he’s an ACU (doctorate) graduate and the diversity concept is very strong here. I don’t think he has an agenda, he only wants to do what’s best for our kids and I think that’s great.”

Kelley said he indeed doesn’t come into the position — for which he plans to seek election in May 2014 — with an agenda.

“For most of us, we have been influenced by ethnicity and you can’t deny that reality,” Kelley said. “But what you have to do is understand you have to take responsibility for that. If you acknowledge it, then you’re willing to make a decision that’s different from what the constituency demands.

“To make a viable education system, we have to work together; there must be collaboration.”

Kelley said student success is at the heart of his educational philosophies. (see HERE)

“The reality is that the learning space should be conducive to student discoveries,” said Kelley, the senior pastor at First Baptist Church of Cisco. “What that means is the teacher and instructor, as well as the student, have a responsibility of what’s going on in that environment. We (might) put an onus on the teacher or the student, and the reality is it’s a relationship.”

Along with those philosophies, Kelley also is adamant that people shouldn’t refer to some student populations as “at-risk.”

“I don’t use ‘at-risk students,’ I use ‘underperforming students’,” Kelley said. “Underperforming doesn’t mean you can’t do it, it just means you’re not doing it.”

Source : www.reporternews.com

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Is College Expenses Not Deductible ? - With less than two weeks to go to file your 2012 tax return, you
Today's question:

probably have questions. Whether you prepare your own tax return or pay someone to do it for you, we are here to help. Every day until April 15, members of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants have agreed to answer tax questions from USA TODAY readers. Submit your questions to taxadvice@usatoday.com.

Q: Our son is a freshman attending an out- of-state university. We are paying tuition, travel expenses, car expenses including insurance, books, dorm and meal fees and travel expenses for trips back and forth during holidays and other visits home. Tuition amounted to $25,000 for the fall 2012 semester, and with the additional expenses we easily spent $30,000 per semester for the 2012/2013 year. Can we claim the costs besides tuition as deductions on our taxes for 2012?

A: For purposes of the tuition and fees deduction, student activity fees and expenses for course-related books, supplies, and equipment can be considered qualified education expenses but only if they have to be paid to the institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance. For example, even if you buy your books directly from the institution, they will not be considered a qualified education expense unless they are required to be purchased directly from the institution.

Expenses for insurance, medical expenses (including student health fees), room and board, transportation, and personal living expenses are not considered qualified education expenses even if the amount has to be paid to the institution as a condition of enrollment or attendance.

It's also important to note that if you are married filing jointly and your Modified Adjusted Gross Income (MAGI) is $130,000 or less, your maximum tuition and fees deduction is $4,000. If your MAGI is $130,001-$160,000 your maximum deduction is $2,000, and if your MAGI is over $160,000 no deduction is allowed.

The Tuition and Fees Deduction section of IRS Publication 970 gives all the details of the tuition and fees deduction.

Clare Levison, CPA
Blacksburg, VA

Previous questions:

Q: Help! I didn't file taxes in 2011 or 2012, I make a modest wage in a factory and am losing my house to foreclosure. What's the best way to "get right" with the government?

A: I would like to encourage you to file your 2012 tax returns, federal and state, by April 15 or at least file extensions by that date and pay as much as you can with the extension. The IRS charges a penalty for the failure to timely file of 5% per month (maximizes at 25%) of the tax required to shown on the return, less credits for withholding and estimated taxes paid. The penalty for the failure to file timely adds a huge burden to what you will eventually owe the IRS. Each state has its own penalty structure so I will not be commenting on those penalties.

You should file your 2011 tax returns as soon as possible even if you do not have the funds to pay the tax liability in full. The IRS encourages taxpayers to "get into compliance" by filing delinquent tax returns by mailing them to the same Service Center that you mail your 2012 return. If you owe taxes with the return there will be a Failure to Pay penalty (1/2 of 1% per month up to 25%) and interest will run on the tax and the penalty.

It sounds like you might not have the money to pay the taxes owed with the return. If you have the ability to pay monthly on an Installment Agreement you can file a Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request, with your return or separately. Also, you can get an "Online Payment Agreement" application at www.IRS.gov. If you owe $50,000 or less, the IRS will allow up to 72 months to repay your tax, penalty and interest. There is a fee to establish an Installment Agreement of $105 if paid by check, money order or credit card but is reduced to $52 with electronic fund withdrawal. This user fee is reduced to $43 by filing Form 13844 for low income taxpayers.

