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NAICU Statement on the Department of Education's Financial-Responsibility List
Americans whose students attend, or are considering attending, one of the institutions on the Education Department's list, should not rule out a college simply because it's listed. More
2010 Private College Tuition and Student Aid Trends
Private College Tuition Increases 4.5 Percent for 2010-11; Institutional Student Aid Up 6.8 Percent
NAICU Launches 2020 Initiative
NAICU and the Council of Independent Colleges have launched "Building Blocks to 2020," recognizing and encouraging private college and university efforts to help the nation reach President Obama's 2020 college education goal. For details, or to sign up your institution to participate, go to the institutional information section of the 2020 Website.
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Despite Scrutiny of For-Profits, Crucial Questions Are Unanswered
New York Times/Chicago News Cooperative
September 3, 2010
Congressional hearings tend to be orchestrated blends of theater and policy: heavy on anecdote, light on insight, rife with both the posturing of politicians and the faux contrition of well-rehearsed witnesses caught in a televised bull's-eye. There was some of that, but luckily a bit more, when Senator Richard J. Durbin served as both host and de facto prosecutor on Tuesday at a Chicago forum on our for-profit colleges. 
A fairer deal for college students
Washington Post - Opinion Piece
September 3, 2010
Some for-profit colleges are living up to their promise, pioneering innovative approaches to enrolling students and helping nontraditional students earn college degrees and postsecondary certificates. But there is evidence that too many of these institutions are driven more by the profit motive than their commitment to educating students. We must guard against for-profit schools that load up students with tens of thousands of dollars of debt in exchange for largely worthless degrees. 
Student Loan Scrutiny Could Hurt Washington Post
Bloomberg/BusinessWeek
September 2, 2010
As the newspaper industry suffered through historic lows in advertising sales and circulation in recent years, Washington Post Co. could always rely on its Kaplan testing and education unit to help prop up results. With the company's media business still hurting, a crackdown by the Obama Administration on student loan repayment rules could threaten Kaplan's outlook. 
Other News
Proposed Rules on Gainful Employment Continue to Roil the Waters
NAICU Washington Update
September 2, 2010
The news media continue to turn out stories and commentaries in the wake of the Department of Education's proposed "gainful employment" rules and Sen. Tom Harkin's August 4 hearing that scalded the for-profit sector. Lost in all the media frenzy, though, are the implications of the proposed regulations on non-profit and public colleges. The department has estimated that 2,139 public institutions - many of them community colleges - and nearly 250 private, non-profit colleges would have credential programs falling under the rules.
Administration Announces Revisions in Export Controls
NAICU Washington Update
September 2, 2010
President Obama has announced plans for comprehensive changes in the current export control system. The announcement followed a year-long review of the system that concluded the current system is "overly complicated, contains too many redundancies, and, in trying to protect too much, diminishes our ability to focus our efforts on the most critical national security priorities." Given the implications for campus research, colleges and universities have been particularly interested in addressing the ambiguities and inconsistencies in the system.
September 17 is Constitution Day
NAICU Washington Update
September 2, 2010
Under legislation enacted in 2005, educational institutions receiving federal funds are required to hold an educational program relating to the U.S. Constitution on Sept 17 - the day the Constitution was signed in 1787. NAICU encourages all of our members to embrace this opportunity to advance civic education. The federal provision doesn't define "educational program," so institutions have a great deal of latitude - and there are resources and idea-starters available on line.
IRS Partners With Local Organizations to Offer Free Tax Help
NAICU Washington Update
September 2, 2010
The Internal Revenue Service has expanded its free face-to-face tax assistance efforts by partnering with local businesses and other organizations in each state to offer additional services to taxpayers. Colleges and universities may be interested in establishing such a partnership and offering these services to students, who might need help in preparing their tax returns, and the local community.
Your Vote Your Voice and National Voter Registration Month
NAICU Washington Update
September 2, 2010
NAICU is proud to announce the return of Your Vote, Your Voice - a voter education, registration and get-out-the -vote project supported by the Washington Higher Education Secretariat in every federal election since 1996. The Your Vote, Your Voice launch later this month also coincides with the National Association of Secretaries of State's designation of September as National Voter Registration Month, with a focus on campus activities in support of voter education, registration, and civic engagement.
Liberal arts college offers a job to every grad
Washington Post - College Inc. Blog
Albion College, a small Michigan liberal arts college, may be the first institution of its sort to guarantee students "meaningful employment" after graduation. It's a significant gesture: the nation is mired in a sluggish economy, and families are questioning the wisdom of sending a child off to study philosophy or Russian history at a $40,000-a-year private college to prepare them for a job preparing foamy coffee drinks.

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