I’m very pleased to devote my column today to the launch of the Doug and Grace Laughlin Family Scholarships, a new dual scholarship program named in honor of our organization’s founder. The scholarships are intended to assist first-generation college students and exceptional student leaders to meet the rising cost of a college education.

There is no better way to honor College Parents of America’s founder, Doug Laughlin, and his wife, Grace, than by creating a college scholarship program in their names. After looking closely at what types of scholarship we should offer, we decided to take a dual approach, with five scholarships going to first-generation college-bound students and five going to continuing undergraduate students, who have proven themselves to be exceptional leaders inside or outside of the classroom.

To be awarded a Doug and Grace Laughlin First Generation College-Bound Scholarship, a student must be:

• a first-time freshman who is part of the first generation in his/her family to attend college;
• pursuing his/her degree at an accredited post-secondary institution; and
• defined as a full-time student at the college where he/she is enrolled.

Applicants for the Doug and Grace Laughlin Exceptional Leader Scholarships must be:

• if a first time freshman applicant, an “honor student” as defined by the high school from which he/she graduated; or
• if a college upperclassman, a holder of at least a 3.00 grade point average at the institution most recently attended;
• pursuing his/her first undergraduate degree at an accredited post-secondary institution;
• defined as a full-time student at the college where he/she is enrolled; and
• demonstrating outstanding leadership skills inside or outside the classroom.

To be eligible, award recipients must also be registered as a subscriber, affiliate or member of College Parents of America. Membership level is not required and does not influence the selection process.

College Parents of America will award five $1,000 scholarships to first-generation, college freshmen for the 2010/2011 academic year, as well as five $1,000 scholarships to exceptional leaders, no matter what their year in school, for the same upcoming school year.

As College Parents of America continues to grow, so will our scholarship program. Our goal is to empower parents to best support their children on the path to and through college.

The 2010 – 2011 College Parents of America’s Scholarship Program will be awarded throughout the entire academic year. Online applications are available right now at www.collegeparents.org/scholarships.

Consider this: The key to your student getting a good job upon graduation and achieving career success may very well have more to do with what happens outside the classroom and much less to do with that coveted diploma. For all the effort students put into getting good grades and you put into paying the burdensome cost of a college education, today’s competitive job market demands more than a degree. Students must set themselves apart.

Gaining career experience – such as through an internship – has become a vital ingredient to boost graduate employability. In fact, more than 75% of employers prefer graduates with relevant work experience, according to a study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Other recent studies indicate that those who intern are twice as likely to get job offers before graduation, secure jobs three times faster, stay within their field of study, and – on average – earn a $2,250 higher starting salary.

So why don’t more students take more initiative to intern?

“It’s often a combination of feeling lost, apathetic or intimated coupled with a lack of support from the schools,” explains Matthew Zinman, founder of The Internship Institute (TII), a non-profit organization solely focused on assuring the quality and integrity of the internship experience. “No two schools do anything the same way and – when it comes to internships, very few provide adequate support systems for students and employers,” he says.

The need to fill these gaps has prompted TII to develop a career preparation and certification course at www.InternshipSuccess.com. It has three online sessions. The first shows students how to find and get the right internship. The second is about turning the opportunity into a rewarding experience. And the third provides comprehensive training on 20 workplace skills to perform well in a professional setting. Students also have access to more than 70 downloadable course supplements that include a broad range of career support tools and topics. After completing the course, the student is then awarded a Certificate of Career Preparation as a résumé-builder.

“Parents tend to like what we provide students because we kind of grab them by the scruff and say “If you want to take charge of your future, here’s what it takes to succeed’ and then we give them everything they need to do it,” says Zinman. “There’s no substitute for experience. This is about what they don’t learn in the classroom. We provide more career development advice and resources here than they’ll ever find in one place. So we truly believe that students will gain more doing this than from an entire semester of courses combined. They just need to follow our lead and apply themselves.”

As much as the course might be a smart use of time and effort, students should definitely take advantage of any services offered by their school’s career center and/or support from their academic department. Unfortunately, those who do remain in the minority, according to NACE, which estimates that less than 40% of undergraduates EVER utilize the career center. At the very least, students can get help to polish their résumé, improve their interviewing and job search skills, participate in campus events, and gain access to any number of other resources.

