(05-08-2013 07:13 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/05/uab_and_4_community_colleges_f.html

"If you can earn an associate's degree at one of four Alabama community colleges, you will earn automatic admission to the University of Alabama at Birmingham for two years to complete a bachelor's degree, and a $2,000-a-year scholarship.

That's the gist of an admissions partnership initiative UAB President Ray L. Watts announced Wednesday with leaders from four Alabama community colleges - Gadsden State, Jefferson State, Lawson State, and Wallace State-Hanceville."

(05-08-2013 11:24 PM)krautfed Wrote:  

(05-08-2013 07:13 PM)UAB Band Dad Wrote:  http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/05/uab_and_4_community_colleges_f.html

"If you can earn an associate's degree at one of four Alabama community colleges, you will earn automatic admission to the University of Alabama at Birmingham for two years to complete a bachelor's degree, and a $2,000-a-year scholarship.

That's the gist of an admissions partnership initiative UAB President Ray L. Watts announced Wednesday with leaders from four Alabama community colleges - Gadsden State, Jefferson State, Lawson State, and Wallace State-Hanceville."

I have a feeling that the "anonymous" donator is in some way using this to help his/her company's taxes. (Not that its a bad thing) This isn't only happening at UAB or in Alabama.

LSU is also doing this to community colleges in state at the same amount ($2k /yr). In fact, they now have "advisors" that are assigned at least one day a week at surrounding schools. They have shown reports that graduation rates of 2+2 are far greater than those just straight up entering the university. It is free money (sorta), but IMHO, $4k total doesn't go THAT far at universities in a two year span. It is a step in the right direction.

(05-08-2013 09:23 PM)uab278 Wrote:  There should be some minimum GPA if this is going through. I have seen many community college alums struggle at UAB.

(05-08-2013 10:13 PM)WesternBlazer Wrote:  I would imagine it goes something like this:
..."sign up" to be part of the program
...UAB-designed curriculum will be accelerated(at least as compared to most JCs)
...student must complete associate degree in two years

(05-09-2013 05:35 AM)bladhmadh Wrote:  The more uab alums the better

(05-09-2013 08:57 AM)the_blazerman Wrote:  The transferring of classes to me is the biggest thing. The classes taken at a juco must be beneficial when it is transferred to UAB.

The curriculum must jive between UAB & the jucos.

This hopefully will give students incentive to not only get the juco degree, but to pursue even more at UAB.

(05-09-2013 10:00 AM)uab278 Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 08:57 AM)the_blazerman Wrote:  The transferring of classes to me is the biggest thing. The classes taken at a juco must be beneficial when it is transferred to UAB.

The curriculum must jive between UAB & the jucos.

This hopefully will give students incentive to not only get the juco degree, but to pursue even more at UAB.

This. I am an engineering alum and the classmates I had that went to Jeff State ended up having an additional year or two because the classes they took at Jeff State did not adequately prepare them for Junior/Senior Engineering classes. I know this may not be true for all majors but it is a huge deal for any Engineering field.

(05-09-2013 11:37 AM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  UAB should never eliminate remedial courses until ALL state K-12 districts have the financial backing and educational opportunities of the suburban districts so their students have equal academic training for Post Secondary work. ALL state universities should offer what is needed by ALL state high school or JUCO graduates who enroll there. Evaluating and helping these "challenged" students attain success is one role for which a university's counseling services exist.

The "snob appeal" of a university education is a remnant of an earlier time when a high school diploma was the height of job preparation. The 21st century is bringing a new standard of educational attainment for all Americans, not just a relative "chosen few" who happen to be fortunate enough to be born into the "right neighborhoods" for educational opportunity.

(05-09-2013 02:01 PM)UABslant Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 11:37 AM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  UAB should never eliminate remedial courses until ALL state K-12 districts have the financial backing and educational opportunities of the suburban districts so their students have equal academic training for Post Secondary work. ALL state universities should offer what is needed by ALL state high school or JUCO graduates who enroll there. Evaluating and helping these "challenged" students attain success is one role for which a university's counseling services exist.

The "snob appeal" of a university education is a remnant of an earlier time when a high school diploma was the height of job preparation. The 21st century is bringing a new standard of educational attainment for all Americans, not just a relative "chosen few" who happen to be fortunate enough to be born into the "right neighborhoods" for educational opportunity.

I'm about to blow a big hole in your argument about greater funding in "suburban districts". One of the top-performing high schools in the state is Oak Mountain High School (Shelby Co. Schools), yet they receive no Title I funding and receive no city support due to their location in unincorporated Birmingham. In the same suburban district, you have Calera High School that receives Title I funding, support from the city of Calera, and a faculty that is top-notch (People Magazine's teacher of the year is at Calera) yet their test scores are significantly lower than OMHS.

I'll get to why this is in a moment...

(05-09-2013 08:59 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 02:01 PM)UABslant Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 11:37 AM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  UAB should never eliminate remedial courses until ALL state K-12 districts have the financial backing and educational opportunities of the suburban districts so their students have equal academic training for Post Secondary work. ALL state universities should offer what is needed by ALL state high school or JUCO graduates who enroll there. Evaluating and helping these "challenged" students attain success is one role for which a university's counseling services exist.

