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By , November 7, 2011 12:59 am

A Higher Education Uncertain Block For At-risk Students
Statistics show that there are more Americans below the poverty line now than when President Lyndon Johnson declared the War on Poverty. We must use every arrow in our collective quiver to reverse this devastating trend.

The Urban League is dedicated to fighting poverty by empowering youth in underserved communities through education and job training. We have found that a college education, whenever it is possible, is the best path to employment.

The league strongly supports President Obama’s pledge that America will have the highest percentage of college graduates in the world by 2020. But as the nation navigates the various paths of education reform, we must be careful not to inadvertently set up roadblocks for the students most at risk for failure.

The so-called gainful-employment rule, proposed by the Education Department in response to allegations of improper recruiting and loan practices at proprietary career colleges, would establish fixed targets for student-debt-to-income ratios and new loan repayment rates that many traditional public and nonprofit institutions could not meet. The proposed rule stems from a request to demonstrate that courses at for-profit institutions lead to gainful employment for their students. However, we are concerned that students who rely on federal loans might no longer have access to financial aid to attend the schools of their choice because the government will deny federal funds to students who attend for-profit institutions that can’t comply with the proposed rule.

Before this rule can be imposed, the Government Accountability Office or some other independent entity should conduct a thorough study of the likely effects of the proposed rule on access to education by minority students and students from low-income backgrounds.
If, as some analysts have predicted, as many as 360,000 students could be denied access by next year, the rule would have disastrous consequences for those who are at greatest risk of a life in poverty if they don’t obtain a college education.

This is why Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-Fla.), in a recent letter to Education Secretary Arne Duncan, asked the department to withdraw the regulation. As Rep. Hastings aptly noted, “Too many students will be impacted and too many questions are still unanswered to justify the Department’s insistence on pursuing the draft regulations.” Eleven other members of the Congressional Black Caucus have asked the department to hold off until the significant negative effects of the proposed rule are understood.

Congressional Black Caucus members are concerned because black students stand to be harmed the most by the proposed rule. Minority students attend career colleges in much higher proportions than do other students, and these are the only schools targeted by the proposal. Many career colleges receive their accreditations through the same agencies as the nation’s top private and nonprofit universities, which would be spared from the effects of the rule (though 93 percent of historically black colleges would fail the rule’s repayment rate test if it were applied to them). Career colleges are different only in that they are the schools of choice for many at-risk students, including minorities, parents and full-time workers who believe these schools offer them the best shot at a good job in a field they will enjoy.

The Education Department’s proposed rule is grounded in good intentions, and in any industry, there are good actors and those that do not live up to the necessary standards. The department must deal with them while ensuring access to higher education for the most vulnerable students.

As the world’s economies continue to strive for momentum, we should look for every possible way to give minority students a leg up. Career-oriented colleges are the answer for many of them. The last thing that students already constrained by poverty need is another, government-erected barrier to a better life.

Source: [The Washingtonpost]

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By , November 1, 2011 6:42 am

Acupuncture Career Education Opportunities

Gaining an accredited education in acupuncture will give students the opportunity to pursue the career they dream of. Acupuncture career training will teach student how to provide services to their clients while using a natural healing approach. Accredited schools and colleges give stundets the education they need to pursue an exciting career. Training is available at various levels of study and students can choose to specialize in a number of areas of the field. Licensing requirements also exist for this profession so students should look into this prior to enrollment.

Training in this field will prepare stundets to become professional acupuncturists. These professionals use various techniques of inserting needles into the skin in order to provide a type of healing therapy for a number of ailments. Treatment can be used for stress, pain, illness, and much more.

Stundets who are looking to enter the natural healing field can do so with an education in acupuncture. Accredited learning gives students the chance to obtain a variety of degrees. Students can enroll in an educational training program to obtain a:
Bachelor Degree – When looking to pursue a bachelor level degree in acupuncture students will need to complete four years of accredited study.
Master Degree – Master level education programs take an additional two years of training to complete.
Doctoral Degree – A doctoral degree can require an additional four years of accredited schooling.

When looking to pursue an education in this field student’s should make sure they can commit to the requirements prior to enrollment.

Students can choose from a number of specialized areas when looking to enter the field of acupuncture.

Accredited schools and colleges provide career training options for:
Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine
Five Element Acupuncture
Japanese Acupuncture
Auricular Acupuncture
Korean Hand Acupuncture
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

By opting to pursue a specialized career in any of these areas students will need to study a variety of subjects and courses in order to obtain the knowledge and skills to succeed.

Coursework will depend on the level of education and desired career area each individual student chooses to pursue. Subjects will vary by school or college but may consist of studying:

Point Location
Herbal Medicine
Treatment Principles
Clinical Practice
Physiology
Patterns of Disease
Anatomy

With the opportunity to obtain knowledge in these areas students will be ready to seek employment and pursue the career they dream of in alternative healing. Accredited natural healing programs are available for students to prepare to become a professional acupuncturist.

When looking to obtain an education in this field students should enroll in fully accredited acupuncture training program to ensure they will receive the best quality education possible. There are numerous agencies that provide full accreditation to qualifying programs. The Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM) is one that can fully accredit acupuncture education programs. Students can start by requesting more information from the school of their choice to learn more about an acupuncture career.

DISCLAIMER: Above is a GENERIC OUTLINE and may or may not depict precise methods, courses and/or focuses related to ANY ONE specific school(s) that may or may not be advertised on HolisticJunction.com.

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