Archive for the ‘Funding’ Category
So what do you do with $35 billion dollars?
December 31st, 2007
Very interesting article on Harvard’s new accessibility to the middle class. Families making less than $120,000 won’t pay any tuition. The author, Steven Roy Goodman, argues that by providing additional aid, Harvard and others with generous endowments, are hoping to head off legislation by Congress that would mandate schools to spend 5% of it’s endowment as required by other private foundations.
Goodman reports that Harvard claims the tuition initiative could cost it $22 million a year. However, if it heads off the Congressional mandate, the school saves $245 million dollars a year for the endowment.
The real story on Harvard’s generosity - The Boston Globe
Quite a trick. Spend at best a tiny fraction of the endowment, while reducing growing political pressure in Washington and around the country that could potentially cost the university more than 10 times the additional amount of financial aid.
When there are plenty of colleges with endowments of less than $50 million, like Goodman, I can’t help but wonder what Harvard plans on doing with it’s endowment. It’s obvious that it doesn’t need it to educate the vast number of struggling and unprepared students it admits every year (that’s sarcasm, it’s 25th% for the SAT was 1390.)
Maybe it could spend some it’s money on initiatives with high schools that don’t send as many students to the selective schools. It could pay for some college test prep classes that many high school students can’t afford. It could give some high school students stipends that allow them to pursue the all important extracurricular activities instead of working a part time job. Or maybe provide a bridge year of studies for free for students who’s high schools have ill prepared them for college.
Better yet, if money is so important for quality education, Harvard should put the quality of it’s endowment and education to the test. Admit not so spectacular students and see if the Harvard experience can make them even better students. It’s easy to educate someone with a 1400 SAT, how about someone with less than a 1000?
I can’t imagine Harvard going for that one. The entire admissions’ process from the school’s point of view is to admit students that will create the best possible “community” and “education environment” on campus. If that’s the case, then why not provide free undergraduate tuition? I’m sure this would increase the applicant pool and allow Harvard to become even more selective. And as Goodman points, out it just might save its endowment from Congress so that is can be used for…what?
Technorati Tags: Steven Roy Goodman, Harvard, College Endowments, college costs, tuition
Legislative Support for Higher Education
December 28th, 2007
Last spring, the legislature passed a law that restricts public college students in Texas to drop only a maximum of six classes as an undergraduate. The idea was that this will help students graduate faster.
I see it as the perfect example of what passes for legislative support for higher education in Texas.
The author of the law, Rep. Fred Brown, R-College Station, said he doesn’t buy the complaints about logistical nightmares.
Colleges work with transcripts all the time, he said. Plus there’s money at stake. The state pays colleges based on their enrollments. Students who drop classes may forfeit their tuition, but the state doesn’t recoup its dollars.
Mr. Brown said he’s not sure how much money the law will save the state and its colleges, “but the savings has to be huge,” he said.
With unregulated tuition increasing at state schools and overall decreasing financial contributions by the state, the legislature provides the citizens of Texas with a “no drop” law to show it’s support for higher education. Thank you Mr. Brown, for making higher education so much more accessible to the poor and middle class. By the way, do you know exactly how many students had dropped six or more classes before passing this law? Of course not, otherwise you would have been able to tell us how much the state will save.
Just one more example of those responsible for education in Texas being penny wise and pound foolish.
Technorati Tags: Texas Legislature, Higher Education, Funding, Fred Brown, capping dropped classes
