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According to the National Center for Education Statistics, 21.6 million students were enrolled in American colleges and universities in 2012. With today’s youth constantly texting, tweeting, Tumblring, posting statuses on Facebook and updating Instagram, among other social networking sites at a rapid pace, schools need to engage with applicants and current students regularly. It’s clear the days of shiny brochures, flashy websites and in-person campus visits are no longer enough to attract high-caliber students.

Colleges and universities should embrace social media as a means to build relationships and create emotional connections with prospective students.

Black Enterprise looks at four ways that colleges and universities can improve their digital game. With this new option, it’s definitely something that higher education is exploring.

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At the beginning of the year, USA Today asked if college degrees were still worth it in this economy. The sight of fresh graduates moving back in with mommy and daddy or settling into service industry gigs makes it easy to question whether higher education is the smart route to take. Even a law degree isn’t a guarantee of a job these days.

But studies show that a college degree still makes a difference in your career. Jobless rates and wage drops are still higher for workers with only a high school diploma. “Degree inflation,” a trend where employers change minimum job requirements to include degrees for positions that once upon at time only needed a diploma plays a part in this.

A college degree doesn’t get you as much as it once did, but it still gives you an advantage over your less credentialed competition.

So, what degrees give you the highest return on your investment? US News & World Report cross-referenced degree programs with starting salaries to find out. We picked out the common specialty areas from the list and added a few from Forbes’ research here.

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According to a new study, the number of minority professors is increasing in business schools, allbeit slowly. More African Americans are seeking a higher education, but in front of the classroom, there is a dearth of African- American professors teaching in universities and colleges nationwide.

The number of minority (African-American, Hispanic-American, and Native American) professors at U.S. business schools with a doctoral degree has quadrupled since 1994. The increase can be attributed, at least in part, to the efforts of  The PhD Project, a program aimed at increasing diversity in America’s business management ranks.

Much has changed since The PhD Project began in 1994, the program says. Then, there were only 294 minority professors in business schools across the country with a doctorate, according to Hispanically Speaking News.

Just two years ago the stats were bleak. “Forty-two percent of African Americans who attended a predominantly white university never had a single black professor during four years of college,” found a 2011 study. And, reports Clutch magazine, nearly 74 percent of these students said they had only one black professor in a field outside of African-American studies.

According to The PhD Project website, its mission is “to increase the diversity of corporate America by increasing the diversity of business school faculty.”

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Back in 2008, a survey called the “Sexual Experiences Survey” was conducted throughout the campus of Princeton University. The survey consisted of 17 questions, all multiple choice and was conducted in an effort to gage how frequently unwanted sexual acts were occurring and to measure ”behaviors that meet legal definitions of various sex crimes,” reports the Daily Princetonian.

The survey, which was conducted on 1,595 graduate and undergraduate students, found that 1 in 6 of Princeton’s female undergraduate students had at one point or another, experienced “non-consensual vaginal penetration” during their time at the university. Out of the 809 female undergraduate students who filed out the survey, more than 120 of them positively responded to the statement, “A man put his private part into my vagina, or someone inserted fingers or objects without my consent.”

28 percent of the female students surveyed reported that they were touched in an inappropriate manner or had their clothes removed against their wishes. 12 percent reported that they were forced to receive and/or give oral sex. Between the years of 2006 and 2009, 44 cases of forcible sex were reported to School Safety and between 2009 and 2012, five students were penalized for sexual misconduct.

Although this study was conducted in 2008, the results were kept private, until now of course. One can’t say exactly why Princeton decided to bury the results, but Katie J.M. Baker over at Jezebel implied that it may have been Princeton simply attempting to save face.

“If we pretend elite college students aren’t sexually assaulting their peers, the rape fairy will make it all disappear,” Baker wrote.

Amanda Sandoval, Director of Princeton’s Women’s Center expressed that the results were probably never released because they were consistent with national averages.

