News from NAICU

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 1, 2008

CONTACT: Libby May, libby@naicu.edu
office: 202-739-0477 cell: 301-529-7313

Tony Pals, tony@naicu.edu
office: 202-739-0474 cell: 202-288-9333

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 1-Representative Ralph Regula, R-Ohio, has been selected by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) to receive its 2008 Award for Advocacy of Independent Higher Education. The award will be presented by NAICU President David L. Warren during a luncheon that begins at 12:00 p.m. at Tuesday, February 5, at the NAICU annual meeting. The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.

The NAICU Advocacy Award was established in 1993 to recognize individuals outside of academe who have championed the cause of independent nonprofit higher education. No single contribution makes one eligible to receive the award. Instead, it recognizes a lifetime of service, initiative, and determination.

Currently serving in his 18th term, representing the 16th District of Ohio, Representative Regula has spent his career as an advocate of increased funding for education, health research, job training, and assistance for families with special education and health needs. One of his highest priorities has been to ensure that low-income students have access to a college education.

"Having served as a teacher, principal, member of the Ohio Board of Education, and trustee of his alma mater, Mount Union College, Representative Regula knows first hand the importance of education to the people of Ohio and the nation "said NAICU President David L. Warren. "In Congress, his position on the House Appropriations Committee has allowed him to further serve the educational needs of his constituents and students across the country by steadfastly supporting increased funding for the student aid programs."

During his 2000-2006 tenure as chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies, Rep. Regula defied demands from his party's leadership to deeply cut education programs. Instead, he increased the Pell Grant maximum by $750 over a six-year period. His regular meetings with Ohio college presidents and students reaffirmed and reinforced his position, despite the intense pressure to reduce student aid funding.

NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education. With nearly 1,000 member institutions and associations nationwide, NAICU reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States. NAICU members enroll 85 percent of all students attending private institutions. They include traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, church- and faith-related institutions, historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, single-sex colleges, art institutions, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions.

###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     

 

CONTACT: Libby May, libby@naicu.edu

office: 202-739-0477   cell: 301-529-7313

 

Tony Pals, tony@naicu.edu

office: 202-739-0474   cell: 202-288-9333

                                                                                                                    

WASHINGTON, D.C., Feb. 1— The Reverend Theodore M. Hesburgh, president emeritus of the University of Notre Dame, has been selected by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) to receive the 2008 Henry Paley Memorial Award.  He will receive the award with prerecorded remarks, from NAICU President David L. Warren on Tuesday, Feb.5, at the NAICU annual meeting.  The meeting will be held at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.

 

Since 1985, the Paley Award has recognized an individual who, throughout his or her career, has unfailingly served the students and faculty of independent higher education.  The recipient of this award has set an example for all who would seek to advance educational opportunity in the United States.  The Paley Award is named for Henry Paley, president of the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities of New York from 1975 until 1984.

 

One of the most influential figures in higher education in the 20th century, Hesburgh’s impact goes well beyond the 35 years he served as president of the University of Notre Dame.  Hesburgh’s global perspective and service have led to the creation of permanent academic centers on the University of Notre Dame campus to advance the causes he has taken on with such great passion, far into the future.  These include the Notre Dame Law School’s Center of Civil and Human Rights, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, and the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies.

 

“Father Hesburgh’s gift for constructing a world-changing vision and bringing it to fruition has inspired all of us in higher education, as well as countless others outside of the halls of academe,” said NAICU President David L. Warren “ NAICU is privileged to award him the 22nd annual Henry Paley Award.”

 

In 2000, Hesburgh became the first person from higher education to be awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, presented by President Clinton and leaders from the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives.  Earlier, he had received the Medal of Freedom from President Johnson in 1964.  He also holds more than 150 honorary degrees – the most ever awarded to one person. He continues to work daily in his retirement office in the Hesburgh Library on the Notre Dame campus.