The "snob appeal" of a university education is a remnant of an earlier time when a high school diploma was the height of job preparation. The 21st century is bringing a new standard of educational attainment for all Americans, not just a relative "chosen few" who happen to be fortunate enough to be born into the "right neighborhoods" for educational opportunity.

I'm about to blow a big hole in your argument about greater funding in "suburban districts". One of the top-performing high schools in the state is Oak Mountain High School (Shelby Co. Schools), yet they receive no Title I funding and receive no city support due to their location in unincorporated Birmingham. In the same suburban district, you have Calera High School that receives Title I funding, support from the city of Calera, and a faculty that is top-notch (People Magazine's teacher of the year is at Calera) yet their test scores are significantly lower than OMHS.

I'll get to why this is in a moment...

Two of my grandsons came, or are going through Oak Mountain schools. I am very familiar with the neighborhoods that it serves including that "ghetto" of Eagle Point subdivision where my son lived until December,2012. When shopping for a new house, the family made sure they would continue to be in the Oak Mountain zone.

If you are saying that Oak Mountain is typical of rural Alabama schools, it isn't so. It is maintained more like Spain Park than Thompson. That is one reason why Alabaster withdrew from the Shelby County district and Pelham is considering doing the same. When I suggested that other city schools in Shelby County might follow Alabaster, some thought I was mistaken. By the 2020s, the Shelby County district may very well start to resemble Jeffco in that several of its most prosperous cities may have their own independent school districts by then.

Where would Calera High School be if it had no (ZERO) local funding like most of Alabama's poorest districts and a faculty that makes somewhat less than Shelby County pays? Could it be the motivation of cutting county district ties that they can cut off those "challenging students" and send (exile?) them to other county schools? The newly enacted Accountability / Flexibility Law gives a school district the right to refuse admittance to any students who might want to "choose" to come to a "better school" if they don't live in that city's district.

(05-13-2013 08:26 AM)blazers9911 Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 08:59 PM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 02:01 PM)UABslant Wrote:  

(05-09-2013 11:37 AM)BAMANBLAZERFAN Wrote:  UAB should never eliminate remedial courses until ALL state K-12 districts have the financial backing and educational opportunities of the suburban districts so their students have equal academic training for Post Secondary work. ALL state universities should offer what is needed by ALL state high school or JUCO graduates who enroll there. Evaluating and helping these "challenged" students attain success is one role for which a university's counseling services exist.

The "snob appeal" of a university education is a remnant of an earlier time when a high school diploma was the height of job preparation. The 21st century is bringing a new standard of educational attainment for all Americans, not just a relative "chosen few" who happen to be fortunate enough to be born into the "right neighborhoods" for educational opportunity.

I'm about to blow a big hole in your argument about greater funding in "suburban districts". One of the top-performing high schools in the state is Oak Mountain High School (Shelby Co. Schools), yet they receive no Title I funding and receive no city support due to their location in unincorporated Birmingham. In the same suburban district, you have Calera High School that receives Title I funding, support from the city of Calera, and a faculty that is top-notch (People Magazine's teacher of the year is at Calera) yet their test scores are significantly lower than OMHS.

I'll get to why this is in a moment...

Two of my grandsons came, or are going through Oak Mountain schools. I am very familiar with the neighborhoods that it serves including that "ghetto" of Eagle Point subdivision where my son lived until December,2012. When shopping for a new house, the family made sure they would continue to be in the Oak Mountain zone.

If you are saying that Oak Mountain is typical of rural Alabama schools, it isn't so. It is maintained more like Spain Park than Thompson. That is one reason why Alabaster withdrew from the Shelby County district and Pelham is considering doing the same. When I suggested that other city schools in Shelby County might follow Alabaster, some thought I was mistaken. By the 2020s, the Shelby County district may very well start to resemble Jeffco in that several of its most prosperous cities may have their own independent school districts by then.

Where would Calera High School be if it had no (ZERO) local funding like most of Alabama's poorest districts and a faculty that makes somewhat less than Shelby County pays? Could it be the motivation of cutting county district ties that they can cut off those "challenging students" and send (exile?) them to other county schools? The newly enacted Accountability / Flexibility Law gives a school district the right to refuse admittance to any students who might want to "choose" to come to a "better school" if they don't live in that city's district.

Let's make the rich man pay for all the poor man's woes, as always, right?

If you don't like the school district, don't move to the f'ing area. It really is not as complicated as you are making it out to be. There are some areas in this state(take the ride from Montgomery to Mobile) that have very few areas of dense population. There just isn't a good way to get good teachers and tons of funding to these areas. Simply throwing money at a school with 30 kids in a graduating class whose parents are all fairly uneducated isn't going to fix things.(and no offense is meant to anybody who is from an area like this)

And there are plenty of schools outside of suburban areas that are decent in this state. Sparkman is a decent school in the Huntsville area, and it's a county school.