Financial Aid in the News RSS
Colleges Shift Donor Appeals Toward Student Aid (The Wall Street Journal)
"Colleges and universities are actively encouraging donors to contribute directly to education rather than asking for big gifts toward buildings and programs," The Wall Street Journal reports. "The economic downturn is causing schools to refocus their fund-raising campaigns more on financial aid, scholarships or a school's general fund, which is typically used for a university's most pressing needs and often directed toward student aid."
Shrinking Endowments Offer Smaller Target For Lawmakers Seeking Mandatory Payout (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
"If there's a silver lining in the dark cloud hanging over campus budgets, it may be this: Colleges' investment losses could ease Congress's demands for mandatory endowment payouts, at least in the short term," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "That doesn't mean lawmakers will cease pressing colleges to spend more of their assets on student aid."
Economy Chills Hiring Prospects For College Graduates, Report Says (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
"Economic news is dismal these days, and college graduates' job prospects are no exception, according to a report scheduled to be released today by the Collegiate Employment Research Institute at Michigan State University," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "Hiring for graduates at all degree levels will decrease by 8 percent over last year, says the annual report, which is based on employers' projections."
Who's In The Running For Obama Administration Jobs (Associated Press)
"It's Washington's favorite parlor game during a presidential transition: trying to figure out who'll land a top spot in the new administration," the Associated Press reports. "President-elect Barack Obama is weighing an array of Washington insiders and outsiders, including some Republicans, for Cabinet and other top positions, according to Democratic officials."
Analysis: Community Colleges Suddenly In Spotlight (Associated Press)
"Long the neglected stepchildren of American higher education, community colleges have come front-and-center in the eyes of students, policymakers and philanthropists," the Associated Press reports. "For students, that's because of the economy, which is boosting interest in two-year schools as a cheaper starting point for a bachelor's degree."
Reaction Mixed To Obama's Free Higher Education Proposal (Naples Daily News)
"Obama's 'American Opportunity Tax Credit' proposal would provide students up to $4,000 for schooling each year in return for 100 hours of annual community service," the Naples Daily News reports. "Estimates out of the Obama camp peg the yearly cost of the program at $10 billion, which would come from cutting some existing federal programs, reducing funding for others and scaling back on congressional pork-barrel spending."
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Pennsylvania: Poor Families Pay Dearly For College (Associated Press)
"PA families making $20,000 or less must pay an average of 73 percent of their annual income for a dependent child to attend a state-owned university without loans and 37 percent with loans," the Associated Press reports.
Washington: Cutting Costs By Cutting Higher Education (KIMA-TV)
"Central Washington University and other schools asked to chop 20 percent off their cash from the state," KIMA-TV reports.
Connecticut: College Enrollment In State Hits Record High (The Hartford Courant)
"Higher education enrollment in Connecticut hit a record high this fall, driven largely by increased attendance at public colleges and universities and record enrollments at 14 schools," The Hartford Courant reports.
Illinois: Are Students Using Financial Aid? (KHQA)
"'I think families, parents and students are all interested in finding out just where we stand now with the economy in such dire straits,' said Bill Bushaw, Director of Financial Aid at Western Illinois University," KHQA reports.
Privacy Concerns About U.S. Database (Inside Higher Ed)
"[A]dvocates for colleges and students are more than a little concerned - okay, freaked out - by a plan by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Inspector General to gather personally identifiable information from nine existing databases of grant, loan and contract recipients into one giant 'data analytics system' and by the Education Department's decision to waive certain privacy rules for the new records system," Inside Higher Ed reports. "The groups, who go out of their way to say that they generally support the inspector general's efforts to rein in fraud and abuse, were responding to a notice published in the October 16 Federal Register in which the inspector general's office sought comments on a plan to take information from nine existing databases - including several major collections about student financial aid recipients - and store it in a new database."
Their Budgets Slashed, Public Colleges Share In Their Applicants' Economic Pain (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
"At a time when the nation's economy is ailing and credit is drying up, Troy Carter thought he had found an affordable way to earn a four-year college degree: Stitch together an education at a community college and a state university," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "But like millions of other students who are flocking to community colleges and public universities, he finds them struggling with financial problems of their own. Midyear budget cuts are forcing many of the institutions to lay off faculty members, cut class sections, and freeze enrollment."