There are other options, such as filing an Offer in Compromise, if you cannot repay your taxes over the 10-year collection statute of limitations. Also, for taxpayers owing greater than $50,000 financial information is required when establishing an Installment Agreement. These are topics for another day.

Mary Lou Gervie, CPA
Watkins Meegan, Bethesda, Md.

Previous questions:

Q. I had deferred compensation from my previous employer which was not paid upon my retirement in June 2009 due to bankruptcy. The court system has determined all people will get their deferred compensation less legal fees. My deferred comp was mapped to a mutual fund's performance to determine actual payout amount. Can I claim a loss for the difference between what was originally due to be paid upon retirement and the final distribution amount received almost four years later? Or, can I claim a loss for the value of the deferred comp based on the mutual fund's performance over the four years since retirement and the actual value received.

A. Unfortunately, you can't deduct income that you didn't receive and pay taxes on, which means that you are unable to claim a loss for the amount that you expected to receive but did not due to the bankruptcy. This is an example of the downside of deferred compensation, which is that when you made the election, you basically agreed to the risk of becoming an unsecured creditor of your employer.

A case could be made for taking a loss for the change in value of the mutual fund over four years based on the value you will receive, but that is a very specific case that would require the personal engagement of a CPA or tax attorney. May I also opine that considering the state of the stock market in 2009, there is a good chance that the mutual fund's value has only increased since then?

Kelley C. Long, CPA
Shepard Schwartz & Harris, Chicago

Q: I live in Washington state, where gay marriage is legal, we have no state income tax, and we are a community property state. My partner and I have been together for 12 years, but we have not yet converted our domestic partnership to marriage since it became legal in December. In previous years we have both filed our federal returns as single, but this year we bought a house together and we are wondering what the proper way would be for us to file our federal income tax.

A: Federal law does not treat same-sex or registered domestic partners (RDPs) who are married under state law as married. Thus, such couples may not file their federal income tax return as married filing jointly (MFJ) or as married filing separately (MFS). So, being married under state law will not change your filing status under federal law.

Because you live in Washington state though, being married or RDPs changes how much income you each report on your federal returns. The IRS will follow state community property laws and has provided guidance for RDPs and same-sex couples in three such states: California, Nevada and Washington.

Basically, spouses or RDPs in these states split their community property income, with each spouse or partner reporting half of it on their federal returns. The IRS has provided several FAQs, as well as Publication 555, and Form 8958, to help in determining how to report community property income (as well as deductions and credits) on each spouse's federal tax return.

You each still file a separate return (not a joint return). Note that there could be changes to the filing rules depending on the outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

For the mortgage interest, if you are married or RDPs in Washington, you can show the split of the mortgage interest on Form 8598 (and report your share on your Schedule A, with a reference to "See Form 8958"). If you are not RDPs or a married couple in Washington, you each determine your share of the mortgage interest and you each deduct your share that you paid.

One of you likely received a Form 1098, Mortgage Interest Statement, with only one name and Social Security Number on it. The IRS suggests that the other payor attach a statement to their return explaining that they paid part of that Form 1098 amount and provide the name and address of the person who received the Form 1098, and how much of the mortgage interest each owner paid. On Schedule A, Line 11 for mortgage interest, add "See attached" so the IRS knows the statement explaining the interest amount is on the return (since the IRS does not have a Form 1098 for that owner). For details, see IRS Publication 936, page 9.

Annette Nellen, CPA
San Jose State University, San Jose, Calif.

PREVIOUS QUESTIONS

Q: I filed 2 state tax returns for 2011, one for Massachusetts and one for Rhode Island. I received $400 from Rhode Island, but paid $200 for Mass. I itemized on my federal return. Do I have to claim the $400 refund as income, or can I reduce it by $200?

A: I will answer the question in two parts:

• The $200 paid to Massachusetts can be claimed as an itemized deduction on your 2012 tax return.

• The $400 refund from Rhode Island will need to be reported as income in 2012 if you paid taxes to Rhode Island in 2011 and claimed the taxes as an itemized deduction on your 2011 tax return. The entire amount of the refund would be reported as income if the entire amount of Rhode Island taxes were paid in the 2011 calendar year. This would include withholding amounts, quarterly estimates, extension payments and balance-due payments.

A portion of the refund may be taxable if the Rhode Island taxes credited on the 2011 tax return were paid over two years. In other words, you need to determine if payments were made in the 2012 calendar year but were credited in the 2011 tax-reporting year.

