The 25 best institutions for higher education 2017

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Eminent Educator

THE

25

Best INSTITUTIONS for

higher education 2017 Janet Currie Chair, Department of Economics

Princeton University In the Nation ’s Service and the Service of Humanity

Editorial

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igh levels of anxiety and stress have lately tightened its grip around our heads and its credit goes to the fake society standards.

In a quest to keep up with these society yardsticks, we are witnessing a critical battle between our best and worst possible selves.

When forces of harmony and unity can triumph, and science and technology can be used to end poverty and deprivation, precisely at that time, the forces of vehemence and instincts of a viler human nature are pressing forward comprehensively and universally. Rationality and Sagacity, in which humanity has placed great conviction for contentment of its ideals of true and comprehensive knowledge, appears to be overhauled by such forces of unreason.

Need for Yoking the Technology & Morality to Improve Sagacity

Also, there are tremendous amount of developments taking place in the fields of computers, robotics and artificial intelligence, which were earlier pictured only in science fiction. But, as of now, we are living in a post human world where we are increasingly taking the human-machine symbiosis and various indexes of artificial intelligence along with us in our stride. There's an urgent need for people to keep the pace of education in accord with the pace of technological developments. Or else, the anxiety, stress, and the critical battle between our best and worst selves, will continue to haunt and might obstruct our future endeavors and progresses.

One way to achieve this is through proper education from an early age.

The much needed knowledge and enlightenment through higher education.

The higher education market is growing rapidly ever since it took the plunge, a few decades ago. The number of emergent players in this market is increasing in the shape of ministries of education and government agencies, private and public institutions, education and testing companies etc. Also, educational institutions are becoming more receptive towards the espousal of technological components.

Technology in education plays an important role in allowing students and educators to interact and avail upcoming learning opportunities. Within the higher education market, there is an increasing competition between public and private higher educational institutions to emphasize on students and faculty from across the world along with participation of international universities for researches and associations.

However, our moral competence is yet to keep pace with these developments. The focus of education has always been more on monetary benefits and material improvements, instead of equally being upon the holistic growth of mind, body and spirit. But the moral growth of a man fails to match his progresses in numerous fields.

If we want to rebuild and reform the world, to make it a safer place for future generations, we must attempt raise the individual’s moral stature by forming an inclusive approach to education. Thus edified, people will rise and proceed refreshed and encouraged. T R

Poonam Yadav

CREDIT People behind this issue Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Senior Editor Ariana Lawrence Managing Editor Poonam Yadav Co-Editors David Smith Ujal Nair Stephanie Andrews Contributors Debasmita, Rajarshi, Piyush Visualiser David King Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Co-designer Alex Noel Picture Editor Shweta Shinde Art Editor Vanshika, Shweta, Vinod Business Development Manager Mike Thomas Marketing Manager Mary DĘźSouza Business Development Executives Helen, John, Ketan, Akansha, Samriddhi Research Analyst Jennifer Circulation Manager Robert Database Management Steve Technology Consultant Swapnil Patil

CORPORATE OFFICE The Knowledge Review 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017,United States Contact No.: (614)-602-1754; (614)-472-4768 Email: info@theknowledgereview.com For Subscription: Visit www.theknowledgereview.com Copyright 2017 Insights Success Media Tech LLC, All rights reserved

T H E

NOWLEDGEREVIEW Education. Innovation. Success

C O N T E N T S Cover Story

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Princeton University Editor’s Pick Increasing the Retention Rate to Increase the Graduation Rate

Eduventure

30

Reinventing Society ─ One System at a Time

Article

Educator’s Zone Inception and Conception of the Future with Higher Education

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44

California State University

Fayetteville State University

24

Belmont University

28

Curtis Institute of Music

26

32

Greenville University

Helene Fuld College of Nursing

34

36

Hawai‘i Paciď€ c University

42

New Jersey City University

40

Samford University

St. Joseph’s College

48

Rust College

56

Spalding University

50

58

Restructuring the Career-driven Education System into a Passion-driven Curriculum

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n a popular survey, of about half of the surveyed community believed that the main purpose of a college education is to teach work-related skills and knowledge. However, another segment said that college is an opportunity for students to grow personally and intellectually. A little over one-tenth of them stated that the time spent at college should be dedicated to both pursuits.

Given the importance that people place on higher education, it is hardly surprising that they are equally concerned that everyone who is qualified and motivated has the opportunity to attend a college or university.

Access to higher education, in the eyes of many people, is equivalent to access to the current version of the liberal American dream. In effect, the public believes that providing people with opportunities for higher education is the way our society promotes social mobility.

“The 25 Best Institutions for Higher Education 2017” lists out the institutions which challenges careerdriven education system and reforms it into a passion-driven curriculum. These institutions are driven by their belief that ‘education is about meaning and truth, passion and interest, change and the improvement of humanity’.

The cover of the magazine features one such prominent institution for higher education, the Princeton University. Princeton University is one of the oldest in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. Living up to its unofficial motto, “In the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity,” Princeton University has educated thousands of individuals who have dedicated their lives to public service, including two U.S. presidents (Woodrow Wilson and James Madison); hundreds of U.S. and state legislators (the House of Representatives, for example, has housed a Princeton alumnus every year since it first met in 1789); and 44 governors, including 11 New Jersey governors.

While the education during the initial years of schooling are general, some special streams of courses are pursued by children as they grow up so that they attain proficiency and skill in the field in which they want to excel and build their career. Higher education, theoretically, will also enable individuals to expand their knowledge and skills, express their thoughts clearly in speech and in writing, grasp abstract concepts and theories, and increase their understanding of the world and their community. Pursuing higher education improves an individual’s quality of life. With the variety of available competent educational institutions, students are sure to find the right fit for their academic, financial, and personal needs. So flip through the folios for insights on such competent institutions for higher education. Do not miss out the scholarly articles on “Reinventing Society ─ One System at a Time”, “Inception and Conception of the Future with Higher Education” & “Increasing the Retention Rate to Increase the Graduation Rate” from the editorial desk. T R

Princeton

University:

In the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity

An Abridgement of Princeton’s

d Legacy d

P

rinceton is one of the oldest universities in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. Founded in Elizabeth, N.J., in 1746, the college moved to Newark one year later and in 1756 to its current location in Princeton, N.J. It was known as the College of New Jersey until 1896, when expanded program offerings brought the college university status and the name of the institution was formally changed to Princeton University.

One of nine colonial colleges founded in British North America before the American Revolution in 1776, Princeton and six other colonial colleges are part of the Ivy League athletic conference.

Princeton’s central campus consists of approximately 9 million square feet of space in more than 190 buildings on 500 acres. The University also accommodates more than 1,000 units, totaling more than 1.2 million square feet, of rental housing for graduates and faculty/staff. The University owns more than 1,040 acres in the Municipality of Princeton, more than 860 acres in Plainsboro Township and more than 520 acres in West Windsor Township. The University is renowned for its architecture, which integrates a wide range of styles dating from its founding in the 18th century to contemporary structures such as the Lewis Library designed by Frank Gehry and the new Lewis Center for the Arts that opened in the fall of 2017. The University, with approximately 6,600 benefits-eligible employees, is one of the region’s largest private employers.

It brings close to 800,000 visitors and approximately $2 billion in economic activity to the region each year. The University provides its students with academic, extracurricular and other resources — in a residential community committed to diversity — that prepare them for positions of leadership and lives of service in many fields of human endeavor.

Living up to its unofficial motto, “In the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity,” Princeton University has educated thousands of individuals who have dedicated their lives to public service, including two U.S. presidents (Woodrow Wilson and James Madison); hundreds of U.S. and state legislators (the House of Representatives, for example, has housed a Princeton alumnus every year since it first met in 1789); and 44 governors, including 11 New Jersey governors. Each year, many members of the student body, faculty, staff and local alumni volunteer in community service projects throughout the region. And the University, as an institution, supports many service initiatives.

As a global research university, Princeton seeks to achieve the highest levels of distinction in the discovery and transmission of knowledge and understanding.

At the same time, Princeton is distinctive among research universities in its commitment to undergraduate teaching. Interdisciplinary work is vital to Princeton and is reflected in a full spectrum of academic programs.

ž

Mission Statement

Princeton University advances learning through scholarship, research, and teaching of unsurpassed quality, with an emphasis on undergraduate and doctoral education that is distinctive among the world’s great universities, and with a pervasive commitment to serve the nation and the world.

The University’s defining characteristics and aspirations include: • a focus on the arts and humanities, the social sciences, the natural sciences, and engineering, with world-class excellence across all of its departments; • a commitment to innovation, free inquiry, and the discovery of new knowledge and new ideas, coupled with a commitment to preserve and transmit the intellectual, artistic, and cultural heritage of the past; • a faculty of world-class scholars who are engaged with and accessible to students and devoted to the thorough integration of teaching and research; • a focus on undergraduate education that is unique for a major research university, with a program of liberal arts that simultaneously prepares students for meaningful lives and careers, broadens their outlooks, and helps form their characters and values; • a graduate school that is unusual in its emphasis on doctoral education, while also offering high quality masters programs in selected areas; • a human scale that nurtures a strong sense of community, invites high levels of engagement, and fosters personal communication; • exceptional student aid programs at the undergraduate and graduate level that ensure Princeton is affordable to all; • a commitment to welcome, support, and engage students, faculty, and staff with a broad range of backgrounds and experiences, and to encourage all members of the University community to learn from the robust expression of diverse perspectives; • a vibrant and immersive residential experience on a campus with a distinctive sense of place that promotes interaction, reflection, and lifelong attachment; • a commitment to prepare students for lives of service, civic engagement, and ethical leadership; and • an intensely engaged and generously supportive alumni community.

“ Janet Currie: An Eminent Economist and a Humanitarian

Janet Currie is Chair of the Department of Economics at Princeton University, where she is the Henry Putnam Professor of Economics and Public Affairs. Besides, she is the co-director of Princeton’s Center for Health and Wellbeing and also co-directs the Program on Families and Children at the National Bureau of Economic Research. Her research focuses on health and wellbeing, especially of children. Currie has also researched on a wide range of topics, including socioeconomic differences in child health, environmental threats to children’s health and the long-term effects of poor health in early childhood. She has written about early intervention programs, programs to expand health insurance and improve health care, public housing, and food and nutrition programs.

Currie is considered an expert on the topic of Head Start program.

She says, “I realized that economics is really more of a method, or a way of thinking, than a set of topics, and I have implemented that by working on issues that can benefit from the tools of economics research.”

Ever since, for over three decades, Currie has used the methods of an economist, her analytical skills and the openness to new ideas to offer significant insights into the health and well-being of children. In the terms of economics, she studies the factors that affect children’s human capital — the intangible assets such as health, skills and knowledge that play a role in life outcomes.

She currently serves on the Board of Reviewing Editors for Science magazine, the Advisory Board for the Journal of Economic Perspectives, and serves as Associate Editor for the Journal of Population Economics. She has previously held editorial roles for numerous economic peer-reviewed journals, including the Quarterly Journal of Economics, the Journal of Health Economics, and the Journal of Public Economics.

She is also a member of various professional associations, including an elected member of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM), member of the Advisory Committee on Labor and Income Statistics for Statistics Canada, and a fellow of the Econometric Society. She is past president of the Society of Labor Economists and previously served as vice-president of the American Economic Association. She has also served a consultant for the National Health Interview Survey and the National Longitudinal Surveys, and served on the advisory board of the National Children’s Study. Currie is a Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, the Society of Labor Economists, and of the Econometric Society, and has an honorary degree from the University of Lyon.

