THURSDAY, AUG. 30
Miami (OH) at Ball State: The visitor is 6-2 against the spread (ATS) in this series since 1995.
Buffalo at Rutgers: Rutgers is 8-2 ATS at home in its last 10 games versus non-conference opponents.
LSU at Mississippi State: LSU is 9-1 ATS last 10 versus Mississippi State and 7-0 ATS its last seven in Starkville.
Kent State at Iowa State: Iowa State is 7-1-1 ATS versus Mid-America Conference opponents.
UNLV at Utah State: UNLV is just 6-14 ATS in September games since 2001 but Utah State is 10-19 ATS as an underdog the last three seasons.
Utah at Oregon State: Utah is 11-1 ATS as a road underdog off more than three points its last dozen games in that situation. Oregon State is 4-8 ATS in Corvallis openers since 1996.
Tulsa at ULM: Tulsa is 8-21 ATS on grass fields like the one the Golden Hurricane will play on at the University of Louisiana-Monroe.
FRIDAY, AUG. 31
Navy at Temple: Temple has covered three of its last four games against Navy but the Midshipmen are 9-3 as road favorites the past four years.
Washington at Syracuse: Washington is 3-14-1 ATS versus non-conference opponents. Syracuse is 18-2-2 ATS its last 22 games at home versus non-conference foes. Statistically, this is the strongest game of the opening week.
SATURDAY, SEPT. 1
Western Michigan at West Virginia: West Virginia is just 6-12-1 ATS as a sports betting home favorite the last four years.
East Carolina at Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech has covered four straight games against East Carolina and is 7-2 ATS in home openers since 1997.
Marshall at Miami (FL): Marshall is 5-10 as a road underdog the past three seasons.
Alabama-Birmingham at Michigan State: Michigan State is 5-13 ATS the last seven seasons as a double-digit home favorite.
Connecticut at Duke: UConn has won its first lined game of the season five consecutive years while Duke is 1-11 ATS at home versus non-conference opponents.
Washington State at Wisconsin: Washington State is 8-2 ATS on the road versus non-conference opponents.
Georgia Tech at Notre Dame: Georgia Tech has covered three straight against Notre Dame and is 10-6 ATS overall as a road underdog the past four seasons.
Missouri at Illinois: Missouri has covered five of its last six games against Illinois.
UCLA at Stanford: The home team is 6-1-1 ATS the last eight games in this series.
Wake Forest at Boston College: Wake Forest has covered four straight games versus Boston College.
Baylor at TCU: TCU is 10-3 ATS in its last 13 home openers.
Central Michigan at Kansas: Central Michigan is 1-7 as a non-conference sports betting road underdog of 24 or fewer points.
Colorado State vs. Colorado (Denver): Colorado State is 12-5 ATS since 1986 and has covered three in a row versus rival Colorado.
Eastern Michigan at Pittsburgh: Pittsburgh is 1-9 ATS as a home favorite of 20 or more points.
Kansas State at Auburn: Kansas State is 1-6 ATS as a non-conference underdog of more than four points.
Bowling Green at Minnesota: Bowling Green is 6-1 ATS as a non-conference road underdog of four or more points.
Tennessee at California: Tennessee is 9-3 ATS in its last 12 openers, including a 35-18 victory over California last year.
New Mexico AT UTEP: New Mexico has covered three of the last four in this series.
San Jose State at Arizona State: Arizona State is 10-2 as a non-conference home favorite.
Idaho at USC: USC is 6-1 as a non-conference favorite of 20 or more points.
Troy at Arkansas: Troy is 9-5 ATS as a road underdog the last three seasons.
Middle Tennessee at Florida Atlantic: Middle Tennessee is 7-1 ATS in its first lined game of the season.
MONDAY, SEPT. 3
Texas Tech at SMU: SMU is 1-4 ATS in season openers the last five seasons.
Florida State at Clemson: Clemson has covered three of the last four overall and six of the last seven at home in this series.
Are the above sportsbook busters guaranteed? Of course not. But historians point out that by studying the past we’re better equipped to predict the future. That may be true for sports betting, too.
Written and copyrighted by Karol Lucan for http://www.thegreek.com-The Greek Sportsbook & Casino is host to one of the top online sportsbooks offering sports betting on NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and all other major sports. The Greek is a must have sports betting and entertainment portal with one of the largest wagering menus available online. Article reproductions must include a link pointing to http://www.thegreek.com
In this still-uncertain economy that remains rife with unemployment, hundreds of thousands of out-of-work blue- and white-collar professionals, competing for scarce available jobs, find themselves faced with the need to further their training, expand their skill sets, or in some cases change career paths altogether. Many are going back to school, some to obtain their first college degree, others to get an additional or more advanced degree that could give their résumé a much-needed competitive edge in a crowded marketplace.
Demand for the Convenience of Online College Degrees …
In recent years, many “non-traditional” students who aren’t able to attend classes on the conventional resident college student’s full-time schedule — working parents, returning older students, students holding down a part-time or full-time job — have gravitated toward online degree programs that allow students to work toward their college degrees from home (or anywhere with a computer and an Internet connection) and at their own hours. As accredited online colleges and programs have proliferated, so have the number of students pursuing online college degrees.
These online college degrees, however, can often be pricey, requiring many students to take out a significant amount of money in student loans and private student loans. And some online universities have continued to offer only associate degrees and certificate programs, no bachelor’s or advanced degrees. As competition for jobs has intensified in a shrinking economy, many job-seeking professionals have found that their two-year college degree is going up against four-year and professional college degrees.
