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Understanding the Real Cost of a Bachelor’s Degree

By on November 28, 2011 in Access and Affordability, Cost of a Degree, Economy, Financial Aid, Trends in Higher Education

The October 2011 issue of American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research’s (AEI) Education Outlook included an interesting analysis of the total cost of a bachelor’s degree titled, “Cheap for Whom?:   How Much Higher Education Costs Taxpayers.”  The authors, Mark Schneider and Jorge Klor de Alva, go beyond a surface analysis of tuition rates, student fees, and books.  Their analysis delves deeper into the overall financial cost model to consider and analyze taxpayer subsidies as part of the cost of a bachelor’s degree. … Read the rest

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Is the Value of a College Degree Still Worth the Cost?

By on August 31, 2011 in Business of Education, Community Colleges, Economy, Financial Aid, Trends in Higher Education

Today’s higher education environment vis-à-vis the national economic situation has ignited a debate over whether a college degree is worth the cost.  Significant budget cuts in many states have meant that colleges are raising tuitions, increasing fees, and offering less in scholarship money to students.  Few students had enough money saved to pay for college prior to the economic downturn which has had a catastrophic impact on many schools (see my daily headline postings and links in the “Impact of the Economy on Higher Education” section of my blog for some examples). … Read the rest

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Back From School

By on April 19, 2010 in Financial Aid, Trends in Higher Education

In December, I wrote a post about why the frequency of my writing slowed and would continue to slow.  The explanation was simple:  I had entered a doctoral program and was engaged in the final writing stage of my dissertation.  I am pleased to say that I satisfactorily completed all the requirements for my doctoral program at the University of Pennsylvania including defending my dissertation.  Now that I have had a couple of weeks to savor the accomplishment, I am ready to resume some of my “free time” activities that I postponed or slowed in order to go back to school and earn my doctoral degree. … Read the rest

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The “Manageable” Debt Load of Recent Graduates

By on November 13, 2009 in Access and Affordability, Financial Aid, Trends in Higher Education

An August 11th article in The New York Times caught my attention.  Written by Tamar Lewin, the article describes a policy brief released by the College Board which concludes that for the most part, recent graduates are carrying “manageable” debt loads.  Using data published in the Department of Education’s National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, the policy brief notes that while the number of students using loans to pay for their post-secondary educations has increased in the last five years, the volume of students who carry overly burdensome levels of debt upon graduation remains small in comparison.… Read the rest

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The Education Gap

By on October 22, 2009 in Access and Affordability, Financial Aid, Trends in Higher Education

I recently read an interesting article by David Brooks called “The Education Gap.”  Published in The New York Times on September 25, 2005, Brooks talks about the ability of colleges to address the inequities between poverty and wealth.  He points out the fact that only 28 percent of Americans have college degrees but that most of those with degrees find themselves in social situations where almost everybody has been to college.

Brooks notes that behavioral differences are starting to surface between the groups. … Read the rest

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The Shortfalls of the American Financial Aid System: Pell Grants

By on May 19, 2009 in Access and Affordability, Business of Education, Financial Aid, Trends in Higher Education

The Pell Grant, originally known as the Basic Education Opportunity Act, was created in 1972 to support the postsecondary educational needs of the country’s least advantaged students.  The original maximum amount for Pell Grant recipients was $452.  In 1980, the program was renamed the Pell Grant in honor of Senator Claiborne Pell and his initiatives in creating the program.  After periodic increases to meet the rising cost of college tuition, the Pell Grant remained stagnant at $4,050 for four years during the Bush Administration from 2003 until 2007.… Read the rest

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