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Scholarly Courses Linking

Scholarly Courses Linking Your Passion with Education The central purposes of a university are the pursuit of truth, the discovery of new knowledge through scholarship and research, the teaching and general development of students, and the transmission of knowledge and learning to society at large. Princeton's curriculum encourages students to explore many disciplines and to develop a deep understanding in one area of concentration.

Students apply to Princeton University, not to individual departments, programs or schools. Once enrolled, students may pursue either the Bachelor of Arts (A.B.) or the Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) degree.

Within these degree programs, students can choose from among 37 concentrations (computer science offers both A.B. and B.S.E.) and 53 interdepartmental certificate programs. The A.B. includes concentrations in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and the School of Architecture.

During their first two years at Princeton, students in the A.B. program are encouraged to explore the curriculum.

They are required to complete one or two courses in each of seven general areas: epistemology and cognition, ethical thought and moral values, historical analysis, literature and the arts, quantitative reasoning, laboratory science and technology, and social analysis. All A.B. students must demonstrate proficiency in English composition through a one-semester writing seminar. They also must become

proficient in a foreign language. Princeton offers courses in more than 18 foreign languages. In the spring of their sophomore year, students choose a major to pursue in their junior and senior years.

The B.S.E. is granted by the School of Engineering and Applied Science. Approximately 25 percent of each class is enrolled in the B.S.E. program. Engineering at Princeton is taught within the context of a liberal arts approach to education. Engineering students are required to complete at least seven Princeton courses in the humanities and social sciences. Because engineering disciplines evolve and change, much of the teaching of engineering and applied science at Princeton is directed toward mastering fundamental principles: the why, and not just the how to.

Whether they are in the A.B. program or the B.S.E. program, during their junior and senior years, all students conduct independent research in their home department, culminating in the senior thesis, working one-on-one with a faculty mentor. Some students conduct their research in the library or the lab. Others travel to do field research or undertake a creative project such as a novel or a series of paintings.

The freshman seminars and the precept system are two defining components of a Princeton education. Limited to 15 students and led by some of their most distinguished professors, approximately 70 freshman seminars are offered yearly, each hosted in one of their six residential colleges.

Your Passion with Education ² In precepts, students are encouraged to voice their views and challenge each other to look at issues and ideas from new perspectives. The student to faculty ratio at Princeton is 5:1. From freshman seminars to senior theses, faculties are deeply engaged in undergraduate teaching, and they are readily available to students outside the classroom for individual conferences and informal conversations.

Whether through independent study, student-initiated seminars or lectures in emerging fields such as neuroscience, Princeton students have the flexibility to shape dynamic academic programs that prepare them for leadership and lives of service. Two of their most eminent courses are highlighted below: Energy and the Environment Developing sustainable energy sources and protecting the environment require a diversity of expertise, from science and technology to public policy and economics. Princeton engineers contribute particular strengths in materials science, nanotechnology, combustion science, water resources and environmental sensing. Beyond these areas, however, the school fosters collaboration between many fields, including the humanities, natural sciences and social sciences. That is the aim of the new Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment as well as the Siebel Energy Grand Challenge. Other key elements of these efforts are the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the Engineering Research Center on Mid-Infrared

Technologies for Health and the Environment.

The Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs Woodrow Wilson School students are a diverse group of undergraduates and graduates representing different backgrounds and life experiences, yet each enters the School with a demonstrated interest in public policy.

Guiding them is an impressive faculty whose research produces knowledge on which sound public policy is based.

The best indicator of their success is the school's alumni.

Woodrow Wilson School graduates are leaders in public, nonprofit and private sectors around the globe — living examples of the University's unofficial motto, “Princeton in the Nation’s Service and the Service of Humanity.”

Career Opportunities for Students Each year, the Office of Career Services surveys the undergraduate senior class regarding their post-graduation plans. The Employer Engagement and Outreach teams develop relationships with employers in a wide range of industries to identify and promote job/internship opportunities for all students. The on-campus recruiting program gives students the opportunity to attend information sessions and interviews without leaving the campus community.

ê About Erudite Princetonians The ability of the University to achieve its purposes depends upon the quality and integrity of the academic work that its faculty, staff, and students perform. Academic freedom can flourish only in a community of scholars which recognizes that intellectual integrity, with its accompanying rights and responsibilities, lies at the heart of its mission. In spring 2016, the faculty (including visitors and part-time faculty) totaled 1,238, including 499 professors, 101 associate professors, 175 assistant professors, 15 instructors, 325 lecturers and 123 visitors.

Seventy-seven percent of the professorial faculty is tenured.

Excluding visitors, 384 members of the faculty are women, and 258 are identified as members of minority groups.

There are 157 tenured women on the faculty as of spring 2016. Approximately 53 percent of Princeton's tenured faculty members were promoted to tenure while at Princeton; the others were hired with tenure from other institutions.

Financial Aid Programs Princeton’s aid program is designed to encourage all qualified students — regardless of financial circumstances — to consider applying for admission to Princeton.

Reflected in Princeton’s financial aid program is their commitment to equality of opportunity. Princeton admission is need-blind — there is no disadvantage in the admission process for financial aid applicants. This ensures a continued and growing enrollment of a diverse group of students from all socioeconomic backgrounds.

If offered admission, Princeton is sure to meet 100 percent of your demonstrated financial need with a combination of grant aid and a campus job. Princeton is one of a handful of universities that applies the same policy to international students.

All faculty members at Princeton are encouraged to teach, as well as engage in research. Faculty members work closely with undergraduates in the supervision of junioryear independent work and senior theses. Ten members of the current Princeton faculty (including emeritus) are recipients of the Nobel Prize. Princeton faculty and staff members are frequently named MacArthur Fellows and receive other notable awards in their fields.

Princeton’s financial aid program is recognized as one of the most generous in the country. They determine a family's ability to pay using their own need formula, with fair and generous individual results. Princeton’s no-loan policy replaces student loans with grant aid that students do not pay back — this makes it possible to graduate with little to no debt. Aid is available to all qualified applicants, regardless of their nationality.

Founded in 1826, the Alumni Association of Nassau Hall was organized “to promote the interests of the College and the friendly intercourse of its graduates.” The university has graduated many notable alumni. With first president of the Alumni Association (and fourth President of the United States) James Madison, Class of 1771, at its helm, the Alumni Association immediately began to engage Princetonians in organized alumni activity. Approximately 190 years later, the Alumni Association of Princeton University, with more than 90,000 undergraduate and graduate alumni members, continues to thrive.

Pursue your passions, discover new interests, and thrive at Princeton Beyond the classroom, students have countless avenues to explore new interests, connect with others and build community in ways that both support and challenge them. From dodgeball to chocolate making, there’s an opportunity for every student to find an activity that matches their interest and shapes their Princeton experience. With more than 300 student organizations, 38 sports clubs, 15 chaplaincies, and several campus centers, the opportunities for students to explore their interests abound. Major annual events include:

It has been associated with 41 Nobel laureates, 21 National Medal of Science winners, 14 Fields Medalists, 5 Abel Prize winners, 10 Turing Award laureates, five National Humanities Medal recipients, 209 Rhodes Scholars, 139 Gates Cambridge Scholars and 126 Marshall Scholars.

Two U.S. Presidents, 12 U.S. Supreme Court Justices (three of whom currently serve on the court) and numerous living billionaires and foreign heads of state are all counted among Princeton's alumni body. Princeton has also graduated many prominent members of the U.S. Congress and the U.S. Cabinet, including eight Secretaries of State, three Secretaries of Defense and two of the past four Chairs of the Federal Reserve.

Opening Exercises The University marks the beginning of each academic year with Opening Exercises in the University Chapel.

The interfaith service includes an address by the president, and the recognition of academic achievements of undergraduate students.

First-year students enter the chapel with classmates in their residential college and are joined by Trustees, faculty, and administrators who process in academic regalia. Following the ceremony, freshmen participate in a “Pre-rade” walking from the chapel through FitzRandolph Gate on Nassau Street, officially entering the campus to start their undergraduate experience and to be greeted by fellow Princetonians.

Reunions Reunions weekend attracts about 25,000 alumni, family and friends for walks, talks, community service projects, Alumni-Faculty Forums, picnics, parties, concerts, dancing, meeting old friends and making new ones. One of the highlights is the annual “P-rade,” in which alumni march through campus class by class in a continuous procession that often lasts around four hours.

Commencement Princeton traces its founding to a royal charter granted on October 22, 1746,

by King George the Second of England. The first Commencement Exercises were held in 1748, in Newark, and then home of the College of New Jersey, as Princeton was originally called. Six students were graduated at the first Commencement; in 2016, approximately 1,260 seniors received undergraduate degrees.

One of Princeton’s first graduate students was James Madison 1771, later the fourth president of the United States. He remained at the college after graduation to continue his studies with President John Witherspoon, who was the only college president as well as the only clergyman to sign the Declaration of Independence. Systematic graduate instruction was begun in the 1870s, and the Graduate School, as it is known today, was formally organized in 1901. In 2016, more than 800 recipients of advanced degrees were recognized at Commencement.

Princeton’s Commencements have been held in late spring only since 1844.

Before then the ceremony took place in the fall because the College was in session all summer long. Since the College moved to Princeton in 1756, Commencement has been held in a variety of locations on or near campus, including Alexander Hall, the First Presbyterian Church, and Nassau Hall, but since 1922 the front lawn of Nassau Hall (known as front campus) has been the site of Commencement, weather permitting.

Princeton hosts two Model United Nations conferences, PMUNC in the fall for high school students and PICSim in the spring for college students. It also hosts the Princeton Invitational Speech and Debate tournament each year at the end of November. Princeton also runs Princeton Model Congress, an event that is held once a year in mid-November. The 4-day conference has high school students from around the country as participants. T R

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Princeton alumni are prominent in many fields, from academics to business, in public service in government and the non-profit world, the sciences and the arts.

A few notable alumni are Michelle Obama, former first lady of the United States; Jeff Bezos, Chief Executive Officer of Amazon; and Eric Schmidt, Executive Chairman of Alphabet Inc., the parent company of Google.

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Best

THE INSTITUTIONS for

25 higher education 2017 Name of the Institution

URL

Andrews University

andrews.edu

8975 US Highway 31, Berrien Springs, MI 49104, USA

Belmont University

belmont.edu

1900 Belmont Blvd, Nashville, TN 37212, USA

California State University, Northridge

csun.edu

Matador Bookstore Complex, 18111 Nordhoff St, Northridge, CA 91330, USA

Curtis Institute of Music

curtis.edu

1726 Locust St, Philadelphia, PA 19103, USA

Fayetteville State University

uncfsu.edu

1200 Murchison Rd, Fayetteville, NC 28301, USA

Finlandia University

nlandia.edu

601 Quincy St, Hancock, MI 49930, USA

Greenville University

greenville.edu

315 E College Ave, Greenville, IL 62246, USA

Harris-Stowe State University

hssu.edu

3026 Laclede Ave, St. Louis, MO 63103, USA

Hawaii Pacic University

hpu.edu

1164 Bishop St, Honolulu, HI 96813, USA

Location of the Institution

Best

THE INSTITUTIONS for

25 higher education 2017 Name of the Institution

URL

Helene Fuld College of Nursing

helenefuld.edu

 24 E 120th St, New York, NY 10035, USA

Jackson State University

jsums.edu

1400 John R. Lynch St, Jackson, MS 39217, USA

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

kutztown.edu

15200 Kutztown Rd, Kutztown, PA 19530, USA

Midstate College

midstate.edu

411 W Northmoor Rd, Peoria, IL 61614, USA

Montana State University

montana.edu

211 Montana Hall, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA

New Jersey City University

njcu.edu

2039 John F. Kennedy Blvd, Jersey City, NJ 07305, USA

Northern Michigan University

nmu.edu

1401 Presque Isle Ave, Marquette, MI 49855, USA

Princeton University

Princeton.EDU

Princeton, NJ 08544, USA

Location of the Institution

Best

THE INSTITUTIONS for

25 higher education 2017 Name of the Institution

URL

Rust College

rustcollege.edu

150 Rust Ave, Holly Springs, MS 38635, USA

Saint Mary’s College of California

stmarys-ca.edu

1928 St Marys Rd, Moraga, CA 94575, USA

Samford University

samford.edu

800 Lakeshore Dr, Homewood, AL 35209, USA

San Jose State University

sjsu.edu

1 Washington Sq, San Jose, CA 95192, United States

Spalding University

spalding.edu

Egan Leadership Center, 901 S 4th St, Louisville, KY 40203, USA

St. Joseph's College, New York

sjcny.edu

245 Clinton Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11205, USA

The Institute of World Politics

iwp.edu

1521 16th St NW, Washington, DC 20036, USA

West Virginia University

mail.wvu.edu

Morgantown, WV 26506, USA

Location of the Institution

BELMONT

UNIVERSITY:

Path to Greatness lies in the Belief in Something Greater

Belmont University is a student-centered Christian community providing an academically challenging education that empowers men and women of diverse backgrounds to engage and transform the world with disciplined intelligence, compassion, courage, and faith.

