You will be responsible for teaching on the woodwork/construction and associated industries courses from entry level – Level 2 to students with global Learning Difficulties. Other general curriculum responsibilities will include assessment, tracking student’s achievement and administration duties for the courses as set out in the job description.
With appropriate experience and qualifications reflecting a strong background in Woodwork, construction and associated industries, you will have a teaching qualification or the commitment to undertake one during the first term of contract. You will have a history of teaching students with global learning difficulties context to a high standard, with personal/group tutoring experience and of teaching a variety of units in woodwork/ construction from entry level through to Level 2. You must have the ability to communicate with students and to motivate and support them in their studies.
Those of us buried under rising tuition and huge piles of student debt may wonder: What in the world made college so expensive? And how is it that donor- and taxpayer-funded endowments aren't bearing more of the burden?
Part of the answer lies in investments made by college and university trustees, which resulted in huge losses after the 2008 financial crisis, with average one-year losses totaling 20.5% among schools with endowments higher than $1 billion, according to InsideHigherEd.com.
Some stakeholders think part of the answer lies in self-dealing among trustees, who direct schools' investments into their own funds or those in which they have some other interest.
Reuters reports that colleges and universities including Dartmouth, Brown, Northwestern, and Stanford, just to name a few, have disclosed investments in funds linked to their trustees.
Because trustees are responsible for investing a school's money, institutions have worked to recruit people with significant expertise in asset management. As a result, many boards are populated with trustees who work at investing firms -- trustees who are in a position to benefit from directing the institution's money into the funds they manage.
And worries about self-dealing don't end with investments in trustees' firms. In a 2010 survey of tax returns filed by 618 private colleges, The Chronicle of Higher Education found that about 25% of the schools examined disclosed financial connections to real estate businesses, construction companies, and other service providers associated with their trustees.
To examine the effect that such conflicts of interest can have on a school's investments, InsideHigherEd.com's Kevin Kiley took a look at the relationship between Dartmouth's trustees and the school's investments in funds linked with those trustees:
Justin Anderson, Dartmouth's assistant vice president for media relations, offers two defenses for these investments.
First, he claims that these investments are in the best interest of the school, telling InsideHigherEd, "To forgo investments with a firm simply because a board member has some interest in the firm would be contrary to the best interest of the college."
Second, he claims that the trustees complied with federal and state (New Hampshire) restrictions meant to prevent conflicts of interest, as well as Dartmouth's own regulations. Among other things, notes Kiley, the New Hampshire regulations require that:
A notice of the investment must be published in a "newspaper of general circulation in the community in which the charitable trust's principal New Hampshire office is located."
But it's not clear that these safeguards are sufficient to prevent quid-pro-quo dealings among trustees, who may be willing to approve investment decisions that benefit other trustees in hopes of getting similar favors down the road.
InsideHigherEd notes that while Dartmouth is open about its investments in these firms, stakeholders are complaining that the board has stonewalled them in the face of questions about the fees associated with its investments. In addition, stakeholders say that the school fails to offer online archives of investment notices, and so it is difficult to get a full and accurate picture of the amounts invested in trustees' firms or of how well these investments have performed. This lack of disclosure does not help justify Dartmouth's claims that these investments are in the best interests of the school.
This 136-year-old institution is open to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS) as well as non-members. In fact, BYU's total cost of $17,280, the lowest on Kiplinger's private-school list, applies to students who are not LDS church members; members pay about half the tuition. BYU attracts academically gifted students: 91% of incoming freshman scored 24 or higher on the ACT standardized test.
Wesleyan earns plaudits as Kiplinger's lowest-cost liberal arts college. Founded in 1836, Wesleyan was the first college in the world to grant degrees to women. Today, Wesleyan has 31 major and 26 minor academic programs, as well as eight pre-professional programs, including engineering, medicine and law.
In the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, overlooking the Shenandoah River, this Catholic liberal arts college, founded in 1977, attracts its 400-plus students from 45 states and seven countries. Undergraduates are required to take a core curriculum that covers literature, history, natural sciences and theology.