As increasingly important as internships have become, they’re also more difficult to come by as employers have cutback in the down economy. There simply aren’t as many internships available as there are students seeking them. However, there are various alternatives for students to gain real-world exposure and experience. They can take the initiative to set up informational interviews and parlay them into job shadowing and other professional networking opportunities. Volunteering for a local non-profit is certainly one example where a student can do well by doing good.

It’s never too soon for students to do what it takes to break into the competitive job market. No lecture, textbook, lecture, exam or lab can replace the benefits of gaining hands-on experience. The summer slowdown is the perfect time for students to invest the time to get smart, get moving and get a leg up. Parents can play a pivotal role by offering the encouragement and support to make sure students do just that.

My travels with College Parents of America haven’t yet brought me to all fifty states, but I’ve had the pleasure of communicating with each of you – who are scattered among all of our states – and of learning the idiosyncrasies related to education in each of your locales. There is much to improve, of course, but also much to celebrate.

And what better time than the 4th of July to share with you 25 reasons to celebrate education across America?

So what follows then is the first half of a complete list of each and every state – in alphabetical order – followed by some positive nugget about education in that state that I have gleaned in my role at College Parents of America. I’ll complete the list of all 50 states, with comments included, in a later July column. So you fact-checkers out there don’t have a field day, let’s just call these “impressions” as opposed to strict, every t-crossed “facts.”

Now, the first half of our alphabetical and educational journey across America:

ALABAMA is home to some of the premier “HBCUs” in the U.S., a term that refers to “Historically Black Colleges and Universities,” public and private colleges and universities that have provided outstanding educations to men and women of all colors, but primarily from the African-American community.

ALASKA provides excellent K-12, and college, education opportunities to members of the Native American community, who sometimes must travel extremely long distances to gain schooling that will provide options for employment or higher education available beyond the reservation or local town.

ARIZONA has been fairly quiet on the Western educational front, but its state schools, such as Arizona State University, grow ever more competitive, thanks mainly to the population explosion in Phoenix and environs. And University of Phoenix continues to be the fastest growing “college” in America.

ARKANSAS is home to Hendrix College, emblematic of a large and growing number of relatively small schools that can provide a great education to a young person who wants to learn in a somewhat laid-back setting with classrooms where everybody knows your name.

CALIFORNIA is a place unlike any other, a veritable “nation state” with one of the world’s largest economies and probably the world’s finest dual system of public higher education – the “UC” schools, and the “Cal State” schools. While both systems are under severe financial stress, securing a place at one of these schools’ honors colleges is often more difficult than securing a spot at one of the most selective colleges in the East.

COLORADO has, for better or for worse, received more attention for its Ward Churchill controversy than for the broader higher educational opportunities offered through its great collection of public and private colleges and universities.

CONNECTICUT’s most well-known public university, UCONN in Storrs, is only one of several state schools that provide a strong education to students from diverse backgrounds, of varying ages and who are pursuing career paths with mostly a very practical – and admirable – intent.

DELAWARE’s flagship state school, the University of Delaware in Newark, not only has one of the most entertaining sports team names – “Fighting Blue Hens” – but is also one of the best examples of the so-called “Public Ivies.” These are large, state-funded institutions that have somehow been able to break through in terms of their reputation for providing wonderful undergraduate educations.

FLORIDA in education, as in so many fields, is sort of a laboratory for the future, as its ever-growing, ever-changing population wrestles with the importance of early childhood education as a precursor to success in school, and as its aging men and women are asked increasingly to help pick up the tab for America’s school bills.

GEORGIA’s Hope Scholarship, which transfers funds from the state’s lottery to help pay college tuitions at in-state schools for those who meet basic entry requirements, has become the lightning rod for discussion of the wisdom of such programs. Most think that Hope is beyond reproach, but others feel it is contributing to a misallocation of finite financial aid resources, from those in need to those who attain certain pre-college educational goals.

HAWAII has caught my attention due to the number of long-standing programs that it has for placing students in mainland U.S. colleges of all stripes, thereby promoting effective cultural exchange that works in both directions.

