Linkpile for Wednesday, November 16, 2011:

• Change for higher education in The Sunshine State has been put on the back burner. "State university system leader: Wait until 2013 for major changes," reports a November 15, 2011 News-Press.com article. "A push to tie the performance of state universities – such as their graduation and job placement rates – to their funding was ignited earlier this year by Gov. Rick Scott, who wants to make changes to higher education."
• Student loans send twentysomethings into the streets. "Debt brings college students into Occupy camp, reports a November 15, 2011 San Franscisco Chronicle article. "Two-thirds of new college graduates last year had student loans to repay. The average amount: $25,520. The total amount owed in student loans nationwide is close to $1 trillion. The unemployment rate for young college graduates (ages 20-24) is over 9.1 percent, the highest on record. Those are some of the statistics to keep in mind if you're wondering why college students in the Bay Area and elsewhere are joining the Occupy movement in increasing numbers."
• A touching tale: "Making History: An Online Higher-Education Success Story." "Distance education has made a difference in thousands of lives. From the wind-swept prairie wife, to the inner-city ER nurse – they all can reap the benefits of distance education. A laptop, a desk (maybe) and a phone – that’s all you need to get you distance education started. When life seems hopeless, when all paths appear impassable, distance learning can come to the rescue. Start now. All it takes is a bit of initiative to launch your new career just like Sasha did. Contact one of the many universities offering distance education courses. From an associate's degree to a doctorate, anything is possible after the e-learning revolution."
• A November 15, 2011 U.S. News and World Report brings word that "Online Education Can Help Active-Duty Soldiers Earn a Degree." "According to a recent article in The Chronicle of Higher Education, the number of soldiers taking classes online has allowed web-based education to see a large growth in the past decade. Vicky Philips, founder of GetEducated.com, notes that 10 years ago, only about 15% of active-duty soldiers were taking online courses. Currently, this figure has reached approximately 60%."
• Imparting a bit of hard-won wisdom: "," reports a November 14, 2011 blog post at CalSouthern.edu. "We recently asked CalSouthern’s Facebook friends to share their top tips for success in an online degree program. (Our Facebook friends now number more than 1,800—if you haven’t yet become a friend of CalSouthern, please stop by our official Facebook page and friend us today as we push toward 2,000.) We received more than 15 tips from online students and graduates from around the globe. While most of the participants were affiliated with CalSouthern, a variety of other online universities were represented as well."
• A November 15, 2011 Campus Technology piece is interested in "Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due." "Increasingly, schools are turning to technology to streamline the transfer process and help students track their academic progress. Here, we look at two institutions that have tackled the transfer problem from either side of the issue: guiding two-year students to become four-year graduates, and helping incoming transfer students reach their academic goals."
• A November 14, 2011 National Journal article announces "The New Normal for College Students." "The typical college student is not the frat boy at Ohio State or the philosophy major at Bard College. According to new research from Complete College America, the typical college student is attending school part time and probably has a family and at least one job. Seventy-five percent of students are college commuters. If they are attending college part time, they are far less likely to graduate, rendering useless much of the effort that got them to school in the first place."