Exploring Passions and Developing Talents for the World Built on an ingrained legacy that is fortified with a strong belief, the Belmont University, founded in 1890, is currently ranked no.6 in the Regional Universities (South Category) and also named as a “Most Innovative” university by U.S. News & World Report.

Founded by 2 young school principals, Susan Heron and Ida Hood, the university currently consists of approximately 8,000 students who came from every state and more than 25 countries. Accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Belmont offers more than 90 areas of undergraduate study, 10 master’s programs and five doctoral degrees, and the university is well-known for its prestigious music, music business, healthcare, and entrepreneurship programs.

Belmont’s lush 75-acre campus sits safely tucked two miles south of downtown Nashville, and provides a vibrant, beautiful and active sanctuary in the midst of a major metropolitan area. With an unwavering commitment of becoming a leader among teaching universities, Belmont brings together the best of liberal arts and professional education in a Christian Community of learning and service.

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Developing Talents and Transforming the World With Prominent Alumni such as country music artists Brad Paisley and Trisha Yearwood, HCA Chairman/CEO Milton Johnson, Universal Music Group president Cindy Mabe and NBA Champion Golden State Warrior Ian Clark, Belmont University is indisputably one of the most highly recognized universities for its prestigious music, music business, healthcare, and entrepreneurship programs.

Belmont consistently exceeds national averages on career placements with the University’s current First Destination (Career Outcomes) rate at 92 percent, representing the percentage of graduates who secured employment, enrolled in graduate school, or enlisted in military service within six months of graduation.

Belmont has also taken certain financial support initiatives by providing a variety of academic merit and need-based scholarships to qualified students each year.

September | 2017

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Best

THE INSTITUTIONS for

25 higher education 2017 Architect of Belmont’s Modern Day Success Story Belmont’s enrollment has more than doubled from 2,970 to what is anticipated to be approximately 8,000 for Fall 2017, and with new constructions, renovations and property acquisitions, Belmont University is hugely grateful to the now President, Dr. Robert C. (Bob) Fisher. Dr. Fisher has commenced innovative new undergraduate majors in public health, motion pictures, music therapy, publishing, social entrepreneurship, songwriting, and doctoral programs in pharmacy and law.

Under Dr. Fisher’s Leadership, Belmont Hosted the Town Hall Presidential Debate.

He has been acknowledged as the Tennessean of the Year in 2008 and in 2010 was named as the Nashvillian of the Year. Affectionately called as “Bob the Builder”, Dr. Fisher is on a life-long quest to help create experiences that transform people, especially students, in ways that enable them to become all that they were created to be.

Life of a Student at Belmont University An Academic calendar at Belmont University is not just about the learning activities, it is also about bonding with like-minded peers, building strong & lasting relations with contemporaries and finding one’s areas of forte. Given the institution's strong reputation in entertainment studies, a number of the popular annual events involve musical performances including the Battle of the Belmont Bands, Family Fun Festival to open the academic year and the Best of the Best arena showcase concert in the spring.

The annual “Christmas at Belmont” performance featuring more than 700 students and faculty has continuously been aired on PBS all over the nation, for the past 14 years. Homecoming and “Parent and Family Weekend” are also both big draws, as are the Battle of the Boulevard basketball games against their longtime cross-town rival. Students enjoy the “Fall Follies” event and numerous other weeks throughout the year focused on relevant topics like Diversity, Justice and Missions, undergraduate research and Career and Calling.

With the support of a committed board of trust, fueled by an unprecedented growth that includes more than double the enrollment in the past 15 years and more than half a billion dollars’ worth of new facilities to campus, “Belief” has truly been the driving force of Belmont University for the past 125 years. T R

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CALIFORNIA STATE

UNIVERSITY Northridge: Extending the Promise of America to the Succeeding Generations

California State University, Northridge’s mission is to enable students to realize their educational goals. The University's first priority is to promote the welfare and intellectual progress of students. To fulfill this mission, they design programs and activities to help students develop their academic competencies, professional skills, critical and creative abilities, and ethical values of educated people who live in a democratic society, an interdependent world, and a technological age; they seek to foster a rigorous and contemporary understanding of the liberal arts, sciences, and professional disciplines.

Providing Life-Changing Opportunities for Over 50 Years With a total enrollment of nearly 40,000, California State University, Northridge (CSUN) is a public university in the Northridge neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. It has one of the largest student body of the 23-campus California State University system. It is also one of the largest comprehensive universities in the State of California in terms of enrollment. The university draws its freshmen from the top one-third of California high school graduates. Admission to popular majors, such as accounting, music, computer science, and cinema and television is extremely selective.

Founded in 1952 as a new satellite campus for Los Angeles State College, it later became an independent college in 1958 as San Fernando Valley State College. It has been accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.

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Ever since it established itself as a major education hub in the state of California, CSUN has garnered various recognitions and adorations. CSUN ranks 5th in the United States by the Social Mobility Index for college rankings. CSUN has also ranked 8th in the nation that awards bachelor's degrees to minorities in the field of communications. CSUN has ranked 2nd among 529 master’s level universities in preparing students who later earn doctoral degrees (National Science Foundation). The university has ranked first in the number of graduates who went on to earn Ph.Ds. in the social sciences and psychology. Today, CSUN has the largest number of Central American, Armenian, and mainstreamed deaf students than any university in the USA. It is home to the National Center on Deafness, and the university hosts the International Conference on Technology and Persons with Disabilities (Popularly known as the CSUN conference) in San Diego every year. CSUN’s Chicana and Chicano studies Department are the largest in California.

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25 higher education 2017 A Highly Experienced Leader with a Forward-Thinking Mindset Currently in her role as the fifth President of California State University, Dr. Dianne F. Harrison is known for her commitment to student success, academic excellence and strategic leadership. For 30 years, Dr. Harrison had played an active role as a faculty member, as the dean of social work, as an associate vice president for academic affairs, as the dean of graduate studies and as the vice president for academic quality and external programs at Florida State University.

With a reputation for building strong partnerships with public and private organizations, Dr. Harrison has enabled students, faculty and staff to cross institutional boundaries and engage in innovative instructions.

Dr. Harrison has trained her unwavering focus on student and employee success, visibility and reputation of the university, reducing dependence on state funding, increasing research activity and sponsored programs, sustainability, using athletics as a tool for engagement and sustaining diversity and inclusion on the campus.

Recognized for Quality and Student Success CSUN offers a variety of programs including 134 different bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees in 70 different fields, 3 doctoral degrees including two Doctor of Education and a Doctor of Physical Therapy, and 24 teaching credentials. CSUN enrolls nearly 40,000 students and has over 330,000 alumni worldwide.

CSUN offers a dual B.A./J.D degree in partnership with Southwestern Law School. Through this program, students could graduate within six years while also being offered an initial $10,000 Wildman/Schumacher entering student Scholarship.

The Tseng College of Extended Learning is a division within CSUN that is meant for fulfilling the educational needs of mid-career professionals and offers over 30 degree and certificate programs online and on campus. CSUN also offers a pathway program for academic progression in the field of Nursing that links CSUN with designated California Community College partners. Those who are attaining an ADN could earn a BSN degree in just 2½ years from starting the program. Students would be able to complete their BSN in just one year after they had completed their ADN program through this collaborative program.

Creating Future Leaders and Global Citizens The Career Center at CSUN offers opportunities to explore a vast variety of careers and counsels students with different strategies to be successful while pursuing a desired career path. Through programs such as SUNlink and Pathways, CSUN allows students to find a sense of purpose and become the optimal professional for their desired career choice.

CSUN also organizes curriculum support programs that help the faculty and the staff of CSUN to plan career related programs for students. CSUN is popularly known to involve top employers of major industries in such activities on the campus. T R T H E

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CURTIS INSTITUTE OF MUSIC: A Legacy of Musical Excellence in the Heart of Philadelphia

The mission of the Curtis Institute of Music is to educate and train exceptionally gifted young musicians to engage a local and global community through the highest level of artistry. Curtis students are nurtured by a celebrated faculty and inspired by the school’s distinctive “learn by doing” approach. All students are encouraged to perform frequently, and they present more than 200 public performances each year to critical acclaim and enthusiastic audiences. The Curtis Opera Theatre offers four productions per season, casting all voice and opera students repeatedly. The Curtis Symphony Orchestra, in which all but the very youngest students of orchestral instruments participate, gives a three-concert season in Philadelphia’s Verizon Hall and performs often in Carnegie Hall. All instrumental students participate in chamber music, and Curtis offers more than one hundred student recitals each season.

Students also hone 21st-century skills through social entrepreneurship programs that bring that bring arts access and education to the community.

An Institute Dedicated to Excellence With an average acceptance rate around 4%, Curtis is among the most selective schools in the United States. Its high standard of admissions ensures that students will rehearse and perform alongside musical peers whose talents will challenge and inspire them. All Curtis students receive merit-based full-tuition scholarships. As a result, artistic promise is the only consideration for admission.

Generous financial aid likewise ensures that no student accepted to Curtis will be unable to attend because of financial need.

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Alumni of Curtis, having experienced extraordinary one-on-one training and valuable performance opportunities as students, go on to outstanding musical careers around the world.

Curtis graduates have received Pulitzer Prizes, Guggenheim Fellowships, and Avery Fisher Awards.

They are in the front rank of soloists, composers, and conductors. They are members of the world’s leading orchestras, including principals in every major American symphony orchestra. They have sung with the Metropolitan Opera, La Scala, Covent Garden, the Vienna Staatsoper, and the San Francisco Opera, among many others.

An Historic Campus Facilities at Curtis are housed in several stately mansions on Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square that pair nineteenth-century charm with twenty-first-century amenities. In 2011 the school opened Lenfest Hall, which greatly expanded the school’s spaces for teaching, rehearsal, and practice and provided student residences and a dining hall.

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25 higher education 2017 Roberto Díaz, a Violist of International Repute Roberto Díaz is President and CEO of the Curtis Institute of Music, following in the footsteps of renowned soloist/directors such as Josef Hofmann, Efrem Zimbalist, and Rudolf Serkin. As a teacher of viola at Curtis and former principal viola of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Díaz has already had a significant impact on American musical life and continues to do so in his dual roles as performer and an educator.

As a soloist, Mr. Díaz collaborates with leading conductors of our time on stages throughout North and South America, Europe, and Asia. He has also worked directly with important 20th- and 21st-century composers, including Krzysztof Penderecki.

