Bright Side of the Bailout, continued
I did more research after the last post and turned up even more news about aid during the bailout on U.S. News and World Report.
Thoughts on Loans and Financial Aid
Sorry for the long delay in posting, even though I know I’m not the only one reeling from all the work that has to be submitted before finals week (something to do with that Dec. 25 final grade submission… Thanks Registrar!) A little something meta on the blogs: We have a new comments policy that our commenters should all be aware of, so acquaint yourself with it. Now onto the important stuff:
A wolf in (Oregon) duck’s clothing: There’s this loan group from Florida that’s gotten into a lot of trouble from New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo. He’s investigated a bunch of other loan companies earlier this year for their dubious actions, which include cash for friend referrals and signups, but the most recent group, Student Financial Services, has been using team names, logos and mascots for their marketing to students.
Apparently not all universities keep the rights to their mascots, but have them through an intermediary group, so that’s how this loan company was able to use the marks (maybe that’s how Washburn University got an eerily similar logo to U. of Wisconsin?).? The Times reported that at least 17 have since suspended their arrangements with the group, and the Chronicle is reporting that the remainder, 63 in total, are also cutting their ties. Cuomo is also reportedly was working with the company to make an agreement so they don’t have to pay a penalty ? instead, they’ll have a code of conduct developed by the attorney general’s office.
Recapping other loan stuff: Munzer got to it earlier this week, but this Harvard financial aid thing is only the latest in universities taking financial aid into their own hands. In the middle of last month, the Chronicle (pay-walled) reported on three colleges in the Northeast that are doing away with loans for students. Williams College is getting rid of loans entirely from its financial aid packages, and Colby and Wesleyan are doing similar things to reduce their burdens.
The Harvard situation is merely an extension of their 2004 initiative to help those coming from lower economic backgrounds in staying in college. It’s a wonderful idea, and while I question the need for such deep discounts to the children of six-figure breadwinners, solving the cost problem is an issue the industry needs to answer ? and they’ve been terrible about doing so.
There are good reasons why college costs so much, especially here (something about the first major capital campaign in a 116-year history…). Some colleges, like Williams, are doing smart things. Even at Ithaca, students rise the the occasion, such as the HEOP program with Lobby Day [disclosure: I worked for Academic Enrichment Services last year]. When students get into hundreds of thousands of dollars of debt when they graduate with degrees in English or Outdoor Adventure Leadership, it’s a pretty scary situation. Or, they don’t even make it past their first semester here. And when college seems to be the prerequisite and no longer an honor, it needs to become more affordable.
Something completely different: Can Antioch stop losing steam? There’s now a plan being set in motion to separate Antioch College from the associated university system to address the many issues that plague the institution. At first glance it sounds like a terrible idea, considering that the whole system started with the undergrad program. While I’m sure the Antioch College Continuation Corporation would have the college’s best interests at heart, especially with some very passionate people ? who wouldn’t give money when the agreement to save Antioch was penned last month ?? it moves the burden off the current administration of the Antioch in a dangerous way. Furthermore, it doesn’t help that as of Tuesday, the payment agreement made last month is no longer in effect [via Chronicle]. And what’s worse, if the transfer does happen, it’s most likely the school will have to get accreditation, since it won’t be the old Antioch.
College students are poor and getting poorer
Big news today coming from higher education ? apparently college costs are rising at more than double the amount of inflation. I’m not exactly surprised; increases at Ithaca College over the past five years have been near or over 5 percent, and last year’s $1,838 tuition increase closed in on 7%.
What might be more shocking ? okay, it’s not, but humor me here ? is that student aid hasn’t risen to meet this challenge. The Chronicle of Higher Education is reporting (behind their pay wall, sorry) that we’re now taking out more private loans, up to 25 percent from 6 percent in 1997, and that federal aid covers less than half of aid. The report also states that public and in-state costs are soaring faster than private costs, so if you’re going to Ithaca from New Jersey, I guess you’re not making out so badly. There are many who think the rise in private loans is questionable at best. Here’s a great line from a former Clinton education adviser:
“I hate to even call it ‘financial aid.’ We don’t call a loan to buy a car ‘financial aid,’” said Mr. Shireman, who was a senior education-policy adviser in the Clinton administration. “They have a much heavier drag on a college graduate just entering the work force.”
