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New numbers about college costs and student debt provide a sobering reminder of the importance of planning for college and informing students about the realities of those costs. The numbers also provide a caution for college leaders to redouble efforts to hold down costs. The average student debt of a graduating college senior in 2008 was $23,450, the Institute for College Access & Success says in a new report that looks at public and private nonprofit four-year institutions. By 2012 the average debt load for new grads had climbed to $29,400. More...

By Chris Kirkham. Eric Parms enrolled at an Everest College campus in the suburbs of Atlanta in large part because recruiters promised he would have little trouble securing a job.
He'd seen the for-profit school's television commercials touting its sterling rates of job placement, and he'd heard the pledges of admissions staff who assured him that the campus career services office would help him find work in his field.
But after completing a nine-month program in heating and air conditioning repair in the summer of 2011 -- graduating with straight As and $17,000 in student debt -- Parms began to doubt the veracity of the pitch. Career services set him up with a temporary contract position laying electrical wires. After less than two months, he and several other Everest graduates also working on the job were laid off and denied further help finding work, he says. More...

By Aimee Hosler. The topic of unions is often deeply politicized in the United States, though many people likely agree that their purpose is to advocate for workers in employer negotiations. A newly minted union agreement between a college and its graduate students -- not paid employees -- might force us to reconsider that definition.
New York University graduate assistants voted overwhelmingly to join the United Automobile Workers last week, reports The New York Times, making it the only graduate assistants' union in the country to be recognized by a private university. Contract negotiations for the new U.A.W. affiliate -- which will include about 1,247 graduate students from NYU and its Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn -- are expected to begin within the next few weeks. Matt Canfield, a fifth-year anthropology doctoral student, told The New York Times that he believes the move could press the school to improve health coverage for students, who saw a large jump in premiums last year. See more...

By Susan Snyder. As higher education comes under increased pressure to prove its worth, two local college presidents argue in a new book that the liberal arts play a vital role in educating the world's leaders and problem-solvers. 
While many colleges are aimed at preparing students for a profession or career, liberal arts colleges develop critical thinkers who are able to cross disciplines, said Daniel H. Weiss, president of Haverford College, one of the nation's most highly selective and expensive small liberal arts colleges. More...

By Karen Weise. With tuition on the rise and student debt now totaling more than $1.2 trillion, it’s no wonder students are increasingly questioning the value of college. Presidents of small schools are claiming a liberal arts degree is vital, and the federal government is trying to figure out how to determine which schools are worthy of its funding. There’s been greater focus on measuring what alumni earn after graduation, and now, Gallup’s getting into the act, saying the value is about more than money. More...

By PhoePetitebe Maltz Bovy. Many institutions claim to evaluate applicants based on who they are as people rather than simply looking at test scores and grades—an approach that incites anxiety in students and parents alike. College applicants these days take the admissions process so personally. Not because today’s youth can’t face disappointment, but because the system for applying to selective colleges in the United States asks students to view the process as, well, personal. This begins when students decide where to apply. As an applicant, you’re urged to find the school that’s most in line with your “personality.” Then comes the college admissions essay. Even students not the least bit inclined to confessional writing are asked to spill to strangers (and to parents who may be reading the thing over). You’re invited to show your truest self by sharing a story you might normally reserve for close friends. More...