Business & Economy

Entrepreneurs target Detroit for opportunities

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By LACEE SHEPARD
Capital News Service
LANSING – Despite what appears to be a crumbling job market in Detroit and the city’s recent declaration of bankruptcy, local colleges are growing stronger entrepreneurial programs.
Detroit and surrounding areas are becoming home to more start-up businesses, especially on campuses. “The place it’s most obvious is on college campuses,” said Rob Fowler, president of the Small Business Association of Michigan. In a survey of 15 public universities, SBAM found there were more courses geared toward entrepreneurship than originally thought. According to Fowler, the unexpected information found in the survey was the amount of extracurricular student activity. “The big surprise was the student-led entrepreneur clubs or entrepreneurial gatherings, and even to the point of student companies and organizations of student-run companies,” Fowler said, “a lot more of that activity than any of us thought.”
Wayne State University has a strong entrepreneurial program that is made stronger by student organizations like Collegiate Entrepreneurs’ Organization.

Education

College degrees pay off, new study shows

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By JUSTINE McGUIRE
Capital News Service
LANSING – A four-year college degree is still worth paying for – even during recession years, a recent study shows. The Pew Charitable Trust concluded that during the recession, recent college grads had a lower unemployment rate than their counterparts with only high school diplomas or associate’s degrees, and the reason was largely not because they took pay cuts or accepted jobs they were overqualified for. “It’s indisputable that a full college education puts people at a better economic standing,” said Rep. Sean McCann, D-Kalamazoo, a member of the House Higher Education Appropriations Subcommittee. The national study shows that although bachelor’s degree holders experienced a 7 percent decline in employment, a 5 percent decline in wages and a 3 percent decline in the number working in college-level jobs during the recession, they were still much better protected than their less-educated counterparts. “This shows that we really need to continue to invest in higher education and all education as a public good and as a way to increase prosperity,” McCann said.

Education

Community colleges, manufacturers team up to fill middle-skill jobs

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By YANJIE WANG
Capital News Service
LANSING– With the state’s manufacturing industry facing a talent crisis, the Michigan Manufacturers Association and the Michigan Community College Association are collaborating to meet the demand for middle-skill workers. As technology advances, a lot of jobs require people with the right skills, said Delaney McKinley, director of human resource policy for the Manufacturers Association. And the shortage could get worse as the workforce ages and skilled workers retire, according to the association. About 20 percent of Michigan’s manufacturing workforce is older than age 55, according to the Workforce Intelligence Network for Southeast Michigan in Detroit. Middle skill jobs, as defined by McKinley, require a level of skills somewhere between those that “need people who are engineers or highly educated” and those that “don’t require training necessarily.”
Industry is looking for people to fill jobs such as production technicians, computer numerical control machinists and welders, McKinley said.

Education

Partnerships help students earn two degrees

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By LAUREN GENTILE
Capital News Service
LANSING – Many students are finding a new way to get a four-year degree for a lower cost through degree completion programs at their local community colleges. “Degree completion or transfer programs are run by a community college with the help of a four-year institution,” Michael Hansen, president of the Michigan Community College Association, said. “Most programs are either two or three years at the community college, then one at the university.”
Campuses all over the state have partnered with colleges to make “big university dreams” come true at an affordable rate, Hansen said. “These programs allow students to pay the community college tuition rate, sometimes for up to 90 credits,” he said. For example, Macomb Community College worked with Oakland University to create the state’s first concurrent enrollment program.

Education

Community colleges innovate to stay competitive

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By JON GASKELL
Capital News Service
LANSING – Community colleges are finding new ways to compete with for-profit colleges to enroll and retain more part-time and working students. Those efforts, including one at Kellogg Community College in Battle Creek, come at a time when community college enrollments are dipping while for-profit enrollments are rising. Over the past year, enrollment at community colleges dropped for the first time in several years, from a high of 260,179 in 2010 to 250,399 now, according to the Michigan Community College Association. However, enrollment in the state’s degree-granting, for-profits rose from 21,185 in 2004 to 30,193 in 2010, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Donald Heller, dean of the Michigan State University College of Education and an expert on higher education policy, said the growth of for-profits like the University of Phoenix and Everest Institute is largely due to their flexibility.

Education

State change allows educational alcohol consumption

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Editors: For localization potential note list of community colleges with culinary and hospitality programs at end of story
By SAM INGLOT
Capital News Service
LANSING– Michigan community college and university students can now have alcohol in class. That doesn’t mean students can crack open a beer in the middle of math. Gov. Rick Snyder recently signed into law a bill that allows accredited culinary or hospitality business programs to serve alcohol on campus. But the occasion must help students learn more about the industry. Before the law some colleges couldn’t host events that served alcohol as part of instruction because Michigan liquor laws prohibit alcohol from being served on state-owned land.

Business & Economy

Bleak economy, gloomy winters drive young graduates away

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BY NICK MCWHERTER
Capital News Service
LANSING- Her mind is made up. Convinced there is greater opportunities elsewhere, Samantha Parent, a Central Michigan University senior, plans to leave Michigan for Texas to look for a job following graduation. Jobs are scarce, prospects are thin and Parent is just one of many college graduates fleeing the state for warmer climates and stronger economies. Michigan residents are bolting the state for southern states such as Texas and Florida, according to recent information from the Census Bureau. This continues the state’s trend of losing residents in recent years.

Education

Some colleges may admit students based on their tuition

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By SAM INGLOT
Capital News Service
LANSING— Some Michigan higher education advocates disagree with a national survey that found most colleges and universities target higher-paying students during the admissions process. “I think to paint all universities with that survey is misleading,” said Michael Boulus, executive director for the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan. The survey found that a top goal of admissions directors is to recruit students who will pay more for their tuition, including out-of-state students, international students and full-pay students—those who don’t need financial aid. The survey, published by Inside Higher Ed, a higher education news and resource webpage, polled 462 anonymous admissions officials from nonprofit colleges and universities,
Public universities are traditionally known for access to all students regardless of income. But the survey indicates that in-state and low-income students may not be as highly sought as other students who can pay higher tuition to financially strapped universities.

Education

Some remain resistant to online resources replacing traditional textbooks

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By COURTNEY CULEY
Capital News Service
LANSING — Michigan schools may be saying goodbye to bulky, expensive textbooks and substituting online resources that are cheaper and easier to update. But some people are resistant to the possible change. “This is a day and age when they have to do wonders on the MEAP, every child can be a genius, and every child goes to college,” said Steve Cook, president of the Michigan Education Association. How can kids do that without taking textbooks home, he said. When an audience of 100 people gathered at the Michigan Education Association was asked to raise their hand if their districts had the same problem, almost half did, Cook said.