Budget-strapped public universities are predicting significant tuition increases at a time when private universities are doing everything to maintain or even lower tuition rates during the recession, experts say. Though 2009-2010 tuition rates have not been set for most public universities, increases of at least 5% to 6% — and in many cases higher — are expected as university administrators struggle to maintain quality education amid state budget cuts...
About 80 percent of the governing boards of public universities say they are dealing with state budget cuts this year, according to a new survey conducted by the Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges. Trustees also said they are working extra hours to cope with the financial strains on their universities, and have enacted or are considering hiring freezes, across-the-board budget cuts, layoffs, or postponement of campus construction projects... (paid subscription required)
Wading into the politically charged immigration debate, a group of colleges and universities is urging Congress to give illegal immigrants tuition aid and a path to citizenship in light of efforts in several states to block them. The College Board, made up of 5,000 schools and best known for its SAT college admission tests, released a report Tuesday that cites a need for federal legislation that would open up in-state college tuition, financial aid and legal status to many illegal immigrants in the United States...
The College Board took a rare step into the political fray Tuesday, issuing a report that endorses legislation aimed at helping undocumented students attend college... (paid subscription required)
Making Pell Grants an entitlement and tying the maximum award to a measure of inflation, as President Obama has proposed, would probably yield larger awards and stop the cycle of shortfalls that have plagued the program. But the president's plan, which would index the maximum award to the Consumer Price Index plus one percentage point, probably would not end the erosion of the grant's purchasing power or make the program more predictable for families, a Chronicle analysis shows... (paid subscription required)
Even as college financial aid directors continue intense debate over President Obama's plan to end the guaranteed student loan program, most of the major higher education groups signed a letter Tuesday urging members of Congress to back the proposal, saying the major benefit -- using the savings to guarantee a permanent stream of funding for Pell Grants -- outweighs concerns about the change...
If you're one of those students afraid standardized test scores don't paint the full picture of your potential, your options are growing. More and more colleges don't require the SAT or ACT exams...But is the "test optional" movement gaining steam, or running out of it? That was a big question hanging over a college admissions conference hosted by Wake Forest this past week. The answer could come in the next few weeks as colleges set their policies for next year's admissions cycle...
It is no surprise that more students drop out of high school in big cities than elsewhere. Now, however, a nationwide study shows the magnitude of the gap: the average high school graduation rate in the nation’s 50 largest cities was 53 percent, compared with 71 percent in the suburbs...
...This raises a larger, intriguing question of how university administrators and trustees balance their personal interests against the long-term welfare of the institution. From a selfish perspective, it’s in the best interests of college leaders to aggressively spend the endowment in the short term — to avoid layoffs and angry students when times are bad, and to pay for new buildings and famous professors and various other things that cover the institution — and thus the leaders — in glory when times are good. And yet, this doesn’t tend to happen. Instead, most institutions are pretty conservative when it comes to endowment spending...