Since founding Curtis on Tour eight seasons ago, Mr. Díaz has taken the hugely successful program to North and South America, Europe and Asia, performing chamber music side-by-side with Curtis students and other faculty and alumni of the school. His tenure as president of Curtis has also seen the construction of the significant new building which doubled the size of the school’s campus; the introduction of a classical guitar department and new conducting and string quartet programs; the launch of Curtis Summerfest, summer courses open to the public; and the debut of an online stage called Curtis Performs. In the fall of 2013 Curtis became the first classical music conservatory to offer free online classes through Coursera.

Musical Events for all by the Curtis Students The Student Recital Series offers free public performances most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays during the school year. Students often perform with distinguished faculty, alumni, and guest artists.

Praised by the New York Times for its “otherworldly ensemble and professional level of sophistication,” the Curtis Symphony Orchestra performs a three-concert season in Verizon Hall at Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts. Recent appearances outside Philadelphia include Carnegie Hall and the Dresden Music Festival.

The Curtis Opera Theatre presents several staged performances and concert productions annually in various Philadelphia venues. All of the department’s twenty-five voice and opera students are cast repeatedly each season, providing them a rare level of performance experience.

Curtis on Tour brings the extraordinary artistry of the world-renowned Curtis Institute of Music to national and international audiences, with students performing alongside celebrated Curtis alumni and faculty. T R

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Editor’s Pick

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he first query that comes to mind of any aspiring freshman is the graduation rate of the college. It has been presumed that the reason for the low graduation rate has been due to poor service experience and treatment that has been meted out by the college to the students. The low graduation rate has also been linked to the non-delivery of good quality education and scheduling conflicts due to which students are not able to find the right course. Today, maintaining a proper retention rate has become a prime concern for most major schools with students having many choices to opt for graduation in the country.

As per the National Center for Education Statistics, 60% of first-time, full-time students have completed their graduation in the allotted 6 years. To be more specific, it was 58% at public institutions, 65% at private non-profit institutions, and 27% at private for-profit institutions. The variations in the graduation rates were also observed according to the institutions’ selectivity level. It was observed that the institutes that had the lowest admission acceptance rate had the highest graduation rate. Those with an open admission policy had the lowest graduation rate.

The Role of the Campus As per a recent study, certain non-academic aspects of campus can play a very influential role in a student's life.

Through participation in campus recreation programs, students have received health and social benefits. As per Astin’s (1984) theory, participation in extracurricular activities contributes to the success of students. The student learning process has been observed to have increased considerably with increased involvement of students in the extracurricular activities, and both campus recreation

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activities and intramural sports have played an equal role in providing students equal opportunities for getting involved in the university. In a separate study from Astin (1993), it has also been observed that student’s overall satisfaction with the college has been related to their participation in intramural sports.

It has been observed that being an active member of the college community is directly linked to the student’s retention rate. The interactions that take place outside the formal academic areas of the college have a far better influential effect on the students to make them devote additional effort to learning. With high levels of integration in the social system of the college, the students would refrain from any doubts in their minds regarding pursuing their education.

Due to such campus recreation activities, students have reported to have various benefits such as, feelings of wellbeing, stress reduction, respect for others, friendships and self-confidence.

Sense of Belonging from the Faculty A grim state of event is that, on an average, a college loses around $9 million in revenue due to student attrition. Many of the universities have not been able to graduate more than 50% of incoming freshmen. Many of the colleges have allotted a definite fund for association with external

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Increasing the Retention Rate to Increase the

Graduation Rate

peripheries to monitor student attrition and to increase the graduation rates.

These institutes have showcased their successful portfolios in the successive years. So, it is no surprise that many of the Ivy League colleges are investing heavily in the entire academic activity in a way that aids the faculties in the entire teaching process. This has actually provided the staff members with more time to engage with the students in their curriculum. The faculties get all the opportunities to be the quintessential representative of the university and a role model to their students.

With the stress of the academics off their heads, and with students responding positively to the academic curriculum, the staff members are the most eligible ones to create a positive

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impact on the student’s decision to pursue his/her studies. Colleges are conducting faculty training programs so that the faculty could encourage students and build their self-esteem by helping them in their needs, motivating them for the life after their studies and by actively showing their trust in the students’ performance. In the same context, colleges are also improving the working environment of the faculties, so that they could transcend the same positive vibe to their students.

The Point of Synergy In contradiction to a popular perception, Campus Recreation Programs actually improve the market value of the College in this competitive education sector. To increase the likelihood of students’ approach towards Campus Recreation Facilities

and Programs, the authorities of the college are entrusted with the crucial assignment of providing with all the facilities such as proper scheduling of the academic curriculum, proper infrastructure to conduct such activities and last but not the least, a motivation factor from the faculties.

With more involvement in such activities comes more dedication & devotion of students towards the college and its academics and this in return helps them to allot their additional focus towards studies also.

With an interactive and liberal social system, students will have a sense of belonging and eventually it results in an expanded alumni network that contributes back to the university by recommending it to other students. T R

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FAYETTEVILLE STATE

UNIVERSITY: Preparing Lifelong Learners through Affordable Education

To provide students with the highest quality of learning experiences by promoting educational, social, cultural and economic transformation and producing global citizens and leaders as change agents for shaping the future. Committed to excellence in teaching, research, scholarship, and service, the University extends its services and programs to the community, including the military, and other educational institutions.

Developing Erudite and Responsible Global Citizens With a campus size of 156 acres, Fayetteville State University (FSU) has a total undergraduate enrollment of more than 5,500. FSU is part of the University of North Carolina System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The university offers Bachelor’s degrees in 43 areas, Master’s degrees in 23 areas, and one doctoral degree in educational leadership. They provide Bachelor of Arts degrees in the fields of Chemistry, General Music, History, Theatre and much more.

FSU also offers Bachelor of Science degrees in fields such as Chemistry, Business Administration, Management Information Systems, Healthcare Administration, etc. FSU also provides Masters Degrees in various fields such as Sociology, Psychology, Criminal Justice, School Administration, etc. Additionally, FSU has designed several programs to give men and women the opportunity to join the several disciplines of the Armed Forces.

FSU has been accredited by the Southern Association of College and Schools and National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education/Council for Accreditation of Educator Preparation (NCATE/CAEP). FSU’s various innovative and benign programs have conferred the college with numerous accolades from various prominent websites and magazines.

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From a Proud Legacy to a Twenty-First Century World-Class University of Choice The strategic priorities of FSU for 20152020 stresses on Retention and Graduation Rates, Collaborations and Partnerships, and Efficiency, Effectiveness, and Sustainability.

Undergraduate student – while still enrolled – will engage in a variety of high engagement educational experiences and co-curricular activities that will prepare them effectively for the 21st century professions. This would also include preparation for graduate/professional schools. These experiences include individual research projects, global learning opportunities, service learning and internships, culminating senior experiences, and other applied learning experiences.

Students will also enjoy participation in career services experiences, such as resume-writing workshops, mock interviews, professional attire workshops, and career fairs. Students have multiple opportunities for internships and service learning and other applied learning experiences.

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25 higher education 2017 Leader of the Nation’s most Diverse Campus Communities Despite six consecutive years of budget reductions, FSU has vastly improved its academic reputation under the leadership of the Chancellor, James A. Anderson.

Under his guidance, FSU has increased its academic standards, improved its budget management, and increased the number of degrees that are awarded. Dr. Anderson’s strong and effective advocacy for the university has garnered respect from external stakeholders. FSU has earned partnerships with many important agencies, such as the Army Research Lab, Oakridge Associated Universities, Lincoln Lab and others.

Dr. Anderson emphasizes on implementing leadership and management that reflect integrity, quality, transparency, and excellence. Everything that he does and is being done is focused on supporting the student’s growth, maturity, and success.

Life of the Broncos Popularly known as Broncos (based on their athletic team), students of Fayetteville State University participate in over 78 registered student organizations, including sororities and fraternities. FSU currently participates in 10 NCAA sports. The university has won back-to-back CIAA football championships in 2002 and 2003.

FSU has its own online radio station called the Bronco-iRadio, which is managed and operated by the students.

They also publish a bi-weekly newspaper, The Voice. The newspaper covers topics such as student life, arts and entertainment, and sports, among others. FSU has a vibrant performing and fine arts program with performances from Dance Theatre of Harlem, Take 6, Mitch Capel, and many others. Some of their notable alumni include Chris Armstrong (Former Professional Football Player), Darrell Armstrong (Former Professional Basketball Player, current assistant coach with the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks), Jim Bibby (former MLB player), and Affion Crockett (American actor, writer, dancer, rapper, comedian, music producer).

Financial Support that Fulfills a Student's Career Goals Dr. Anderson also governs various financial initiatives to support the financially-frail students. Endowed Scholarships are established with $25,000 and are designated from accrued interests as funds are available. General Scholarships vary in amount and are awarded directly to eligible students at the beginning of each academic year. Alumni Scholarships are funded by Alumni Classes or Alumni Chapters of the National Alumni Association. Athletic Scholarships are limited to active and deserving athletes at FSU. Many of their scholarships are designated for particular majors, but some are for those students who maintain a corresponding grade point average. LEAP (Learning and Engagement at an Accelerated Pace) Scholars Program is an all-expenses paid summer bridge program for high achieving first-time students that enable participants to earn six hours and get a head start on their university experience. They also offer a debt-free degree for early college and high school graduates that enable recipients to earn a degree without having to take out any loans. Honors scholarship are provided to students who are making academic progress that will enable them to graduate with honors in four years – that means earning at least 30 credits per year and a GPA of 3.2 or higher. FSU offers small retention grants to help students fill the gap between all financial aid and total costs. T R T H E

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GREENVILLE UNIVERSITY: Empowering Students for Lives of Character and Service

Greenville University empowers students for lives of character and service through a transforming Christ-centered education in the liberal arts, sciences, and professional studies.

Delivering Real Educational Experience for Students to Thrive Greenville University (formerly Greenville College) was founded in 1892 by the Free Methodist Church with the intent to provide a distinctive, Christ-centered university education for men and women.

The college is located in Greenville, Illinois, United States, located 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri on Interstate 70. Greenville University provides a quality liberal arts education for over 1,200 students. They offer over 50 undergraduate majors as well as adult and graduate programs available online or at partnership locations.

Their distinguished academic programs, caring faculty, and genuine Christian community are transforming the lives of students from around the globe.

Greenville University believes that God created each of our students to uniquely shape the world! Therefore, we • Offer a transformational Christ-centered educational experience that empowers, enriches, and endures; • We focus on the development of the whole person so that each student thrives spiritually, intellectually, emotionally, relationally, and physically; • Inspire our students to embrace God's Call; and, • Give our work as worship and welcome the presence of the risen Christ to fill us, equip us, and send us.

Greenville University challenges students to know themselves, recognize their identity through self-discovery, and then develops the special talents they have been given by God. They strive to instill students with skills of introspection that allow them to constantly evaluate their character and develop a deep awareness of how they can look outside of themselves and meet the needs of others.

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Opportunities Galore at Greenville for a Student’s Overall Development Greenville University believes in a diverse and well-rounded education. The University lately introduced the Center for Visual Culture and Media Studies (CVCMS) for students to explore through varied laterals of art and media studies. The CVCMS offers the opportunity for students to get a diversified education specifically in the fields of English, Digital Media, Art, and Communication. These skills can help students to adapt in the workplace and graduate with a very definite competitive edge.

There are more than 50 student organizations, including service and social clubs, musical groups, student government, missions clubs, performance groups, and student publications.