It's Never Too Early To Think About Financial Aid (The Turlock Journal)
"There's no panic right now, but counselors like Jennifer Cornell are preparing for it," The Turlock Journal reports. "This possible impending urgent feeling comes in the form of high school seniors applying for college during a time of financial downturn in the American economy. The panic might come, or it might not come, said Cornell, who is the head counselor at Pitman High. The counselor noted it hasn't yet at her school."
Quick Fix (Inside Higher Ed)
"Wilberforce, which has seen its $12 million endowment reduced by about 5 percent during the economic downturn, is one of the small, tuition-driven institutions that higher education experts say are most vulnerable in the current fiscal climate. But it's not just colleges like Wilberforce that are being forced to institute furloughs," Inside Higher Ed reports. "Clemson University, a public institution in South Carolina, recently announced a five-day mandatory furlough for all employees."
Worldwide Financial Crisis Hits International Students' Loans (Forest Grove News-Times)
"International students around the metro region are quickly realizing that the economic instability that's turned the stock and currency markets into daily seesaws can mean the evaporation of thousands of dollars' worth of college savings," the Forest Grove News-Times reports. "[T]his year, college advisors are worried that credit panics in Europe and Asia - coupled with the decline of a number of currencies worldwide - could create a perfect storm, forcing many students who would have studied in the United States to stay home."
VA Says It Can Handle Strains Of New GI Bill (Associated Press)
"The government sought Tuesday to dismiss concerns that it might try to delay rollout of the new GI Bill, pledging to be ready to handle growing claims in veterans education benefits after abandoning plans to hire a contractor," the Associated Press reports. "Testifying before a House panel, officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs acknowledged the potential for glitches as they scramble to upgrade government IT systems before the new legislation providing millions of dollars in new GI benefits takes effect next August."
Vets Welcome Better GI Bill, Officials Worry VA Can't Handle Claims (Kansas City infoZine)
"Some officials worry the Department of Veterans Affairs will not be prepared to handle the more complicated benefits system that will begin in August," Kansas City infoZine reports. "Keith Wilson, director of education services for the VA, said in an interview that this new plan will be a fundamental change in the way the department distributes benefits. ... The new program will lead to much more paperwork, Wilson said, and it will need more oversight to make sure different checks are sent to the schools and veterans."
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Connecticut: Governor Rell Announces New College Student Loan Program With State Credit Unions (StamfordPlus.com)
"Governor M. Jodi Rell today met with top officials from Connecticut's credit unions to discuss the state's economic situation and to propose a new partnership between the State and Connecticut's credit unions that will provide new and current students with access to higher education through a new student loan program," StamfordPlus.com reports.
Programs Help With Tuition In Exchange For Public Service (USA Today)
"Eager to encourage public service and give debt-burdened graduates more options, several colleges and universities are trying new initiatives," USA Today reports. "Undergraduates at 15 colleges are for the first time this fall receiving stipends to discuss their federal internship experiences and recruit classmates to work for the federal government."
Spellings Mulls An Early Departure, Associates Say (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
"As the days of the Bush administration wind down, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings has watched a series of top aides leave early, including her chief of staff, her chief financial officer, and her under secretary for higher education," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "Close friends and former colleagues are telling The Chronicle that the secretary plans to announce her own departure shortly, and clear out her desk by early December."
U.S. Senator Questions Whether College Presidents Should Serve On Corporate Boards (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
"Sen. Charles E. Grassley has issued a written statement urging college trustees to reconsider whether their presidents should serve on corporate boards," The Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "'University boards should look at what students gain or lose from having the university president sit on corporate boards, such as Bear Stearns,' said Mr. Grassley, an Iowa Republican and the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee."
The Bubble That Didn't Burst (Inside Higher Ed)
"With numerous reports of public colleges experiencing surges in applications, some have gone so far as to predict, as Forbes put it recently in an article called 'The Coming College Bubble?' that private colleges may be 'the next industry to pop,' " Inside Higher Ed reports. "But what's happening this fall - even as applications do flood public institutions - is that many private institutions are reporting significant increases in those very early decision applications that were expected to decrease."
Online Degrees Appealing Option For Soldiers (Associated Press)
"Online education is increasingly attractive for military veterans, according to Denver-based Jones International University, a Web-exclusive institution accredited by the Higher Learning Commission," the Associated Press reports. "Jim Selbe, assistant vice president for lifelong learning at the American Council on Education, said about 50 percent of active duty service members receiving tuition reimbursement from the Department of Defense are taking online courses."
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