College Parents Weekend Reading Room (5/9/14)

College classes start up again soon—and whether your student is a freshman or senior, it can be a stressful time for both parties due to finances, moving, and new experiences. You might think that because you're assisting financially – tuition payments, rent, food, or other expenses – that you have a say in the career path or courses your child chooses. But here's why you should take a backseat at the start of this new semester:

Low AP Scores Boost College Success

A Texas prison inmate wrote me recently asking for a free copy of my book after reading about it in a newspaper column on the importance of soft skills in the job hunt. He justified the request with a claim that he achieved a 3.7 GPA in getting his associate's degree and "acquired a lot of academic knowledge" but was not ready for the workforce when he completes his prison term soon. I hear this comment frequently from college graduates and current students everywhere from community college to the Ivies, and none of them are in jail.

It’s not exactly a newsflash that one of the many ways that U.S.-based businesses are gaining productivity – and saving money – is through outsourcing of certain functions. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some colleges and universities, in searching for ways to keep their own expenses down, are also looking to outsource. […]