The Other 85 Percent

As readers of this blog are aware, I have been keeping track of the presidential candidates’ positions on higher education and watching for recognition of the other 85% – adult, part-time, financially independent students.
This article in the Chronicle of Higher Education is a report on the first day of the Democratic National Convention and adoption [...]

I have previously posted about the education positions of the presidential candidates and criticized both candidates for failing to address the needs of adult, part-time, and financially independent students—the other 85%.  In a comment to my August 4 blog post, one person suggested that I was expressing my “political loyalties” and asserting the other 85 [...]

I have previously checked the Web sites of presidential candidates to see if they even acknowledge the other 85 percent of higher education students that are the reality today. As of July 25, 2008, neither candidate has indicated any awareness of part-time, adult, or working college students. Their focus is on PK-12 education, [...]

Recently, I posted a review of the major presidential candidates’ positions on education. I expressed disappointment that little attention was given to higher education and, in particular, to higher education for adults and independent part-time students. On Monday, Senator Obama made a speech on competitiveness that included references to education.

I have been following the presidential candidates and hoped that, per this article, Senator Obama had addressed higher education. However, the text of the speech reveals that this was about K-12, and references to either TRIO or GEAR UP was made in passing. Hopefully, as the campaign heats up over the next several [...]

The premise of The Other 85 Percent is that public opinion and public policy making regarding higher education still focus on what is now a distinct minority of higher education students. That minority is the student who goes directly from high school to study full-time on a traditional campus. Too little attention is [...]