From 2001-2002 to 2004-2005, the cost of attending a public four-year institution rose by 22 percent, and tuition and fees for in-state students at the institutions grew by 33 percent, more than any other sector of higher education, according to a U.S. Education Department report issued Thursday.

The study, “Postsecondary Institutions in the United States: Fall 2004 and Degrees and Other Awards Conferred: 2003–04,” released annually by the National Center for Education Statistics, showed that private four-year colleges (nonprofit and for-profit alike) were more expensive for students to attend than public four-year and two-year institutions, with full-time residential studies paying an average total of $26,292 to attend a private nonprofit college (including room, board and books) and $27,852 to attend a for-profit four-year institution. Driven largely by the significant cutbacks in state general fund expenditures on higher education during the early part of this decade, public four-year colleges saw the biggest increases in student charges from 2001-2 to 2004-5.

The study also revealed continuations of prevailing demographic trends among the student population. Of the more than 2.7 million degrees awarded by colleges in the United States in 2003-4, 58.2 percent went to women, up from 57.9 the year before. And the number and proportion of degrees awarded to black and Hispanic students also inched up, although the biggest increase came in the category of students whose race was unknown, many of whom declined to identify themselves. The gender imbalance was greater among two-year institutions than four-year ones. Women received 57.2 percent of degrees awarded by four-year colleges and 62 percent of the degrees give out by two-year colleges.

Additional findings of the study:
• Of the 6,383 institutions in the United States in 2004-5, 2,027 were public institutions, 1,875 were private nonprofit, and 2,481 were for-profit.
• Of the 2.2 million degrees awarded in 2003–4 by four-year institutions, 6 percent were associate degrees, 63 percent were bachelor’s degrees, 25 percent were master’s degrees, 2 percent were doctoral degrees, and 4 percent were first-professional degrees.

USALearning is a Government-wide e-Learning initiative designed to support the development of the Federal workforce and advance the accomplishment of agency missions by providing one-stop access to high quality e-Learning products, information and services. Grantham is one of five universities which has been awarded a contract under the USALearn/GoLearn e-Learning initiative. For more information, visit: http://www.usalearning.gov.

The Women In Military Service For America Memorial Foundation, Inc. needs you! The Memorial, at the Ceremonial Gateway to Arlington National Cemetery, is the nation's only major national memorial honoring all women who have defended America from the Revolutionary War to the present. The Memorial's computerized Register guarantees each registered woman's individual story a permanent place in America's history - and every servicewoman's story is important. The Foundation is seeking names, addresses, photos and memorable experiences of women who have served to be included in the Memorial's Register. Family members, friends and organizations can register deceased servicewomen from any era or those civilian women who served with other civilian organizations. To register or for more information, please visit www.womensmemorial.org or call 703-533-1155 or 800-222-2294.

The Keirsey Temperament Sorter (http://www.keirsey.com) is a shorter analysis and similar to Myers-Briggs, yet the test and results are free of charge.

Skills
There are several surveys geared toward helping you identify your qualifications and matching them to several job categories. The majority of online skill identification resources are fee-based services; however The Skills Profiler (http://www.acinet.org/acinet/
skills_home.asp?id=14&nodeid=20)
provided by America's Career InfoNet, is a free comprehensive tool that matches your skills to occupations, and identifies skill gaps and suggests areas where you can take the necessary steps to work toward the career of your choice.

Values/Interests
These assessments help determine your interests and reveal factors that motivate you to succeed. The Career Focus 2000 Interest Inventory (http://www.iccweb.com/
careerfocus/index.asp) assesses your interests and identifies matching occupations. Ansir's Self Perception Profiling System (http://personal.ansir.com/) is another free test that provides insights into the way you think, work and emote.

Self-assessment tools can have interesting findings; however it's not recommended that you base your academic and career decisions on the results of one test.

If you haven't used your benefits yet, you may be put off by the application process. Fear not - if you follow the 4 easy steps, you'll find that the process is simple and painless.

Step One
Find and apply to a college or university that is approved for Veteran’s Administration (VA) training or education; Grantham University’s programs are approved.

Step Two
Complete VA Form 22-1990, Application for Education Benefits. This form can be accessed through the Veterans Online Application Web site (VONAPP). Visit    http://vabenefits.vba.va.gov/vonapp/about_vonapp.asp.
• If you are Active Duty, you will need to have your Education Service Officer or Command representative complete and sign Section II of the VA Form 22-1990.
*In addition you should speak to a counselor in your Voluntary Education Services Office to determine if you are eligible to participate in the GI-Bill Buy-up program before you start using your GI Bill.
• If you are a Veteran, you will need to include a copy of your DD 214 Discharge Paperwork for Grantham’s Admissions Office.
• If you are a member of the Selective Reserve, you may need to include a copy of DD Form 2384-1, Notice of Basic Eligibility which was given to you by your unit when you became eligible for the MGIB-SR.

Step Three
Grantham will send your application and paperwork to the appropriate VA regional office or you may use VONAPP to submit the paperwork to your VA office. If using VONAPP, please send both the VA and Grantham a signed copy; this will allow Grantham to certify your enrollment, thus expediting the process. If you are not ready to enroll, you can still apply for your VA Eligibility Determination by mailing your completed VA Form 22-1990 to your VA Regional Office.

Visit http://www.va.gov/ to find the address for your VA Regional Office.

Within 4-8 weeks you should receive a declaration of eligibility Certificate of Eligibility and a letter explaining your VA benefits. Keep in mind that it is not uncommon to get a letter from the VA requesting more information. You will have to answer the VA’s requests to be determined eligible and complete the process.