With a focus on global education through its numerous study-abroad programs, Drury provides the opportunity to explore diverse cultures and international issues firsthand. Its Global Perspectives 21 program includes such subjects as Asian ethics, Russian cultures (with travel to St. Petersburg, Russia) and Mediterranean cultures (via travel to Volos, Greece).
This private Catholic university, founded more than 60 years ago, attracts a high-achieving student body (65% of incoming freshman scored in the top tier of the ACT) and keeps them coming back. The freshman retention rate is a solid 88%. The university offers 42 undergraduate majors and 32 minors, plus seven graduate programs.
Established in 1920 as Marion College, Indiana Wesleyan is one of the fastest-growing Christian colleges in the country. The school’s main Marion campus has 3,200 students, and more than 12,000 adult students attend classes at regional campuses in Indiana, Kentucky and Ohio.
Hillsdale’s campus stretches over 200 acres in southern Michigan. The liberal arts college prides itself on offering high-quality academics without accepting federal or state taxpayer subsidies. An impressive 90% of incoming freshmen scored in the top tier of the ACT, and a low student-faculty ratio (10-to-1) helps keep students engaged with professors.
Only 355 students are enrolled at this Catholic liberal arts college, and the 11-to-1 student-faculty ratio helps keep class sizes small. Founded in 1971 and located 65 miles northwest of Los Angeles, Thomas Aquinas provides grants and loans through its financial aid program, but it accepts no government or archdiocesan subsidies.
Located near Boise, the College of Idaho stresses the importance of off-campus experiences, from internships and community service to study-abroad programs. Students are also encouraged to become leaders, through the college’s leadership program. Under this hands-on, freshman-to-senior program, students develop skills in communication, problem solving, decision-making and team development, enabling them to become mentors to younger classmates by the time they graduate.
This liberal arts university, less than 50 miles southeast of Topeka, offers more than 40 fields of study and more than 70 extracurricular and co-curricular activities, from honor societies to varsity athletics. Fewer than 1,000 undergraduates attend the school, whose alumni include four Rhodes Scholars and a Pulitzer Prize winner.
When trustees make irresponsible investments and purchasing decisions, students and their families are not the only ones who pay. The burden of these costs is also passed on to taxpayers who help finance the public schools and to donors who help finance the private ones.
And without increased disclosure requirements, these stakeholders are in a poor position to evaluate or challenge these decisions.
Motley Fool contributor M. Joy Hayes, Ph.D., is the Principal at ethics consulting firm Courageous Ethics. She doesn't own shares of any of the companies mentioned. Follow @JoyofEthics on Twitter.
LONDON -- European equity markets are trading in positive territory Friday, having been somewhat mixed during the morning before better-than-expected U.S. GDP numbers helped them to small gains.
Comments from EU policymakers have continued to take the spotlight, with some support still found in the comments from European Central Bank president Mario Draghi yesterday. This was bolstered further after French newspaper Le Monde reported that the ECB is preparing to buy Spanish and Italian bonds to help alleviate the record-high yields seen on the countries' debt.
That said, the German Bundesbank did come out against the ECB's purchasing sovereign debt, believing it would be against the spirit of the central bank's statutes, which do not allow it to finance states.
With this, the German DAX (INDEX: ^GDAXI) is actually one of the weakest benchmark indexes on the Continent today, up around 0.2%.
Corporate earnings reports have been leading some of the largest moves again Friday, including that of chemical maker Solvay (NASDAQOTH: SVYZY.PK), which is up almost 9% in Belgium after it said strong demand for agents used in oil drilling helped earnings beat estimates. This was the second consecutive quarter Solvay's numbers came in higher than expected, and today it maintained its guidance for full-year earnings, of which it has already achieved some 52.6%.
Elsewhere, Barclays (NYS: BCS) , the bank at the center of the LIBOR scandal, is up 7% in London after it reported better-than-expected earnings. First-half income climbed 13% year on year to 4.2 billion pounds, despite the inclusion of the 290 million pound fine levied against the bank for its role in LIBOR fixing. The company also apologized for "recent events," assuring that it will repair the damage done to the bank's reputation.