“Anything about Princeton goes international, practically, and no other universities do that, so does Princeton want to be the one to say that this many of our students are sexually assaulted? I don’t think so. I don’t know that there is a real benefit to releasing it. I think if we had found something very different from the national average, that would be one thing, because that’s a real story. A story that Princeton’s rates of students who have been assaulted is on line with national averages is really not a story, but I mean in this news environment, people would make a big deal about it,” Sandoval said.

Thoughts?

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From The Grio

Thousands of students couldn’t afford to go to college this school year because the U.S. Department of Education made changes to a popular loan program.

The agency is putting more scrutiny on the PLUS loan program as part of an effort to more closely align government lending programs with industry standards and decrease default rates.

Read more at TheGrio.com.

First and foremost, let me say that this story isn’t about my child in particular, but about a niece of mine with a lot of talent and potential. I just thought I would bring this scenario to you guys to get your opinion on it and know what you would do as a parent (as I know many of our readers are mothers).

So during a recent trip to see my family, I had the chance to see almost all of my nieces and nephews. Two of them, twins, my family has been somewhat estranged from because of their mother and her rocky relationship with my brother. They’re both married to different people, but they still don’t get along all these years later. I also had something of an online argument with her and her sisters after one of my nephews other aunts decided to publicly disrespect my brother–his father–via Facebook after HE did the same. After some good time passed, my niece and nephew came to my mother’s home for the first time in years during Thanksgiving and we all got to reconnect. At THAT time, they were talking about their post-high school plans, their sports (which had always been a huge part of their high school career) and what they hoped to study.

Fast forward to graduation time and my visit home in May. As my sister picked up her doctorate, my cousin graduated from high school and talked about going away to a Big 10 University in the fall, and my nephew was asked to play baseball at a Division I school, my niece was the only graduate I knew who didn’t seem to have any after-the-fact plans. When I talked to her father about it all, since she was doing a good job of being MIA after all the festivities, I was quite disturbed to find that she had told him and others that she really didn’t think she was going to go to school. Though she had been accepted to a good school that wanted her to play softball in another state, she didn’t want to go that far because she didn’t know anybody out there…

Always one to stand out and stand on her own, even as a twin, she all of a sudden wasn’t ready to stand completely alone for the sake of her education. It was almost June and she hadn’t said yes or no to any school, and it seemed she was just going to take a break from school altogether. I could understand her reservations about attending a school far away from home, as I was the last child in my family and was somewhat scared about making  the decision to go out-of-state for school back in the day. But to have no plans and to say you’re not really feeling the idea of school? C’mon, this is 2012, and in this world and in this tepid economy, NOT going to school these days is unacceptable in my opinion.

And I’m saying it’s not acceptable because I think it’s a wack way of thinking or something like that, but rather, because as a friend would say, these days a bachelor’s degree in SOMETHING is your ticket in the door. At this point, it’s what the high school diploma used to be, and while many would say that a college degree doesn’t guarantee you any kind of job in this shoddy economy, we know that it at least offers you a shot at something and you won’t have your resume immediately put in the “No, thanks” pile. Many fields require a bit more, but a bachelor’s degree is something you should strive to have, whether you’re taking a few classes while working, or if you’re literally in the books full-time solely focused on your studies. If my niece decides to take some time off, that’s fine, but the whole concept of saying, “School’s just not for everybody” is on the nonsense level at this point. It’s for everybody, son. Even if she doesn’t go away, she needs to take her behind to school and not waste too much time waiting to do so. Her parents don’t seem too bothered by her choice at the moment (only time will tell how they’ll act if she’s sitting around on her mother’s couch in the fall), but as her aunt, I’ll say I’m clearly a bit worried. It’s already tough out here, I hope she doesn’t make things for herself much tougher.

So I guess that leads me to my question for you: As a parent, how would you react if your child (or even your niece or nephew as in my case), told you they didn’t want to go to college? No big deal? Or big problem?

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It’s that time of year again when “Pomp and Circumstance” is being filtered through the ears of graduates and their proud families. After four long years, sometimes even longer for some in college, the day has come for that diploma to be placed in one’s eager hands to show off. As Etta James belted out, it’s a good feeling. Damn the Rick Santorum’s of the world who would shame you into believing you’re a snob for this moment of glory. You earned the right to revel in this moment of triumph.

