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October 13, 2011
Distance Learning Growing, Primarily Among Non-Traditional Students
The U.S. Department of Education’s Stats in Brief report for October 2011 presents updated NCES based research on the types of students engaging in distance learning (defined now as online, or live and interactive video/audio instruction through CD/DVD or webcast), and changes in distance learning over time. Distance education degree programs are those that utilize…
August 4, 2011
A New Measure for College Success?
Education Sector, an education policy think tank, recently released a report entitled “Debt to Degree,” which measures the ratio of student and parent, government-backed loans taken by students to the number of credentials awarded by an institution per year. Based on this, the report concludes that: Across all institutions and sectors, for each degree awarded…
August 3, 2011
Low Debt to Income Ratio for College Grads in WA
Kiplinger has released a map showing average student debt versus average income across all fifty states, as well as categorizing institutions they have identified as the most expensive and the ‘best values’. The UW comes in as the 10th best value public institution in the nation for 2010-11. The map illustrates that Washington state students…
August 1, 2011
PELL Grant Program Left Intact For Now.
If the US House and Senate approve the debt deal that the Obama Administration and Congressional leaders seem to have worked out over the weekend, the Pell Grant Program will remain intact. Although PELL had been targeted for significant cuts, the deal leaves the current maximum grant at $5,550, and retains the in-school interest subsidy…
July 11, 2011
Spending on Financial Aid Increases in Most States
The National Association of State Student Grant and Aid Programs (NASSGAP) has published their Annual Survey Report on State-Sponsored Student Financial Aid. The new report, based on 2009-10 survey data, shows that while state support for institutions has fallen rapidly for several years, many states have increased their commitment to students via financial aid. On…
July 6, 2011
UC Likely to Raise Tuition Again
Having already increased tuition by 8 percent for the upcoming academic year, UC Regents are expected to consider an additional 10 percent increase due to the Governor’s failure to win extension of various temporary tax measures in California. As a result, the overall cut to the University of California has been increased from $500 million…
July 5, 2011
Sixth Circuit Finds MI Affirmative Action Ban Unconstitutional
On July 2nd, the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that the state affirmative action ban, which was passed as ‘Proposal 2’ by Michigan voters in 2006, is unconstitutional because it violates the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment to the US Constitution. While Washington State is not under the jurisdiction…
June 14, 2011
Harkin Holds What Could be Last Senate Hearing on For-Profits
Days after the Department of Education released its finalized Gainful Employment rule, Senator Tom Harkin held his fifth Senate hearing investigating the practices of the for-profit higher education industry. Senator Harkin focused the hearing on the high levels of student borrowing and outsized loan default rates for students at for-profit institutions. Previous hearings and reports…
June 3, 2011
Importance of Need-Based Aid for Achieving Attainment Goals
A recent Pell Institute Report proposed a new way to think about reaching President Obama’s goal of increasing the proportion of adults with a college degree to 60 percent by 2020. The Institute suggests that income inequality creates a two-tier educational system in which 25-34 year-olds in the top half of the income distribution have…
May 23, 2011
Open, Accessible Courseware Issue Gains Ground
In an effort to lower instructional costs and increase the quality of class materials in community colleges, President Obama has started a program to promote the creation and use of open educational resources (OERs). OERs are defined as “high-quality” educational materials, such as books, lectures, exams, study guides, and syllabi, which are published under a…
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