A prominent one of them is Student Success, which provides academic support services and strives to enrich the academic experience for all Greenville University students and assist them in reaching their full potential.

Additionally, Greenville has its own studentrun radio station, WGRN 89.5 FM for each of their community member to Get Involved!

Greenville University teams participate as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s Division III. The Panthers are a member of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC). Greenville has 17 Varsity athletic teams, 30% of their student population is engrossed in athletics. 10 of these Varsity teams have also taken international trips.

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25 higher education 2017 About the Determined Professor at Greenville Dr. Ivan Filby began as the twelfth President of Greenville University on July 1, 2013.

Filby began his teaching career as a lecturer in Business Studies at the University of Dublin: Trinity College (1989-1996), during which time he created and oversaw 30 international partnerships.

In his previous role at Greenville College, Filby developed numerous new programs, directed AgapeFest, and served as a faculty assembly moderator. He was honored with the 2010 W.Richard Stephens Outstanding Faculty Award. Filby served a year as a dean of the Fermanian School of Business at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego where he also developed new programs and strengthened relationships with business alumni.

Filby completed his Doctor of Philosophy in Management and his Bachelor of Science in Managerial and Administrative Studies degrees at the prestigious Aston University in the United Kingdom. He has also completed a Master of Arts at the University of Dublin in Ireland and a Master of Arts in Evangelism Studies at the University of Sheffield (Cliff College), also located in the United Kingdom.

Extensive Exposure through Well-Defined Curricula About 98% of Greenville’s students are employed within 9 months of graduation. With the student/faculty ratio being 12:1, the professors teach more than what you need to pass a test. Students ought to get the best internships, relevant hands-on experience, and networking with big name companies all over the world. Greenville University intuitively prepares the student for life after graduation. There are 50+ majors for students to choose their field of study. Top majors include; Biology, Music Industry, Engineering, Elementary Education, Social Work and Special Education. Greenville also offers various opportunities for students to pick up extra credits during summer and winter break. They host an interterm which takes place after Christmas break and runs until late January and two terms of classes in the summer! These are both great opportunities to make the most of your time at GU and potentially graduate early. Students who are willing to put the efforts at Greenville University are presented with the special opportunity to complete a select four-year program in three years. Enrollees qualify for the same financial aid as a four-year student, and the ending degree is not diminished in value.

Turning College Education into a Manageable Investment.

Greenville University partners with students and families every day to make their dreams of attending the Greenville University a reality. Approximately 96% of their students receive financial assistance in the form of merit scholarships, institutional awards and grants, federal and/or state assistance, as well as low-interest student loans and work study opportunities. With an average financial aid package of $22,295 and over 27 different scholarships options, they make it easy to get the real-world experience that students need. Greenville University stands out for a variety of reasons, and one of those is their commitment to make your education affordable ─ to make your investment worth it. T R T H E

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HAWAIʻI PACIFIC

UNIVERSITY: Educating Future Global Leaders with a Distinctively Intimate Educational Experience

Hawai’i Pacific University is an international learning community set in the rich cultural context of Hawai’i. Students from around the world join us for an American education built on a liberal arts foundation. Our innovative undergraduate and graduate programs anticipate the changing needs of the community and prepare our graduates to live, work, and learn as active members of a global society.

Empowering Students through a Deliberately Intimate Learning Environment Hawaiʻi Pacific University (HPU) is a private, nonprofit university in Oʻahu, with urban and rural campuses in downtown Honolulu and in Kaneohe, respectively. Established in 1965, HPU is home to over 4,000 students from Hawaiʻi, the mainland, and over 70 countries around the world. Fusing the University's unmatched cultural diversity with personal support and a deliberately intimate learning environment, students get up-close and personal with the subjects they're most passionate about. HPU is made up of multiple colleges; these include the College of Business Administration, College of Liberal Arts, College of Health and Society, College of Natural and Computational Sciences and the College of Extended and Interdisciplinary Education. HPU offers both undergraduate and graduate programs in each of its colleges and schools.Hawaiʻi Pacific University is regionally accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) and received a reaffirmation of its accreditation in 2016.

The faculty, staff, students, and overall university community of Hawai’i Pacific embrace their institutional values; which include: PONO, meaning righteous, honest and moral, and an energy of necessity; KULEANA, meaning responsibility and rights and concern for all interests, property, and people; and ALOHA meaning love, kindness and grace, unity, humility, patience. As Hawai'i

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Pacific University looks towards its 62nd anniversary in 2027, they set forth a strategic plan that is inspired by their diverse community and rooted in these three enduring Hawaiian values.

Providing Hand-on Education for Students to Learn and Grow HPU is committed to providing excellence in each of its student’s achievements. By employing innovative teaching and learning strategies and experiential approaches rooted in the tropical island community of Hawaii, HPU ensures that their students cultivate the knowledge, skills, and values that are expected of all educated citizens. All of the college students share similar goals of meeting new people and finding ways to get involved. The Office of Student Activities at HPU supports these goals by offering fun, entertaining, educational, and innovative programs and activities. HPU encourages its students to get involved in co-curricular activities, as they are an essential part of enriching the campus life.

This office also provides leadership and development programs as well as accommodates close to 50 clubs and organizations on-campus. HPU aims to take learning beyond the classroom and cultivate programs that lead to student success. Their academic program review and assessment efforts promote student learning and institutional effectiveness.

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25 higher education 2017 About the President John Y. Gotanda became the President of Hawai’i Pacific University on July 1, 2016. Born and raised in Hawai’i, President Gotanda is a graduate of Roosevelt High School, the University of Hawai’i at Manoa (BBA, 1984) and the William S. Richardson School of Law (J.D., 1987), where he was Editor-in-Chief of the University of Hawai’i Law Review. Following law school, he was a staff attorney with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. He then worked as an associate attorney with Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C., and later with Goodwin, Procter & Hoar in Boston. Gotanda also served as the Arthur J. Kania Dean of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law in Villanova, PA. President Gotanda is recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on damages in international law, and has been cited by courts, tribunals, and commentators, including by the U.S. Supreme Court. He has spoken widely on the subjects of damages, international arbitration, and international sales law, including at The Hague Academy of International Law.

Extensive Exposure & Career Opportunities for Students Preparing students to become global citizens is a primary outcome of student support services, degree and co-curricular programs, mentoring relationships with faculty and staff, and the learning environment that is offered to students. Hawaiʻi Pacific University provides explicit academic environments through the ELS Language Center at Hawaiʻi Pacific University, the Oceanic Institute, and the university participation in the Army ROTC program. The university also has an extensive Distance Learning and Online based platform for many of its programs. International students reap an extensive experience through the Study Abroad and Student Exchange Program at HPU. HPU envisions realigning their campuses and revitalizing their entrepreneurial culture in a manner that demonstrates inclusiveness, promotes student success, and fosters trust and collaboration. The upcoming reformation of the Downtown Campus will address a long-standing university need for an identifiable, connected, and cohesive campus with sufficient gathering spaces for students, faculty, and staff.

Through project based learning opportunities and internships, students at HPU get up-close and personal with the subjects they're passionate about. Students participate in activities, such as learning communities, service learning, research with faculty, internships and field experiences, study abroad, and culminating senior experiences.

Understanding the Student’s Financial Need It’s well-known that academic and financial advisors today are busier than ever, responsible as they are for hundreds or even thousands of students. HPU conducts a ‘Preview Day’ every semester wherein students can meet and speak with faculty, current students, alumni and staff to learn more about Academic Programs, Financial Aid, Career Services, Student Life, First-Year Programs, Athletic Programs, Music Programs, Housing and Study Abroad.

Financial aid is every advisor’s concern because it is every student's concern. In their commitment to making higher education affordable to everyone, Hawaiʻi Pacific University hosts a yearly scholarship competition in which students have the possibility to earn a full 4-year tuition scholarship. The University also provides other financial assistance based off both need and merit. T R T H E

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HELENE FULD

College of Nursing:

Comprehensive, Innovative, and Responsive to the Healthcare Challenges of the Future

Providing opportunity through a career-ladder approach, for individuals to enhance their education and improve their nursing practice, Helene Fuld endeavors to produce high quality and technically adaptable nurses who are able to function effectively in a changing society.

Providing Opportunities to the Aspirers and Preparing the Best Caring Hands Accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Helene Fuld College of Nursing (HFCN) holds a permanent charter from the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York and is registered by the New York State Education Department, Office of the Professions. Its associate in applied science degree program in nursing is accredited by the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, Inc. The baccalaureate program is accredited by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

HFCN offers a Licensed Practical Nurse (LPN) to Registered Nurse (RN) Associate Degree Program and an Upper Division Registered Nurse to Bachelor of Science (RN to BS) Degree Program that focuses on environmental urban health nursing. HFCN offers a range of support services for students including a library, three nursing arts laboratories, a computer lab, writing support, 24/7 online tutoring as well as on-site tutoring in math, science, and nursing, review of the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCLEX-RN) exam, a mentoring program, and academic and

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mental health counseling.

The College has a faculty with specialists in each program area; all full-time and adjunct faculties hold Master’s or Doctoral level degrees in their areas of expertise. Prof.

Stephen Lawrence, a prominent member of the nursing faculty, is just one of the College’s many success stories. He graduated from HFCN’s LPN to RN Associate Degree Program in 2010. He later earned his Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and Master of Science in nursing education. He then returned to HFCN to impart his knowledge upon students who aspired to become professional registered nurses.

In December 2016, the College bestowed its first Distinguished Alumni Award upon Ms. Joanne Sylvestre, the founder and CEO of Nutressence Network, a non-profit organization that focuses on women’s empowerment and mentors women toward leadership pathways for entrepreneurship and executive level leadership positions.

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25 higher education 2017 Taking HFCN Ahead from Strength to Strength Developing a strategic plan, reorganizing the College’s recruitment efforts, and implementing strategies to develop courteous employees who exemplify excellent customer service are some of the deeds that Dr. Wendy Robinson has achieved during her tenure as the President of the College. Dr. Robinson has brought the community into the College through cultural and wellness initiatives. She is also credited for engaging the faculty, students, and alumni in going out into the community to address the health care needs.

It was during her tenure that HFCN was ranked the number one community college in the nation as compared to 820 other community colleges by WalletHub, a personal finance website. The analysis was made on the basis of various factors such as cost and financing, education outcomes, and career outcomes.

Helene Fuld College of Nursing was ranked the #1 two-year college to produce the highest-paid graduates in PayScale’s 2017-2018 College Salary Report.

Life of an Aspiring Nurse at HFCN Driven by their desire to succeed, the students at HFCN are well aware of the fact that their options are limitless. Upon completion of the LPN to RN Associate Degree Program, graduates are eligible to take the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCLEX-RN) exam and apply for licensure as registered nurses. The RN to BS degree program builds upon the students’ critical thinking skills so that they gain increased knowledge and know-how to face the ever-increasing challenges of the health care system, as graduates practicing in the field. Most HFCN graduates go on to pursue careers within the NYC metropolitan area. Many who have earned their graduate degrees have come back to teach at Helene Fuld College of Nursing.

As part of a social and cultural development program, HFCN celebrates Nurses Day to show appreciation for nurses during National Nurses Week. Twice a year, the College hosts a Pinning and Candle Lighting Ceremony for graduating students. Along with the bi-annual commencement exercises, events are also held at the College to recognize academic achievements and community service.

Opportunities Galore at HFCN to Grow in Knowledge, Understanding, and Skills Students in the LPN to RN program attain clinical experience with patients of all ages as part of their college curriculum.

