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Are for-profit colleges worth the cost? Students and employers seem ambivalent, according to survey data. Current and former for-profit students are satisfied with the quality of their schools. But they also consider the financial burden of these schools high, and alumni in particular aren't certain their degree was worth it. Many employers perceive no differences between for-profit and public sector institutions, and some are actually unfamiliar with for-profit schools. Among those who do see a difference, most say community colleges and four-year public universities do a better job than for-profits at preparing students for the workplace. See more...

By Hunter Riley. Public discussions about sexuality pop up on college campuses on a regular basis, and not immune from this phenomenon is our own Santa Fe University of Art and Design, where in January a spate of clitoris-themed graffiti led to uproar from school officials.
Artist Sophia Wallace had recently visited the campus with her artwork called “Cliteracy, 100 Natural Laws.” The work, according to Wallace’s website, was intended to explore a paradox she defines as “the global obsession with sexualizing female bodies in a world that is illiterate when it comes to female sexuality. Cliteracy is a new way of talking about citizenship, sexuality, human rights and bodies.”
Yet when someone (or several someones) painted graffiti at residence halls, hallways and doors with depictions of female anatomy and the words “solid gold clit” or the abbreviation SGC, school officials wanted to impose consequences. They posted a notice that a $250 fine would be imposed on every student living on campus. More...

By Dennis Wyatt. America is about to get another harsh lesson in easy money.
And you can credit it once again to Uncle Sam’s meddling with longstanding lending rules.
Remember how political pressure from Congress and the White House to make it easier for more Americans to buy homes triggered the Great Rescission that we are still trying to shake off?
Not only did federal edicts to relax lending standards put marginal buyers into homes that a good number lacked the discipline or the income to manage the monthly mortgage payments but it also encouraged others with healthier income to gobble up more house than their wallet could handle. It also opened the floodgates for people to use mortgages on their homes to leverage all sorts of purchases ranging from new cars to expensive vacations to day-to-day expenses. More...

By John F. Anderson and Lindsey Wilkerson. Harvard University’s “Pathways to Prosperity” study found persons with a post-high school education will earn $1 million more over their lifetime than those with a high school diploma.
The same study found educated citizens are less likely to be incarcerated, less dependent on government services, have lower mortality rates and are more likely to vote. A higher education degree is a proven road to a better, more productive life and a gateway to a secure, middle class income.
In 2014, the University of Louisiana at Monroe must work with $16.4 million less than it did in 2008. Mandated but unfunded costs previously paid by the state have risen 70 percent. More...

Utah lawmakers have a rare opportunity this year to provide some of the state’s fastest growing institutions of higher learning with the money they need to catch up with the demands of what, in some cases, is an overwhelming rate of growth.
It’s a rare opportunity because the presidents of all universities and colleges in the state have agreed to a formula that would provide this equity — even though the University of Utah, Snow College, Utah State and Southern Utah University would receive none of the roughly $69 million the Utah System of Higher Education is asking for in order to put all schools on an equal level with funding at about $4,800 for each full-time student. More...

Like most states, Rhode Island is doing poorly at ensuring that college students complete their degrees. Primarily at issue are the nation’s state schools, from which only 32 percent of fulltime students graduate in four years. Private colleges and universities do much better, with about half finishing in the same time span.
Last year, the four-year graduation rate at the University of Rhode Island was 44 percent, nearly the lowest of any state university in New England. As reported by Journal staff writer Lynn Arditi, only the University of Maine fared worse, at 33 percent. The numbers are even bleaker at Rhode Island College, predominantly a commuter school, where the rate fell to a dismal 13 percent last spring. More...

By Watson Scott Swail. Eight years ago I wrote a piece for EPI’s Student Success Magazine titled “Seven Guiding Questions for Student Retention.” That seems ions ago, but people still come up to me and comment on that particular writing sample of mine. I came across it the other day and found that, for better or worse, the same rules apply today as they did in 2006. Not a surprise, but perhaps an indication that our work is so very difficult.
I’m not one to regurgitate old work (I’d be an academic if that was the case), but I think this one is ready for a fresh read. More...

By Liz Willen. In the midst of a passionate discussion about the future of higher education here on Tuesday, one young man stood up and wanted to know if the goal of higher education is to make people productive – or to make them happy.
It was an unexpected query for a panel entitled: “Can the liberal arts survive in an age of innovation,’’ and just one of the many dozens of discussions that have been taking place this week at SXSW.edu, a packed and often frantic festival of ideas, technology, workshops and networking. More...

By Mary Johnson. Over the next month or so, letters of acceptance will be in the mailboxes and inboxes of millions of anxious college-bound seniors and returning adults across the country, which means decision making is in full swing from now until May 1st.
The U.S. Department of Education is currently pondering the creation of a new Postsecondary Institutional Ratings System (known as PIRS) to help Americans make smart choices about their college selection. PIRS is slated to use institutional and outcomes data like graduation rates and student profiles. Today, students and families can make their own assessments of the financial and career right "fit" for them using concrete and practical data points readily available. More...

By Koran Addo. Three of the state’s most high-profile academic voices offered biting criticism Friday, denouncing an attitude of indifference toward higher education they see from Louisiana’s citizens, business leaders and lawmakers.
Much of the hand-wringing in Louisiana’s higher education community these days stems from the $700 million Gov. Bobby Jindal and the Legislature have stripped from the state’s colleges and universities since 2008.
The budget cuts are at the root of what faculty describe as a wide array of dismal conditions on college campuses, from crumbling infrastructure and low employee morale, to program cutbacks, staff turnover and ballooning student-faculty ratios. More...