higher education

The effects of the recession have been far reaching –that is no secret of course –but the picture for students in this downturn is only beginning to be painted more clearly. According to the Higher Education Research Institute’s annual survey of college freshman, students are really feeling the financial squeeze unlike ever before.

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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? Even scarier. read more »

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Students are borrowing more than ever to pay for college. As reported in the Wall Street Journal, for the 2008-09 academic year, students borrowed nearly 25 percent more than the previous year to pay for school, borrowing a total of over $75 billion. read more »

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Attending the “Degrees of College Debt” panel at the America’s Future Now! conference last week, it was astonishing to hear dozens of graduates describe the mountains of debt they are climbing; $10,000! $50,000! $120,000 of debt! attendees shouted, when asked by the panel how much debt they had. read more »

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With all the fuss over Wall Street bailouts and AIG bonuses, one banking breakthrough is going unnoticed. Obama's proposed budget completely eliminates an unnecessary, obsolete bank subsidy: College student loans – where the subsidy goes to the bank, not the student. It’s a stick in the eye of the banking industry, and the banks aren’t taking it lightly. read more »

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On January 1, 2009, former Senator Claiborne Pell (D-RI) died at the age of 90. Known as the “father of Pell Grants,” Senator Pell was instrumental in helping low and moderate income students attend college, with the creation of Basic Educational Opportunity Grants in 1972, which were renamed “Pell Grants” in 1980. read more »

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As college students celebrate graduation this May, their joy is combined with the harsh reality they face post-graduation--many of these students will graduate with unmanageable levels of loan debt that they can not afford basic necessities. read more »

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