These type of payments would include a 2011 fourth-quarter estimate paid in January 2012 as estimates are due January 15th. Another type of payment is an extension payment that was paid in April of 2012 but was for the 2011 tax return year.

Therefore, if a state tax refund is the result of payments paid in two different years, you make an allocation to exclude the portion of the refund that was allocable to the 2012 calendar year payment. Please note that the portion that was excluded from income is also an offset to your 2012 state tax deduction.

Don Zidik, CPA
McGladrey LLP, Boston

Q: I am 73 and I cannot itemize my deductions (I will use the standard deduction of $7,400). My question: I heard there was a way to deduct my property tax ($4,600) while utilizing the standard deduction. Is this still allowed?

A: Unfortunately, this is not still allowed, and there is no way to deduct your property taxes on your federal income tax return without itemizing.

Five years ago, Congress passed a bill allowing a single person to deduct up to $500 of property taxes on a primary residence in addition to their standard deduction. The limit was $1,000 for a married couple filing jointly.

Unfortunately, this provision was only put in place for 2 years, so for the years 2008 and 2009, a person could deduct at least a portion of their property taxes, even if they were not itemizing.

The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization and Job Creation Act of 2010 extended some tax breaks, but this tax break was allowed to expire and has never been reinstated.;

The instructions to for the 2010 Form 1040 on the IRS website lists expired tax benefits on page 6. For more information on itemized and standard deductions:

Frequently asked questions for itemized and standard deductions

Mackey McNeill, CPA
Mackey Advisors, Bellevue, Ky.

http://www.9news.com

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Compares College Costs Regionally and Nationwide 2013 - The cost of attending colleges and

Graduation rates, meanwhile, put regional institutions mostly in the middle of the pack nationally.

North Dakota University System Chancellor Hamid Shirvani, who has expressed concern with costs and graduation rates, said he thinks North Dakota institutions can do better.

The college scorecard is available through the White House website and helps students find colleges based on affordability, location, future occupation and other factors.

The site also allows students to see how a university compares to institutions nationwide that offer the same education level. For example, the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks primarily offers bachelor’s degrees, and it was compared with others that do the same.

universities in eastern North Dakota and northwest Minnesota are still mostly on the low end compared to similar institutions nationwide, according to the U.S. Department of Education’s new online “college scorecard.”

Better bang

Among four-year institutions around the nation, UND, North Dakota State University, Valley City State University and Minnesota State University Moorhead are all considered low-cost universities with medium graduation rates.

It cost a North Dakota State University student an average of $13,284 a year in 2010-11, including tuition and room and board. Of students who began in the fall of 2005, 53.7 percent graduated within six years with a bachelor’s degree. (see HERE)

The annual cost at MSUM was $11,684, while the six-year graduation rate was 44.7 percent.

For UND, the annual cost was $11,952, and the graduation rate was 54.3 percent.

At VCSU, the annual cost was $9,947, and the graduation rate was 42.1 percent.

Some four-year institutions in the three-state region boast better graduation rates.

Concordia College – a medium-cost institution at an annual price of $19,948 – ranked as having a high graduation rate, with 69.4 percent.

South Dakota State University is also low-cost at $12,815 but boasts a high graduation rate of 59.7 percent. The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, is medium-cost at $16,019 and has a high graduation rate of 70.2 percent.

Among two-year institutions, Lake Region State College in Devils Lake and North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton and Minnesota State Community and Technical College, which has a campus in Moorhead, are all considered medium-cost colleges. Lake Region costs $7,460, MSCTC costs $10,578 and NDSCS costs $9,365.

Lake Region and NDSCS both have what’s considered a high graduation rate among their peers: 52.4 percent of students graduate with an associate degree within three years at Lake Region and 52 percent and NDSCS. MSCTC has a medium graduation rate of 35.4 percent.

Earlier this week, Shirvani said he believes graduation rates can be improved with the statewide education reform plan he introduced last year, which aimed to pair students with institutions they are most suitable for. He stressed the importance of students at four-year institutions graduating in four years, particularly for the state’s two research universities, UND and NDSU.

The college scorecard does not show how many students graduate in four years, but Shirvani said Thursday that 23 percent of UND students and 22 percent of NDSU students do so compared to 47 percent of U of M students.

