By Laura Tucker. Despite approximately 57% of undergraduates having received some sort of federal aid to attend university in 2012, 10% up compared to four years ago, the issue of access to higher education for low-income students in the US remains a hot topic.
President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are prioritizing the affordability of and access to higher education and, with a vision of more and more low-income students enrolling in – and graduating from – US colleges. More...

By Sara Ganim. The University of North Carolina failed some of its students "for years" by allowing them to take classes that did not match its own academic standards, Chancellor Carol Folt has admitted.
The concession -- the strongest since UNC-Chapel Hill was caught up in a fake-class scandal two years ago -- comes just weeks after a CNN investigation found continuing problems at UNC and other public universities where some student-athletes could read only at an elementary school level. More...

By David Halperin. In tomorrow's State of the Union address, President Obama will likely revisit his plans to hold America's colleges and universities more accountable for helping U.S. students train for real careers.  But while a stalemated Congress still blocks progress in many areas, a bipartisan group of state attorneys general just took a major step to help college students, especially veterans, single parents, and others struggling to support their families.
The house of cards built by the worst-performing higher education sector -- predatory for-profit colleges -- may at last be in peril of collapsing.  In the past few days, four of the biggest for-profit college companies -- Career Education Corp., Corinthian Colleges, Education Management Corp., and ITT Tech -- all filed disclosures with the Securities and Exchange Commission saying they were now under investigation by state attorneys generas. More...

By Linda Borg. House Speaker Gordon D. Fox and House Health, Education and Welfare Committee Chairman Joseph M. McNamara have introduced legislation to create a pilot program that would allow students to replace tuition with a plan that allows them to pay a percentage of their income upon graduation.
The "Pay It Forward, Pay It Back" bill (H7201) is based on a similar program in Oregon, and is meant to provide a more affordable higher education option while steering students toward the fields where local employers need more skilled employees.
"This is a bold, innovative idea that would address two of our state's major challenges -- the rapid rise of college costs and the skills gap -- at once..." said Fox, D-Providence.
The legislation directs the Department of Education to create a three-year pilot program at one or more of the state's colleges by June 20, 2015. Instead of paying tuition and fees, students in the program would sign a contract to pay a percentage of their gross income to the state or their college or university after graduation for a specified number of years. The program would be available only to Rhode Island residents, and students would be required to graduate on time in order to remain eligible. More...

Advancement professionals at colleges, universities and schools worldwide met the opportunities and challenges of fiscal year 2013 with an entrepreneurial spirit, a strong emphasis on teamwork and a growing sophistication in the use of mobile and Internet technology.
Alumni relations professionals forged partnerships across their campuses with advancement peers, especially with fundraising offices, and turned to data and analytics to illustrate the importance of their work. They also explored new ways to connect with alumni and develop programs that would strengthen institutional connections.
Communications and marketing professionals recognized the power of online communities, expanded their use of the full range of social media and focused efforts on website content strategy, video production and online advertising, adding new methods to their interactions with constituents. They also made progress in building a greater recognition of their institutional role and contributions to the financial health of their institutions. More...

By Jason Song. The president and first lady are joined at a White House summit by others who have made commitments to help increase college accessibility for low-income students. California schools are well represented. More than 100 colleges and universities, including several in California, promised Thursday to try to attract more low-income students by strengthening relationships with high schools and community colleges, increasing access to advisors and offering more remedial programs. More...