Don't Panic ... Yet

By Kevin Kiley. College administrators are justifiably worried about whether they're going to be able to balance their budgets in a changing economic landscape, and a survey released by Sallie Mae last month didn't do much to put them at ease.
The report’s headline finding is that spending on colleges -- a number that includes parent and student income and savings, federal and private loans, grants and scholarships, and money from friends and relatives -- by traditional-aged students and their families dropped over the past two years, a 13 percent decrease between 2009-10 and 2011-12. More...