Financial Aid

Pandemic Fallout: The Budget Axe Keeps Falling, This Week At University Of Wyoming, Wright State UniversityThe budget fallout from the coronavirus pandemic is continuing to plague campuses across the country. This week saw more announcements of pending personnel cuts and academic program terminations as university leaders struggled to cope with plunging revenues, decreased state appropriations, and sharply declining tuition and fees. Two of the largest impacts were at the University of Wyoming and Wright State University in Ohio. University of Wyoming On Wednesday, the Board of Trustees for the University of Wyoming approved the elimination of 11 academic programs. Those cuts are just the first of what are anticipated to be a series of cutbacks as the university tries to save as much as ...

The deeply distorted debate about reopening schoolsFor nearly a year, the Trump administration was accused of ignoring science by trying to bully schools into reopening during the coronavirus pandemic without requiring that proper safety steps being taken. Now the Biden administration, less than a month in office, is being accused of ignoring science — largely for doing the opposite.A popular construct of the criticism of the Biden administration goes like this: Frustrated parents everywhere want their kids back in schools right now, but fearful (and sometimes lazy) teachers don’t want to go. Their unions are nothing but obstructionist. Researchers say there is little evidence that schools contribute to increased community transmission of the coronavirus. President Biden, a friend of labor...

How Schools Can Stop Buying Stuff That Sits On The ShelfAs Congress seems poised to send K-12 schools another $130 billion in American Rescue Plan aid—in addition to the $60-odd billion in COVID relief it delivered in 2020—there’s a lot of talk about how much is being spent. Meanwhile, there’s been too little attention given to how effectively those funds are being used. As schools look to spend enormous sums on things like remote learning, education technology, COVID testing, personal protective equipment, and remediation, it’s time for a second look at how, when, and why schools buy what they do.The question of how, when, and why schools buy stuff usually travels under the yawn-inducing label of “K-12 procurement” and gets about as much attention as you’d expect. But this inattention has...

Boundless Potential: How Colorado Trustees Are Collectively Advocating For Public Higher EducationColorado higher education is at a crossroads. For decades, funding for Colorado higher education has not kept pace with inflation, and at the same time, the state’s student body has become increasingly more diverse. Today’s students are older, working more or working while in school, raising families and often attending postsecondary education institutions part-time. There is an opportunity for institutions to continue to represent the interests of their respective student bodies, but there is also a collective power in aligning key stakeholders around the needs of the state’s talent pool and determining how resources can be best aligned to support lifelong learning opportunities for all Color...

Is Santa Clara U. Better Than Princeton? Earnings Data Say “Yes”As one who ranked colleges for Forbes for about a decade, I am abundantly aware of both the complexities and the usefulness of assessing the quality of colleges and universities. Moreover, as I recently wrote on here, prospective students often tragically stumble choosing colleges, and rankings are one tool that helps them make informed decisions about where to attend. A recent entry into ranking colleges is a company called Optimal, which recently issued its Best Colleges 2021 rankings. It appears that Optimal’s philosophy is that kids (and sometimes adult learners) go to colleges overwhelmingly for the primary purpose of getting a good job, so the real important question is: how much money will I make after I graduate? Usi...

FIRE submits written testimony supporting Montana HB 349The Montana House Judiciary Committee held a hearing yesterday for HB 349, a bill that would require public institutions of higher education in Montana to define student-on-student harassment in accordance with the Supreme Court’s ruling in Davis v. Monroe County Board of Education. HB 349 also enshrines students’ freedom of association rights in state law, allowing student organizations predicated on common beliefs to require their members and leaders to share their values and beliefs. “Montana’s institutions of higher education have long struggled to define harassment.” While FIRE frequently testifies in support of this kind of legislation, Montana’s House Judiciary Committee does not currently allow individuals and groups from out-...

Michigan Launches Free College Tuition Program For Adults Without DegreesThe state of Michigan launched Michigan Reconnect on Tuesday. It’s a $30 million program that will provide scholarships to millions of eligible Michigan adults without college degrees, enabling them to earn a tuition-free associate degree or skills certificate at their in-district community college The new program also will offer a large tuition discount (equal to in-district tuition) for individuals who attend an out-of-district community college and will cover up to $1,500 in a Skills Scholarship for those who enroll in one of the more than 70 private training schools that are offering certificates in high-demand careers in industries such as manufacturing, construction, information technology, healthcare...

Juniors: Should You Take the SAT or ACT This Year?Why Juniors Should Still Carefully Consider Their Testing StrategyIn years past, the vast majority of high school juniors planned on taking the SAT/ACT. However, with an increasing number of schools extending their test-optional admissions policies, some students may be wondering whether it is still worthwhile to study for these exams. The short answer: it depends. Despite the increase in flexible testing policies, not all schools have announced they plan to waive testing requirements for the class of 2026. Until all colleges commit to a test-optional or test-blind policy this fall, many students will still need to keep test prep top of mind.IvyWise college admissions experts Christine and Tiffany will be answering your most pressing t...

The Pandemic Will Obliterate The Traditional Academic Calendar. And It Can’t Happen Fast Enough.Everyone has been pontificating about the various temporary and lasting impacts of Covid-19 on education. It has undoubtedly accelerated the adoption of online and hybrid learning, exacerbated equity and access issues and exposed the financial fragility of many education institutions. But there’s one change that few are talking about and it very well may be the biggest and most positive change of all precipitated by Covid: the obliteration of the traditional academic calendar. Why do bachelor’s degrees take four years to complete? Why is it that we monitor and report 6-year graduation rates for these 4-year degrees? Why do we see considerable learning loss over the summer – especially for stud...