Graduate students give high marks to the research training their doctoral programs provide, a major new survey has found. But in terms of preparation for teaching or pursuing careers, the programs don't deliver, the doctoral candidates say.

The National Association of Graduate-Professional Students (NAGPS) conducted the National Doctoral Program Survey. The online study generated 32,000 valid responses and allowed the association to post report cards for more than 1,300 doctoral programs. (These can be viewed at http://survey.nagps.org/.) The students graded their programs based on how well they implemented practices recommended by the National Academy of Sciences, the Association of American Universities and other education groups.

Although 81 percent of students report being satisfied with their programs overall, only 45 percent say they are satisfied with their preparation for teaching and 38 percent with the career-related services the program offers.

Forty-five percent of the respondents say they did not receive appropriate preparation and training before entering the classroom, and 49 percent say they lacked appropriate supervision to help improve their teaching skills. In addition, 39 percent say they do not feel their needs and interests are given appropriate consideration in determining what course they are assigned to teach.

The survey respondents generally are satisfied with how well they were prepared for academic careers. These responses ranged from 65 percent to 75 percent, depending on the field. The graduate students reported insufficient guidance for nonacademic careers, however: Nearly 62 percent found the guidance inadequate, and 64 percent said placement services were inadequate.

The good news for senior faculty is that the respondents were highly satisfied with their mentoring experiences. More than 80 percent of students in all fields report positive mentoring experiences, including continuous and constructive feedback on their progress toward their degree.

Along with the survey results, the Web site mentioned above also has a discussion board associated with each doctoral program that allows conversations among students, faculty and administrators.

Panel calls for preK-16 education

All students must be prepared to complete at least two years of postsecondary education if they are to find success in today's competitive, high-skills workplace. That is a key message delivered by a blue-ribbon national commission convened by then-education secretary Richard Riley in 2000 to explore ways to keep students motivated and learning during their senior year.

The National Commission on the High School Senior Year this fall released its long-awaited final report--recommendations for improvement that extend far beyond the confines of the senior year. The report covers, but doesn't stop with, the well-known problem of "senioritis," the tendency of 12th-graders to ease up on their studies after gaining admission to college. (See "Do college policies foster senior slump?" Campus Clips, October 2001.) Instead of limiting itself to this phenomenon, the commission cast the problem within the framework of standards-based reform. Included in the recommendations are calls for higher elementary and middle school standards, better teacher training, improved linkages to higher education and better coordination at the state level.

"Until recently, Americans have taken 13 years of education (from kindergarten through grade 12) to be a sufficient preparation for life and work," the report notes. "In the emerging 21st century, all Americans will require two additional years of formal education and training at some point after they leave high school."

The commission makes three major recommendations to reach this goal:

• Create a seamless "P-16" education system that addresses students' needs from preschool through postsecondary education. It would demand that standards, curriculum and assessments be aligned and integrated throughout the system. Specifically, the panel urges the creation of state P-16 councils to build linkages between different education levels. Twenty-four states already have moved in this direction, the report notes.
   
• Give all students college-preparatory courses as a "default" education program and establish demanding, rigorous curricula at the elementary and middle school levels to ensure that students succeed in this environment of higher expectations. The panel also recommends improved teacher training that can prepare graduates to teach to higher standards.
   
• Allow students to move at their own pace, moving on as they show mastery of required standards, including a portfolio of work and a "capstone" senior project. The panel recommends new senior options such as internships, research projects and community service to keep students engaged, motivated and learning. The idea is to move "away from a system in which the senior year is just more of the same to one in which the senior year provides time to explore options and prove knowledge and skills," the report explains.

"These changes recognize that seniors are almost adults and make the senior year more of a transition to the worlds of college and work rather than yet another year behind bigger versions of the same desks they've sat in since first grade," says Cheryl Kane, executive director of the commission.

College costs are up, and so is student debt

After several years of attracting little attention, the cost to families of sending a child to college is again triggering gasps.

According to survey results released in October by the College Board, college tuition and fees in 2001-02 increased between 5.5 percent and 5.7 percent on average at four-year institutions and between 5.5 percent and 5.8 percent at two-year institutions.

The hike was much greater in the public sector, "Trends in College Pricing 2001" found. For this academic year, the average tuition charged by public four-year colleges and universities was $3,754--a 7.7 percent increase over tuition charged last year. The tuition increase at private institutions was 5.5 percent, from an average of $16,233 last year to $17,123 this year.

The difference between sectors was not as pronounced at the two-year college level. Charges were up 5.8 percent at public two-years, which had an average tuition of $1,738. At the private two-year colleges, the average charge was $7,953, up 5.5 percent from last year.

While many worry that the cost of sending a child to college comes to rival the cost of buying a home, the College Board data show that more than 70 percent of those in college attend institutions that charge less than $8,000.

The College Board also released news about student financing. "Trends in Student Aid 2001" shows that student aid reached a level of more than $74 billion in 2000-01, an increase of 7.1 percent from the previous year. The aid was from federal, state and institutional sources.

The imbalance between the amount of aid released in loans and grants grew over the last decade, the report shows. Loans made up 58 percent of the aid, up from 49 percent 10 years ago and 41 percent 20 years ago.

The two reports can be downloaded from the College Board Web site, www.collegeboard.org/.