 |
|
 |
|
|
|
 |
|
"Some college administrators seem so distracted with fund raising, academic infighting, and community initiatives that they set up their emergency communications departments very poorly. Training is poor to nonexistent, secretaries are pressed into service with tremendous responsibilities for running 'notification systems' 24/7 and on weekends because no one else knows how to do it and the administration won’t pay for additional staff. Procedures are seat-of-the-pants and dependent on HIPPO (highest paid person’s opinion), except when something like Virginia Tech happens and there is some sort of scramble to do something different." --Donna
Most Colleges Avoid Risk Management, Report Says
Jill Biden Shines a Global Spotlight on American Community Colleges
Speaking at a Unesco conference in Paris, the vice president’s wife stressed the importance of two-year institutions to the nation’s educational goals.
Connecticut Public Colleges Lose 200 Professors to Early Retirement
Administrators are scrambling to plug holes in their course schedules for fall, with most expecting to do so by hiring more adjuncts or increasing class sizes.
U. of Georgia Paid 2 Fraternities $2.4-Million to Relocate, Contracts Show
The two were among five with houses on property where the university plans to build new academic facilities.
New Allegations in Admissions Controversy at U. of Illinois Suggest Ex-Provost Played a Role
Linda P.B. Katehi, the incoming chancellor of the University of California at Davis, has insisted she knew nothing of the admission of politically connected applicants at Illinois.
Sonoma State U. Foundation May Lose $350,000 on Loan to Former Board Member
The foundation will be forced to issue fewer scholarships in the 2010-11 academic year because of a diminished endowment, a university official said.
College Suspends Student for Working in Gay Pornography | 58
President Obama's Visit to Notre Dame Carries Barely a Hint of Controversy That Preceded It | 58
Drug Sting Nabs 21 Students at U. of Illinois | 57
Faculty Members and Union Protest Staff Layoffs at Temple U. as 'Cruel' | 57
North Dakota Board's Vote Puts 'Fighting Sioux' Mascot on Thinner Ice | 57
Athletics
Community Colleges
Government & Politics
Information Technology
International
Money & Management
Northern Illinois
Research & Books
Short Subjects
Students
The Faculty
Prior days' news: By date | Search
This week's print issue
Back issues: By date | Search
December 11, 2007
Caltech Eliminates Loans for Low-Income Students
The California Institute of Technology today joined a burgeoning group of elite colleges that have recently replaced loans with grants in financial-aid packages for their neediest students.
The new policy will take effect in the fall-2008 semester, according to a Caltech news release. The institute already provides financial assistance to more than half of its 913 undergraduates, and the average debt burden of students who graduated from Caltech in the 2005-6 academic year was $5,156, much lower than the national average of $19,146 for the same year. —Elizabeth F. Farrell
Posted on Tuesday December 11, 2007 | Permalink |Comments
Previous: Prospective First-Generation Students Need Better Information, Report Says
Next: PBS Documentary Features Penn State's Student Newspaper
It is laudable that institutions with sufficient endowments can take these steps. Those of us who do not are struggling to find ways to serve underserved populations and provide true access to productive lives. In our case it is not Congress doing the prodding, but our core values and beliefs.
— R. May Dec 12, 08:26 AM #
Maybe the reason that #2 ‘s institution does not have sufficient endowments is because they spend too much time worrying about serving the “underserved” population to the detriment of other students. People that make endownments usually prefer equal treatment for all, not better treatment for the welfare class.
— Your Pal Dec 12, 09:40 AM #
As a former member of the “welfare class” and now currently a faculty member at a public comprehensive university…I welcome the change. I attended elite public universities and the “elite” part mattered because it opened SO MANY DOORS. I excelled academically even though I came from low income inner city schools and neither of parents graduated from high school…US higher education!—Amazing! So the answer is no one suffers when the subalterns classes attend university…back to reading Prospero’s books…
— Caliban Dec 12, 11:03 AM #
the welfare class?
underserved?
sounds like somebody just needs a hug.
— Bill Dec 12, 03:50 PM #
As for the former member of the welfare class who made it in academia (post 4), I certainly applaud your efforts, however, you probably would have been just as successful had you attended a state institution. Frankly, as someone who has created endowments, I certainly would prefer all people treated equally and NOT better treatment for underserved or low-income recipients. No wonder some institutions can’t seem to get their endowments up to the level that they want.
— Sandy Botkin Dec 12, 06:30 PM #
It is amazing to me that readers of the Chronicle can evidence such weak reasoning, not to mention poor grammar and the social ethics of a stalactite.
As Thomas Jefferson (you do recall him, don’t you, readers from the conservative right?) pointed out, for a democracy to work, EVERYONE needs to be educated and informed. Those who undermine broad educational access and press freedoms, however well-intentioned, attack the foundation of a functioning democracy. As that old lefty, Milton Friedman, suggested, a well-trained workforce adds value to the economy. Richard Florida popularly expounded a few years ago the seemingly-obvious notion that there is a measurable link between a broadly-educated citizenry and regional economic strength.
And as the founders pointed out implicitly in the Declaration of Independence, all citizens must have an equal opportunity to advance themselves or the government has no legitimacy.
We have pragmatic economic, social and political reasons as a nation to provide access to high-quality advanced learning to as many as possible, based on their ability to put that education to good use for American and world civilization, without regard to their instant ability to cover the costs. Enlightened donors understand that their investment in these high-merit students returns dividends to the entire society (including the donors’ progeny) for years to come.
This is not a touchy-feely, bleeding-heart, liberal notion. It is at the root of the survival of this democracy, a survival which seems increasingly in doubt from generation to generation. It is wise to recall that Rome was a limited democracy for centuries before finally ceding all power to the Caesers when the citizens had grown too fearful of losing their personal comforts.
— Robert Dec 14, 10:25 AM #