Against all logic and growing opposition from both sides of the political spectrum, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) seems poised and determined to proceed with the new Gainful Employment regulations, which would serve as a guidepost for their issuance of federal student loans for private sector colleges. The proposed Gainful Employment regulations would require that career education providers and programs provide students for “gainful employment” in recognized occupations.
To determine if these programs are eligible, ED wants to tie its federal loans to students’ debt-to-income ratio as well as the repayment rates of the for-profit institution. While there has been much debate over the origin of this proposal, its impact could not be more clear: for-profit colleges would suffer and, more significantly, low-income and minority college enrollment would drop precipitously.
Monthly Archives: June 2011
College merit aid produces bidding wars
Gillian Spolarich’s college search played out like a romantic triangle. She was set on American University. But the College of Charleston was set on her. The Southern suitor sweetened its admission offer with a pledge of more than $10,000 in merit aid.
In the end, the high school senior from Silver Spring took the better offer from the second-choice school in South Carolina, placing price before prestige.
It is becoming a common scenario post-recession: Affluent applicants, shocked by college sticker prices and leery of debt, are choosing a school not because it is the first choice but because it is the best deal. Students are using their academic credentials to leverage generous merit awards from second- or third-choice schools looking to boost their own academic profiles. Colleges are responding with record sums of merit aid, transforming the admissions process into a polite bidding war.
IRS Opens Investigation Into College Retirement Plans
For the second time in three years, the Internal Revenue Service is investigating colleges for possible tax-code violations.
Late in April, the agency announced that it would send a questionnaire to a random national sampling of 300 public and private colleges of various sizes across the country to determine how well the institutions are complying with federal rules on tax-deferred retirement savings accounts, called 403(b) plans.
The IRS says it is seeking any evidence that the retirement plans offered by colleges discriminate “in favor of highly compensated employees.” Under federal rules, all employees at an institution must generally be allowed to participate if such a retirement savings plan is offered.
The Saddest Tweet of Them All: We have failed to educate. We must do more.
I’ve been watching as UW Madison moves into the post-NBP phase of life (wait, there is life after NBP?). In particularly, I’m finding the (re)framing of recent events by NBP proponents both fascinating, and disturbing.
Spin is, to some degree, expected. We can’t blame Chancellor Martin for trying to save face, or Governor Walker for that matter.
What I didn’t expect, and what upsets me most, is the self-righteousness evident in those who proclaim “we accomplished something here.” Something, they claim, UW System did not. Could not. Would not.
Sad and short-sighted, perhaps, but not surprising. On the other hand, a recent tweet from a Madison student stopped me in my tracks. On Saturday he wrote, “No #UWNBP. Disappointing. Looks like we have to be tied to the poor decisions #UWSystem makes.” Surprised at his statement, I responded, “Ever been to System? Ever met anyone there? Why do you follow blindly what u r told? #UWNBP #UWSystem.” To which he replied “It’s fun to make assumptions.”
Controversial DeForest, WI School Administrator Raises
The pressure is off of district administrators and the school board here in Sun Prairie, because of the shocking cajones of the DeForest Board of Education and DeForest Area School District Administrators.
While we’re getting worked up –and justifiably so— about our own district administration on the cusp of getting 1.6% increases in the midst of tight times, the DeForest Administration Team —with the support of the Board of Education– awarded themselves titannic raises under the guise of “Dane County Market Equity” adjustments. The raises are retroactive to January 1, 2011. For appearances sake–you just KNOW they’ll spin this in budget documents— their salaries are being frozen for 2011-12. Geeeee whiz! With those increases, they should be frozen permanently.
US Education Department Rules on For-Profit Schools Created With Investor’s Help
A proposed regulation from the Education Department threatens to devastate for-profit career or trade schools, but one thing is even more controversial than the regulation — how it was crafted.
Education Department officials were encouraged and advised about the content of the regulation by a man who stood to make millions if it were issued.
“Wall Street investors were manipulating the regulatory process and Department of Education officials were letting them,” charged Melanie Sloan of a liberal-leaning ethics watchdog called Citizens For Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.