Students in the RN to BS program are required to participate in outreach activities with community partners and non-profit organizations in the New York City area to complete their coursework. Along with health fairs and health initiatives, HFCN also invites healthcare facilities and organizations that hire nurses to the College to speak with students about career opportunities. HFCN participates in several federal financial aid programs like the Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), and Post– 9/11 GI Bill. Students of HFCN are also eligible for several New York State Financial Aid Programs including Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), and Regents Grants for Children of Deceased and Disabled Veterans. Other sources of financial aid include the Alfreda Brown Memorial Scholarship, Hospital League/District 1199, Training and Upgrading Fund, The Mascione Family Scholarship Program, Peggy Wines Memorial scholarships, Rudin Foundation scholarships, and Switzer Foundation grants. T R T H E

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NEW JERSEY CITY

UNIVERSITY: Helping Motivated Learners Build the Prociencies Necessary for Lifelong Success

While cultivating an understanding of community diversity, providing a widely diverse population with an excellent education, the University is tapping its urban setting’s vast assets for their students’ benefit and engaging faculty, students and partner organizations in identifying and solving urban challenges. The University is committed to the improvement of the educational, intellectual, cultural, socioeconomic, and physical environment of the surrounding region and beyond.

Providing an Outstanding Educational Experience and Preparing Students for a Successful Career Situated on a beautifully landscaped campus in a vibrant urban community, New Jersey City University (NJCU) provides a top-quality education to approximately 8,200 students who reflect the dynamism of the University’s metropolitan Jersey City location.

NJCU prepares students to be leaders in a global society within the comforts of an intimate community while providing a place to think and grow by interacting with culturally and ethnically diverse classmates and faculty from around the globe. The university offers undergraduate degree major programs, including Biology, Art, Music, English, Philosophy, Sociology, Political Science, History, Economics, Spanish, Media Arts, Business Administration, Professional Security Studies, Finance, Accounting, Criminal Justice, Fire Science, Computer Science, and Women and Gender Studies. Graduate Degree and diploma programs include National Security Studies, Literacy Education, and Educational Technology.

The NJCU School of Business offers graduate programs, such as a Master of Science in Business Analytics and Data Science.

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NJCU has earned accreditations from Middle States Commission on Higher Education, Teacher Education Accreditation Council (TEAC), National Association of Schools of Arts and Design, National Association of Schools of Music, Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs, National Association of School Psychologists, and Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs.

Engaging Students in Rigorous Applied-Learning and Preparing Students for Success At NJCU, students prepare for success by engaging in rigorous applied-learning experiences that include laboratory research, field studies, performances, exhibitions, studio work, cooperative education internships, community service, and study opportunities on campus, around the state, and abroad through their Study Abroad program. It prepares students for career success and keeps their education affordable. According to the latest national research, NJCU students earn 22 percent more than the national average income, helping to secure a more a prosperous future.

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25 higher education 2017 The Leader of Transformational Initiatives and the First Woman President of NJCU

Dr. Sue Henderson became the twelfth president and the first woman to serve as president at NJCU. Dr. Henderson has accomplished a range of transformational initiatives, including the creation of the NJCU School of Business and its relocation to a 70,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility in the Jersey City financial district.

She has also spearheaded the implementation of a $350 million West Campus plan which features a fully integrated, pedestrian-friendly, mixed-use development for a student residence hall, academic hall, academic building and performance arts center, and many more enhancements. She has identified critical academic needs in highdemand fields of study, such as nursing, STEM areas, business, counseling and prelaw. With a Ph.D. in Higher Education from the University of Georgia and bachelor’s and master’s degrees in math education, Dr. Henderson is a member of the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU). She is also a member of the President’s Council for Division III of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

Artistic Hub of Metro-North Jersey NJCU has long been recognized as an artistic hub of Metro-North Jersey, chiefly because the University boasts an accomplished international faculty in many disciplines, from music to theatre, and from visual arts to literature. On any given day or evening, NJCU’s theatres and galleries host an array of performances, recitals, lectures, screenings, and exhibitions. NJCU is culturally enriched and some of their other annual events include NJCU Day, Annual Gala, and the Annual NJCU Alumni Jazz Big Band Concert. In partnership with Jersey City, the Jazz Concert has become one of the most anticipated free concerts of the year and is known to draw a huge crowd. The University holds various events in collaboration with organizations, such as the American Conference on Diversity, as well as the National Society of Leadership and Success, and the Presidential Lectures series throughout the year. NJCU promotes sports and other athletic activities, along with its musical and cultural events.

New Jersey City University has a very strong alumni group and the university takes pride in Chirag Patel ‘89. Mr. Patel is Co-CEO and Chairman of Amneal Pharmaceuticals, LLC. He is known as a humanitarian, as well as a seasoned executive in the pharmaceutical and information technology realms. His vision and international business acumen have made him a catalyst for global change through education. Mr. Patel is also the Founder of Niswarth International Foundation, an organization that focuses on education and assists less advantaged children to achieve their full potential.

Making Education Accessible and Affordable NJCU has recently launched the NJCU Debt-Free Promise Program, designed to make a college education accessible and affordable for New Jersey residents pursuing their first undergraduate degree as incoming full-time freshman students whose family household income is $60,000 or less. This program seeks to ensure that every eligible student graduates with a clean financial slate by eliminating the need to take on unnecessary debt. The goal of this program is to eliminate the need for students to take out loans to cover the cost of tuition and fees. In addition to affordability, each year, NJCU offers more than $20 million in financial aid, including scholarships, grants, and loans. T R T H E

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Eduventure

Reinventing Society ─ One System at a Time

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s the Greek empire began to widen its sphere of influence into Asia Minor, Mesopotamia and beyond, their people were smart enough to accept and acclimate all the useful elements from the societies which they conquered. Have a brief look at the history.

Ancient Greeks have made some significant contributions to the field of mathematics. During the time of the ancient Greek civilization, several of their arithmeticians became famous for their work. People like Pythagoras, Archimedes, Euclid, Posidonius, Hipparchus and Ptolemy brought new fundamentals of thinking to society, fostering the field of math, and building on the earlier work of Egyptian and Babylonian mathematicians.

A few generations later, the Romans became the

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intellectually dominant society on the planet. But unfortunately, and surprisingly, the one characteristic that pulled-down the “intellectual” Roman society was the dearth of Roman mathematicians. Rest assured, very soon the scholarly members of Roman society came from a good gene pool and they were every bit as gifted and talented as the Greeks. But then, Romans were held hostage by their own learning systems, which restricted them from thinking innovatively. One of the primary culprits for the lack of Roman mathematicians was their renowned numbering system.

Roman numerals and its lack of numeric positioning were actually a disaster. Romans were so engrossed in their numbering system that they had no clue that it was averting

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them from doing even elementary mathematics such as simple multiplication or adding a column of numbers or division, a feat still handled by abacus. It’s easy for us to make a negative judgment about the Roman numerals, but the real fact is that it was just one of many inferior numbering systems used in ancient times. Distinctively, the feature that made Roman numerals so bad was the fact that each number lacked specific numeric positioning and was in fact an equation, and this extra layer of intricacy prevented people from attempting higher math. Roman numerals were a system problem, and a huge one at that, which prevented an entire civilization from advancing through the elemental field of math and science.

Fast forward to today. We are living in a society where nigh on everything is different from the days of the Roman Empire. But the counterintuitive fact is that we are even more dependent today on our systems than the Romans ever were. Examples of such system that we take for granted ─ systems for accounting, banking, procurement, weights and measurement, traffic management, and so on. Much like the Romans, we are immersed in the use of these systems to a point where we hardly ever step back and question the reasoning and logic behind them.

Believe it or not, our systems virtually govern every aspect

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of our lives. They determine how we live and where we live, where and when we travel, what we eat and where we work, how much money we will make, the job we do, the friends we have and even how long we will live.

Nevertheless, though subconsciously aware of the fact, we seldom step back to fully understand the context of our existence. Quite similar to how a fish is unaware and disregarded of the existence of water.

Our systems are what control the flow of commerce, govern our effectiveness as members of society, and create much of the stress we face on a daily basis. There are a number of restrictive systems that are preventing us from doing great things. One prominent example is the Keyboard – We use keyboards that were intended to slow the speed of typing by placing the most frequently used keys randomly across the face of the keyboard. Keyboards in any configuration are an extremely inept way to transfer knowledge from one person to another.

After studying American systems and applying the “equivalency to Roman numerals” test, it is quite evident that we, as a society, are operating at somewhere around 510% efficiency, or even less. Some of the other examples of restrictive systems include the Half-Implemented Metric System, Income Tax System, Laws etc.

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Lest you think the U.S. is the only country with system problems, consider some of the major issues afflicting other countries. For example, consider the Chinese Alphabet system, the number of Chinese characters contained in the Kangxi dictionary is approximately 47,035. Although a large number of these are rarely-used variations accumulated throughout history.

We are on a long way from optimizing the systems that administrate our lives. The freedom and potential that we value so much, is only a fraction of what it can be if we begin to seriously reinvent society; one system at a time. And the system that we see as the highest leverage point for revamping society is our education system.

Some of the advancements in the society and system could impel the change in the world of education. These factors will eventually define the speed, scope and size of the emerging new system along with the individualities needed for a global-scale adoption. Read on further for an undercurrent of the influencers, and perceive the need to understand the radical shift than will occur in the world of education.

The Changeover from Emphasis on Teaching to Learning Traditionally, Education consisted of two fundamental elements ─ teaching and learning.

But the system emphasized heavily on the teaching part. Throughout history, the transfer of information from the teacher to the learner has been done on a person-to-person basis. This is referred to as the “sage on stage” form of education, since it required the teacher to be skillfully proficient with every topic that they teach.

But today the scenario is quite different. With advancements in technology and new things to learn, the traditional system ends up being a highly inefficient system, equivalent of using “Roman numerals” in many respects. For any new topic to be taught, a new expert needs to be created, and this widespread necessity for more and more experts has become a serious chokepoint for learning.

There is indeed a grave need for the education system to undergo a transition from a heavy emphasis on teaching to a heavy emphasis on learning. Envisioning the advancements, experts ought to create the courseware for the students to learn anytime or anywhere at a pace that is comfortable for them, and learn about topics that majorly interests them.

In the future, instead of perceiving the lecturer as a topic-expert all the time, we would see them more in the roles of guides and coaches.

Exponential Growth of Information Years ago, the flow of information was controlled by just a few elite members of society, and they implicated well the theory of knowledge equating power. To the time where information was precious and few, to today, a time where information is so plentiful, we have gone a long way. There is so much data and analytics at the end of our palm that we feel like we are sinking in it – information overload.

However, we still see many of the same “information control” issues pervading the society today. Perpetuating the notion that only doctors can understand medicine, only physicists can understand how the universe works, we can still say that only elite members of society control the flow of information. But it is also very important to pay attention to the changing dimensions of information and the sheer volume of it. Today, information is not just text-based, but also graphical, audio, musical, and visual.

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Interfacing with the Society through the Classroom Touch Point It has always been the universal notion that learning can take place only in a classroom. Classrooms are designed to create a controllable environment where learning can take place through well-directed focus.

Using classrooms as the primary “touch point” for learning creates many hitches. The system that regulates the classroom also controls the time when learning can take place, the students who will participate, the media used, the tools, the pace, the subject matter, and in most of the cases, the results too.

However, the classroom-centric education system does not necessarily define a robust learning environment. Learning takes place from the moment a person wakes up in the morning until he/she goes to sleep at night. In fact, learning continues even while a person is sleeping.

Certainly, some topics like math and science require a more structured form of education for some students to grasp the information being conveyed, but learning is not solely dependent upon a classroom. In some cases the classroom may be an optimal environment for learning to take place, but most often it is not.