 

NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education.  With nearly 1,000 member institutions and associations nationwide, NAICU reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States.  NAICU members enroll 85 percent of all students attending private institutions.  They include traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, church- and faith-related institutions, historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, single-sex colleges, art institutions, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions.
 

 ###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                       CONTACT:
January 29, 2008                                                            Tony Pals, tony@naicu.edu
                                                                                    office: 202-739-0474 cell: 202-288-9333

** Media Advisory ** 

Steny Hoyer, Donna Brazile, Peter Hart, Walter Isaacson
to Speak at 2008 NAICU Annual Meeting

WHAT: 2008 NAICU Annual Meeting

Private college and university presidents and other members of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (www.naicu.edu) will meet with top policymakers, leading public opinion and political analysts, respected national thinkers, and fellow higher education decision makers to explore the opportunities and challenges facing private higher education, our students, and the nation.

WHEN: February 3-6, 2008

WHERE:

Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill
400 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C.
202-737-1234

Speakers include:

• House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer
• Rep. Ralph Regula
• CNN Commentator and Syndicated Columnist Donna Brazile
• Public Opinion Analyst Peter Hart
• Aspen Institute President and Author Walter Isaacson
• MIT President Susan Hockfield
• Kathleen Santora, Chief Executive Officer, National Association of College and University Attorneys
• John Walda, President, National Association of College and University Business Officers
• Wall Street Journal Editor and Columnist David Wessell

Issues include:

• Outlook on the 2008 presidential election
• The state and evolving role of American higher education
• Legal and business implications of conflict-of-interest issues on campus
• Emerging national and global economic trends
• Campus responses to climate change
• Stemming underage drinking
• Trends in college marketing and student preferences
• Student engagement and retention strategies

Annual Meeting Schedule:  www.naicu.edu/AnnualMeeting2008

Media Registration:
Form available at www.naicu.edu/mediaregistration, or by calling 202-739-0474 (office) or 202-288-9333 (cell). You may also e-mail your name, title, organization, and contact information to tony@naicu.edu. Please register by COB Friday, February 1.

 

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INDEPENDENT COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                    CONTACT: Tony Pals, tony@naicu.edu

                                                     office: 202-739-0474     cell: 202-288-9333 

WASHINGTON, D.C., Dec. 14-In this season of giving, students and families are receiving welcome news from private colleges across the nation, which could save them thousands of dollars a year in college costs. 

New initiatives unveiled this week by Harvard, Cal Tech, Pomona, Swarthmore, and Duke will replace loans with grants in student aid packages.  Harvard also will cap expected family contributions at zero to 10 percent of listed tuition for families earning up to $180,000 a year. 

California Lutheran University announced that it will begin matching the public college tuition for students who are also admitted to the University of California, Los Angeles, or University of California, Santa Barbara.  Yale is expected to announce major changes to its aid policies in January.

[The NAICU web site has a complete rundown of schools that have eliminated loans and made other significant changes to their need-analysis formulas since Princeton started doing away with loans in 1998.  Other types of affordability and cost-cutting initiatives also are listed.  Go to www.naicu.edu/affordabilityinitiatives.]

This flurry of activity is described by higher education experts as a major acceleration in what has become a growing trend in recent years. 

Consumer concern about rising tuitions, exacerbated by family incomes that have steadily lost ground to the Consumer Price Index over the past decade, is the force behind colleges' efforts, according to David L. Warren, president of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. 

"The marketplace is telling us that it's time to act even more aggressively on affordability, and we are," Warren said.  "Institutions across the board will continue to accelerate their efforts to enhance access and affordability, within their financial means, and to better control their operating costs."

Families worried about sinking deeper into debt or dipping into retirement savings to cover tuition at a school without a large endowment-and such colleges make up a significant majority of the nation's private institutions-should note that other affordability strategies are emerging on campuses around the nation. 

These include, but aren't limited to, tuition cuts and freezes; tuition that's guaranteed not to increase while a student is enrolled; accelerated degree programs that let a student earn a four-year degree in three years, saving on tuition; colleges that pick up the interest on loans taken out by parents; and even some private institutions that charge no tuition.  Berea College, a "work college" in Kentucky, for instance, hasn't charged tuition since 1892.

