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College Affordability & Cost
University of Charleston: How we cut tuition by 22%
CNNMoney - Interview
February 7, 2012After seeing enrollment decline for the first time in a decade, the University of Charleston, in West Virginia, slashed tuition by 22% for the upcoming school year hoping to entice more students. Tuition for new students will be $19,500 per year beginning in August - down from the current rate of $25,000. In an interview with CNNMoney, the university's president, Dr. Edwin Welch, explains why he took this unusual step and what the impact has been so far.
Administration pushes proposal to cap college tuition
Washington Times
February 6, 2012Shrugging 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.
A nontraditional university for nontraditional students
Washington Post "College Inc." Blog - Guest Post
February 6, 2012Alan Walker, president, Upper Iowa University, writes: How education is delivered is really important, because it has a huge influence on the costs of education to our students, as well as on recognizing that many cannot commit to the traditional four-year college structure. Largely because of the economic realities, the need to offer a structure that can still accomplish the student's educational goals at an affordable price is imperative. We've adopted an innovative structure with essentially four avenues leading to a degree.
Making college affordable
Baltimore Sun - Editorial
February 5, 2012There'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, 2012Much 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.
As cost of college soars, students consider options
Toledo, Ohio, Blade
February 5, 2012Average tuition and fees at public four-year colleges is $7,605 per year for in-state students and $11,990 for full-time out-of-state students, according to a 2010 report from CollegeBoard, a nonprofit organization that researches higher education trends. Time for plan B. Public two-year colleges charge an average of $2,713 per year in tuition and fees. In addition to utilizing community colleges, other methods are being explored to keep costs down or provide alternatives to traditional four-year colleges.
College Affordability: A Defining Issue That Won't Go Away
Huffington Post - Opinion Piece
February 5, 2012David J. Skorton, President, Cornell University, writes: In the wake of President Obama's State of the Union Address last month, many Americans are talking about college affordability. As they have been. As well they should. At Cornell we, too, are struggling to find the resources to sustain our commitment to access. And the vast majority of schools don't have the resources to do what we have done. So, the Obama administration needs to work with institutions of higher education to customize approaches.
Senate Committee Urges Administration to Keep College Costs Down
Scripps Howard Foundation Wire
February 4, 2012There is a wide range of support at every level for cutting the cost of college. On Tuesday, the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, which represents more than 1,000 nonprofit, independent colleges, gathered to discuss strategies and concerns about the president's plans.
Reining In College Tuition
New York Times - Editorial
February 4, 2012President 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.
What Free Market in Higher Ed?
Chronicle of Higher Education - Commentary
February 4, 2012During a panel discussion at the meeting of Christian colleges, a president challenged me on the need for additional government oversight. Let the "free market" correct rising college prices on its own, he said. The problem is, the current financing mechanism for college is far from a free market. Government subsidies account for close to 90 percent of revenues at some colleges when you add up grants, loans, and research funds.
College Financial Health/Management
College Endowments: Why Even Harvard Isn’t As Rich As You Think
Time
February 9, 2012It seems everyone has an opinion about what colleges and universities should do with their endowments. Use them to lower tuition! Let students attend for free! Improve facilities! Hire more professors!
Harvard’s Voluntary Tax Spurs Ailing Providence to Press Brown
Bloomberg Businessweek
February 8, 2012Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee last week intervened to restart talks over Brown University's so-called payments in lieu of taxes after Mayor Angel Taveras said Providence was about to run out of cash. Providence is seeking to emulate Boston, which is on pace to raise collections in lieu of taxes from Harvard University and other institutions by 25 percent to about $19 million this year, city documents show. Mayor Thomas M. Menino is trying to double the number of schools, hospitals and cultural institutions that pay by pressing more than 20 that gave nothing last year.