It’s a beautiful moment, but one that is no longer translating into good paying jobs to help cover the cost of that degree. It certainly didn’t come free. The pomp is soon gone and circumstances set in.

Parents send their children off to institutions of higher learning so that they can better themselves. However, it’s becoming an all too familiar reality that young adults are graduating college only to move back home and sit on their parents couch for an infinite amount of time. This growing trend has begged the question of whether or not college has become like VHS: irrelevant.

Recent statistics have shown that one in two college students are either jobless or unemployed. The market is at one of its weakest points and the debtors give you only six months to get a job and repay your loans before the non-stop calls begin. One can ask for a deferment, but putting off the inevitable only amplifies the central issue: there are no jobs.

Disillusionment has set in for many college grads who have been unable to get jobs in their chosen fields. They studied, wrote papers and subjected themselves to the whims of internships and it seems to have been in vain. It’s particularly unnerving to see someone who crossed college off the to-do list winning because of a sex tape, acting ratchet on a reality TV show or finding the right pro athlete to get pregnant by. There used to be a time when relying on one’s look, reliable weaves and becoming a stereotype were frowned upon, but it’s the new norm. You no longer necessarily need the right degree, but rather a marketable personality for the masses; dumbing one’s self down may be a blow to the pride, but it has it certain perks these days in comparison to contributing to $1 trillion in loans.

Did college grads really survive on crackers and noodles to make Sallie Mae rich? College is meant to be an investment on the individual’s future, but generation X and Y are shackled to debt before they even walk across the stage. Joe Clark wasn’t wrong. There is a system in place to keep those who can’t afford college without financial assistance  in a permanent underclass. Tuition’s are rising, the debt is ballooning and there doesn’t seem to be much relief in sight.

Unfortunately, until the game is changed, you just need to learn the rules, play and hope for a win. It used to be that you only needed a high school diploma or a G.E.D. to qualify for the most basic job. The bare minimum is now a Bachelor’s degree to get an interview, and those who have a Master’s have the advantage. A person needs two or three degrees for an edge. You need one just to get in the game and make a good impression. So while it might seem like a gamble to see if a degree will actually bring you a job in your field, college degrees aren’t irrelevant. Especially not when you need one a majority of the time just to get your foot in the door.

A college degree is like having sex. Protect yourself.

What do you think?

Stephanie Guerilus is a journalist and author. Follow her @qsteph

As summer draws to a close and the fall season approaches, it will be the perfect time to restock your wardrobe with fabulous items fit for a college student. Long jackets, v-neck sweaters and knit caps are just some of what you should include on your back-to-school shopping list – and show off a new, stylish look that will create buzz on campus.

Check out these fashion must-haves:

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(Black Enterprise) — Smartphone’s are changing the way college students order textbooks, purchase gas and experience the world. In a technology-driven society, these devices can be educational and lifestyle tools that use and share data in very cool ways. Mobile apps can help tech savvy students with data discovery that enhances their college experience inside and outside the classroom. Just in time for back to school season, here are six great apps that can help complete basic tasks and enable busy college students to track, capture, and pull data from anywhere to be more productive.

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(Madame Noire) — You’re working nine hour days and attempting to pursue higher education. Leaving you with a mental imbalance, no social life, and an over-stressed situation, you’re having thoughts of ditching your job to become a full-time student. After all, besides the money, you’re not feeling what your job has to offer your future anyway.  For a moment you may be wondering ‘who does that?’ Who quits a full-time job to become a student? Well surprisingly in the midst of a recession, many people are choosing to turn in their work badge for a student I.D.  While some graduate and PH.d programs may be considerate of your work schedule and offer flexible options, others aren’t and may even recommend that you don’t work at all. Most PH.d programs prefer you to commit yourself to a full-time student status. The idea of leaving a stable salary and impressive benefits is not ideal; however it may be the best option if you’re serious about your studies and furthering your education and eventually your career.

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