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Post-Annual Meeting Resources

Even though the 2012 NAICU Annual Meeting is history, you can continue to benefit and learn from the many presentations and speeches that were offered, and are now available on line.


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Another Highlight


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Department of Education/Executive Branch


Claremont McKenna SAT scandal: More at stake than rankings?

Washington Post - College Inc. Blog
February 7, 2012

Much has been made of how this modest bit of fraud might affect Claremont's rankings. But dropping the school from the list is about the worst penalty a ranker can inflict on a college. What about Claremont's accreditor? What about the Department of Education? Claremont must have reported inaccurate SAT numbers to them, too. Either of those agencies could conceivably inflict real penalties - such as suspension of accreditation, or of student aid - on a school that breaks the rules.

Administration pushes proposal to cap college tuition

Washington Times
February 6, 2012

Shrugging off widespread criticism of its college tuition cap proposal, the Obama administration mounted a public-relations blitz Monday to sell the plan to students and university leaders. Despite its grim chances in Congress, the plan could still reap benefits for the White House, specialists say. It may help restore enthusiasm among college-age voters, a critical constituency for Mr. Obama's re-election effort. College leaders and many Republicans believe the measure would represent an unprecedented federal intrusion into the higher education market by essentially instituting price controls.

Making college affordable

Baltimore Sun - Editorial
February 5, 2012

There's no doubt rising college tuition costs are making it harder for more students to enroll in school and stay there until graduation. And Mr. Obama is right that schools need to be smarter about controlling costs without sacrificing quality. But withdrawing federal aid from schools that fail to hold down costs would need to be done carefully, lest it produce just the opposite of the intended result. Everyone wants college to be more affordable. But officials are going to have to be a lot clearer about what they mean by affordability and how that standard will be applied.

Containing college tuition hikes is a worthy, necessary goal

Easton, Pa., Express-Times - Editorial
February 5, 2012

Much of what the federal government does to help college students is in indirect support, through grants, loans and jobs, which affect people attending private as well as public colleges. Yet that level of support can't keep pace with demand, much less the super-inflationary flow of tuition and other college costs. The imbalance is birthing a generation of graduates defined more by overbearing debt than its preparation for employment.

Reining In College Tuition

New York Times - Editorial
February 4, 2012

President Obama's proposed reform plan would require colleges that receive federal aid to create "a scoreboard" that gives actual costs, graduation rates and potential earnings for graduates. His idea for establishing a $1 billion fund to provide grants to states that improve graduation rates and reduce costs is a good one. Determining what amounts to good value will be difficult, and persuading Congress to move forward on any of these ideas will be hard. But Mr. Obama is right that the federal government should begin leveraging its sizable investment in higher education for reform.

Is It Bias? Is It Legal?

Inside Higher Ed
February 3, 2012

Allegations of anti-Asian bias are likely to get renewed attention with the news that the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights is investigating a complaint by an Asian-American applicant that illegal bias resulted in his rejection by Harvard University and Princeton University. This investigation joins one that the department has been conducting for several years into Princeton University's treatment of Asian-American applicants.

Senate Republicans Question Obama's Plan to Tie Federal Aid to Tuition

Chronicle of Higher Education
February 3, 2012

Senate Republicans pushed back against President Obama's college-affordability agenda at an education-committee hearing Thursday, expressing doubts about the administration's plans to reward colleges and states that hold down tuition and maintain their higher-education budgets. "I don't believe the government's role is to pick winners and losers," said Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, explaining that he was uncomfortable "shifting the determination of affordability to Washington."

Could a College Scorecard Backfire? It Did for Law Students

The Atlantic
February 3, 2012

A group of lawyers has filed suits against a dozen different law schools accusing them of using rosy, and grossly distorted, jobs data to dupe students into applying. They followed three similar suits filed last year. Yes, these cases sound like a bad joke - If a law school loses a suit to its recently graduated students, does that make it a terrible law school or a great one? - but they offer a lesson that the administration should keep in mind if it's serious about pushing schools to collect job numbers. Bad data can be much, much worse than no data at all. And without serious oversight, there's a good chance you'll end up with some terribly misleading numbers.

Controlling costs of college

The Leaf Chronicle, Clarksville, Tenn. - Editorial
February 3, 2012

The president has criticized rising tuition costs and mounting student loan debts as obstacles to the middle class and long-term economic improvement. Last week's national unemployment report underscores the president's concerns about higher education costs. Employers added 243,000 jobs, the second straight month of better-than-expected gains, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.3 percent. But economists worry that there are two job markets - a promising one for college graduates and people with advanced technical training, and a dismal one for those without higher education.

A frustrated Obama is still hoping to enact change

Times Higher Education, U.K.
February 2, 2012

In an election year, it came as no surprise that President Barack Obama's State of the Union address contained the now-familiar soaring rhetoric as well as announcements designed to please students and recent graduates - voters who proved vital to his victory in 2008. However, with the power of the executive office to enact policy being limited, and with Republicans looking to oust Mr Obama in November's election, there are doubts about how many of his lofty ambitions will be realised in the months ahead.

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