How federal aid pushes up tuition
When financial aid flows to affluent students, college raise tuition to capture the dollars, writes Andrew Gillen of the Center for College Affordability and Productivity. However, aid to low-income students, such as Pell Grants, is unlikely to push up tuition, he writes in an Inside Higher Ed essay. Aid restricted to low-income families allows students [...]
Pathways to Success for ’21st century students’
Degree completion is a huge challenge for “nontraditional” college students, concludes Pathways to Success a report to Congress and the U.S. Education Department by the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance. At community colleges, these older students are the norm, now dubbed “21st-century students.” “Twenty-first century students,” a large and diverse group, aren’t served well by [...]
With no federal aid, for-profits charge less
For-profit colleges whose students aren’t eligible for federal student aid charge much less than eligible for-profits for similar programs, concludes a National Bureau of Economic Research working paper by Stephanie Riegg Cellini, an assistant professor of public policy and economics at George Washington University, and Claudia Goldin, a professor of economics at Harvard. Aid-eligible for-profits charge 75 percent [...]
Pell opens college doors for rural students
As Pell Grants grew in value, more rural students in Kansas enrolled in community college and moved from part-time to full-time status, concludes a University of Alabama study. Pell Grant dollars distributed to Kansas students nearly doubled between 2008 and 2010. The rise in community college enrollment was especially significant in western Kansas, which has [...]
California may require higher grades for grants
California Gov. Jerry Brown wants to raise the minimum grade point average to qualify for state-funded student aid, directing scarce resources to students who are the most likely to graduate. However, the state’s Legislative Analyst believes the change will hurt the neediest students. The governor would raise the minimum GPA from 3.0 to 3.25 to qualify for Cal [...]
Beware FAFSA scammers
As students face deadlines to complete financial aid forms, scammers are targeting students at Danville Community College in Virginia. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is free, as the name states, but many companies and Internet sites offer to complete and file the form for a fee. A person claiming to represent DCC’s financial aid office is [...]
Sallie Mae drops ‘unemployment penalty’
Under pressure from an online petition, Sallie Mae, the nation’s largest private student-loan provider, will stop charging a $50 quarterly fee to unemployed borrowers who’ve asked for forbearance, reports the New York Times. The “good faith deposit” now will be credited to the borrower’s account. Stef Gray, 23, a New Yorker who owes $600 a [...]
Stop Sallie Mae’s unemployment penalty
Tell Sallie Mae: Stop the Unemployment Penalty demands a Change.org petition by Stef Gray, a recent public college graduate who borrowed at 9.75 percent to pay college costs. I graduated in May with honors, but even with an advanced degree in a technical field, I still haven’t found full-time work. I’m doing everything I can [...]
Obama: Raise tuition, lose federal aid
College affordability was the theme of President Obama’s speech at the University of Michigan yesterday. He called for spending more on Perkins loans and work-study programs — going from $3 billion now to $10 billion – but only at colleges and universities that provide “value.” Students at colleges that raise tuition could lose access to [...]
Repayment study left out blacks
A U.S. Education Department analysis on the relationship between race and repayment of student loans left out black students, skewing results used to justify the gainful employment rule, reports Inside Higher Ed. For-profit colleges, which enroll many minority, low-income and older students, argue the high-risk demographics explain their students’ higher default rates on student loans. [...]
