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Republicans Want the Status Quo for Student Loans by Armand Biroonak, OurFuture.org | November 20, 2009
Representative John Kline (R-MN) and Senator Mike Enzi (R-WY) introduced legislation this week that keeps our broken student loan system in status quo, with corrupt private lenders and federal bank subsidies worth billions. read more »Student Loan Industry: We Are NOT Dead Yet by Armand Biroonak, OurFuture.org | November 13, 2009
Recently the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, advised college financial administrators that with the likely passage of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) in the Senate, universities nationwide should prepare to switch over to federal direct le read more »Executive Pay Hits Campuses by Katharine Trendacosta, airamerica.com | November 3, 2009
According to a report published by the Chronicle of Higher Education, 23 private college Presidents make over $1 million, even as the recession and rising tuition costs are squeezing students and recent alumni dry. read more »Constraining America’s Brightest by Bob Herbert, The New York Times | November 2, 2009
That period right after college graduation is when young people tend to think they can set the world on fire. Careers are starting, and relationships in the broader world are forming. It’s exciting, and optimism is off the charts. So the gloomy outlook that this economy is offering so many of America’s brightest young people is not just disconcerting, it’s a cultural shift, a harbinger. “Attention,” as the wife of a fictional salesman once said, “must be paid.” read more »Higher Ed Slashed, Left Dripping in Red by Armand Biroonak, OurFuture.org | October 31, 2009
The Chronicle of Higher Education released a survey of chief financial officers at four-year universities across the country and it is no treat; their outlook for this budget year (FY 2010) was gloomy, by next year? read more »The Subprime Student Loan Racket by Stephen Burd, Washington Monthly | October 29, 2009
With help from Washington, the for-profit college industry is loading up millions of low-income students with debt they'll never pay off. read more »Big Bank Fraud, This Time with Student Loans by Armand Biroonak, OurFuture.org | October 19, 2009
Just when you thought that the dust had settled from the scandals of Wall Street (at least temporarily), details come out of another Ponzi scheme by the titans of banking, this time with student loans. read more »The Uneducated American by Paul Krugman, The New York Times | October 9, 2009
If you had to explain America’s economic success with one word, that word would be “education.” The rise of American education was, overwhelmingly, the rise of public education — and for the past 30 years our political scene has been dominated by the view that any and all government spending is a waste of taxpayer dollars. Education, as one of the largest components of public spending, has inevitably suffered. read more »Spatula Alert: Obama Wins Nobel Prize by Terrance Heath, OurFuture.org | October 9, 2009
Wow. Break out the spatulas, and get ready to scrape the exploded brains of right-wingers off the ceiling, walls, etc. Apparently, President Obama has won the Nobel Peace Prize. read more »Education Matters by Tara Kini, news.newamericamedia.org | October 7, 2009
President Barack Obama and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan have an unprecedented opportunity to lead real school funding reform through the federal stimulus package. They can encourage states like California to fund public schools adequately and equitably. The question is, will they? read more »
The Latest
American Graduates Finding Jobs in China, The New York Times | August 11, 2009
Shanghai and Beijing are becoming new lands of opportunity for recent American college graduates who face unemployment nearing double digits at home. Even those with limited or no knowledge of Chinese are heeding the call. They are lured by China’s surging economy, the lower cost of living and a chance to bypass some of the dues-paying that is common to first jobs in the United States. read more »
Teachers Could Earn More Under Obama Plan, USA Today | July 24, 2009
States that want a piece of the Obama administration's $4.35 billion Race to the Top Fund for schools must hew to internationally benchmarked academic standards and let schools pay teachers and principals more if they work in hard-to-staff schools — or if student scores improve on basic skills tests. read more »
Student Loan Measure Clears House Panel, The Washington Post | July 22, 2009
A bill that cleared a House committee would largely remove private lenders from the federal student loan industry, generating an estimated $87 billion savings over 10 years to fund more government grants and loans. read more »
Black-White Student Achievement Gap Persists, MSNBC News | July 15, 2009
Despite unprecedented efforts to improve minority achievement in the past decade, the gap between black and white students remains frustratingly wide, according to an Education Department report. There is good news in the report: Reading and math scores are improving for black students across the country. read more »
Obama Plans $12 Billion Boost To Community Colleges, USA Today | July 14, 2009
President Obama is expected to announce a $12 billion proposal today that will put the nation's community colleges front and center in his economic recovery plan. Among his goals: to modernize community college facilities, to increase the quality of online courses and to ensure that more students complete their programs. read more »
For Colleges, Small Cuts Add Up to Big Savings, The New York Times | June 19, 2009
College life may look different in the not-so-distant future: Students squinting out dirtier windows, faculty offices with full wastebaskets and no phones, sporting events in which opponents never meet, and paper course catalogs existing only as artifacts of the wasteful old days. read more »
School Systems Juggle Cost of Free Lunches, USA Today | June 11, 2009
School systems nationwide are trimming lunch menus, buying more food in bulk and delaying purchases of kitchen equipment to offset the costs of serving free or reduced-price lunches to millions of newly eligible students from cash-strapped families. read more »
Caps and Gowns Too Costly For Some Graduates, MSNBC News | May 22, 2009
Source URL:Across the nation, school staffers privy to teen problems say more students are having a hard time footing the costs of graduation. From Florida and Texas to Indiana and California, education officials are soliciting donations, recycling old gowns and, in some cases, ponying up the money themselves. read more »
Economic Slump Slows Down Summer Schools, npr.org | May 21, 2009
New GI Bill Could Open Education Doors For More Vets, | May 18, 2009
The new G.I. bill takes effect Aug. 1. The law, which could potentially more than double the amount covered in the current GI Bill, could open college doors to thousands of veterans, many of whom would not otherwise have considered college because of the expense. read more »