Step Four
Once you have begun to receive your benefit payments (Direct Deposit), you will have to complete the VA’s Web Automated Verification of Eligibility (WAVE) each month to continue to receive your monthly benefits payments.

The WAVE is a simple process that requires you to either log-on to https://www.gibill.va.gov/wave/default.cfm or call their toll-free number at 1-888-GIBILL-1. It only takes a couple of minutes, but you will not get your monthly payment until you do.

These four simple steps will lead to the education benefits you paid for. It's well worth the effort, so don't wait until it is too late - get started today!

Tests are one method of measuring what you have learned in a course. Doing well on tests and earning good grades begins with good study habits. If your goal is to become a successful student, take the time to develop good study habits.
In this article, techniques for taking multiple choice, essay, and other types of exams are reviewed. Although these techniques may help you improve your test scores, other factors such as class participation, independent projects, and term papers also contribute to grades.

What Can I Do Before the Test?
Organization, planning, and time management are essential to becoming a successful student; so start studying as soon as classes begin. Read assignments and take good notes. Then, reread assignments, highlighting important information to study. Regular reviews help you avoid cramming and reduce test anxiety. The biggest benefit is that it gives you time to absorb information.
Read difficult assignments twice. Sometimes a second reading will clarify concepts. If you are having difficulty with a subject, get help immediately. Talk to your instructor, use an alternate text to supplement required reading, or hire a tutor.

Review, Review, Review

• Plan ahead, schedule review periods well in advance. Set aside time each week to review several subjects. Keep your reviews short and do them often.
• Major Reviews. Start the week before an exam and study the most difficult subjects when you are the most alert. Study for 2 to 5 hours with sufficient breaks. When possible, review previous tests to learn what to do differently next time.
• Create review tools, such as flashcards, chapter outlines, and summaries. This helps you organize and remember information as well as condense material to a manageable size. Use 3 x 5-inch index cards to review important information. Write ideas, formulas, concepts, and facts on cards to carry with you. Study on the bus, in the library, or whenever you have a few extra minutes.
• Another useful tool is a study checklist. Make a list of everything you will need to know for the exam. The list should include a brief description of reading assignments, types of problems to solve, skills to master, major ideas, theories, definitions, and equations. When you begin your final study sessions, cross off items as you review them.

What Should I Do on Exam Day?
On exam day arrive early and get organized. Read directions slowly. Scan the entire test, noticing how many points each part is worth, and estimate the time needed for individual questions. Before you start answering questions, write down memory aids, formulas, equations, facts, and other useful information in the margins.

Check the time and pace yourself. If you get stuck on a question try to remember a related fact. Start from the general and go to the specific. Look for answers in other test questions. Often a term, name, date, or other fact you have forgotten will appear somewhere else in the test. Move on to the next question if memory aids do not help. You can always go back to the question if you have time.

Test-Taking Tips for Different Types of Exams

Multiple Choice - Check the directions to see if the questions call for more than one answer. Answer each question in your head before you look at the possible answers. If you can come up with the answer before you look at the choices you eliminate the possibility of being confused by them. Mark questions you can't answer immediately and come back to them later. Use the following guidelines to make educated guesses:

• If two answers are similar, except for one or two words,
  choose one of those answers.
• If the answer calls for a sentence completion, eliminate the
  answers that would not form grammatically correct sentences.
• If answers cover a wide range (5, 76, 87, 109, 500), choose
  a number in the middle.

For machine-graded multiple-choice tests, be certain that the answer you mark corresponds to the question you are answering. Check the test booklet against the answer sheet whenever you start a new section and again at the top of each column.

True-False - If any part of a true-false statement is false, the answer is false. Look for key words or qualifiers such as all, most, sometimes, never, or rarely. Questions containing absolute qualifiers such as always or never often are false.
Open Book - When studying for this type of test, write down any formulas you will need on a separate sheet. Place tabs on important pages of the book so that you don't have to waste time looking for tables or other critical information. If you plan to use your notes, number them and make a table of contents. Prepare thoroughly for open-book tests. They are often the most difficult.
Short Answer/Fill-in-the-Blank - These tests require students to provide definitions or short descriptions (typically a few words or a sentence or two). Study by using flashcards with important terms and phrases. Key words and facts will then be familiar and easy to remember as you answer test questions.
Essay - When answering an essay question, first decide precisely what the question is asking. If a question asks you to compare, do not explain. Standard essay question words are listed next. Look up any unfamiliar words in a dictionary. Verbs commonly used in essay questions include: analyze, compare, contrast, criticize, define, describe, discuss, enumerate, evaluate, examine, explain, illustrate, interpret, list, outline, prove, state, and summarize.

Before you write your essay, make a quick outline. There are three reasons for doing this. First, your thoughts will be more organized (making it easier for your teacher to read), and you will be less likely to leave out important facts. Second, you will be able to write faster. Third, if you do not have time to finish your answer, you may earn some points with the outline. Don't forget to leave plenty of space between answers. You can use the extra space to add information if there is time.

When you write, get to the point. Start off by including part of the question in your answer. For example, if you are directed to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of universal health care coverage to both patients and medical professionals, your first sentence might read, "Universal health care will benefit patients in the following ways." Expand your answer with supporting ideas and facts. If you have time, review your answers for grammatical errors, clarity, and legibility.

Test preparation is essential if you plan to do well consistently on exams throughout your college career. The most important thing to remember about studying for tests is that by studying you are ensuring better learning of the material covered.