Commentary, discussion, and opinion articles on the higher education sector.

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fiscalcliff-blog

Student Opinion on the Fiscal Cliff: 25% of students would delay or drop out of school if federal financial aid was cut

January 24, 2013

NerdScholar’s survey of college students points out the drastic measures students would take if their financial aid dollars were cut. NerdScholar analyzed data provided by the Office of Management and Budget combined with the report [...]

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house

Extravagant Spending at Colleges and Universities

January 2, 2013

Consider this: in the last 30 years, college tuition has risen more than five times the rate of inflation. The current price tag for an undergraduate degree is staggering: University of Michigan is $50,000/year, University [...]

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MOOCs

Infographic: Rise of the MOOCs

December 20, 2012

With a public four year in-state degree costing $89,044 on average it’s easy to see why anyone would be looking for alternatives. MOOCs, Massive Open Online Courses, may be the solution. Since the first MOOC [...]

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moocs2

The Rise of MOOCs

December 14, 2012

Digital technology has transformed the music, telecommunications, retail, and publishing industries. So it was only a matter of time before it hit higher education. Last fall, three Stanford professors decided to offer their undergraduate courses [...]

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Grading the Department of Education’s College Scorecard

December 4, 2012

The Center for American Progress (CAP) recently published a report on Improving the College Scorecard. Earlier this year, the Department of Education, along with the White House, released a draft of the Scorecard (pictured at [...]

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Credit Card Act of 2009

CARD Act Restrictions May Be Remedied

October 15, 2012

Last year, the Federal Reserve extended a law intended to prevent college students from getting too deep into debt, and in the process cut off access to credit for homemakers. This proved particularly problematic for [...]

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SEC-Football1

The Saturday Subsidy: SEC Football Teams Keep College Athletics Afloat

October 3, 2012

It’s no surprise that SEC universities love their football, spending tens of millions of dollars on recruiting, coaching salaries, facilities and more. Other programs’ coaches and athletes have complained that football gets outsize attention and money; [...]

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college-career-services

College Career Services and Their Role in Boosting Post-graduation Employment

September 18, 2012

One element of a college education that many students may not initially consider is that of career preparation. Academic coursework and professor interactions provide students with an analytical framework to solve problems and subject matter [...]

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KnowBeforeYouOwe

Understanding Durbin’s Know Before You Owe Student Loan Act

September 18, 2012

Introduced in March, 2012 by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tom Harkin (D-IA), the Know Before You Owe Act of 2012 amends both the Higher Education Act and the Truth in Lending Act to strengthen [...]

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finalcountdown

The Final Countdown: Impact of 3.4% to 6.8%

June 26, 2012

On July 1st, the reduced interest rate on federal subsized student loans will expire, resulting in the interest rate reverting to 6.8%. The interest was gradually reduced between 2008 to 2011, as part of a [...]

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