At the same time, Barclays has set aside a 450 million pound provision to cover costs associated with the Financial Service Authority's investigation into the mis-selling of interest rate swaps to small businesses, although it did say it expects around 100 million pounds of this to be unwound eventually.
On the downside, Cie de Saint-Gobain (NASDAQOTH: CODYY.PK) has slipped more than 11.5% in Paris after it cut its full-year outlook due to the declining economic environment in Europe. The company said it will be seeking an additional 160 million euros in cost savings in the second half as part of a larger 500 million euro attempt at full-year reductions.
Also in Paris, steel pipe producer Vallourec (NASDAQOTH: VLOWY.PK) is down 9% after it reported that second-quarter profits fell by 50%, citing reduced demand for industrial business in Europe and Brazil. Vallourec said net income dropped to 56.6 million euros from last year's 121.1 million euros, while sales increased 3% to 1.33 billion euros.
As always, this morning's European news saw some winners and losers -- and perhaps some European buying opportunities. Indeed, legendary investor Warren Buffett has recently spent more than $1 billion buying the stock of a prominent European large cap. If you want to know why Buffett has bought into Europe, this special Motley Fool report -- "The One European Share Warren Buffett Loves" -- reveals everything, including the price he paid. You can download the report today for free, but hurry -- the report is available for a limited time only.
The article U.S. GDP Boosts European Stocks, While EU Policymaker Comments Offer Mixed Signals originally appeared on Fool.com.
INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- hhgregg, Inc. (NYS: HGG) today announced that it will be conducting a conference call to discuss its operating results for its fourth fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2013 on Monday May 20, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
Interested investors and other parties may listen to a simultaneous webcast of the conference call by logging onto the Company's investor relations page at www.hhgregg.com. The call can also be accessed over the phone by dialing (877) 304-8963. Callers should reference the hhgregg fourth quarter earnings call. A replay of the earnings call will be available on the Company's website through June 20, 2013.
The article hhgregg, Inc. Announces Conference Call to Discuss Fourth Quarter Operating Results originally appeared on Fool.com.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is considering a proposal to allow cell phone calls on specially equipped flights once they are above 10,000 feet, CNN reported earlier today.
Of course, whether travelers want to be surrounded by business people conducting a pre-conference teleconference from the friendly skies (pictured) is another issue altogether."The FCC has banned in-flight calls since 1991 because of concerns that calls would jam ground-based communications systems," according to "USA Today." "The commission considered relaxing its ban in 2004, but decided against a change after a flood of opposition and because of lingering technical questions."
Many critics of the FCC's ban have noted that air phone usage on planes does not cause safety issues.
The Bon-Ton Stores has been working hard to keep its share of holiday goodies (i.e. shoppers) away from bigger department store chain J.C. Penney . The two are like sitcom siblings fighting over a Christmas toy, but in this case it's market share. By a big pile of presents, looking on amused, is big brother Macy's , the largest department store chain in the US.
But little brother Bon-Ton has a big plan. That plan is to be just like big brother Macy's. Is it good enough to swipe share from under Macy's and J.C. Penney's noses?
In 2011, Bon-Ton hired Brendan L. Hoffman as the new CEO. As chief executive, he was credited with reviving a moribund Lord & Taylor. Before that, he was CEO of Neiman-Marcus Direct, the company's e-commerce division. He now presides over Bon-Ton chain's 271 stores under brands Bon-Ton, Elder-Beerman, Younkers, Parisian, Carson Pirie Scott, Bergner's, Herberger's, and Boston Store.
Hoffman has taken some pages from Macy's winning playbook. First, Bon-Ton is localizing merchandise a la My Macy's. Bon-Ton is putting boots on the ground in the form of merchants in the field offices to better oversee regional needs. It already seems to be working as Hoffman noted inventory was leaner by 5% versus last year. Not a moment too soon, as Nomura Equity Research is warning of rising retail inventory levels.
