Education loans

Loans are available to students and parents to provide them with funding after all other financial aid options have been reviewed. Unlike other financial aid such as scholarships, awards and grants, loans are borrowed money that must be repaid with interest. Do not borrow more than you need!

Federal loan programs

Concordia participates in the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program in order to provide students and parents the very best options in educational loans. To be eligible for federal loans the student must be a U.S. citizen or an eligible noncitizen.

Please visit www.studentaid.ed.gov for a complete student guide on all financial aid programs from the U.S. Department of Education including the FFEL program.

Federal Stafford loan

Federal Stafford Loans are low-interest, long-term loans. Both subsidized and unsubsidized Federal Stafford Loans have the same terms and conditions, with one exception: Unsubsidized loan borrowers are responsible for interest that accrues during all in-school, grace and deferment periods; for subsidized loans, the federal government pays the interest on behalf of the borrower while the student is in school and during the grace period. In order to be eligible for Stafford Loans, a student must file the FAFSA.

Federal Perkins loan for Undergraduate Students

The Federal Perkins Loan is a need-based loan administered and awarded by Concordia. Because the Perkins Loan funds are limited at each school, they are only made available to students with the highest financial need. This loan does not accumulate interest while the student is in college and payment is deferred until after the student ceases to be enrolled in school. In order to be eligible for Perkins Loans, a student must file the FAFSA.

Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS)

PLUS Loans are federal education loans available to the parents of dependent, undergraduate students. To be eligible for the loan, the borrowing parent must have satisfactory credit. There is no minimum or maximum income requirement. The maximum amount parents may borrow on a PLUS loan each academic year is the cost of attendance minus other financial aid received by the student.

Alternative loan

Alternative (private) loans are credit-based loans from private sources available to assist families with educational expenses. Eligibility for alternative loans is not based on need. Alternative loans should only be considered after reviewing all other financial aid options.

Check with the lender of your choice for details or view the list of alternative loans offered by Concordia’s proposed lenders.

Choosing a Federal Student Loan Lender

The student loan market presents the consumer with a wide variety of lenders to choose from. While some of the terms of a Federal Stafford Loan or a Parent PLUS Loan are prescribed by federal law, the actual student loan experience a consumer receives is likely to depend on a variety of factors such as: the lender selected by the student and/or parent borrower, repayment options offered by the lender and/or loan servicer, the responsiveness to customer concerns/questions by the lender and/or servicer, etc. In light of the ever-changing benefits offered by the large array of student lenders in existence today, the Concordia's financial aid office cannot possibly guarantee you, the student loan borrower, that your lender selection will yield the most desirable student loan experience for you.

For this reason, Concordia University, Nebraska has developed a Proposed Lender List in order to assist our students and their parents in their lender selection.

Borrowers have the right and ability to select the education loan provider of their choice, are not required to use any of the lenders on this Proposed Lender List, and will suffer no penalty for choosing a lender that is not on this Proposed Lender List. If you wish to use a lender that is not on this Proposed Lender List, please contact the Financial Aid Office finaid@cune.edu for application instructions.

EDUCATION PLANS AND PLANNING

There are two distinct classifications of simulation models, depending on either the model’s specificity (generic vs. country-specific) or its approach (demographic vs. financial model). These classifications, however, should not exclude the variety of many other subcategories that can exist in between.

Generic vs. country-specific models: Generic models are sometimes called “ready-to-use” models, and country-specific models are often called “tailor-made” models.

The generic approach is used in designing simulation models which contain components common to a majority of education systems. They do not correspond, therefore, to any particular country’s education system. With careful adaptation, such models can however make it possible to approximate the pedagogical, physical, and financial consequences of a policy.

The country-specific approach is used in order to assess the consequences of a particular country’s education policy options, and to identify, in greater detail, the development actions required to implement the stated policy. Country-specific models take into account the structure and specific details of an individual country’s education system.

Generic models have the advantage of being operational as soon as the baseline data and main objectives are inputted, but have a limited power as detailed programming tools. In contrast, “tailor-made” simulation models, designed on the basis of close collaboration between decision-makers and specialists reflect a particular country’s situation and its educational policy, but such models require a much longer time to prepare and to verify.