NAICU's web site (www.naicu.edu/affordabilityinitiatives) gives succinct institutional examples organized by type of strategy.  They include: 

• Reducing loans with grants, and changing need-analysis formulas
• Tuition cuts, freezes, and guarantees
• Tuition and student aid matches
• Eliminating loan interest
• Partnerships with community colleges and high schools
• Accelerated degree programs
• Four-year graduation and job guarantees
• Work colleges

The site also lists examples of colleges that are changing the way they do business to enhance operating efficiency and cut the costs associated with educating a student, while maintaining academic quality.  Strategies include: 

• Outsourcing and administrative streamlining
• Integration of information technology
• Employee cost-cutting incentives
• Going green
• Student employment initiatives
• Consortial arrangements at the metropolitan, regional, state, and national levels
• Increasing non-tuition revenue streams

"Every private college president in the nation understands the financial challenges many students and families face," Warren said.  "Staying affordable and accessible is at the center of their institutions' missions.  I am confident they will succeed."

NAICU serves as the unified national voice of independent higher education.  With nearly 1,000 member institutions and associations nationwide, NAICU reflects the diversity of private, nonprofit higher education in the United States.  NAICU members enroll 85 percent of all students attending private institutions.  They include traditional liberal arts colleges, major research universities, church- and faith-related institutions, historically black colleges, Hispanic-serving institutions, single-sex colleges, art institutions, two-year colleges, and schools of law, medicine, engineering, business, and other professions. 

###

EMBARGOED UNTIL                                               CONTACT: Tony Pals, tony@naicu.edu

11 a.m. Eastern, October 22, 2007                    202-739-0474 (office)     202-288-9333 (cell)

 

____________________________________________________________________________

Highlights

• 6.3 Percent Increase in Tuition and Fees at Private Colleges Matches Last Year's Rise
• Grant Aid Provided by Private Institutions Grows by 7.8 Percent Over Previous Year
• Average Net Tuition 40 Percent Lower than Published Price -- $14,400 vs. $23,712
• Cost Drivers Include Energy, Health Care and Other Insurance, Growing Family Need
• Five-Year Increase at Private Colleges Lowest Since 1982

____________________________________________________________________________

 

The College Board reports not only underscore the challenges that families face in affording higher education, but point to the efforts of private colleges and universities to remain affordable and accessible. 

This year's average increase in private-college tuition and fees matches last year's rate of 6.3 percent.  Grant aid provided by private college and universities to undergraduates was an estimated $13.8 billion in 2006-07, an increase of 7.8 percent from the previous year. 

Because of our commitment to providing a quality education at the lowest possible out-of-pocket cost, this year's average net tuition (published price minus grants and tax benefits) for a student at a private college is 40 percent below the average published tuition -- $14,400 vs. $23,712.  Our investment in grant aid has been substantial.  Students at private colleges today receive nearly five times as much aid from their institutions as from the federal government.  In 1985, that ratio was one to one.

This year's average tuition increase reflects significant increases in the cost of energy, library acquisitions, health care and other insurance premiums, and growing family financial need.  While Congress has increased student aid funding in recent years, much more needs to be done to make up for several years of stagnant funding, growing family need, and the swelling tidal wave of low-income and first-generation college students who are academically prepared for college.  

In recent years, private colleges and universities have taken innovative steps to control costs and to keep tuition increases as low as possible, while ensuring that students have access to small classes; top-notch instructors; and up-to-date learning facilities, information technology, and lab equipment.  Examples can be found at www.naicu.edu/affordabilityinitiatives.

As a result of our cost cutting initiatives, the 14-percent inflation-adjusted increase in published tuition and fees at four-year private institutions in the last five-year period is the lowest since 1982. 

Private college and university presidents understand the financial pressures facing students and their parents.  Working in partnership with federal and state governments, philanthropic organizations, and families themselves, we will continue to make access and affordability for students from all backgrounds priority one.

###