To inculcate knowledge faster and better, some of the new and important touch points for our mind include our computers, video magazines, handheld televisions, electronic newspapers, cellphones, video games, MP3 payers, artwork, and much more.

The pace of change around us is mandating that we produce a smarter, faster, and a better grade of human being. Existing old conventional systems are preventing that from happening. Future education system will rise-up with the advent of a uniform and rapid courseware-builder along with a single point global distribution system. Typically, students are required to achieve both breadth of knowledge across disciplines and depth of knowledge in a particular chosen subject area, particularly known as a major. For this reason, students studying Arts or Humanities are required to take science courses, and vice-versa.

There is a dire need for a standard architecture defining an organic courseware module. The software needed to build such courseware is also required. Technologically thinking, one solution to these could be a participative courseware-builder that allows the general public to create courses on any conceivable topic. We expect many companies will attempt to solve this problem, but the market will quickly gravitate towards the one it likes best, and yet again, we’ll bound ourselves to a system, though a re-invented and a better one. T R

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RUST

COLLEGE:

Empowering the Unique Pathway towards Educational Excellence

Rust College is a historically Black, coeducational, senior liberal arts college founded in 1866 by the Freedman’s Aid Society of the Methodist Episcopal Church to offer quality programs in business, education, humanities, science and math, and social science to prepare students for leadership and service in a global society.

Facilities Aiding the Peaceful Learning Environment at Rust Rust College was founded in the year 1866, and is a renowned historic black liberal arts college that is located in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Rust College is affiliated with the United Methodist Church. Rust College occupies approximately 126 acres of prime real estate that was once the site of the former slave auction grounds of Holly Springs. Some buildings on campus were erected in the mid-1800s, such as Oak View. Oak View, which currently serves as the Frances Hathorne Alumni & Public Relations Center, and other Rust College buildings recently built, such as the Hamilton Science Center, a three-story addition to the McDonald Science Building.

The Administration Building also affectionately known as the “A Building” is a two-story colonial style building, houses the administrative offices. In 1971 an annex was added to the McCoy Building. Shaw Hall houses Special Services and the College Health Center. There is also one handicap-equipped apartment located in this building. The Guest House is an attractive five-bedroom bungalow located on the east side of the campus, currently serving as a guest house. Gross Residence Hall is a three-story building that provides housing for 90 freshman male students, with a comfortable lounge, and an apartment for the Residence Hall Director. Wiff Residence Hall is a three-story building that provides housing for 90 upper-class female honor students. Airliewood (the official residence of the College’s current President, Dr. David L. Beckley and his

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family) is a Civil War-era mansion and former antebellum slave plantation estate located a few blocks from the Rust College campus. Built in 1858, Airliewood served as living quarters for General Ulysses Grant during the Civil War, and acquired through the generosity of Kathy and Joe Overstreet.

The student-faculty ratio at Rust College is 18:1, and its most popular majors include: Biology/Biological Sciences, Kindergarten/Preschool Education and Teaching, Business Administration and Management, and Social and Behavioral Sciences to include Social Work. The retention rate of freshman as indicated by student satisfaction is 60 percent.

Universal Career Opportunities over Rust College Rust College Career Services provides development and matriculation assistance through mock interviews and resume writing preparation, personal graduate school, and career counseling, assessment, advisement, and campus visits to graduate programs. In addition to these activities, Career Services is responsible for facilitating graduate school and career fairs held on campus and year round recruitment events.

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25 higher education 2017 Magnificent Personalities of Rust College Ida B. Wells-Barnett, a daughter of slave parents, was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi on July 16, 1862. Ida received her education and early schooling at Shaw University, a school for the newly freed slaves (now Rust College).

Orphaned at the age of 16 following the death of her parents, Ida became a teacher in a segregated public school in Memphis, and a vocal critic of the condition of the only schools in the city for Blacks.

Ida went on to become one of America’s most celebrated African-American journalist and activist in the anti-lynching crusade in the United States in the 1890s.

Leslie Burl McLemore, born in Walls, Mississippi on August 17, 1940, he grew up in a modest family where his father was a diligent sharecropper. He began his studies at Rust College in September 1960.

While at Rust College, McLemore continued to be involved in student protests and became actively involved with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in various activities including voter registration drives. He has also worked in Mississippi for many years as an educator, activist, and higher education administrator.

Rust College Aims for the Student to “Enter to Learn, and Depart to Serve” Rust College is glued to the mission for students as they are charged by the guidance by two major bedrock principles which keep them moving minus to any halt: “Enter to Learn, Depart to Serve” and its historic motto, “By their fruits ye shall know them.” Each principle embodies the college’s main mission of preparing its students for the complexities and demands of a global and sophisticated society through a Liberal Arts Education that is essential for free/liberated/liberal people.

Therefore, Rust College’s Bachelor of Arts in Liberal Studies which is ultimately designed to equip future teachers and other professionals by integrating Common Core-aligned subject matter and service learning experiences with the application of a Christian worldview, exploring life vocation, promoting awareness of cultural diversity issues, and studying multiple curricular with emphasis in specific subject areas while fostering a holistic understanding of knowledge.

Financial Support that Reaches Up to the Worthiness for Student’s Career Post-secondary education requires an extraordinary funding at the undergraduate level or beyond. However, Rust College offers its students financial support in the Federal Pell Grant that provides funds to students pursuing a first undergraduate degree, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (SEOG) to students who demonstrate exceptional financial need. Mississippi Resident Tuition Assistance Grant (MTAG) to Mississippi residents attending a state approved public and nonprofit two-year or four-year eligible colleges and universities. Mississippi Eminent Scholars Grant (MESG) to Mississippi residents who are first-time attending a state approved public and nonprofit two-year or four-year eligible colleges and universities. Higher Education Legislative Plan (HELP) to qualified students, whose financial need, as demonstrated by federal student aid eligibility, will not be met with gift aid from other sources. T R T H E

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SAMFORD

UNIVERSITY: Educating Students to Grow Academically, Socially and Spiritually

With a mission to nurture people in their development of intellect, creativity, faith and personhood, the University leads to overall development of students academically, socially and spiritually.

Samford is committed to fostering academic, career and ethical competency while encouraging social and civic responsibi9lity and service to others.

Creating Students to be the Global Change-Makers With a 247-acre campus, nationally recognized for its distinctive Georgian-Colonial architecture and beautiful landscaping, Samford University is a premier nationally ranked private university deeply rooted in its Christian mission. Founded in 1841, Samford University stands as the 87th oldest institution of higher education in the United States and records an annual enrollment of 5,509, students representing 45 states, the District of Columbia and 29 other countries. Samford University is regularly recognized as one of the top national Christian universities in the country. It also is recognized for affordability and value, and is the top-ranked university in Alabama in rankings published by U.S. News & World Report, Forbes Inc., The Economist, and The Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education.

The university offers a wide curriculum structure with 30 undergraduate and graduate/professional degrees in various fields including arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, law, health – health professions, public health, pharmacy, nursing – in a teacher-student ratio of 1:12.

The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission and its professional schools and programs

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are accredited by numerous appropriate professional organizations or accrediting agencies including American Bar Association (ABA), Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND), Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE), Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE), Council for Interior Design Accreditation (CIDA), National Association of Schools of Music (NASM), and National Association of Schools of Theatre (NAST).

Offers Extraordinary Career Counseling and Job Placement to Students Samford maintains a very good career placement reputation by consistently helping an average of 95 percent or more in choosing careers, placing them in internships and in continuation of their education within six months of their graduation. The Career Development Center of the university offers individual career counselling to all its students. Even the ones taking online classes are provided with the opportunity to meet with a career counselor to discuss their interests, career aspirations and meet their goals.

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25 higher education 2017 Student’s Role Model and An Inspiration to All Dr. Andrew Westmoreland, Samford’s 18th President, has led the university to embrace a vision to enrich and expand its services to students and further inspire desires to meet the needs of the world. Under his able leadership, the university has experienced its most significant growth—numerically, academically, physically and financially. Dr. Westmoreland’s guidance has led the university to launch its most ambitious master plan in more than 60 years that is being supported by a multi year, $300 million fundraising campaign. In the boldest effort in the university history, President Westmoreland helped the university to raise $200 million by 2014, advancing the mission of Christ-centered higher education among the nation's most respected universities.

Before serving Samford as the President, Dr. Westmoreland served as the President of Ouachita Baptist University for eight years and was Vice President for Development and Executive Vice President in various capacities.

Cocurricular Activities Play an Integral Part of the Samford Education Experience Samford maintains a healthy student culture at the campus, offering students to enjoy life along with academic, social and spiritual fulfillment. The institute offers more than 114 student organizations including honor societies, social justice, missions and spiritual formation, club sports teams and other special interest groups. Samford encourages students to host talent shows and eventful festival ceremonies to help students take part in a plethora of cultural and global events throughout the year.

The university partners with the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, OperaBirmingham, Birmingham Chamber Music Society and Alabama Ballet. Samford encourages its students to participate in a wide variety of intramural sports and prominently participates in 17 NCAA Division I sports teams in the historic Southern Conference.

Samford University has more than 50,000 alumni around the world, including on all seven continents and some of the most prominent ones are Tony Hale (Distinguished actor with Emmy Awards and the author of a best-seller), Marvin Mann (Founder of Lexmark International Corp. and provided the lead gift for the university’s Frances Marlin Marvin Mann Center for Ethics and Leadership) and Cordell Hull (A Nobel Prize Recipient, Secretary of State under President Franklin D. Roosevelt and widely considered as the “Father of the United Nations”).

Samford Offers a Wide Array of Scholarships and Financial Aid Samford offers scholarships to student leaders who excel academically and think creatively about how to make the world a better place. Many academic departments and programs of the university offer scholarships as well, based on specific talent and interests. It is observed that about 90 percent of the Samford students receive some form of financial aid, ranging from academic scholarships to federal loan programs. T R T H E

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Educator’s Zone

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

- Nelson Mandela

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ver the past two decades, an increasing number of universities and students, and aspiring higher education platforms have expanded to its largest responsibility to meet the demands of expertise employers and higher-skilled workers that are changing the global economy. This educational process provides a pathway to social mobility for millions of individuals and impels in the development for the future of universities, students and society.

Previously, the educational academies were established free from the direct control of the church or other religious institutions, a privilege granted by the king or the state.

Though, religious studies and clergy training were the main focus in the earliest centers of education, this privilege was allowed for academic freedom to question, research and advance their knowledge. But the evolution of universities replaced these secular institutions as monasteries and slowly started to decline and lost their monopoly on higher education. On the other hand, liberalization and manufacturing industries also experienced a marvelous growth in the global economy. Thus, the development of education on the right lines and more than the basic elementary education became an important agenda for many nations. They understood higher education can serve as the basic factor to sustain development and the unceasing of employment. The revolution brought increasing number of completing the degrees from these universities and expected to increase around the world. Education spreads value, culture, knowledge and above all, it gives people an opportunity for employment.

Recent reports suggests government has also showed interest in making higher education accessible and affordable to their citizens by investing in new fund models developed in various countries and states. Introducing scholarships and bursaries on the basis of primary education accessed quality and eligible students to accommodate in the colleges. This helps to explore the value of higher education and provide social and economic benefit with measured return by taxpayers, and policy makers.

Improvement in Higher Education for Development Universities and academics are the foundation of education, the initiatives are to promote education and raise the skill level of their youth. It offers learners from all backgrounds with an opportunity to study, progress and harness their talents. They engage in introducing new ways and forms of teaching and learning impact with on-field experiences. The development of higher education is expanding rapidly and it proposes new ways of looking at the era of education. The new trends and disruptive technological demands provide the need for a degree program according to the specialization subject of a choice in the course. When a student belongs to an academic department or a faculty, they are provided with guidance, supervision and numerous resources to support their studies. Whether the students are taking up a taught course or have newly enrolled for a T H E

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research degree, they are guided and advised by an academic supervisor throughout the course. These graduate programs emphasize learning, creativity, an array of resources for their course work, independent research and scholarship.

