College
Birmingham-Southern president says he’ll do everything possible to keep the college open
Birmingham-Southern College, a private institution, is asking the state to help bail it out after financial troubles. School President Daniel Coleman shared with WBHM what he sees as the path ahead for the college.
Alabama native’s play explores Black student unity through co-ed fraternity
The play is centered on a group of Black college students at the fictitious McMillian University, a small, mostly-White Christian college in Birmingham.
From Optimistic To Anxious: How College Students In The Gulf South Feel About Returning To Campus
College students from Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi share their thoughts as a new school year in the pandemic begins.
Woodfin Looks Toward A Better 2021 In State Of The Community Address
The mayor discussed continued neighborhood revitalization, the rise in homicides, and encouraging economic development projects on the horizon.
Some Alabama Graduations Saved By Going Virtual
Most spring graduations are canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. But a few groups and institutions are organizing virtual ceremonies for the class of 2020
Report Says Better Collaboration Needed to Produce Enough Qualified Workers for Alabama
A report released this week says education and business needs to collaborate better to ensure Alabama has enough qualified workers for employers.
Small Fraction of Students Qualify for Birmingham Promise Scholarship
When it was announced recently that the Birmingham Promise would offer a full tuition scholarship to the University of Alabama at Birmingham, many praised the partnership as a way to give eligible Birmingham graduates a much-needed financial boost. But as it stands, most students wouldn't make the cut.
Report Ranks Alabama Worst in the U.S. for Higher Education Cuts
Alabama has cut per student funding at state colleges and universities more than any state in the U.S. According to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, Alabama cut higher education funding by nearly 36% between 2008 and 2018.
Woodfin Announces Plan for Free College Tuition to City Graduates
Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin released details Wednesday of a plan to offer Birmingham City Schools graduates the chance to go to a public two or four-year school in Alabama tuition free. This follows a tweet Tuesday evening announcing the program.
Percentage of College Freshmen Who Need Remedial Courses Drops
A smaller portion of new high school graduates is having to take remedial classes when they first go to college, according to a PARCA report on data from the Alabama Commission on Higher Education.
Why Birmingham-Southern is Slashing Tuition
Car shoppers aren’t the only ones who experience sticker shock. It happens with colleges, too. Birmingham-Southern College has announced that beginning next fall, it’ll slash its $35,000 a year tuition in half. It’s one of several schools around the country cutting tuition in hopes of attracting more students. But there’s more to it than the […]
Stillman College Determined To Win Financial Struggle
At Stillman, the grass is neatly trimmed and flowers are in bloom. Sorority members cooked out on the campus lawn and there was a symposium in the math and science building. Underneath the manicured exterior, Stillman sits on a mountain of debt – about $ 43 million worth.
Kyle Whitmire: Donald Trump, Alan Harper and “Safe Spaces” on College Campuses
An Alabama state legislator asks constituents on Facebook to avoid shopping at stores that aren’t owned by “God-fearing Christians;” College students around the country are demanding their schools provide “safe spaces,” on campus and Alabama’s fascination with Donald Trump. A look at these issues in this week’s conversation with Kyle Whitmire.
Pushing Middle-Schoolers All The Way Through College
Fewer reading materials in the home. Less access to camps or museums. Those are some reasons summer learning loss disproportionately affects low-income kids. And there are many in the South, which can hamper efforts to raise graduation rates. But in the second part of this Southern Education Desk series, WBHM’s Dan Carsen reports on “GEAR […]
Kyle Whitmire Discusses UAB Football Future And The Legislative Session
The much anticipated College Sports Solutions’ report on University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) athletics is now public and the findings are somewhat ambiguous. In essence, it says UAB can control it’s own destiny. But the question remains should the university divert its football funding to running a championship-caliber basketball program, or beg and borrow […]
Recovering Heroin Addict Brad Blount On A Dark Time, And How He Escaped It
Heroin use is on the rise in Alabama. And contrary to old stereotypes, it doesn't respect race, class, or neighborhood boundaries. Brad Blount of Vestavia Hills is proof. He's from a solid family in that well-heeled suburb, but the 24-year-old tells WBHM's Dan Carsen that despite it all, his life took a dark turn.
Carsen And Lindley Talk Alabama Schools’ Low Test Scores
School test results have been in the news across Alabama lately, often next to words like "sobering" and "not on track." So what's going on? WBHM's News Director Rachel Osier Lindley sits down with education reporter Dan Carsen to shed light on a complex and heated issue. Carsen just returned from a conference put on by NPR's Ed Team, and part of that "Ed Summit" dealt with testing. Perfect timing for a while-the-iron-is-hot interview.
SUSTAINABILITY: Grant Brigham Of Jones Valley Teaching Farm
In the middle of urban Birmingham, there's a farm. Jones Valley Teaching Farm is an education center offering local students and families gardening, nutrition courses, fresh food, and much more. As part of our sustainability series, WBHM's education reporter Dan Carsen sat down with its Executive Director, Grant Brigham. Dan starts off by asking him if he sees the farm playing a part in Birmingham's long-term sustainability:
INTERVIEW: AdvancED CEO Mark Elgart
AdvancED is a private accrediting firm working with more than thirty thousand schools worldwide. A team from its Southern Association of Colleges and Schools division arrives in Birmingham today. They're checking whether Birmingham City Schools are fixing problems that led the agency to put the system on accreditation probation last summer. It got WBHM's education reporter Dan Carsen thinking about what these firms actually do, and whether they have as much power as it seems. He caught up with AdvancED president Mark Elgart and asked him how his agencies decide which districts get accredited ... and which don't.
From Foster Care To College: A Little Help Bettering The Odds
Whether it's summer, spring, or fall term, some young people have trouble adjusting to campus life. College students coming from foster care face extra hurdles: 70 percent want to get a degree, but roughly three percent graduate by age 25. For the third and final part of the Southern Education Desk series "From Foster Care To College: Extra Help For Extra Hurdles," WBHM's Dan Carsen recently went to the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa to learn about a new program that's trying to better those odds.
From Foster Care to College: Part Two
Many high school graduates are enjoying their last summer before college. But new research shows most kids who grow up in foster care don't attend college and those who do are less likely to graduate. Yesterday, we met Briyana Dunn, who was attending college through a state program in Tennessee. Today, reporter Christine Jessel continues our Southern Education Desk series by catching up with Dunn to see how she's doing nearly a year after starting college.
From Foster Care to College: Part One
When foster care kids grow too old for the system, they're pretty much on their own. They're often unprepared for the basics of life such as finding a job, paying rent or buying insurance. Succeeding in college is a much higher bar. Many states have special programs to support foster care kids who want to go to college. Tuesday, we kick off a Southern Education Desk series "From Foster Care to College: Extra Help for Extra Hurdles."
Dan Carsen Speaks with Education Icon Diane Ravitch
Diane Ravitch has been a key figure in American education for decades. The prolific author and outspoken advocate was Assistant Secretary of Education and Counselor to the Secretary of Education under the first President Bush. She was a pioneer in the accountability movement, but has since made friends and enemies by changing some of her views. She spoke with Southern Education Desk reporter Dan Carsen, who asked her about issues hot in Alabama right now, including charter schools, charter advocate Michelle Rhee, and much more.
