Higher Education

Some great pieces have come out the last week about the political debate over the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA) on that vast series of tubes we call the Internet. SAFRA would eliminate a government program (the Federal Family Education Loan Program, or FFELP) that involves large, wasteful federal subsidies to student loan […]

Washington, D.C. now has its first community college: The Community College of the District of Columbia is being incubated within the University of the District of Columbia, the city’s land-grant and only public institution, and has taken over its existing associate degree, certificate and work force development programs. For the time being, it is also […]

The Chronicle reports that on Wednesday, a subcommittee of the U.S. House of Representatives held a hearing on why Congress should change a law that prevents private student loans from being automatically discharged when a person declares bankruptcy. Since 2005, those who declare bankruptcy and have student debt—either through federally guaranteed or private loans—have been […]

We appreciate the attention from CBS’ MoneyWatch.com, but I was unaware that the Washington Monthly is “a neoconservative political journal,” which is the sort of thing I would have appreciated being informed about before I started working here. Anyway, I should get back to working on my upcoming article about how invading Iran is the […]

The Daily Californian reports on a large, economy-fueled protest happening today out West: Hundreds of members of the UC community are expected to rally today throughout the 10-campus system in efforts aimed at publicizing the impact of state and university budget cuts on faculty, staff and students. The walkout and union strike have been organized […]

Molly M. Claflin, a recent graduate of Stanford Law School, had a good op-ed on student loan companies and SAFRA in Monday’s Los Angeles Times. She expresses the stakes here very clearly and forcefully: It’s hard to save the world when you know that all of your hard work is going to pay for some […]

I agree with the assertion of Emerson College administrators, as reported by The Boston Globe, that it’s not fair for The Daily Beast‘s campus safety rankings to list it as the most dangerous college in America. Emerson was required to report both on-campus crimes and those that occurred in its neighborhood. The problem is that […]

After Oregon’s disappointing opening day 19-8 football loss to Boise State on September 3rd, which featured an unfortunate altercation in which Ducks (least intimidating mascot ever) running back LeGarrette Blount punched a Boise State player (you’re not allowed to do that), an Oregon fan who had trekked from Portland to Boise for the game sent […]

Bloomberg reports that, according to the Government Accountability Office, lax oversight is leading to unqualified students getting federal aid to attend for-profit universities: The GAO said school officials or test administrators at some for-profit schools violated rules designed to ensure all student-aid recipients are qualified. Students must have a high school diploma or the equivalent, […]

When you make applying for federal financial aid easier, more low-income people do it. Fancy that!