Higher education media has gone “all in” for keeping college campuses closed this fall, with articles like “The Case Against Reopening” in The Chronicle of Higher Education and “Colleges Are Deluding Themselves” in The Atlantic, just to mention a few. Their basic premise: Reopening would be irresponsible because many students, faculty, and staff will get sick, some will … Continue reading “The Case for Reopening College Campuses “
Higher ed leaders have bemoaned what they see as insufficient federal support during the coronavirus pandemic, but they might have a bigger problem: convincing students to enroll in the fall. A recent survey found that about one-third of high school seniors will defer or cancel starting their freshman year of college if classes are online-only. … Continue reading “Did You Know? Colleges Could Lose 1/3 of Students if Fall Classes Stay Online”
Recently, presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden announced that he was in favor of a plan to make college education free–for most students at public institutions anyway. Why? Because too many students are supposedly being kept out of college due to its cost. Even though much of the expense of public higher education is already borne by … Continue reading “Still Believe That a College Degree Is a Great Investment?”
The American economy is deteriorating “with alarming speed,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell said recently, signaling that the government’s response to COVID-19 put people in a difficult financial situation. Though Powell predicts this problem is temporary, a closer look at growing unemployment numbers shows that America might not bounce back quickly once the lockdowns … Continue reading “Young Americans Don’t Need College During a Crisis”
Higher education reform will only come from the outside, probably from political reform. Or so we thought. Along came the coronavirus, also an outside force, that is upsetting the status quo in higher education. State universities are now preparing to cut budgets in the face of inevitable funding reductions from states and drops in student … Continue reading “Idaho’s Higher Education Earthquake?”
The UNC Board of Governors’ Committee on Budget and Finance voted on Wednesday to freeze tuition and fees for the 2020-2021 academic year in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic downturn that’s affecting many North Carolina families. The full board will approve the decision at its May meeting. Prior to the pandemic, the … Continue reading “Did You Know? UNC Schools Will (Likely) Not Raise Tuition This Year”
UNC has announced its intent to reopen all 16 campuses this fall with in-person instruction. But the system will have to make significant changes before moving forward. Jenna A. Robinson and Sumantra Maitra released a new policy brief for the Martin Center describing some of the financial changes that universities can make to survive and … Continue reading “How UNC Can Save Money Post-COVID-19”
Most of the wealthiest universities in the country have accepted money from the CARES Act, meant to help university students weather the economic consequences of COVID-19 and state shut-downs. The money is part of the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund. Education reformer Micah Merrick has been tracking CARES Act money that was allocated to universities … Continue reading “UPDATED: Did You Know? Few Rich Colleges Turning Down COVID-19 Relief Money”
Colleges and universities around the country are proving to be easy prey to hackers with ransom demands. In Massachusetts, Cape Cod Community College was defrauded of $800,000 last year, while Colorado’s Regis University paid an undisclosed amount to regain access to their files after a ransomware attack—and still did not get access back. Ransomware is … Continue reading “As Budgets Tighten, Colleges Still Vulnerable to Ransomware”
The federal Pell Grant program provides need-based grants to millions of college students every year—and costs the government over $30 billion annually. But even with that large investment, Pell Grant students in North Carolina borrow more student loans and drop out of college at higher rates than their peers. According to data from the University … Continue reading “Did You Know? UNC Pell Grant Students Have More Debt Than Their Peers”