The Chronicle also has a huge (pay-wall locked again, sorry) tuition database that makes comparison between other schools easy (in turn making our reporting easier when the college drops its new tuition numbers in the spring). Ithaca doesn’t look too bad in it, near the top of the pack but far enough away: top 30s in most categories for New York in the past year.
I think Ithaca’s spot in the tuition rankings is safe for the administration, but I don’t understand why we get U.S. News awards for our undergrad “value.” We’re still in the top 200 in the country for tuition this year, and while it’s lower than other big-name schools (we’re slightly ahead of Julliard in costs), it’s problematic.
Ithaca’s walking a dangerous line. We don’t provide enough liberal arts training to be a top-tier institution, and we’re not (nor should we be) specific enough to cater the way niche schools do
This is just me speculating, but once we go over $30K in tuition ? which will almost certainly happen for the 2008-09 year ? and well over 40 grand in costs, I think students are going to look for those bigger value schools. When a student can get a more specialized education at an arts and design school, or Julliard, they stop looking at the unique blend of education we serve here. The only way Ithaca can stay ahead ? without simply slowing the pace of its increases ? to provide the right kind of financial incentives for students to choose to come to South Hill.
As for me, I’m just glad I didn’t go to the most expensive private four-year in the nation for the past three years like a certain twin I know:
Round-up: Making college loan-free
(Sorry for the spring break hiatus; College Ave. is back to work. Send any tips to collegeaveblog@gmail.com.)
Easing the costs: Davidson College, a small liberal arts in South Carolina, made a step towards making college debt-free. Starting next year, any student who qualifies for need-based aid will receive a financial aid package with part-time work studies and grant money ? no student loans. While they aren’t the first (there are about a dozen other schools nationwide), it is encouraging to students and their parents who skip over Davidson and its $40K+ sticker price. (Ithaca College: I’m looking at you.)
Battle royale: New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a scathing press release accusing banks and universities in being in “an unholy alliance” over student loans:
The financial arrangements between lenders and these schools are filled with the potential for conflicts of interest. In some cases they may break the law.
The offenses he’s found run the gamut of corruption: kickbacks for loans, slush fund junkets, credit lines for colleges to get the “preferred” stamp of approval, etc. Dallas Martin, the president of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, fired back, claiming that no one in the NASFAA takes bribes or any other shady practices. Martin also chides Cuomo for trying to “inflame rather than to inform? and asked for a formal apology. [Via InsideHigherEd]
Harboring pirates? The RIAA ranked the major universities with the naughty, naughty students downloading the latest Nelly Furtado album, but number 10 on the list, The University of Wisconsin-Madison, decided not to send out the scare tactic settlement letter from RIAA over students on their campus downloading music illegally. They did, however, send out a hey-guys-cut-it-out email to everyone hoping that would be enough to stop the major offenders in addition to the (compulsory) cease-and-desist letters. Anything is better than directing them to the settlement website to cash out; some of those settlements have hit $7,000 smackeroos. Maybe they could get Ruckus and be done with it.
Roundup: Where there’s smoke, there’s police
Butt out: The University of North Dakota Student Senate has signed on to the president’s plan to ban smoking ? indoors or out ? in the campus. Apparently the 30-foot ban in front of entrances wasn’t enough. The debate has been playing out in the student newspaper, The Dakota Student, since the president announced the idea aimed at helping people kick the habit and the benefit of second-hand sufferers. (For those interested, UND’s mascot, the Fighting Sioux, has been as problematic as Chief Illiniwek.)
Justin Long just got a raise: Wilkes is joining the Cult and making their campus Mac only. It’s not just to give the students a reason to be smug with their shiny iMacs and MacBook Pros; it’s a cost issue. PC stands for problems campus-wide, especially to download-happy college students, leave the network vulnerable and expensive to fix. Scott Byers, the now former vice president for finance and general counsel, says the $1.4 million investment is worth every penny if they can keep the system virus-free. Just wait until a disgruntled Dell user writes a worm for those Apples.