College Coffers Are Filling Up, But Costs Are Slow to Come Down
Wall Street Journal
February 7, 2012New figures show university endowments averaged total returns of more than 19% for the fiscal year ended last June, the second consecutive year of gains, according to the National Association of College and University Business Officers and Commonfund, a nonprofit asset manager. Yet schools say they can't cut tuition until their endowments have had more years of strong growth. "Dramatic changes won't come instantly," says David Warren, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, which represents more than 1,000 U.S. private colleges.
University of Charleston: How we cut tuition by 22%
CNNMoney - Interview
February 7, 2012After seeing enrollment decline for the first time in a decade, the University of Charleston, in West Virginia, slashed tuition by 22% for the upcoming school year hoping to entice more students. Tuition for new students will be $19,500 per year beginning in August - down from the current rate of $25,000. In an interview with CNNMoney, the university's president, Dr. Edwin Welch, explains why he took this unusual step and what the impact has been so far.
Give UTC Credit For Employee Education
Hartford, Conn., Courant - Editorial
February 6, 2012A company is better off when its employees are well-educated. Few firms have embraced that axiom as wholeheartedly as Hartford's United Technologies Corp. In 16 years, its landmark Employee Scholar Program has paid for more than 32,000 associate's, bachelor's and master's degrees worldwide. The program has earned UTC an award from the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.
It's education, smarty
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
February 6, 2012There is a direct link between the level of educational attainment (percentage of the population with a postsecondary degree) in a state and the growth of personal income in that state. Because of that link, there is also a clear and certain pathway to economic growth and job creation.
What’s Most at Risk for Traditional Colleges
JeffSelingo.com
February 3, 2012A few weeks ago, I wrote a post about the coming disruption of the higher-ed system and asked if traditional institutions were prepared. A few college leaders gave me suggestions on how they're getting ready, while others trying to disrupt the space told me where they are finding the best opportunities. So what is the low-hanging fruit? Where are colleges most vulnerable? Where are they least at risk? Here are a few clues.
No Rust in Rochester
New York Times - Opinion Piece
February 3, 2012While no one here is glad to see Kodak go bankrupt, it's hardly the catastrophe many imagine - in part, surprisingly, because of Kodak. The high-skilled workers it let go over the years created a valuable labor pool for start-up companies. It also helps that Rochester has a strong higher-education sector, which has likewise been supported by Kodak. The University of Rochester became a leading research center through gifts from Kodak's founder, George Eastman, who also gave generously to the Rochester Institute of Technology. These universities have an immense impact on the regional economy.
Saint Paul’s College fights for its survival
Westside Gazette, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
February 2, 2012Saint Paul's College is fighting for its future. The college founded in 1888 must raise $5 million by June 30, 2012 in order to make campus renovations and to support the school's operating budget. Saint Paul's College is in the second and final allowable year of probation. The Southern Association of College and Schools Commission on Colleges will decide in June if the college will retain accreditation.
Mayor says Providence could face bankruptcy without retiree benefit cuts, nonprofit payments
Associated Press
February 2, 2012Providence, R.I., mayor Angel Taveras painted a bleak picture Thursday, saying Providence faces "devastation" and could go bankrupt if retiree benefits aren't cut and tax-exempt institutions like Brown University don't pay more in lieu of taxes. Brown currently pays $4 million a year to the city - voluntarily - in lieu of taxes, said Marisa Quinn, vice president for public affairs at the university. She said a committee of the Brown's governing board approved an increase of $2 million a year over five years with plans for the full board to consider additional payments.
Student Financial Aid
Student loan debt: The next financial disaster?
CBS Money Watch
February 9, 2012Student loan debt is pushing a growing number of Americans into bankruptcy and an organization of bankruptcy lawyers predicted this week that the college debt problem could become as big a catastrophe as the home mortgage crisis.
Taking on Robin Hood
Inside Higher Ed
February 7, 2012In his proposed budget, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell is seeking to cap the use of tuition dollars from in-state students to provide financial aid, a practice employed by almost all colleges and universities, public and private. McDonnell has said he is pushing the cap to spur conversation about aid policies and to keep down the cost of college education, saying the current structure is placing a higher burden on middle-income students.