IDAHO’s Boise State is creating some buzz for reasons beyond the unusual blue color of its football field. This school is increasingly drawing out-of-state residents who are lured by Idaho’s quality of life, and its varied offerings appeal to those who may not necessarily have their minds made up on a career at the time they enter school.

ILLINOIS is home to my alma mater, Northwestern University, which is still the ideal size and location for an undergraduate institution – large enough to offer several high-quality fields of study and relatively quiet on the main campus, but close to the vibrancy of Chicago right next door.

INDIANA is the place where one of the best research institutions in the country – IU in Bloomington – works on the cutting edge in fields too numerous to mention. OK, one that must be noted is higher education itself – warts and all – which is studied by a team of researchers who follow admissions and student trends very closely.

IOWA was the first state to contact us through official channels, asking to partner on the creation of a “College Parents of Iowa,” with a particular focus on the higher educational challenges in that locale. Iowa is also the headquarters of ACT, the well-run service that draws nearly as many test-takers as the College Board’s SAT.

KANSAS, to be honest, has not jumped on my radar screen in any significant way, but I do have a soft spot for the state, as my wife used to work for former Senator (and presidential candidate) Robert Dole. Let’s salute Mr. Dole and all other surviving WW II veterans, as their numbers dwindle every single day.

KENTUCKY’s flagship university, UK in Lexington, is starting to be given a run for its educational – and athletic – money by the University of Louisville, a formerly commuter-dominant school that is working seriously on creating a cohesive campus culture. Those UL Redbirds are really starting to peck away at the Wildcats.

LOUISIANA, like many states, is addressing a serious “brain drain” issue by attempting to strengthen dramatically the quality of its public colleges and universities, and by encouraging more of those who study at its various private schools to stay in Cajun Country when they graduate. Louisiana’s brain drain was, of course, exacerbated by the effects of Katrina, and it could be similarly impacted by the Gulf oil spill.

MAINE benefits from a congressional delegation, led by senior Senator Olympia Snowe, who pay close attention to the interests of the state, but who also take the long view when it comes to the interests of the nation, particularly in the area of education policy.

MARYLAND students and their families have benefited from some very smart judgments on the part of Britt Kirwin, who runs the University of Maryland system, which includes the flagship in College Park. Kirwin has evangelized for years that, in order for colleges and universities to have credibility when raising tuition, they must take a hard line on the expense side of the equation, and try to hold down their costs as much as possible.

MASSACHUSETTS is a trendsetter when it comes to education policy, particularly as it relates to higher education. The high number of colleges in the Boston area, as well as the higher-than-average levels of education attainment among Massachusetts’s residents, makes the Bay State a natural laboratory for education policy debates.

MICHIGAN, my home state, is feeling the effects of what cynics call a “one-state” recession, as its automobile-based manufacturing economy continues to suffer. This puts a squeeze on education-related state spending, both for K-12 and for higher Ed, an issue that extends far beyond this one state.

MINNESOTA is the home base of Scholarship America, emblematic of an extremely large group of non-profit entities dedicated to providing scholarship opportunities to young people entering or in the midst of college. Nearby, this state’s flagship university, UofM, is one of the recognized leaders among public schools in terms of providing support for parents, thanks to the efforts of parent relations director Marjorie Savage.

MISSISSIPPI, like the vast majority of states, was not been tarred with the student loan scandal because the financial aid officials at schools in that state are much the same as their colleagues who work elsewhere – dedicated professionals with the best interest of the students they serve at heart.

Last but not least, concluding the first part of this American education tour is MISSOURI, where an increasing emphasis on career planning out of high school is leading students to better focus on the practicality of post-secondary studies that they may pursue.

As noted, the other 25 states, and Washington, DC, will be covered in a column later this month. I had fun writing up these state-specific items and I hope that you found them of interest.

Best wishes for an enjoyable Fourth of July holiday weekend.

There’s little doubt that America faces some huge challenges over the coming decades.

Three interacting forces threaten the nation’s fragile prosperity and sense of cohesion. These forces are:

• economic restructuring that places a premium on literacy and numeracy skills;
• uneven distribution of those skills; and
• sweeping demographic changes for the U.S. population, especially the workforce.

