Parents are increasingly struggling to repay federal loans they’ve taken out to help cover their children’s college costs, according to newly released federal data. The Parent Plus program allows parents to take out essentially uncapped amounts to cover college costs, regardless of the borrower’s income or ability to repay the loan. As the cost of college has risen, the program has become an increasingly critical workaround for families that max out on federal student loans and can’t pay the rest out of pocket. Education Department officials have long said that they simply don’t have figures on how many of the loans were in default. But the agency has finally run some numbers. More...

By Political Calculations. How much has the average cost of attending college at four-year degree-granting institution in the U.S. risen since the 1969-1970 school year?
For an American student who enrolled in a four-year college in the fall of 1969, the average they paid for their tuition, required fees, room and board totaled $754, which when we adjust for inflation be be in terms of constant 2011 U.S. dollars, works out to be the near modern day equivalent of $4,619. But a student enrolling in the same kind of institution in the fall of 2011 for the 2011-2012 school year would pay $13,608. Nearly three times as much. More...

By Scott D. Miller. We live in an age of predictions - of the economy, the environment, technology, medicine, communication, and much more. Higher education is not immune from trends. In fact, predicting trends at colleges and universities is a very hot topic these days.
That's because campus life as we know it is beginning to change radically. The trends heralding that change are already here.
My recent visits to various professional conferences have constituted a preview of what administrators and faculty will soon know as reality. See more...

By Purvi Mody. The last few weeks have been really difficult for many students. Every year we brace ourselves for a more competitive admissions landscape and the notion that the bar is being raised to incomprehensible levels. Coupled with these changes is the fact that students and parents alike are misinformed about the process. A student recently asked me, "Did the Ivies get a lot harder to get into this year?" Another family tried to create algorithms about where their son would have been admitted and was surprised when the actual results varied from the expected results. Others questioned every piece of their application and wondered which one element kept them out. The truth is that college admissions is more of an art than a science, and the real dirty little secret is that it is not as much of a meritocracy as we would like to believe it to be. That is also real life. More...

By Robert J. Cabin. There is much hand-wringing these days about how higher education is broken and in dire need of reform. At one end of the spectrum, grossly underpaid and overworked adjuncts and graduate students teach an ever-increasing proportion of our students. Meanwhile, at the other end of the spectrum, overpaid and underworked professors spend their time denigrating each other's arcane research and sub-sub-disciplines. Adding insult to injury, despite higher education's often obscene price tag, an embarrassingly high percentage of our graduates apparently still can't think, write, speak, work with others, do anything practical or get a job. For instance, a recent Gallop survey found that only 11 percent of business leaders and 14 percent of the broader population "strongly agree" that our graduates are well prepared for employment. More...

By Tanya Roscorla. A former White House appointee calls for technology collaboration between government, higher education and the community at large. This century, we face a much larger challenge than bringing 100 gigabyte connectivity to college campuses. We have to figure out how to feed 9 billion people and decrease poverty. Government, higher education and citizens must all come to the table and work together to solve this problem with the help of technology, said Chris Vein, chief innovation officer for global information and communications technology at the World Bank. More...

By Valerie J. Calderon and Susan Sorenson. Traditional universities and community colleges have edge on quality. Americans' trust in the quality of online colleges and universities is steadily rising. More U.S. adults, 37%, now agree or strongly agree that these institutions offer high-quality education than did so in 2011 (30%) when Gallup first asked this question. Roughly one in four (27%) disagree or strongly disagree. More...

By Brad Lager. Missouri’s post-secondary education system plays a critical role in our state’s economy. The degrees, courses, and programs offered throughout Missouri’s universities, colleges and technical schools enhance our workforce, bolster economic development, and allow us to compete in an ever-changing world. Therefore, as we look to the future, it is imperative that we have a top tier post-secondary education system in Missouri that is affordable and effective for our citizens. See more...