Comments on: Colleges May Praise Themselves for Limiting Tuition Hikes, but Don’t Buy It

By: Mark Sklarow

Mark Sklarow — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 15:16:25 +0000

Jane, I agree that the final bill on college loans was less than ideal… but it stopped the Pell Grant system from becoming insolvent and infused it with billions of additional dollars. The increases can be revisited and if federal deficits come down there is widespread agreement that additional funding to Pell Grants is desirable.

By: Stephanie Klein Wassink

Stephanie Klein Wassink — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 10:21:02 +0000

Thanks for this post! Using the price of food, as well as the CPI, makes it crystal clear.

By: Luisa Rabe

Luisa Rabe — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 15:49:51 +0000

Mark, Great post. Enough already with the back pats. Pulling apart the numbers by type of institution is even more alarming. According to our colleagues at the College Board, those attending public four year institutions just saw their tuition fees skyrocket 6.4% and those attending two year public colleges are seeing 7.4% spikes. Room and board on those campuses is, of course, also increasing. Every institution has issues with capital improvements, deferred maintenance, faculty and staff salaries, and student services. Now is the time for us to invest in education especially at the state and federal level. Students need training, skills, expertise – all of which are at the crux of their college and/or post high school educations – so that they can lead productive and satisfying lives. I’m looking forward to Toronto when we’ll have a chance to talk through solutions for our families and our country.

By: Jane Klemmer

Jane Klemmer — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:42:41 +0000

Mark, your comments about tuition increases far exceeding the rate of inflation further underscore a major problem with the recently passed student aid reform. The annual increase in Pell grants, which by the way does not start for another two years, was reduced from CPI + 1% to CPI flat in the final version of the bill. The maximum grant is expected to reach 5,900 by 2019-2020 which means that students with the greatest need will continue to lose ground with respect to college affordability.

By: Lynn Luckenbach

Lynn Luckenbach — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 15:34:45 +0000

Wow, Mark! Your comments are very intersting! Lynn Luckenbach