Taken together, it’s a perfect storm. And much like Sebastian Junger’s best-selling book of the same name, the tale is as true as it is scary. However, unlike the players in that book, who could only hope to survive as their fishing boat submerged off the coast of Nova Scotia, we have a chance to help address some of the seemingly intractable problems that plague our nation before they sink our economic and political boat.

The purpose of today’s column is to bring these problems to your attention in a way that they may not have been described before. That is a much broader purpose than this e-mail usually serves, but sometimes we must emerge from our world of AP courses, standardized test prep and comforts for the dorm room, and look at the wider universe in which we and our students are living.

America’s perfect storm can be seen in a number of ways, and through waves of numbers. Do you know, for instance, that high school graduation rates peaked in the U.S. nearly 40 years ago, in 1969, at 77 percent? By 1995, this rate had fallen back to 70 percent and it has stayed that way ever since.

Now, to be sure, a greater percentage of those graduates decide, every year, to pursue college, but what are the prospects for those 30 percent of high school students who don’t make it to graduation? Personally very dim for them, of course, but collectively not very good for all of us, especially when you consider the world of global competitiveness in which we live.

Presumably, you are reading this column either because you have a child already in college or one who will soon be entering post-secondary studies. On the one hand, you may be fine with the fact that not all students aspire to attend college, as that means a slightly less competitive admissions landscape.

Yet, when you consider that two-thirds of the job growth between the years 1984 and 2009 came from the creation of positions that require a college education, you then can begin to picture the dead end of opportunity facing those who don’t pursue at least a bachelor’s or associate’s degree. In short, what may be good for your family may not be good for our country.

The immigration debate is probably best left to another venue, or at least another column, but a cold dose of some immigration facts should be relayed to you for context as to why changing demographics are contributing to America’s perfect storm.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic share of the U.S. population will be slightly more than 20 percent by 2030 and, in certain areas of the country, even higher. Nearly 57 percent of the 16- to 64-year-old Hispanic population in the U.S. is foreign-born, up from 46 percent in 1990. More than half of immigrant Hispanics lack a high school diploma.

Since 80 percent of immigrants who have not earned a high school diploma self-report that they “do not speak English well or at all,” there is a steep economic hill for them to climb, and a two-step challenge to overcome: learning English well enough to eventually finish high school and utilizing that learned English to achieve success in college and attain a well-paying job.

Bottom line: If our society’s overall levels of learning and skills are not increased and the existing gaps are not narrowed, there is little chance that economic opportunities will improve among key segments of our population.

What can be done? That is the $64,000 question or, to be more precise, the $1,000,000 question as that is the difference, on average, between the lifetime earnings of one with a college degree and someone who fails to attain a high school diploma.

I don’t claim to have the answer here, but I did want to start a dialogue which can eventually lead to solutions. Thank you for sticking with my somber assessment of America’s past performance, present challenges and future prospects when it comes to educating our workforce. And please share your views on how we as a nation can best ride out and survive America’s perfect storm.

“Administrators promoting parent involvement” is not just a headline. It is the name of a group of dedicated professionals at colleges and universities who run what are usually called “parent relations” offices at these institutions.

So when Administrators Promoting Parent Involvement (APPI) gather today at their annual meeting in Boston, they will be doing so with your interests in mind and at heart. Of all of the offices at a college or university, and schools have many, it is the offices that these professionals run which regard you – the parent – as the key “customer” in a symbiotic relationship.

The admission office wants your enrollment contract, and the bursar’s office wants your money, but the parent relations office wants your feedback. Their job is to serve you, to learn your concerns, and to communicate those concerns to the proper channels at the university.

Because they are professionals, however, these individuals make “professional judgments” in the course of doing their job. Sometimes, that may mean saying “no” to your request to get involved in a roommate dispute or an academic question. Parent relations pros know that such issues are better resolved by the student or, if resolution is not possible, then at least they will be a student learning experience.

Do you interact with the parents relations office at your son or daughter’s school? How do you rate your experience? Please share your thoughts with us below.