Student debt

Student debt was considered medium at the majority of colleges and universities in the region. After completing or leaving school, former UND students pay a median $197.02 per month. For former NDSU students, it’s $182.98, and for those who attended MSUM, it was $175.50.

Loan payments for former VCSU students were deemed low at $151.53.

Concordia’s monthly loan payments were ranked as high at $272.44.

Former Lake Region students pay $77.68, considered low. Median monthly loan payments for former students at MSCTC were $109.33, while it was $123.62 for former NDSCS students.

The median monthly payments were based on an interest rate of 6.8 percent and included all federal loans borrowed by a student who graduated or withdrew in 2010-11.

The cost of higher education in North Dakota has skyrocketed in recent years, with total student debt at the Bank of North Dakota alone reaching $1.68 billion at the end of 2012.

Shirvani said the college scorecard data is evidence that UND and NDSU have avoided charging high tuition adopted by other public colleges and universities in the mid-1990s, and he expects the state’s two research universities to keep costs low. (see HERE)

“Given the state’s newfound wealth,” he said, “we would expect both our institutions to steer clear of what has become a national embarrassment with so many low- and middle-income families choosing to opt out of postsecondary educational opportunities due to the high level of debt from borrowing.”

Source : www.inforum.com

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Watch Out for Student Debt Time Bomb 2013 - The American dream of a college education is turning into a nightmare for too many people. More jobs require a college degree, yet the percentage of unemployed and underemployed college graduates age 25 and younger is at its highest in 11 years.

Meanwhile, college costs are soaring, in part because cash-strapped states have less to give to public universities. And parents who’ve lost jobs or home equity after the financial crisis can’t support their children’s college costs as they planned.

The average total student debt load increased to $27,253 in 2012, a 58% jump during a seven-year period when debt as a whole rose 16%. More than 1 million adults have student debt exceeding $100,000.
Furthermore, student debt as a percentage of household debt has gone up to 8.5%, nearly three times what it was in 2003. The $870 billion now outstanding in student debt (which includes federal lending) outpaces that of auto loans ($730 billion) and credit card lending ($693 billion).

“We tell young adults, if your four-year-degree debt is going to exceed the average price of a midsize car, you need to look for a less expensive solution so you don’t start your first job behind the financial eight ball,” says John Coyne, a member of the board of trustees at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md., and vice chairman of Brinker Capital, a $13.5 billion investment management firm that provides advisory services to financial advisors. (see HERE)

Coyne says families can lower higher education costs if their children first live at home and go to a two-year community college. Later, they can complete their degree at a four-year institution.

He notes that professors laid off from four-year institutions are now teaching at two-year schools either full time or part time, bolstering the community colleges’ reputations.

To help keep costs down, colleges are condensing some four-your degree programs into three years.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has come out with a Web-based tool kit called “Paying for College” (www.consumerfinance.gov/paying-for-college) to help student borrowers facing high payments and lacking alternative repayment and finance options. The site includes an application for financial aid and advice on choosing a loan. There is also a worksheet that allows students to compute how much they would need for particular colleges with different aid packages.

Undergraduate and graduate students should maximize federal student loan borrowing because the plans offer repayment and loan forgiveness advantages that private loans and federal Parent PLUS loans don’t, says Fred Amrein, a Philadelphia-area, fee-only financial consultant specializing in college education funding.

Amrein warns that the federal government is starting to go after the Social Security checks of parents who fail to keep up payments on the PLUS loans, which are typically used to meet tuition and fee expenses underfunded by student loans. (see HERE)

MassMutual financial advisor Marlene Dattilo says that before parents or grandparents cosign a private student loan, they should find out what their risk is for nonpayment and how it affects their credit rating. They should also ask: If the student becomes disabled or dies, is the loan still there and who is responsible for payment?

Dattilo says the family member preparing to cosign should bring the student along for this conversation. “Many times, the parents and grandparents have not discussed money matters at all [with children],” she says. “This is a great time to start.”

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Is a College Degree Still Worth the Cost for 2013 - Much has been written lately concerning the rising

During the last generation, college costs increased 6.8 percent annually, while medical costs increased by a much more criticized 4.9 percent per year.

Also, state governments require families to pay a higher proportion of the total cost at state universities than they did for the previous generation.

Many students used to get grants for much of their college costs. Now, scholarships are less generous, and students must borrow much more. College graduates in Kentucky now start out with an average student loan debt of $23,000.

If you are in high school, you (and your parents) may be asking, “Is college really worth it?”

