federal government
December 17, 2012
Students Using Income-Based Repayment Program May Face Hefty Tax Bills
The NY Times reports that although the federal government’s recently-expanded income-based repayment program is more affordable for some students, it may come with a hefty, and unexpected tax burden. The federal government will generally forgive whatever loans are left after 10 to 25 years of income-based payments; however, unless you attend a program for teachers…
December 3, 2012
Recent Higher Ed Headlines
Here is a quick look at some recent happenings in the world of higher education: The College Scorecard confuses students and lacks desired information, says a report released today by the Center for American Progress (CAP). The College Scorecard, which President Obama proposed last February, is an online tool to help students compare colleges’ costs,…
November 26, 2012
Higher Ed News Highlights
Here are a few noteworthy headlines from the past few days of higher education news: History professors at the University of Florida are fighting a proposed differential tuition strategy that would hold tuition rates stable for “high-skill, high-wage, high-demand” degree programs for at least three years. Most STEM degrees made the list of majors recommended…
November 2, 2012
Supreme Court Hears Case on Imported Textbooks
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Monday in a pivotal copyright-infringement case over whether textbooks from foreign markets can be imported to the U.S. and resold without the publisher’s permission. The Court’s decision in the case, Kirtsaeng v. John Wiley & Sons, may have major consequences for publishers, academic libraries, museums, and others…
November 1, 2012
Pell Grant Changes Hit Transfer Students Hardest
One of several recent Pell Grant changes has made it harder for some students to finish school and earn a degree, according to Inside Higher Ed. Effective July 1st this year, the federal government decreased the duration of Pell eligibility from 18 semesters to 12 semesters as a means of both cutting costs and incentivizing…
October 11, 2012
Supreme Court Justices Hear (and Question) Arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments yesterday in the landmark affirmative action case Fisher v. University of Texas (UT) (please see our previous blog for more information). Four Justices will need to support UT if it and, potentially, public colleges across the nation are to continue using race and as a factor in admissions decisions….
October 2, 2012
UW’s Impressively-Low Student Loan Default Rates Contrast with National Averages
Last Friday, the U.S. Department of Education released its annual update on federal student loan cohort default rates (CDRs) and, although national CDRs are gloomily high, UW’s rates are impressively low. As the Department is in the process of switching to a more accurate three-year CDR measure, this year’s report includes both the FY 2010…
September 27, 2012
Supreme Court Case Calls into Question the Use of Race in Higher Ed Admissions
On October 10th, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in Fisher v. University of Texas (UT)—the first Supreme Court case on the use of race in higher education admissions since Grutter v. Bollinger in 2003. The case asks that the Court either declare UT’s admissions policy to be in violation of Grutter v. Bollinger…
September 21, 2012
Is It All About the Money?
As a recent post discussed, if you attend college, you are more likely to earn more money. But, as you might imagine, the financial value of higher education depends on what program you choose and where. Information on the annual earnings of students from different programs and institutions is exactly what Sen. Ron Wyden, a…
September 17, 2012
2012 Democratic and Republican Higher Education Platforms
Now that both Democrats and Republicans have adopted party platforms at their respective conventions, what do we know about their plans for higher education? Below is a quick overview of each party’s higher education goals and associated action steps (past, present, or future) adapted directly from the parties’ formally-adopted platforms: DEMOCRATIC PLATFORM GOAL 1: To…
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