Demographic vs. financial models: The second classification is between “demographic” and “financial” models, with multiple variants in between. These two types of models are designed according to two opposite methodological approaches: financial models use public spending on education as the decision variable, and demographic models estimate educational expenditure as the result of the simulation.

In the financial or budgetary models, one is first concerned with determining an acceptable budget ceiling for education as a proportion of the State’s overall budget. The computer calculates backwards to obtain likely enrolment targets. In the demographic models, the enrolment-related targets (independent variables) are laid down a priori and the computer calculates the resultant, necessary financial resources.

In reality, the principal simulation parameters ─ the enrolment and budget parameters ─ are interdependent. Whichever modelling approach is used, the options concerned in the initial scenario undergo several changes before leading to a balanced result. The search for a scenario that corresponds to the policy, leads the planner to repeatedly test different options for the two types of principal variables which are considered either as causes or consequences. The final decision is made by considering the implications of each parameter, and the scenario to be adopted finally results from a reasoned choice of the possible variables to be applied, both upstream and downstream in the course of the calculations.

For instance, in demographic models, the financial resources calculated as requirements for achieving the enrolment targets may prove unsustainable within a certain macro-economic and fiscal framework. In this case, one needs to review the parameters of input mix (student/teacher ratio, class size, textbook/student ratio, etc.) until one achieves a feasible expenditure level. With financial models, the budgetary ceiling specified as the decision variable for a certain level of education may not make it possible to achieve a policy goal, such as an adequate teachers’ training. In this case, one would adjust the aforementioned parameters of input mix in order to reduce the education costs per pupil to train more teachers.

Photo Collage

How to Make a Photo Collage

Making a digital photo collage is not as difficult as one might think. It’s really very simple with most photo editing software. It just takes a little time and patience. Even basic photo editing software that normally come with the purchase of a digital camera or printer. A very good photo editing software is PhotoShop Elements and older versions of it, which are perfectly fine, often come included with a new digital camera, printer or scanner.

Photoshop Elements 2.0 is the software I have used for my step by step guide, How to Make a Photo Collage.

The basic steps in making a collage are simple. The first step would be to open a blank document in your photo editing software. Your blank document should be the size you want your finished photo collage to be, example, 8x10 and of a resolution of 300 for good printing quality.

Next choose your pictures, keep it to about 10 pictures or less to begin with, till you are used to working with a lot of pictures so as not to be overwhelmed. Open them and drag them into your blank document.

Next resize the pictures as necessary. A tip, hold down the shift key as you drag from a corner to resize the picture, holding the shift key will keep the proportions of the picture so as not to distort the image. You can resize back bigger or smaller as needed as you work to decide the layout o the photo collage. Move the pictures around to see what looks letter where, try to create some balance, perhaps choose a focal picture to place in the middle and be larger than the others. But the focus does not have to always be in the middle, see what works best with the pictures you are using.

Now comes the most difficult part, the blending. For this we use the eraser tool. Choose your eraser tool and the size you want based on the size of your pictures. You want a blurred edge eraser for better blending. Erase the hard edge on each picture first then one by one, blend into each other, resizing the pictures where necessary. This is not something that can be taught, you have to just jump in and try it, if you make a mistake you can always delete the layer of that picture and open the picture again and drag it back in and try again. Use the step backward tool as well to undo any mistakes when you can.

You’ve made a photo collage, time to look around and make any final touches and adjustments. Save your document as a PSD, the default Photoshop Elements file type and then save it again as a jpeg so you can print and/or share it. Keep the PSD file in order to make any changes to your photo collage as you cannot change or adjust the jpeg file, it is just a copy.

See, was that so hard? For an illustrated step-by-step guide you can print and use to help you along the way please visit my website.

Detroit Schools Partner for Engineering Success

The Detroit Schools has partnered with local universities to get students thinking about careers in science and engineering. Students at different levels of the Detroit Public Schools are being targeted in a statewide effort to get more women and minorities enrolled in engineering programs. One program that makes this its mission is the Detroit Area Pre College Engineering Program (DAPCEP).

