BIGGEST COLLEGE-RELATED NEWS OF THE WEEK

JMU TAKES A NEW APPROACH TO NURSING PROGRAM ADMISSIONS

Last week, James Madison University announced that it will adopt a new “holistic” admissions process for entry into its Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. Beginning in the fall of 2024, JMU will stop considering cumulative GPAs of applicants. Instead, the admissions committee will consider applicants’ weighted averages in prerequisite courses as well as factors beyond metrics, including “military service, employment, community experience, and certifications and credentials.” The goal is to encourage greater diversity in JMU’s nursing program and promote emphasis on the entire student, not solely on academic performance. 

NEW MAJOR CREATES FLEXIBLE FUTURES FOR STUDENTS AT WISCONSIN

In the fall of 2022, the University of Wisconsin began offering a new major–and it’s a hit! Over 70 undergraduates have already declared their major in Information Science this year. So what makes this new course of study so popular? The Information Science program has a flexible structure and doesn’t require students to have a technical background. Instead, undergraduates can personalize their studies to fit their interests and skills. Concentration areas within the major include law and ethics; data and society; and user experience design, among others. 

REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH LAWS IMPACT COLLEGE DECISIONS

A new study has found that applicants are considering more than just academic programs in their college decision process. They’re also weighing reproductive health laws. According to the newly released Lumina Foundation-Gallup State of Higher Education 2022 study, 60% of adults say that reproductive health laws are “somewhat important” as they select colleges, and almost 75% of current college students feel that the laws are “somewhat important” in their choice to remain at a school. Some experts believe this data is important because it may foreshadow future enrollment issues across various states and could potentially impact local economies.

BEST ARTICLES OF THE WEEK

In a world of increasing inflation and job worries, it’s more important than ever for students to select a practical major. But what exactly constitutes a practical major? According to Freddie deBoer in “Pick a Practical Major, Like French,” “go-to” majors that are often deemed safe and secure—such as engineering, computer science, and business—may not be the safest choices after all. That’s because technology has the potential to rapidly change job industries and make particular fields obsolete. And for undergrads betting on trendy, up-and-coming fields, these industries might still be standing, but they’re saturated with young professionals seeking employment. Ultimately, there may be no such thing as a practical major, but this isn’t depressing news, says deBoer. It’s a chance for young adults to free themselves from old assumptions and instead focus on picking a major and career path about which they’re passionate. 

If you’ve ever tried searching for college data, you know that the process can be difficult at best. It takes a lot more than a simple Google search to locate the numbers buried deep in government websites and behind confusing academic jargon. Fortunately, several parents took notice of this problem—and in an effort to make the college search easier and more transparent—they developed valuable tools to support families going through the college application process. The New York Times curated a list of parent-created resources that offer information on everything from pricing to financial aid discounts to likelihood of admissions. While these tools can’t possibly capture all of the data, they can “encourage a reframing of the shopping process and a proper level of skepticism.”

“More diversity, less Confederacy”- that’s how the University of Virginia’s alumni magazine described the school’s efforts to invest more into their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (D.E.I.) program in the wake of the George Floyd murder. While many in the UVA community applaud these efforts to increasingly diversify the student and faculty populations, as well as academic programs, others are pushing back. Most notably is UVA alumnus Bert Ellis, who “co-founded a dissident alumni group, the Jefferson Council” and was recently appointed by Governor Youngkin to the university’s board of trustees. Opponents of D.E.I. programs worry that such initiatives lower standards and redirect what could be valuable scholarship funds. While this is certainly a contentious issue that has no easy answers, it does raise a valuable question: “what should a university look like, value, and honor?”

OFFICE HAPPENINGS

Many of you have gotten to know Courtney on our admin team over the past year. She has provided individualized reminders to all of our students about everything they needed to be doing between meetings to make sure that they stayed on track at all times - from homework, to follow-up action items, to meetings to book!

Courtney has been in a master’s program at George Mason and she’s graduating in May, which means that she will be leaving us for her full-time career in counseling! We are so excited for her next steps but will really miss her in the office :) We’ve been busy trying to find an equally great replacement, which is hard because she has set a high bar!

Stay tuned for more on that over the next week or two!