Second, Macy's CEO Terry Lundgren travels 40 weeks annually making unannounced visits to stores. Hoffman visited 30 to 40 stores in the Bon-Ton chain the month before earnings to talk to managers.
Third, Bon-Ton is expanding its upscale demographic with more Coach, Michael Kors, and Ralph Lauren merchandise, all mainstays at Macy's. Bon-Ton's World of Ralph Lauren launched in mid-November. Hoffman said, "The Ralph Lauren brand and the earlier launches that Michael Kors and Coach[,] among others, have given us an arsenal of status resources that allows us to now compete on equal footing with our peer group."
Fourth and most importantly, Hoffman is doing what he was hired to do, ramp up e-commerce. Hoffman's initiatives led to an improved third-quarter report and an upgrade by Zack's to a strong buy. Chief executive Hoffman said on the third- quarter call, "The world retail congress ranked our website No. 2 in US department stores in their quarterly survey, with the focus being on user experience."
Hoffman was upbeat and bullish on the call, more so than J.C. Penney and Macy's have been, almost giddy as he guided for a bright holiday season:
As we look forward to [the] fourth quarter in the holiday season, we have [a] renewed sense of optimism that was absent until recently. While we recognize that we are operating in a choppy environment[,] we think we are well prepared for the springboard that we believe this holiday season will be.
That said, gross margin dollars decreased by $8.5 million to $667.9 million, although gross margin as a percentage of sales increased 48 basis points to 36.1% year over year. The company still has a net loss of $0.05 per diluted share, but that's a dramatic improvement over last year's loss of $0.55 per diluted share. Little brother is getting smarter and stronger.
J.C. Penney is still recovering from ex-CEO Ron Johnson's disastrous deep-sixing of coupons, promotions, and beloved brands even as Bon-Ton's Hoffman ramped them up. Since Johnson was ousted, current J.C. Penney CEO Myron Ullman has reinstated coupons and promotions and brought back private-label brands St. John's Bay, Stafford, and Arizona. According to Ullman, private-label sales are finally returning to historic levels.
This holiday quarter is a make-or-break one. It's promising with rising same-store sales in October, the first same-store sales rise since December 2011. J.C. Penney is ruthlessly ridding itself of inventory from Johnson's legacy with deep discounting.
On its third-quarter call, CEO Ullman offered the glimmer of a holiday miracle forthcoming when he told analysts, "The turnaround at J.C. Penney is beginning to take hold."
Like Macy's, J.C. Penney understands the importance of the beauty counter and has strengthened its relationship with Sephora, now with 446 Sephora stores within J.C. Penney locations. The company also realizes e-commerce is critical to compete against Macy's. E-commerce sales at jcp.com rose 24.5% in the third quarter.
Despite clear signs of turnaround progress, the company still reported a net loss of $1.94 a share compared to a loss of $0.56 year over year. Gross margin as a percent of sales is lower than Bon-Ton at 29.5%.
Both J.C. Penney and Bon-Ton have seen huge stock declines from their all-time highs -- Bon-Ton's highest high was slightly more than $56 in May 2007, when J.C. Penney hit its pinnacle of $82. Both have high short interests, 34.4% and rising for Bon-Ton, leading to volatility with Bon-Ton rising 40% after better-than- expected results on Nov. 21. Bon-Ton has a high beta of 3.5. But the short interest of 51.7% (and growing) in J.C. Penney is shocking.
Meanwhile, Macy's reported a good third quarter and as is its custom was cautiously optimistic guiding for the holidays. Macy's still has the highest gross margin of these at 39.9% and has had positive earnings for quite some time, trading at a 14.6 trailing-earnings multiple with a 1.9% yield.
Bon-Ton is the one that seems to have the most upside, although it is speculative and volatile as it tries on what works for Macy's. J.C. Penney may be in a turnaround, but it doesn't yet have enough pull to grab back share it lost to Macy's and Bon-Ton. Macy's can smile indulgently for now but better keep an eye on Bon-Ton long term.