The Detroit Area Pre College Engineering Program

DAPCEP works with area students in three main ways. It partners with local public school teachers to design a curriculum that encourages creative thinking in the sciences. To fulfill this goal, DAPCEP sponsors science fairs, field trips, and university seminars for students and teachers.

DAPCEP also runs a Saturday program in conjunction with local universities and corporations to provide enrichments activities for students in grades 4 – 12. These activities focus on different aspects of math, computer science, engineering, physics, chemistry, and communication skills.

In addition to its programs during the school year, DAPCEP brings local public school students into universities for summer programs. Some of the summer programs are residential, with students living on campus for a few weeks and getting a real taste for the college life. Other programs provide transportation to and from campus.

University Partnerships
DAPCEP’s list of university partners is certainly impressive.
• University of Detroit Mercy
• Michigan State University
• University of Michigan Ann Arbor
• Wayne State University
• Lawrence Technical University
• Oakland University
• University of Michigan Dearborn
• Michigan Technological University

The Little Engineer Program

In addition to their very successful middle school and high school programs, DAPCEP also has something for smaller learners. Its Little Engineer Program is for students in grades K – 3. These Saturday classes for both children and their parents focus on teaching and learning math, science, pre-engineering, and reading.

How to Join DAPCEP

The selection process for DAPCEP can be daunting for parents anxious to give this opportunity to their children. DAPCEP holds an open house each fall for prospective students and parents. Students must maintain a 2.0 Grade Point Average in all their school subjects. Other factors, such as attendance, and taking certain academic subjects in the regular school curriculum, such as physics, chemistry, and higher level math, also play a role in student selection. For many programs, students also need letters of recommendation from their math and science teachers.

Summer Course Offerings

DAPCEP’s university partnerships are providing a range of summer courses of Detroit area students. Here are some highlights:

• Watershed Investigators (University of Detroit Mercy)
Students will investigate local water quality in a series of real – world experiments.

• How Math Rocks Our World (Tabernacle)
Students will see how their math and science skills compare with other students around the world, in particular China and India.

• Wireless Integrated Microsystems (Michigan State University)
Hands – on activities and presentations from nine different engineering majors offered at the university.

• Engineering Intensive Workshop ( Michigan Technological University)
Students choose two areas of study, ranging from Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Aided Engineering, Computer Programming, Material Engineering, Chemical Engineering and others.

All of the DAPCEP programs emphasize the Detroit Area Public School District’s commitment to ensuring that students have the opportunity to explore many challenging areas and gain further insights into the college experience.

Software Engineering

Software Performance Engineering For Banks And Financial Institutions
Introduction:

Performance is one quality of software that can make or mar it. Poor performance can cause major losses. Hence, performance is an integral part of the various functions of Banks and Financial Institutions. Financial Institutions invest heavily in IT products and services for their better survival. Performance Engineering reduces TCO for IT and optimizes application performance.

Software Performance:

Software performance problems usually occur due to a fundamental misunderstanding of dealing with performance objectives. The idea is to tune for performance after getting the functionality right. Performance problems are complicated and require extensive code changes. Systematic planning and predicting the performance of the emerging software throughout the development process help in managing software performance properly.

Software Performance Engineering:

Software Performance Engineering is a systematic, quantitative, software-oriented approach to manage software performance proactively. Software Performance Engineering helps in recognizing problems early in development and corrects them.

The three measures of performance are Speed, Scalability and Stability, in which discrepancies may occur. Performance Engineering is all about solving a problem to achieve a desired and beneficial outcome.

The Cost of Performance Problems:

1. Ncreased hardware & development costs.

2. Cancelled projects.

3. Damaged customer relations.

4. Lost income.

5. Reduced competitiveness.

The Growth of Load Testing market:

Large development and implementation costs and the risk of losing of brand equity escalate the cost of application failure. According to Newport Group research, the hourly cost of downtime per million dollars of daily-generated online business revenue can range between $9,500 and $27,500,

Importance of Performance Engineering for Banks and Financial Institutions:

The services like loan, card, insurance, ERP and many more provided by banks and other financial institutions are subjected to improved Software Performance Engineering. Testing Banking Systems help to benchmark applications for users, predict the application’s performance, fix problems in early stages, enhance the speed and response time of applications, prevent customer annoyance and loss, and get the most cost effective investment plan.