Yes, it is worth it.

Something has to give regarding the increasing cost of college education. But this is a separate issue from whether or not you should go. It is sad that you may graduate with the equivalent of an expensive auto loan and not have the car.

But in the long run, a college education is the smartest investment you can make.

Consider:

• A bachelor’s degree is the best “anti-poverty insurance” you can buy. Fewer than 4 percent of college graduates are poor. Kentucky’s overall poverty rate is 19 percent.

• It may not be as expensive as you think because most colleges still offer some financial aid. www.Collegecost.ed.gov can tell you what your true cost will be at any college once you deduct what you are likely to receive in scholarships.

Furthermore:

• The unemployment rate for people with a college degree is 4.2 percent vs. 9.1 percent for people without a college degree.(see HERE)

• 4.7 percent of college graduates do not have health insurance coverage, but 15.5 percent of those with just high school degrees are uninsured.

• The median annual income for someone with a bachelor’s degree is $50,360, compared to $29,423 for one with only a high school diploma.

• Of people with an annual income above $150,000, 82 percent have a bachelor’s degree; just 6.5 percent have no more than a high school diploma.

• You will probably earn twice as much money over your lifetime if you get a bachelor’s degree.

It is especially valuable to have a college degree in a recession.

You will be much less likely to be laid off or suffer a significant cut in pay. College graduates during tough economic times are much more competitive in the job market.

Remember, recessions come and go, but you will probably work for at least 40 years after getting your bachelor’s degree.

After graduation, you will eventually get a job that pays at least $30,000 a year. Entry-level jobs for your high school counterparts, at best, are going to be paying in the $11 an hour range, or less than $23,000 per year.

Your salary will increase faster because of your degree. Even in low-paying professions such as teaching or social work, you will eventually earn an annual salary in excess of $50,000.

Without a college degree, you are not likely to earn this kind of money, unless you get an associate’s degree in a lucrative field or complete an apprenticeship in a skilled trade. Both alternatives are worth consideration. Of course, the quality of your life, not only the amount you earn, will be enhanced significantly should you enter an intellectual environment for the next few years. (see HERE)


cost of college, student debt, and the impending bursting of the education bubble. The Enquirer carried a major piece last month laying out the financial reality.
Source : http://news.cincinnati.com/

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Programs foster Israel education in North America 2013 - An ​"Israel Throughout The Year" The eucalyptus tree tale is just one of the many stories that are the focus of a new curriculum developed by Bar-Ilan University’s Lookstein Center for Jewish Education, with support from Dr. Shmuel and Evelyn Katz from Bal Harbour, Fla. As the 65th Israel Independence Day approaches, JNS.org takes a look at two recently launched programs, the Lookstein Center’s “Israel Throughout The Year” and the Israel Institute in Washington, DC, both of which work to educate and engage scholarship about Israel.

“I think there is a negative prejudice and attitude towards Israel in the press and in the universities,” Rabbi Yonah Fuld, educational director of the Lookstein Center School of Education at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, told JNS.org. Five years ago, the Lookstein Center “set out to create a curriculum” about Israeli history meant to be “charming and

enticing” for North American Jewish school children up to middle school, according to Fuld. For this purpose, the center created “Israel Throughout The Year.”

In this program, 32 booklets target 1st through 8th grade. For every grade there are four booklets. Each booklet contains four lessons and is dedicated to one holiday, Tu B’Shvat (the New Year for trees), Yom Ha’atzmaut (Israel Independence Day), Yom Yerushalayim (Jerusalem Day), or the 10th of Tevet fast day.

The booklets include “challenging and exciting activities” that are not intended to function as traditional homework assignments or exams, but instead as “pleasant learning,” Fuld said. “Everything is there, a teacher simply has to read what’s there and adapt it,” he added. Schools in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Texas, Michigan, North Carolina, and other states have signed up to use the booklets.

In Riverdale, NY, SAR Academy Principal Rabbi Binyamin Krauss told Israel National News in February that the school “is delighted with the new Israel curriculum developed by the Lookstein Center.”

“Connecting our students to Israel is central to the mission of our school,” Krauss said. “This spiraled program fosters and deepens that connection through engaging discussions, important facts put into context, creative activities, and descriptive pictures and graphics.”

