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"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
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 that 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.
Court Overturns $2-Million Verdict for Former Coach at U. of Louisiana-Lafayette
The coach, one of the few African-Americans in big-time college football, was fired after three losing seasons. He sued, saying he had been dismissed because of his race.
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
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May 1, 2008
Fed Chairman Says Subsidy Cuts Contributed to Lender Exodus
Washington — Ben S. Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, is asking Congress to consider new ways of setting subsidy rates on federally guaranteed student loans. In a letter sent last week to the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, Democrat of Connecticut, Mr. Bernanke wrote that the subsidy cuts enacted by Congress last year are partly to blame for the exodus of commercial lenders from the guaranteed-student-loan program. More than 50 lenders have left the program in recent months, amid a credit crunch that has made it harder for lenders to obtain financing for the loans they make.
“Congress may well wish to revisit the question of whether setting a fixed spread over the commercial-paper rate is the best approach,” Mr. Bernanke wrote, referring to the way the government sets subsidy rates now. “You may decide that a more market-sensitive approach — flexible enough to provide a wider spread during times of market stress and a narrower one during normal times — could provide a more robust structure.”
Congress and the Bush administration have taken steps in recent days to ensure the availability of loans for students going to college in the fall, but lenders so far have had little luck in persuading Congress to undo the subsidy cuts.
Lenders’ advocates welcomed the Fed chairman’s letter. “Mr. Bernanke clearly recognizes the value of having a strong, stable private-sector-based federal-student-loan program to meeting the borrowing needs of millions of families and expanding access to college,” said Kevin Bruns, executive director of America’s Student Loan Providers, a lobbying group. The importance of the Fed chairman’s letter, he added, “cannot be overstated.” —Kelly Field
Posted on Thursday May 1, 2008 | Permalink |Comments
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Who would have guessed that the legacy of the Bush Administration would be the most significant expansion of direct lending since its inception under President Clinton. That’s funny right there.
— scooter May 2, 10:26 AM #
Isn’t this capitalism—the market—at work? If direct lending plus the remaining private providers can supply the market why offer larger subsidies? Will this set a precedent for the Pentagon or corn farmers?
— johntee May 2, 12:10 PM #
Isn’t this headline wrong? Or at least horribly-sensationalistic for a presumably-serious journalistic publication? Bernanke is basically confirming what any economist would tell you: a bunch of lawyer-legislators sitting in a room in Washington cannot possibly pick the correct interest rate to pay lenders. It should be market driven — which is apparently the worst nightmare of student lenders, even worse than low subsidies; they have been fighting market-driven approaches for decades. They are apparently still trying to delay the parent loan auction scheduled for next award year (July 2009). Lenders would bid how much subsidy they were willing to accept. This is a baby step towards a market-based federal program, and not one that was supported by student lenders. Some will likely use the current subprime and muni bond slumps as an excuse to postpone. The answer to subsidy is not more subsidy; it is different way to subsidy . . .
— Craigie May 3, 08:54 AM #