Testing Banking Applications require performance-engineering services such as Load and Stress test, End-to-end Transaction Testing, Architecture Benchmarking, Capacity Planning, Simulation/ Performance Prediction, Endurance Testing etc.

ReadyTestGo’s Performance Engineering Services:

ReadyTestGo’s Performance Engineering Services offer unbiased and unlimited testing of the software, besides offering anytime, over the net and lab testing services. Our consultants possess significant expertise in web servers, databases, networking and more. Our 20,000 sq.ft. Lab at Chennai, co-hosted at San Jose and Singapore is equipped with world-class hardware, software and testing tools for diagnosing and solving problems.

Process Overview:

Any performance engineering process should ensure repeatability, consistent delivery, complete coverage and a strong feedback mechanism to leverage knowledge. Figure 1 illustrates our approach to performance engineering.

Approach to Performance engineering:

To get proper utilization of Performance Engineering, test for common performance bottlenecks and transactions must be conducted. Creation of re-usable test scripts and tracking defects to closure are some way to make it happen.

Server Testing:

Server Testing needs to monitor Web, Application and Database Servers very well.

Performance Test Runs:

Performance Test Runs include:

Baseline and Diagnostic Test Runs, and Enhancement Test.

Monitoring:

Server Side and Client Side Monitoring are crucial for finer performance measure.

Reporting:

Testing Banking Systems is followed by the submission of a test report containing ReadyTestGo’s primary client and server side observations, its analysis of the correlated client and server side data and it would attempt to identify any and all bottlenecks in the application.

The graph in the following figure depicts a typical client and server side co-relation showing that the web site under test failed to scale beyond a user load of around 55 concurrent users due to high CPU utilization. It also shows that user processes were the primary contributors to the high CPU utilization observed and that CPU utilization by the Kernel and the I/O subsystem was nominal.

Difference Child's Life Education

Make a Difference in a Child's Life with Abacus Education

Speak of Mathematics and chill runs down through your spine. And same is the story when it comes time to teach mathematics to our children. And you as a parent / tutor are not at fault. Today's schooling system teaches a very ineffective method of learning math, rote memorization of times tables. We all wish our children could perform calculations quickly. And we all know the only way quick calculations are done if performed mentally. And once again we think of rote memorizing tables. Well, that is not the case anymore. Today centuries old technique of Abacus education has been revived and the materials are available easily. I am sure by now you are thinking - Why Abacus?

One particular use for the abacus is teaching children simple mathematics and especially multiplication. The abacus is an excellent substitute for rote memorization of multiplication tables, which some young children find daunting. The abacus is also an excellent tool for teaching other base numbering systems since it easily adapts itself to any base.

Children naturally have vast potential of energy and brain power. But most parents do not know how to tap into the depths of these young minds in the right way and thus fail to realize and nurture these young minds to their fullest potential.

When children use both hands to move abacus beads in arithmetic calculations, it stimulates cells in both the right and left sides of the brain. This results in quick, balanced whole brain development, leading to greater mental capacity. Using the abacus, a child can do all arithmetic calculations up to 10 digits without relying on an electronic calculator.

Using the abacus also:

-Fosters a greater sense of numbers.
-Helps develop an intuitive understanding of numbers through their concrete representation.
-Fosters one's trust in the process of calculation by enabling one to observe it in action.
-Manifests the concept of decimal places and the progression of units by tens physically.
-Instantly accomplishes addition and subtraction when numbers are placed on the abacus.
-Improves understanding of compounded numbers (through the use of supplementary numbers for 5 and 10).
-Helps in developing the beneficial qualities of concentration, patience, and endurance.
-Fosters one's confidence in calculation.
-Uses a left to right calculation method, which makes quick estimation and rounding off possible.
-Works on the decimal rather than fractional system, an easy progression to digital systems.
-Develops mental calculation, which is the ultimate resource.
-Develops the right brain tremendously.
-Leads to greater mental capacity.
-Expresses large numbers simply and easily.
-Provides a sense of achievement as one's proficiency improves.

