Tuition
Colleges Freezing, Reducing Tuition as Enrollments Fall
After three decades of steadily rising tuition costs, many colleges are making the decision to freeze or reduce prices in the face of increased price shopping among entering students. As Diverse reports, Sewanne: the University of the South cut tuition by 10 percent last year and has pledged to maintain that cost for the upcoming school year. Action is also being taken in several states by legislative bodies. The Arizona regents were reportedly being pressed to get a handle on tuition by the governor and legislators. They, in turn, were hearing from increasingly angry constituents. “About time,” read the headline on an editorial in the ASU State Press. Read More.
More Students Crossing State Lines for Tuition Discount Programs
Colleges with certain specialized majors have had recent success luring out-of-state students with tuition discounts. If a student is looking for a particular focus, such as an MBA with a logistics concentration, and cannot find that program within state borders, many states have programs to offer that student their own in-state tuition cost to attend an out-of-state university. As BusinessWeek reports, these exchange programs have become more popular as more students shop for their educations by price tag. In the southern U.S., the number of students who were approved for such discounts increased 30.7 percent to a record high of 2,743. Read More.
Tuition Hikes Higher at Public Colleges than Private for 5th Year Running
Tuition is on the rise in most every sector of higher education, and public tuition and fees for public institutions has again outpaced similar private institutions. As the Chronicle of Higher Education reports, average tuition rose 8.3 percent in 2011 to $8,244 for a four-year program. California, whose public tuition rose 21 percent last year, had a large pull on this average. The State of California enrolls about 10 percent of the country’s full-time students attending public four-year colleges, and about 15 percent of those at public two-year colleges. So when the state’s public colleges have a big tuition hike—as they did this year—it. Read More.
More Affluent Families Choosing Two-Year Colleges to Save Money
Increasing tuition costs and decreased personal savings continue to drive students toward lower-cost higher education options. As the Washington Post reports, continuing recessionary conditions have expanded two-year college popularity in families with increasingly higher incomes. A recent survey by Sallie Mae showed that community college attendance was up 12 percent in households earning more than $100,000. “I actually think that two years at a community college is better than the freshman and sophomore year at a four-year institution,” said John Rossi, a Springfield parent who sent his eldest daughter, Elise, to Northern Virginia Community College this fall.
Federal Student Aid Gets Temporary Relief from Debt Deal
The recent stalemate over the debt ceiling threatened the stability of student loans like the Pell Grant program. The debt ceiling deal means an immediate ability to pay out benefits, but as The Chronicle of Higher Education reports, terms of the deal continue to threaten student loan availability. At the same time, the deal will force Congress to cut at least $1-trillion from the federal budget, including $7-billion in the 2012 fiscal year. Student-aid advocates worry that the bill’s spending caps, coupled with the remaining shortfall in the Pell Grant program, will force Congress to cut the maximum award or shrink other student-aid programs going. Read More.
Fewer Parents Paying Entire Tuition for Children
A recent study conducted by Bank of America finds more U.S. parents unable, or unwilling, to pay all of their children’s college tuition. As boston.com reports, middle class families are feeling the tight squeeze of the downturn, while more affluent families are trying to teach a lesson about the value of a dollar. Having kids foot at least part of the bill for college is an example of how a “sandwich generation’’ is coping with caring for parents and dependent children at the same time, Sieg said. With older generations living longer, high rates of unemployment for recent college graduates and. Read More.