Student Loan Debt Woes Fuel Bankruptcy
Investor's Business Daily
February 7, 2012A new survey by the National Association of Consumer Bankruptcy Attorneys found that 81% of bankruptcy attorneys say that potential clients with student-loan debt have increased either "significantly" or "somewhat" in the last three to four years. The sharp recession and historically sluggish economic and jobs recovery have taken their toll. But the numbers are another sign that major troubles may lie ahead for higher education. Critics contend that we are in the middle of a "higher education bubble," meaning that increasingly the value of a college degree does not match the rising cost.
How Davidson offers high quality education, but not debt
Charlotte, N.C., Observer - Opinion Piece
February 3, 2012Davidson College President Carol Quillen testified Thursday before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions as part of a hearing on "Innovations in College Affordability." Here are excerpts from her remarks.
Online Campaign Prompts Sallie Mae to Change Fee Policy for Loan Suspensions
New York Times
February 3, 2012On Thursday, three months after Bank of America backed down from imposing a $5 monthly debit card fee in response to an online petition, Sallie Mae changed its fee policy in response to an online petition. For years, Sallie Mae had required unemployed people who could not afford their monthly payments to pay a $50-per-loan fee every three months to suspend their payments temporarily, even as interest charges mounted. Sallie Mae called this forbearance fee a "good faith deposit" - but it was neither credited to the borrower's account nor refunded.
Unemployed Criticize Sallie Mae 'Forbearance Fee'
Inside Higher Ed
February 2, 2012A petition asking Sallie Mae to revoke the $50 quarterly "forbearance fee" that the lender imposes on borrowers who are unable to repay their student loans has gathered more than 75,000 signatures. Forbearance, when loans continue to accumulate capitalized interest although borrowers do not have to make payments, is the last resort to avoid default, and the petition protests the $50 fee as an "unemployment tax."
US Senate wants insight into Davidson’s ‘no loan debt’ program
WSOC-TV, Charlotte, N.C.
February 2, 2012People across the country are trying to learn from Davidson College, where students can attend four years of classes without ever taking out a loan. College President Carol Quillen spent a day in Washington showing lawmakers how Davidson manages the program. The college made news in recent years with its Davidson Trust program. The program does away with student loans and replaces them with more financial aid and grants, which means less debt for needy students.
Obama’s disappointing college plan
Washington Post - Opinion Piece
February 1, 2012The president boasts of having increased the maximum value of Pell Grants to $5,635 next year, up $905 since 2008. Sounds good. But according to the Department of Education, the maximum Pell Grant in 1976 covered 72 percent of costs at a typical public four-year college. Today it covers about half that much. In other words, the outer limits of the president's ambition is to leave public colleges half as affordable via federal aid as they were under Presidents Nixon and Ford.
Aid Experts and Officials Question President's College-Affordability Plans
Chronicle of Higher Education
January 30, 2012Of president's proposals, college officials and student-aid experts were particularly curious to learn more about the proposal to tie campus-based aid-a small fraction of federal aid spending, which is dominated by Stafford Student Loans and the Pell Grant program-to tuition policy, value, and the enrollment and graduation of low-income students. The idea that some federal student aid would be based on holding down net tuition and/or tuition growth could be particularly troubling for public colleges, which have been increasing their price tags to help make up for cuts in state appropriations.
College Officials Welcome Obama's Focus on Higher-Education Costs, but Raise Some Concerns
Chronicle of Higher Education
January 30, 2012In the budget President Obama will release next month, the administration will ask Congress to change the criteria under which funds from three federal aid programs known as "campus-based aid" are awarded. Details on the new formula are still being refined, but a document released by the White House on Friday said it would reward institutions that admit and graduate a relatively higher proportion of low-income students, demonstrate that their students complete college and find employment, and set "responsible tuition" policies.
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