Why College Diversity is Important

According to the US Census, almost one-fifth of the entire population over age five in America speak a language other than English when at home. The same statistic skyrockets to about fifty percent in the Miami area alone.

Another interesting example of diversity is that there's an estimation of about 170 different languages spoken on the streets of New York City. In fact as a result, New York City mayor Bloomberg ordered one hundred city agencies to start providing services in six foreign languages in addition to English. These additional languages are Italian, French, Spanish, Chinese, Korean and Russian.

So the reality of today's environment in North America is that ethnic and cultural diversity is here to stay. Whether it's inside offices, factories or outside with customers, we will likely encounter more people from different cultures than ever before.

Colleges and universities in North America are also getting more diverse student populations. Not only have many foreign students have been choosing to attend North American schools for their higher education, US born visible minorities who were children of immigrants from around the world are also making it onto campuses now.

With the additional influx of students from the Native American and African American communities as well, the campus scene is certainly very different from what is looked like a generation or two ago. But college diversity is not just about differences in race or culture. Americans from the west coast, east coast, mid-west and the south, all have some interesting regional differences. These can also be found on campuses and does represent a form of diversity as well.

With so much diversity on campus these days, colleges need to know how to manage this in order to ensure that diversity becomes a positive rather than a negative experience for students and staff. In fact, arming college students with some skills in the form of diversity education will definitely help them function better in their future careers given today's diverse working world.

Colleges and universities are also businesses. The ones that can effectively target foreign students will become popular institutions of choice from this overseas market. Companies that ignore the need for both market and workplace diversity education will soon lose out in the modern business world of today. Forward thinking companies will recruit and retain the best overall talent. These organizations will also be able to target diverse markets effectively. But companies need people who are well versed with diversity skills to make this happen.

Unfortunately, diversity skills are not usually part of the standard educational curriculums at colleges and universities. However, this represents a huge opportunity for campus activities programmers to help supplement these essential diversity skills for students. Cultural events can be organized where students and staff learn more about different cultures, especially if they are already represented in the student body or staff on campus.

Outside speakers who speak on diversity topics can also be brought in to help students and staff develop diversity skills. These skills will help both students and staff function more effectively in diverse environments.

Clint Cora is a motivational diversity speaker, author and martial arts karate world champion. His book, "The Life Champion In You", is about how to overcome challenges and achieve life success. It is one man's journey from personal tragedy to becoming a karate world champion. More information about his speaking programs, books, videos, articles on diversity, motivation and success can be found at http://www.clintcora.com

Student Success Skills - Making the Most Out of a College Education

Whether you yourself are a student or are the parent of one, regardless of the level of education, building certain student success skills is a crucial part of getting the most out of an education. There are many qualities that can help a student learn, but some are much more helpful than others, and in this brief article we'll take a look at some of the most important characteristics to promote in any student, be they in first grade or a junior in college.

Student success skills can be broken up into four categories - classroom, home, financial and personal. Classroom skills involve abilities like test taking, which includes keeping cool under pressure, working under a time limit, and learning how tests work. Another useful classroom skill is observation - the ability to take notes quickly and clearly, the ability to gather information in a number of ways. There are several types of learning that any student might use: aural, visual, and kinesthetic. Aural learners retain the most information through listening, visual learners get the most out of seeing something, and kinesthetic learners through actually doing something.

Home skills are important after a student has gotten information, as they need to know what to do with it. Examples of home student success skills would be reviewing notes, working on a computer (knowing things such as how to upload and e-mail files and using word processors is a huge help), and avoiding distractions. Having a strong work ethic is also an important part of getting work done at home, and students should train themselves to try and perform a certain amount of studying each night or at least for a few days a week. Students without a proper work ethic often fall behind in studying, and the first thing to go after studying is test scores.

Financial student success skills are more important today than ever before. For the first time reports have come out showing that more students are dropping out of college due to financial reasons than academic. It is important your child receives a practical financial education before heading off to college or your child may return back in debt, with no degree and needing a place to live.

Personal student success skills are somewhat more vague, but can include things like students staying interested in and challenged by their classes, as well as getting to class on time and dividing up their time in a realistic way. Personal responsibility plays a huge part in the independent lifestyle of college, and should be learned early on. Academic coaches can be used to teach students these skills, and personal tutors can have a huge effect on overall performance.

Need help finding more information on how student success skill coaches can cut the cost of college by a third? You can find it at http://www.nyfec.org/, which provides an array of useful academic information.