How does college work? Or put another way, how do colleges work and how can you and your student learn to adjust to their practices and achieve success?

Ultimately, of course, it is up to your student to find his/her way in the world. And his/her first step to a new world usually starts with college.

What do you think your child will be feeling on that first day of school? Probably not too different than you may have felt when you went through the same experience many years ago. However, if that is too far back to remember, then maybe it’s better to relate to the way you felt when you started your most recent job. A little apprehensive, a bit uncertain, but excited at the same time. And now, as a first-time college parent, it’s OK for you to feel that way again too.

And while your student may understandably be caught up in the moment, it’s your duty to take a step back and assess what needs to be done, and, with proper limits, to coach your son or daughter along the first and critical steps of the college journey.

One important fact for your family to recognize is that a college or university is populated by people who want the best for students, and whose favorite part of their job is actually working directly with students.

Now that claim of ours, of course, is not that different from the way you may have felt about those who worked at your student’s high school. Yet, with rare exceptions, this new institution of higher education will be, as it sounds, a step above high school in terms of number of people, number of separate departments and roles, and number of paths to navigate in order to make it to the finish line.

Some of the differences between high school and college will be stark, while others will be more subtle. And the same will apply to some of the differences between high school and college parenting.

One obvious difference between high school and college will be your access to information.

Throughout your student’s K-12 years, you undoubtedly had access to an incredible amount of information about his/her course of study, assignments and grades. In some school districts, the information spigot is turned on full blast and you can crunch as much data as you would like.

Well, get ready, because college is going to be very different, due to the Federal Educational Records Privacy Act, commonly known as “FERPA.” Ironically, FERPA was passed by Congress and signed into law in the 1970s, when some of us, those who are baby-boomers, were in college ourselves. The main goal of FERPA was to keep information away from Big Brother Government, but as it has been tweaked and applied over the years, and as it has been interpreted by many colleges and universities, the law has come to be seen as a way of protecting student information even from members of an immediate family, namely you.

So if you want to get your student’s grades, and/or health records and/or disciplinary records, then your student should sign a waiver allowing you access to that personal information. Some schools will provide you limited information without such a signed waiver, but most schools will provide you such information only in the case of an emergency. If the waiver is signed and properly filed with the college or university, then such concerns will melt away.

As you are probably reminded every day in your job or in other contexts, it’s one thing to have access to data, but it’s quite another thing to be able to interpret that data in a meaningful manner, and then to act on it in an appropriate way. That’s part of what our membership is all about. We encourage you to review our website, www.collegeparents.org, and to soak in as much information as you can. And please contact me at jboyle@collegeparents.org if you have any questions or concerns that I might address.

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.

Last week saw non-stop coverage of the Gulf Oil Spill on news channels, and had the World Cup and U.S. Open dominating the sports world.  Amidst that crowded backdrop, a significant Knight Commission report on the future of sports and higher education received scant attention.  The report deserves a closer look and, in my view, our support.

The Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics is a project of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.  Eighteen months ago, the commission began an investigation of college sports, which culminated last week in the release of “Restoring the Balance: Dollars, Values and the Future of College Sports.”

While conference realignments have been grabbing headlines in recent weeks, the Knight Commission tried to look at the bigger picture, and to address the fundamental issues faced by schools during an era of escalating athletics spending, shrinking state higher ed subsidies and vacillating performance by university endowment funds as the stock market ebbs and flows.

The Knight Commission examined the broad spectrum of college sports, but it placed a magnifying glass in particular over the schools which make up what is known as the “Football Bowl Subdivision,” (FBS).  The public institutions in the FBS were found to have grown median spending in athletics during the period of 2005 – 2008 at a rate of nearly 38 percent, while median academic spending during the same timeframe advanced only 20 percent.  Looked at another way, the growth in athletic dollars spent was almost twice the growth rate of academic expenditures.

While either side of the spending coin had to grow much at all during a time of negligible inflation is probably best left to a column for another day.  But spending on athletics must be examined closely each and every day, and there is no better time than now for the Knight Commission to release the numbers which, in some cases, are staggering.

For instance, according to the commission report, the ten FBS public institutions spending the most on college sports are on pace to spend more than $250 million annually, on average, in 2020.  At these same schools, median spending per athlete ranges from four to nearly eleven times more than the academic spending per student.

To address these troubling patterns, the Knight Commission offers three general principles for strengthened accountability in intercollegiate athletics.  These are:

1. Requiring public transparency of financial reporting, including better measures to compare athletic spending to academic spending;
2. Rewarding practices that make academic values a priority; and
3. Treating athletes first and foremost as students, and not as pseudo-professionals.

Around these principals, the Knight Commission makes several recommendations, including:

1. Making public the financial reports filed by each institution with the NCAA;
2. Withdrawing championship eligibility for teams, in any sport, not on track to graduate at least half of their athletes;
3. Tying revenue distribution more closely to academic values:
4. Examining scholarship practices and, in some cases, decreasing the number made available, such as in football at FBS schools;
5. Limiting the number of non-coaching personnel tied to specific sports; and
6. Reducing the length of some seasons, as well as the number of events in some sports.

Although the Knight Commission includes a number of distinguished higher education leaders, and it is co-chaired by the chancellor of the University of Maryland System and the president of Southern Methodist University, respectively, its recommendations will not gain traction without public support.  In this instance, the most important segment of the “public” consists of us, tuition-paying parents.

I encourage you to click here to read the entire report and to visit www.knightcommission.org to read statements of support by U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, American Council on Education president Molly Corbett Broad and others.  Please add your own comments below or at www.facebook.com/collegeparentsofamerica.  Thank you for your consideration.