… and Demand for the Lower Costs of Community College Programs
Community colleges have traditionally offered lower-income and non-traditional students a lower-priced, commuter-friendly, and part-time alternative to pricier online college degrees and full-time four-year colleges and universities. But the two-year community college degree has posed the same drawbacks as two-year online college degrees: When going up against four-year degrees in a job search, two-year degrees simply aren’t as competitive.
Four-Year Community Colleges Offer a Cost-Convenience Solution
Now, however, students are finding a growing number of four-year degree options at community colleges. As more community colleges respond to increased student demand for affordable higher education, expanding their programs to include four-year bachelor’s degrees and applied baccalaureate degrees, new and returning students are increasingly able to obtain the academic pedigree of a four-year degree with much of the flexibility offered by online college degree programs but at the lower cost of a community college education.
Bachelor’s Degree Programs at Community Colleges Expanding
Florida currently leads the nation with 14 community colleges authorized to award bachelor’s degrees, reports The New York Times, with 12 schools already having done so, in fields including fire safety management and veterinary technology (“Community Colleges Challenge Hierarchy With 4-Year Degrees,” May 2, 2009). Nationwide, 17 states, including Nevada, Texas, and Washington, have granted community colleges the authority to award associate and bachelor’s degrees.
In some states, community colleges have even become four-year institutions in order to facilitate their new longer programs. At Miami Dade College in Florida — formerly known as Miami Dade Community College — more than 1,000 students are currently enrolled in the school’s bachelor degree programs. The average age of these students is 33.
LaKisha Coleman, a Miami Dade student who will graduate with a college degree in public safety management this spring, recommends the school to family members for its advantages over a traditional four-year degree program at a state or private university.
“It’s much cheaper, the teachers are good, you can do it in the evening while you work, and everyone’s very helpful,” Coleman told The New York Times.
Applied Baccalaureate Degrees Another Burgeoning Community College Offering
In the current economy, at a time when students have fewer financial resources to cover their college costs and job prospects are uncertain, the applied baccalaureate degree is becoming a popular option for students, says Debra Bragg, the director of the Forum on the Future of Public Education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Usually focusing on applied academics or applied sciences and technologies, an applied baccalaureate degree is a four-year bachelor’s degree that may be earned at both two- and four-year institutions, including technical colleges and community colleges. Unlike bachelor’s degrees at some conventional four-year universities, however, the applied baccalaureate degree counts technical and associate degree–level courses as degree credits, allowing community college students to keep their course costs low and minimize their need for student loans or other financial aid.
“Applied baccalaureate degree programs at community colleges can be used by students looking for a career that is emerging, or for adults who have earned college credits in the past and are looking to re-enter college, often to advance their careers to a supervisory level,” Bragg explains.
Since 2000, the number of states offering an applied baccalaureate degree has doubled, reports the University of Illinois. Currently, 39 states offer the degree.
The applied “real-world” focus of applied baccalaureate programs and coursework is aimed at grooming students to fill projected workforce needs in areas of the country where large concentrations of jobs have been lost due to outsourcing, a shrinking manufacturing base, or a shift in local industry.
“An applied baccalaureate degree represents a viable pathway for someone who previously hadn’t thought about earning a bachelor’s degree,” says Bragg, “but now sees it as a necessary step to getting and keeping a good job with benefits.”
Choosing a college can be a very difficult task. Many highly rated colleges and universities are worth looking into. I wanted one that would enhance my spiritual, social, and academic values. My parents had little influence on my college decision. I was alone. Just one of the many who had to decide where to spend the most formative years of my life.
I once held the belief that selecting a Christian Liberal Arts College would prevent me from being a witness to the unsaved, and jeopardize my education. Several churches that I attended and friends I respected supported a Non-Christian education for two basic reasons: Academic standards could be lower at a private college and there would be little or no opportunity to win others to Christ.
I have learned through my first few weeks here at a noted Baptist University, in the Fall of 1986, that this theory about no witnessing opportunities is absolutely untrue. First of all, there are more rules to be broken on this campus, so the men of the world who want to be radical are going to try everything they can to break them without getting caught.
That’s where I come in. These guys may be cool with the majority of the guys on my dorm wing, but when they come around me they know I stand up for my Christian beliefs. I may have a priestly nickname by the end of the year, who knows? When guys come down the hall cussing up a storm at one o’clock in the morning there needs to be some kind of mediator. Those sources and associates that had me believing everyone in a Christian College was saved must have been on L.S.D.-”A Low on Common Sense Diet.”
The second belief that concerned me the most was low academic standards. Many students are paying almost seven grand a year to attend college, why on earth would a Christian teacher fail a student? This would lower enrollment, make the school look bad to the public, and give teachers a bad name. Academic standards must be lower in a private college, right?
Wrong! Professors who teach here at our Christian University have degrees from Baylor University, Pepperdine, University of Southern California, and University of Illinois, to name just a few. I enjoy listening and learning from those who have had hard core “upper class” educations and include this into their Christian faith. Also, with low academic standards it would have been very difficult to receive the accreditation that this college has obtained.
Miraculous changes can take place on a Christian campus. Continuous Bible reading and teaching leads to greater knowledge. After all, Solomon in the Book of Proverbs does state: “The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” The students, professors, and faculty that I’ve met in my first few weeks here on campus have been people whose sole purpose is to serve God with all their heart.
That’s big for me, because I believe that without the positive influence of Christian friends I do not believe that I can reach my full potential in college or in my life’s goals and dreams for that matter.
Though once led astray, I now believe that the Christian Liberal Arts Education is superior to universities that are based solely on academic standards. My decision on this issue may sound very one-sided. I have to agree with you. However, my thesis is summed up most eloquently in the book of proverbs: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of all knowledge.”