Education

Inside Higher Ed reports on a study out of Quebec examining aid levels and graduation rates: The study, by Matthieu Chemin, assistant professor of economics at the University of Quebec in Montreal, compares the behavior of students from families with incomes under $20,000 before and after [a policy change that lightened the tuition burden on […]

At BloggEd, Ben Yagoda has a pretty convincing defense of sabbatical (under attack in some quarters in light of all the cost-cutting schools are being forced to do because of the economic climate). He also points out that the anti-sabbatical argument is, practically speaking, doomed: Still, as I have had reason to say elsewhere, I […]

Over at The Quick and the Ed, Ben Miller tears apart a characteristically poor Wall Street Journal editorial on the probable impending end of the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program. It’s a smart rebuttal and worth a read.

[Editor’s note: This blog post was originally published on Students Over Banks.] Last Friday the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released a new estimate comparing the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act (SAFRA), which is based on the President’s proposal to reform the financial aid system, and the industry counterproposal (PDF) put forward by Sallie […]

A Princeton alum wrote a nice post commemorating the 40th anniversary of that school allowing women to enroll. It’s worth a read, since its’ more about the importance of coeducation in general than it is about Princeton: Economists, demographers and health researchers have lately demonstrated that the most effective way to improve the economic strength […]

From Higher Ed Watch last week: Is there a looming student debt crisis at our nation’s for-profit colleges and trade schools? The latest data from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) certainly seems to suggest so. According to an analysis of this data by the College Board, 60 percent of […]

The obvious answer is “never,” but this story that someone submitted to reddit had me rethinking that stance. Given a situation like this one—where the person is obviously qualified for a higher-paid job than what he or she can get because he or she lacks an oftentimes-meaningless piece of paper—I’m finding it hard to blame […]

The Wall Street Journal‘s personal finance “tip of the week” is a good one: Looking for loans to help you foot your college bills? Don’t settle for private loans until you’ve exhausted all options for federal loans, which usually come with lower, fixed interest rates and more flexible payment plans. (Some government-backed loans are made […]

The audio from the Washington Monthly/Education Sector event I blogged about last week is up and definitely worth checking out. It was a great discussion of the future of higher ed policy, and it featured some of the smartest folks in that world.

Here’s a telling stat for you: A little under a thousand incoming freshman confirmed that they would be attending Delaware State this fall. Only 825 showed up. Diverse Issues in Higher Ed explains why this is bad and introduces us to one of the many students whose educational plans have been seriously disrupted by the […]