The program does acknowledge Palestinian claims in the 8th grade booklet. Fuld told JNS.org the Lookstein Center “tried as much as possible to be as fair as possible, to say what the issues are,” but that the goal of the initiative is to teach Jewish kids “Ahavat Zion” (love of Israel), and it wasn’t not possible to be completely “values free.” Also, the center “tried not to take a religious stand one way or the other” through the program, Fuld said.

The Lookstein project’s booklets focus on historical figures like Eli Cohen with “interesting and age appropriate details about the people being featured,” Fuld said, including Israeli prime ministers Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin and Ariel Sharon, the poet Rachel, Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel Natan Sharansky, Astronaut Ilan Ramon, and others.

While the Lookstein program is focused on children, the Washington, DC-based Israel Institute focuses on offering and helping with “all kinds of opportunities for scholars,” Executive Director Ariel Ilan Roth told JNS.org. The program offers doctoral and post-doctoral fellowships on a topic related to Israel, scholarships to the University of Haifa and Tel Aviv University’s English-language Israel Studies programs, and research grants on topics such as Israeli history, politics, economics and law.
Click photo to download. Caption: Itamar Rabinovich, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and president of Tel Aviv University, is heading the new Israel Institute. JNS.org looked at programs fosterin Israel education in North America for Israel Independence Day. Credit: Courtesy Israel Institute. (see HERE)

​Click photo to download. Caption: Itamar Rabinovich, former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. and president of Tel Aviv University, is heading the new Israel Institute. JNS.org looked at programs fosterin Israel education in North America for Israel Independence Day. Credit: Courtesy Israel Institute.

Launched at the end of 2012 and initially funded by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, the institute officially rolled out its programs in late February this year. Itamar Rabinovich, who served as Israeli ambassador to the United States and as Israel’s chief negotiator with Syria under Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin’s government, is the institute’s president.

Jewish philanthropic organizations such as the Schusterman Foundation have attempted to positively shape the discourse on Israel by promoting Israel Studies programs as an alternative to Middle East Studies at American universities. The Israel Institute is “strongly focused on planning and facilitating with universities” and “will take an overview [of Israel Studies] and will work with practically everybody in the field,” Rabinovich told JNS.org in February.

“Our goal is to spread the knowledge of Israel Studies, we don’t do advocacy,” Rabinovich said. “We are about building Israeli studies centers everywhere. We don’t think politics should be brought into the academy.” The Israel Institute “opposes efforts to “politicize anything that has to do with Israel,” Rabinovich added, explaining his belief that “people can be critical of certain policies, but the Jewish people are entitled to their own national ideology (Zionism).”

In October 2013, the Israel Institute is organizing a conference on Israel Studies, and is already working to link the Jewish and Israel studies programs of American and Israeli universities. Beyond North America, the institute is also planning to bring Chinese scholars to Israel this summer with the goal of increased collaboration between Chinese and Israeli universities. Project organizers also plan to send Israeli professors to Oxford University and the University of Munich in the next academic year.(see HERE)

“It is our task to develop Chinese-Israeli academic relations,” Rabinovich said in February. “We want to help create a cadre of Israel experts in China. China is becoming an increasingly important global power. Our task is to help people in China learn Hebrew and understand the complexities of Israel.”

The Israel Institute also took over the existing Schusterman Visiting Artists Program, which brings Israeli artists to North America for residencies at universities, museums and other cultural institutions.

With its goals of supporting and promoting research and scholarship in Israel around the world and matching scholars interested in Israel and policy with relevant think tanks, the Israel Institute fulfills a “a growing appetite for knowledge about Israel beyond the news of the day, and the Institute is responding with scholarship, teaching and research,” University of California President Mark G. Yudof said in a statement.

For the Lookstein Center’s “Israel Throughout The Year” program, the goal is simpler.

“Whatever we talk about the child will hopefully say, ‘Wow, I want to know more’ or ‘wow, I want to see that place,’” Fuld told JNS.org.

program educational booklet. JNS.org looked at programs fosterin Israel education in North America for Israel Independence Day. Credit: Lookstein Center.

Israeli spy Eli Cohen worked for the Mossad in Syria, he suggested that Syrian soldiers plant eucalyptus trees near army fortifications in the Golan Heights. He told Syrian officials this would make Israel think the area was unfortified and would help Syrian soldiers stationed there survive the heat. Shortly after, he conveyed the locations of the trees to Israeli officials, helping the Israeli army know exactly where the Syrian bunkers were.

Download this story in Microsoft Word format here.

Source : Alina Dain Sharon/JNS.org

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