Notes in the Margins: Iran, tweeted applications and vo-tech funding

Even for Cashiers, College Pays Off The evidence is overwhelming that college is a better investment for most graduates than in the past. A new study even shows that a bachelor’s degree pays off for jobs that don’t require one: secretaries, plumbers and cashiers. And, beyond money, education seems to make people happier and healthier. (The New York Times)

Ahmadinejad To Iran's Rulers: Keep Coed College Islamic authorities have been tightening their grip on universities and schools as hard-liners expand an ideological "soft war" against Western influence. Ahmadinejad is now temporarily in the reformists' corner by opposing plans to segregate male and female students at Iranian universities. (The Huffington Post)

Two years after Obama’s college graduation initiative, major obstacles remain American high-school graduates are better prepared than ever, but most go to unselective community colleges and public universities where budgets and services have been deeply cut, classes are large, and per-student expenditures are low. (The Hechinger Report)

Why you want to go to college: In 140 characters or less The University of Iowa is asking prospective students to tweet their second application essay, and offering a full scholarship for the best one. (USA Today)

Vocational education funding in US at risk President Obama has instead made it a priority to raise overall academic standards and college graduation rates. The administration has proposed a 20-percent reduction in its fiscal 2012 budget for career and technical education, to a little more than $1 billion, even as it seeks to increase overall education funding by 11 percent. (The New York Times via The Boston Globe)

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