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This paper presents the recruiting trends for 2010-2011. This year's report is based on nearly 5,800 respondents, of which approximately 4,600 provided useable information, and 3,714 included complete hiring figures used for the projections. Despite the gloomy national labor market situation, the college segment of the market is poised to rebound this year. While overall hiring across all degrees is expected to increase 3%, hiring at the Bachelor's level is expected to surge by 10% according to the 4,600 employers who responded to Michigan State University's "Recruiting Trends 2010-2011" survey. Led by upturns in hiring in manufacturing, professional and scientific services, the federal government, and large commercial banks, the Bachelor's market will enjoy its first expansion in two years. With this good news comes a word of caution. This step is the first out of a deep hole; yet, many organizations are still not in a position to contribute positively to hiring. The average figures reported above mask what is actually happening in the college job market. In fact, college hiring growth is being generated by only a small group of organizations (approximately 350 to 400) who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack. This group is comprised of two highly optimistic cohorts: (1) Large companies who are aggressively filling positions that have been open for several years; and (2) Fast growth and small companies who are creating new positions. The MBA market, which is also awakening, paints a very different picture. An equal number of employers are decreasing as are increasing their hiring. Fortunately, employers who are expanding their MBA workforce more than offset the cuts being made by other companies. This market segment will remain tight as the supply of graduating MBA students is high. Nearly 40% of employers indicate that they will seek candidates from across "all majors," focusing more on the skills and abilities needed in the organization than the academic discipline. "All majors" is not a proxy for the liberal arts but a signal that employers are seeking the best talent regardless of major. Business majors will be the strongest discipline in this market with the rebound of accounting hires. Engineering appears sluggish with the exception of computer science and IT students whose market is exploding this year. Some majors will see fewer opportunities, including construction, law, publishing, nursing, social services, and health sciences in general. Salaries have dropped precipitously in the last two years, from $46,500 in 2008-2009 (at the Bachelor's level) to $36,866 this year, a decline of almost $10,000. This drop cannot be taken at face value because there are several possible factors at play. Since the "2008-2009 Recruiting Trends" study, the sample size has grown exponentially, creating a new baseline for salary information. The decline in the reported average is influenced by the volume of small, mid-sized and nonprofit organizations that traditionally have more modest salary offers. The lack of a stronger upward movement in engineering recruiting also may have had an effect. Still, it is apparent that salaries have stagnated during the last two years. The best recruiting strategies still depend on connections between faculty, students, career services professionals, alumni and hiring staff in organizations. Clearly, career services professionals are challenged to play more of an "agent" role to make these connections happen. [Funding for this paper was provided by ArcelorMittal, Cummins, Mercer, and Whirlpool. For "Recruiting Trends, 2009-2010," see ED512839.]

College teachers of English for Science and Technology (EST) are encouraged to conduct research in preparation for designing appropriate writing instruction. Specific recommendations are made for creating such a program, providing adequate support, and organizing its content, with examples offered from the program in computer science writing at the University of Aizu (Japan). An EST writing program should offer student discipline-related knowledge, knowledge of writing in the discipline, and instructional activities tailored to specific skill levels and student needs. At the University of Aizu, instructional design research began with a survey of 87 computer science faculty, a review of professional literature, and computerized analyses of English grammatical constructions and vocabulary used most frequently in computer science discourse. The last analysis revealed 22 different kinds of writing within the field with four primary functions: to obtain approval or resources; organize information for efficient access; generate new information; and disseminate new information. Relevant writing genres for these functions were selected, including dialogues, object descriptions, narratives, process descriptions, and abstracts and bibliographies. Specialist, non-specialist, and high-frequency vocabulary and problematic grammatical constructions in computer science were also identified. Instructional activities were constructed using this information. (MSE)

The meteoric rise of the computer age is a challenge for public educators, many of whom are still unfamiliar with basic computer technology. Yet many educators are finding that they can correct their misconceptions about computers by becoming "computer aware." Computer awareness comes from gaining a knowledge of computer history; a basic understanding of how computers work; an awareness of the different types of computers, their peripheral hardware, and their software; an understanding of computer capabilities and limitations; and some experience in using a computer. For computer awareness to be a reality for educators, computers must be available in schools. However, a 1982 survey shows that only 58% of all public school districts have computers. Also, according to a 1983 study, only 60% of rural school districts with a maximum of 900 students offer computer science in the secondary curriculum. In addition to using computers for instruction, schools can use computers for calculations, recordkeeping, word processing, control, simulation and gaming, and creative arts. A glossary of 90 computer terms and a microcomputer resource guide listing organizations, books, booklets, periodicals, articles, and other documents published since 1979 are included. (SB)

This paper presents the degrees conferred by Connecticut institutions of higher education in 2007-08. Connecticut colleges and universities awarded 36,634 degrees in 2007-08 (up 1.6% over 2006-07), the state's seventh consecutive year of growth and a 28 percent increase since 1998. Once again, the top five degree-producing disciplines were business, health professions, education, social sciences/history and liberal arts and sciences. Those five fields comprise 57 percent of all degrees and are up 22 percent over the last decade. All but business and education (both down 1%) saw gains in 2008. Degrees across the health professions increased seven percent to 4,179 in 2008 and are 29 percent above their production in 2004. Nursing degrees were down two percent (i.e., 20 fewer awards) in 2008, but are up 32 percent above 2004. Degrees across four other fields important to Connecticut's economy (engineering, physical and biological sciences and computer science) increased six percent over 2007 and rose a cumulative 14 percent since 2004. Forty-two percent (1,457) of teacher preparation awards were in the 10 critical shortage areas identified last year by the State Department of Education. Degrees awarded to minority students increased 1.3 percent. Degrees earned by African Americans fell (2.6%) for a second consecutive year, but degrees to Hispanics/Latinos were up 6.0 percent. Minority students earned 17.6 percent of all awards in 2007-08, up from 13.4 percent 10 years ago. Women earned 59.1 percent of all degrees, up from 55.3 percent two decades ago, down slightly from their record high of 60.3 percent set in 2005-06. Appended are: (1) Degrees and Certificates Granted by Colleges and Universities in Connecticut, 2007-08; (2) Degrees and Certificates by Level and Race/Ethnicity Connecticut Colleges and Universities, 2007-08; and (3) Degrees and Certificates by Level, Discipline and Gender of Recipient Discipline Connecticut Colleges and Universities, 2007-08. (Contains 7 tables.)

This project was designed to improve the graphing competency of students in elementary algebra, intermediate algebra, and trigonometry courses at Virginia Commonwealth University. Computer graphics programs were designed using an Apple II Plus computer and implemented using Pascal. The software package is interactive and gives students control over events occurring in a lesson. The student types in answers or otherwise replies to questions, plots points, and takes quizzes at appropriate places in the lesson. The student can see graphs drawn quickly and accurately; concepts covered in the classroom are reinforced by these supplementary lessons. A list of seven available graphics lessons is given and each is briefly described: introduction to the keyboard, linear equations, what's my line (game on linear equations), inverse functions, quadratic equations, parabola game, and exponential functions. Specifications are also included for eight yet-uncoded lessons on exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions. Appendices provide samples of input and output, plus abstracts of two papers on the project. (MNS)