Education Topics In the News !
The purpose of the education page is to provide people with a trustworthy source of information. The topics of discussion will include: changes in standardized exams, education current events, academic curriculum alterations, other countries approaches to education, changes in academic leadership, and changes at universities across the country.
We will also discuss topics that help students overcome the obstacles they encounter as an undergraduate. It’s not always study issues that interfere with undergraduate educational goals. There are a plethora of issues that can prevent individuals from achieving their educational goals.
While I was an undergraduate my father died. My father’s death actually contributed to my success! I’ll share what I experienced and how I had to change in order to graduate, then successfully navigate graduate school!
College Debt Burdens - Solutions!
We are witnessing students drown in student loan debt across the United States. Tuition costs accompanied with fees, books, and electronic study aids seem to increase every semester. There are other reasons that contribute to student debt swelling, however this article will not explore those thoughts. A future article will address the other reasons. The scope of this article is to present a handful of Universities that are breaking the financial chains that suppress everyone form earning an undergraduate degree – finances!
Dartmouth’s Call to Lead campaign began June 23, 2022. Dartmouth announced it is removing all federal and institutional loans from its undergraduate financial awards and replacing them with expanded scholarships grants. Families with annual income of $125,000 or less, possessing typical assets, are offered aid without a required loan component. Dartmouth will expand the program to include families with an annual income more than $125,000 and eliminate the requirement for these families to request loans. To learn more about the Call to Lead program visit: https://calltolead.dartmouth.edu/stories/dartmouth-eliminates-student-loans-undergraduates
Princeton University is pledging to expand an existing program that already pays for student’s tuition whose families earn less than $65,000 a year. Beginning with the fall 2023 semester they will extend the program to families that earn up to $100,000. The aid will also be provided to families earning over the $100,000 threshold up to $300,000, with families paying a reduced tuition based on a variable rate as income increases. The article does mention the money being used for the program comes from their endowment interest earnings. To learn more about Princeton’s tuition plan visit: https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2022/09/08/princeton-student-tuition-financial-aid/
The University of Texas System Board of Regents established The Promise Plus program – a $300 million endowment fund – to help: UT Arlington, UT Dallas, UT El Paso, UT Permian Basin, UT Rio Grande Valley, UT San Antonio, and UT Tyler expand their free tuition programs for lower-income students! This was published in The Texas Tribune February 24, 2022. To learn more about the University of Texas Systems plan visit: https://www.texastribune.org/2022/02/24/ut-system-financial-aid/
We might finally be on the pathway to financially supporting students so they can truly become future leaders without having to worry about figuring out how to pay for their education! Let us focus on helping these young adults remain financially stable during college so they can step into the leadership positions that will benefit our society!
Wishing you all the best!
Jeff
Twenty Two Universities with Tuition Programs
Student loan debt – the drowning of Americans and perhaps the downfall to America!
Our society is driven by the capitalist model, but not everything in our society fits that ideology. As a nation we must be willing to accept that the health of our society requires all citizens to contribute to the country’s well-being! We witness many people volunteer to help citizens recover from natural disasters like hurricane destruction, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes. We witness people volunteer at non-profit institutions that clothe and feed the homeless. We teach high school students to volunteer their time to promote a general well-being for our country!
When it comes to developing young adults to lead this country, we financially undermine their success by consistently supporting the idea that it is okay to financially burden them with college debt, yet we teach them to invest their time into volunteering to help others in need when they themselves are in need. They need us just as much at this juncture in life as they did when they were a few hours old! Our society believes they are 18, and a functional adult! If they want a college education let them pay for it – the American capitalistic mentality at its best! We bail on them when they need us the most! Now they become enslaved to finances for a lifetime – we call that responsible! It’s a shame!
In continuance with the previous article here at 22 more universities that are willing to help students with tuition! By the way, no loan doesn’t mean free! There are other expenses that the family will have to contribute. You can find more information on them at the link below:
National College Readiness 2022
The ACT and SAT college readiness performance data for the nation high school class of 2022 was recently released. The national average composite score for the ACT was 19.8 whereas for the SAT was 1050. Both scores are short of the college readiness standards of 21 and 1060 respectfully. Both the ACT and College Board data illustrate a decrease in performance across the spectrum of data they create. Although we would expect to see decreases in score results due to pandemic interference the composite score data prior to 2020 also pointed to performance decreases. Should we be concerned about it? What is driving the results? What can we do to change it? The Inside Higher Ed article discusses a few topics you may find interesting. It’s not terribly long. If you would like to read it, the link can be found below.
https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/article/2022/10/17/act-and-sat-scores-fall