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College Affordability & Cost


The government’s college money pit

Boston Globe - Column
April 29, 2012

For decades, American politicians have waxed passionate on the need to put college within every family's reach. To ensure that anyone who wants to go to college will be able to foot the bill, Washington has showered hundreds of billions of dollars into student aid of all kinds - grants and loans, subsidized work-study jobs, tax credits, and deductions. Today, that shower has become a monsoon. And what have we gotten for this vast investment in college affordability? Colleges that are more unaffordable than ever.

Want a free ride to college? Make a pitch

CNNMoney.com
April 25, 2012

In a Clarkson University classroom last winter, five students each nervously pitched what they thought was a revolutionary business idea, including RFID chips that can start cars, a test to find out if windmill turbines are generating the promised electricity, and a better way to supply homesick foreign students with comfort foods. Clarkson offered the contestants something pretty revolutionary in return. The students with the best business ideas would win full-tuition scholarships to the school -- a prize worth more than $37,000 a year. The only catch: The winners have to give Clarkson a 10% stake in their business.

The education bubble will have to burst

Syndicated Column
April 24, 2012

A modern knowledge economy thrives on highly trained workers. The way to get them, obviously, is through education - from basic reading skills for some, to mastery of algorithms for others. It thus would seem a basic public good to provide that learning at little or no cost to students, which most advanced countries do. But America has turned post-high-school education into a taxpayer-subsidized business - a business not unlike real estate at the height of the housing bubble.

Obama on Education: Bully Pulpit at Its Best … and Not Much Else

National Journal - Analysis
April 23, 2012

"Going to college is the pathway to the middle class," Arne Duncan said. "You really have to have a brick in your head not to understand that education is the cornerstone of our economic future," said White House spokesman Jay Carney. The statements show that this White House is making a concerted effort to tie education as closely with economic growth as possible-pulling the domestic policy issue out of the isolated ivory tower in which it has resided for decades. It's a good move, even though the best tools the administration can wield to promote it are rhetorical.

Georgetown Questions Online College Cost Tool

The Hoya, Georgetown University
April 20, 2012

The Financial Aid Comparison Shopper, which was released as a beta version by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, allows prospective students to compare up to three universities and calculates the student debt that will be incurred each year. According to Scott Fleming, associate vice president for federal relations, the numbers that the website provides overestimate the actual debt incurred by attending Georgetown or similar institutions.

Wealthier Families Benefit More Under Obama's Tuition Tax-Credit Program, Report Says

Chronicle of Higher Education
April 19, 2012

President Obama's tuition tax-credit program has benefited more upper-middle class families than previous programs did, says a new report from Education Sector, a nonpartisan think tank for education reform.

Virginia Foxx paid $87.50 in Tuition in 1961

The Quick & The Ed
April 19, 2012

Representative Virginia Foxx (R – N.C.) has no patience for students who whine about their student loan debt. After all, she was able to work her way through college without taking on a single penny of debt. According to Foxx, “We live in an opportunity society… You don’t sit on your butt and have [a college education] dumped in your lap.” 

Unrepaired Education Department System Leaves Thousands Stuck in Default

Chronicle of Higher Education
April 19, 2012

After defaulting on her federal student loan, Karla De La Torre entered into a "rehabilitation" agreement with the collection agency and made the required nine on-time payments toward the debt. According to the agreement, her loan was supposed to be restored to good standing last September.

Declining Investment in Higher Education Hurts Students

U.S. News & World Review
April 18, 2012

Last week, Rep. Virginia Foxx expressed her lack of tolerance for people with student loans. Having worked her way through school without borrowing a dime, Foxx believes there is no reason students should have large amounts of student debt.

Opening Up a Path to Four-Year Degrees

New York Times
April 16, 2012

Increasingly, students at the Community College of Philadelphia are making the jump to selective colleges and universities. "There's been a major acceleration the last few years," said Rod Risley, executive director of Phi Theta Kappa, the community college honor society. It's partly the economic collapse. The Community College of Philadelphia costs $4,400 a year for city residents; the most expensive private colleges are $60,000. Getting an associate degree first can save $100,000. "These students are choosing community colleges with the intention that this is their path to selective institutions," Mr. Risley said.

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