The universities offer both matriculated and nonmatriculated courses with stand-alone or combined courses.

This flexibility allows offering in the form of learning opportunities, to an increasingly diverse range of students or busy professionals who want to expand their knowledge and skills at a postgraduate level without the time commitment of a full course. They empower their students to discover their interests and pursue their passions while studying at the campus or far from it. The dissemination of specialized knowledge is promoting the study of offbeat courses in musical instruments, cooking, home-designing, tea tasting, cartography, puppetry, art restoration, anthropology, etc. These programs are associated with support of each scholarship holder along with their journey and facility job placement. Even, the universities are introducing trial programs where the desirable students can be a part of the newly introduced courses for a short span to understand the value of it. Conferences and events that bring together universities and businesses promoting such courses, enables students to get information and flesh out their professional plans too. Also, the internships at the subsidiaries are offered to the students to give them practical experience and allow them to get to know the company and the functioning.

In recent times, the universities are making a huge difference by offering in-campus student services for their well-being and personal development. Services such as career counseling, campus healthcare, networking training and events, student counselors, language center, gymnasium and study training and workshops are attracting more students and also raising the rank of the university.

The Future of Higher Education is constantly moving to achieve a target Finding new ways to teach the digital generation with efforts and investment in Technology, making academic curricula more multi-disciplinary, sustainability of student recruitment and retention, bringing down the cost of a college education and ensuring more students graduate are the biggest challenges for tomorrow. Also, the educational leaders are trying to strategize the shift from books, posters, hard copies documents to digital learning. The traditional classroom experience, with technology, enables innovative and creative educational opportunities across campus and around the world, anytime and anywhere. Recent research shows online education is strongly represented in the institutions for long-term and at the same time distance education has been growing at a faster rate from the past years. Technology has impacted almost every aspect of life today, and education is no exception. T R

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SPALDING

UNIVERSITY:

Serving the Community with a Spirit of Inclusiveness and Compassion.

Spalding University is a diverse community of learners dedicated to meeting the needs of the times in the tradition of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth through quality undergraduate and graduate liberal and professional studies, grounded in spiritual values, with emphasis on service and the promotion of peace and justice.

Enlightening Lifelong Learners while Imparting Strong Leadership & Companionship Located in downtown Louisville, Spalding University traces its origins to Nazareth Academy, one of the oldest educational institutions west of the Alleghenies. Spalding is named in honor of Mother Catherine Spalding, foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Spalding offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the areas of health sciences, natural sciences, social sciences, humanities, business, communication and education.

When Nazareth College moved from Nazareth, Kentucky and established the Louisville campus in 1920, its sole building was the 1851 structure known as the Tompkins-Buchanan-Rankin Mansion.

Today, two residence halls make campus-living convenient, safe and fun. Also offered are two dining options, a fitness facility, a campus store, two art galleries, a central quad for recreation and events, a counseling center, 24-hour campus safety and personal mentorship and development with the staff. Their NCAA Division III Golden Eagle athletic teams allow over 225 scholar-athletes to participate in collegiate sports.

Spalding University is the home for students who want to earn a degree while engaging and serving the community. They put compassion in action every day with their mission-driven focus.

Their students are active in the community, using their Spalding education to make the world better. Altogether, they are a diverse community with a core commitment to inclusion, and value students,

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faculty and staff from all walks of life.

Succeed, Grow, Elevate and Do Good The Spalding community is an inclusive community of people, who are fundamentally different from one another, compassionate and humble. They represent a cross-section of society. They have the most racially diverse student body among all of Kentucky’s private colleges. Thirty-three percent of students selfidentify themselves as people of color.

Spalding University is an all-inclusive community of learners, made up of artists, veterans, activists, parents, religious leaders, LGBTQIA community members and athletes.

Their people have different abilities, ideals, cultures, backgrounds, goals and passions.

They cultivate a supportive space for all their students to learn and grow. The University offers 15 varsity sports at the NCAA Division III level and compete as members of St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC).

Students get a chance to grow and discover themselves in and out of the classroom and nurture their passion.

A notable alumnus, Elmer Lucille Allen was a ceramic artist and chemist who graduated from Nazareth College (now Spalding University) in 1953. She became the first African-American chemist at Brown-Forman in 1966.

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25 higher education 2017 An Adventurer, Explorer and an Erudite President Tori Murden McClure became Spalding’s president in 2010, having also served previously as a vice president and trustee. She holds a bachelor’s from Smith College, a Master of Divinity from Harvard University, a law degree from the University of Louisville and a Master of Fine Arts in writing degree from Spalding.

She is author of the memoir, A Pearl in the Storm: How I Found My Heart in the Middle of the Ocean, which details her journey to become the first American to row across the Atlantic Ocean.

President McClure leads Spalding through a collaborative leadership model that brings diverse voices and experiences together through the board of trustees, leadership team and faculty and staff committees. Since taking charge in 2010, Spalding has expanded its campus by 40%. President McClure is sought after as a speaker and presenter on a variety of topics, including religion and theology, leadership, higher education, adventure and athleticism. Recent appearances include the Apostolic Congress on Mercy at the Vatican, Association of Governing Boards national conference, the U.S. Air Force Academy and her annual appearance at all sites of the Kentucky Governor’s Scholars Program.

Opportunities for Students Spalding University is the first certified compassionate university in the world. Students at Spalding University collaborate to create solutions to the big problems and engage conversations on mercy, justice and compassion. In every day campus life, they put compassion in action through service learning and volunteerism.

They also work towards creating outreach services for the broader community like enTECH, the Center for Behavioral Health and the Spalding Comprehensive Outpatient Rehab Facility.

Spalding University is committed to ensuring equal access to university programs for students with disabilities.

Accessibility Services, provides academic assistance and support for students covered by the American Disabilities Act or ADA. Spalding University’s Career Development Center can help answer your questions about career choices and provide the services to support you on your journey. Career Development not only provides assessments to make sure you fit with your career choice, but they also discuss occupational outlook opportunities in your chosen field.

Financial Provision to Support Aspirations Scholarships are awarded on the basis of financial need or academic merit. The authorities on the campus are passionate about helping students to find institutional or outside scholarships that meet their qualifications. Grants are federal or state awards that help cover the cost of educational expenses. Loans are available from the federal government and other private resources. Student employment is awarded through the Federal Work Study program. Assistantships are campusaffiliated work placements that provide tuition remission to graduate students. VA benefits are financial assistance provided by the Department of Veteran Affairs. T R T H E

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ST. JOSEPH’S

COLLEGE:

Esse non videri “To be, not to seem.”

The mission of St. Joseph’s College is to provide a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels; rooted in a liberal arts tradition that supports provision for career preparation and enhancement.

Illuminating Great Minds through Tradition, Innovation & Excellence Since 1916, St. Joseph’s College (SJC) has been independent and co-educational while providing a strong academic and value-oriented education at the undergraduate and graduate levels. The College aims to prepare each student for a life characterized by integrity, intellectual and spiritual values, social responsibility and service.

SJC is a liberal arts college in New York State, with campuses located in the Clinton Hill area of Brooklyn, and in Patchogue, Long Island, along with an extensive presence in online education. The College offers bachelor’s degrees in more than 50 majors, special course offerings and certificates, affiliated and pre-professional programs, and an enormous array of online options too.

SJC Brooklyn is at the center of one of the nation’s most diverse academic and cultural cities with quick access to such worldrenowned institutions as the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York Public Library, Madison Square Garden, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center. On campus, the Dillon Child Study Center, a teaching facility for child study majors and a pre-school for members of the community, was one of the first of its kind on the East Coast.

SJC Brooklyn recently added a 40,000-square-foot Hill Center that features a 270-seat, NCAA-regulation basketball and volleyball court, conference rooms, a dance studio, an outdoor terrace, a fully equipped sports medicine suite and a 90-car underground parking garage.

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SJC Long Island is a 32-acre lakeside campus featuring the John A. Danzi Athletic Center with an elevated track, six-lane pool, weight room, fitness center and NCAA regulated basketball court; the Business Technology Center; Callahan Library and a 24.8-acre outdoor field complex that is the home to several of SJC’s NCAA Division III teams.

Student Life at SJC The office that administrates Student Life supports the mission of the College through sponsorship of programs and activities that prepare each student for a life of integrity, intellectual values, social responsibility, and service. They support the students to find ways to get involved on campus and in the community. In a quest to enhance the learning experience of a student through co-curricular activities, leadership, and social events, every individual is encouraged to join clubs and organizations, participate in sports, and work on special projects such as Alternative Spring Break.

The College hosts numerous educational and cultural events on its campuses throughout the year and often invites the surrounding communities to attend or participate. Some of the larger scale events are Presidential Lecture and the Khatib Lecture in Comparative Religion.

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25 higher education 2017 A Noted Historian of Opera, Music Aesthetics and Harmonic Theory Dr. Donald R. Boomgaarden is the eighth president of St. Joseph’s College of New York. Previously, Dr. Boomgaarden served as the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Before arriving at Scranton, he was the dean of the College of Music and Fine Arts and David P. Swanzy Distinguished Professor of Music at Loyola University New Orleans, the only college devoted solely to performing arts in the entire 28-University Jesuit system.

Dr. Boomgaardan has authored books on interrelationships between philosophy and music, musical thought in eighteenth-century Britain and Germany, and articles and reviews in numerous scholarly journals.

Considering the plethora of benefits stemming from being a lifelong learner, it’s no wonder that upholding SJC’s reputation for creating lifelong learners is at the core of Dr. Boomgaarden’s mission. “St. Joseph’s students are not just getting a certificate or a diploma, they’re being prepared to go out and transform the world and make it a better place,” said SJC President Dr. Boomgaarden. “They’re learning to think critically.

They're learning to think creatively. And they’re learning to speak eloquently and to write beautifully.” With that in mind, Dr. Boomgaarden’s goal is to continue focusing on accomplishing those set in the strategic plan, which was established in 2015. This includes raising the visibility of the college, increasing enrollment and boosting fundraising efforts, among other institutional efforts.

Enlightening the Student’s Way to Success SJC’s Office of Career Development and Engagement hosts various events – resume writing and job search workshops, lunch-and-learn series, job and internship fairs, interview preparation workshops, GRE overview classes, service opportunities and international job fairs – to help students and alumni learn about their skills and interests.

Dr. Boomgaarden foresees a reputation for SJC based on its nurturing and evolving approaches to teaching and learning, its commitment to excellence in academic and co-curricular programs, its inclusive community focused on both individual development and service to society, its outstanding faculty and staff, its attention to the emerging needs of local and global communities, and its reputation for distinction in ethical and value-centered higher education.

SJC prides itself on providing students with a well-rounded, balanced education and the achievements of its more than 35,000 alumni. SJC graduates work in a variety of industries, including health care and human services, education, STEM, hospitality, medicine, law, business, accounting, arts and entertainment. They continue to support SJC’s mission and continuously give part of their time through volunteerism, mentorships and philanthropic giving.

Financial Assistance for Students More than 77 percent of SJC students receive financial aid successfully. The College offers dozens of undergraduate and graduate top-tier scholarships, scholastic achievement awards, academic achievement scholarships, grants and additional scholarships to help students with the cost of a higher education. In addition, SJC participates in the Federal Work Study program that provides part-time jobs for undergraduate and for graduate students with financial need, allowing them to earn money to help pay education expenses. T R T H E

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