"To give away money is an easy matter ... and in any man's power. But to decide to whom to give it, and how large and when, for what purpose and how, is neither in every man's power nor an easy matter". – Aristotle
Aristotle's musings on "giving away money" can surely be related to public funding. Public purse strings are becoming ever tighter and questions are constantly being asked about the amount of public spending, as well as its purposes. More...

By Bruce Horovitz. Starbucks is expanding its college tuition reimbursement program for workers. The coffee chain will now cover the entire cost of an online undergraduate degree.
Starbucks soon may find itself almost as famous for college diplomas as it is for java. The coffee giant late Monday announced it was doubling its free college tuition plan for employees to cover a full four years of college instead of two. It also will offer employees faster tuition reimbursement — after every semester instead of after completing 21 class credits. More...

By Anne West, Jonathan Roberts, Jane Lewis & Philip Noden. Responsibility for meeting the costs of higher education in England has moved inexorably away from the government toward the family with the introduction of tuition fee and maintenance loans. Although an important public policy issue, there is limited research on how the policy impinges on the private sphere of the family. This paper focuses on financial support given by parents, including difficulties and constraints along with their perspectives of and responses to student loan debt, and students’ views of their financial independence. In-depth interviews with 28 parent–student dyads revealed different patterns of support. Some parents, contrary to policy assumptions, felt responsibility for their children’s student loan debt and acted to avoid, minimise or cushion the debt. There was evidence of financial stress for less affluent families. However, students with no parental support and high levels of government funding felt financially independent. The findings suggest that more affluent families were able to protect their children from student loan debt in different ways, whilst those with lower incomes were not able to do so, apparently creating a new form of inequality.
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By Peter Halligan. The recent HEPI report supporting the right of Welsh-domiciled students to take their student fee grant when studying elsewhere in the UK raises important issues about student choice across the four UK devolved nations. But perhaps none more than in Wales. More...