Wait, why am I here? With tuition skyrocketing (Ithaca College just announced one of the largest increases in 15 years), it may be time to put it all in perspective. Namely: why in God’s name would we spend this much money for an English degree? Or for that matter (erk) a journalism one? The most expensive sheepskin money can buy is a signaler, Christopher Caldwell offers in NYT Magazine. It not that you’re necessarily smarter for paying that much money but rather you have the potential to learn and shows that you at least want the returns a degree can get you. Backward as it seems, a liberal degree can be worth more in flexibility than actually feeling qualified for anything come graduation.
Roundup: Barriers and borders
Troubling: Mexican-American high school students just don’t perceive their barriers to college. They’re real, according to a new study put out by a new study from the University of Oregon. Even though the numbers are up, Latinos have lagged behind in attendance rates at 10 percent compared to blacks (18 percent) and whites (34 percent). The study found that the students themselves found a lot of barriers ? lack of confidence, fear of leaving behind family, parents not understanding things like how to apply for financial aid ? more difficult to overcome. Even if their parents did attend college, the barriers are not any less lack of confidence. [Via The Daily Texan]
Fighting for change: Several hundred Minnesota State College and University students rallied in St. Paul to protest the rising price of tuition. Legislators seemed to take notice: a few bills have already been introduced, including one that would funnel funding down to the state schools to cap the costs. [Via StarTribune]
Religion in question: In a soon-to-be-published study, researchers found that 23.4 percent of professors describe themselves as atheists or agnostics. Digg is, of course, working itself into a frenzy over this. Interesting tidbit: psychology and biology professors had the lowest rate of believers at 61 percent each.
Seriously: Dear Yale, there has to be a better way to get senior class donations. IvyGateBlog declares ________-in-a-box jokes dead, dead, dead.
Roundup: We don’t need no stinkin’ laws
Yeah, about that: Rhode Island University has withdrawn their claim that, even though they are a publicly funded university, that the First Amendment does not apply to them. It’s pretty mind-boggling that they would think this is defensible, but the claim was that since they are not an “an alter ego or arm of the state” they don’t have to allow their students the luxuries of the Bill of Rights. It stems from demonstrations and signs hanging over the university (complete with “Keep your rosaries off our ovaries” ? always a contentious one) and the subsequent removal of said signs, based on the idea that there was no announced event to go along with them.
Breaking the bank: The George Washington University is living up to its reputation as the most expensive university in the country. Tuition will be raised for incoming freshmn to $39,000 ?? and that’s not even counting room and board. Luckily for the rising seniors, tuition is fixed, so they’ll pay what tuition was when they enrolled. [Thanks to reader Anne!]
Under pressure: The New York Times has a big look at working-students friendly University of Phoenix, and it doesn’t look good. File under If It Sounds Too Good To Be True, It Probably Is.
Roundup: No Buy It Now button?
Going once, twice: No, this is not an eBay prank. You (or perhaps your bargain-huntin’ granny) can buy one year of tuition, room and board at Oklahoma Wesleyan University. Bidding started at one penny and is already at $17,859.99 with 33 bids. (The normal cost to attend is $19,900, so watch out, eBay snipers.) Jesus may be Lord at OWU, but this hey-we-love-the-internets gimmick seems to be doing more for them right now.
Suspended: The Kappa-Tau chapter of Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity has been shut down ? house and all ? after an alleged hazing initiation left a 19-year-old pledge in the hospital. One of the legal frat brothers, Aaron Tyler Godwin, was charged with providing alcohol to minors.
Enough, eh? Tuition at Canadian universities are growing at a rate quicker than inflation, so students are protesting nationwide. The Canadian Federation of Students wants a year’s worth tuition near $2,000 CDN ($1,686 in greenbacks) instead of the average $4,400. I have a feeling whoever wins the auction for OWU won’t be sympathetic.
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