With abacus, you can help your child achieve more than just math skills. You can boost your child's confidence, provide a sense of achievement, promote intuitive thinking, enhance problem-solving capability, enhance creativity, and improve concentration and mental endurance.

Find out more on why abacus education is increasingly popular in many countries like Malaysia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, India, Singapore and elsewhere. The abacus has become valuable teaching tool in schools, tuition centers and community centers, and is used by home schooling parents around the world.

This gift to your child will result in big rewards down the road. It is about time you make a decision to enhance the quality of your child's life. Make a difference in your child's life - today!

Nursing Education

Nursing Education – The Importance Of Critical Thinking

In the nursing profession, more now than ever, the ability to think critically is essential. The responsibilities of a Registered Nurse have increased over the years. In correlation with this increase in responsibility comes the additional increase in educational prerequisites and core requisites required to achieve a degree in Nursing. The ANA (American Nursing Association) Standards has set forth the framework necessary for critical thinking in the application of the “nursing process". The nursing process is the tool by which all nurses can equally become proficient at critical thinking. The nursing process contains the following criteria:

1. Assessment

2. Diagnosis

3. Planning

4. Implementation

5. Evaluation

It is in the application of each of these processes that the nurse may become proficient at critical thinking. It is important to look at the components that describe critical thinking in nursing, The table below lists components that define the critical thinking process. There is much more that goes into critical thinking than what is listed in the table. The table is a rough draft of the process.

CRITICAL THINKING COMPONENTS

Entails purposeful, informed, outcome focused thinking, that requires careful identification of specific problems and other physiological and psychological factors that affect the clients position on the health and wellness continuum.

The process is driven by the client, the client’s family and other health team members who are also collaborating in ensuring essential client care.

Specific educational knowledge base and level of experience in applying that knowledge in client care. (Nursing School to graduate nurse to experienced nurse) As the level of experience of the nurse increases so will the scientific knowledge base that the nurse applies.

Proficiency in the application of the institutions standards, policies and procedures.

Application of the humanistic standards of caring in conjunction with the nursing process, to holistically treat the clients response to an actual or perceived illness.

Constant evaluation and re-evaluation of the nursing process to determine the clients level of wellness

Nurses learn critical thinking via application with experience. Experience is the best teacher. But it is equally important to know that the process is being applied correctly. Many institutions will ensure that this pathway is followed by enlisting new nurses in a eight to ten week orientation program. During this time the new nurse will learn about the polices and procedures of that institution and what type of documentation is used for charting purposes. Also, the new nurse will have an experienced mentor who they will follow and who will evaluate their performance as well.

Documentation is an essential part of the critical thinking process for the nurse. Every institution places emphasis on documentation. It is said, “that if it is not documented, then it was not done". Since the nursing process is a scientific process. In scientific research, all things are documented. In this documentation, researches can look back to see if the results were due to interventions and whether or not the interventions were successful or have to be altered. The documentation process helps the nurse accomplish the same goals. Many times procedures are used that have unproven efficacy.

In it is this framework of critical thinking and documentation that such procedures can be either continued or eliminated, depending on the efficacy of the research. In other words, does the procedure actually improve, help or otherwise jeopardize the client’s health. An example of the critical thinking process and scientific reasoning is in the efficacy of taking a rectal temperature of new born infants. Currently, this procedure is still widely accepted. However the scientific approach is to ask the following, is the procedure safe, is it necessary, and can an axillary temp be used in place of the rectal temp? In answering these questions, the nurse can better evaluate whether the efficacy of taking a rectal temp on a infant should be continued.

This is just one example of how the critical thinking process is used within the nursing profession. The scientific approach using critical thinking helps the nurse develop evidence based practice. It is through “evidence based practice" that the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations (JCAHO) rates the performance of hospitals. Further research is still continuing in delineating the intricacies of the nursing process and the integration of critical thinking. All health care professionals are encouraged to pursue this type of research in their practice to ensure the quality of client care and enhance the validity of their profession.

Learn more about nursing education at The NET Study Guide.

The nursing entrance test study guide provides nurses the assistance they need with the nursing entrance test. The nursing study guide helps nurses.