Addresses some of the key issues likely to dominate U.S. and Australian higher education during the first decade of the 21st century, such as costs to students, technology and instructional delivery, and faculty roles and rewards. (EV)

This article analyzes "skyrocketing" student debt levels, discussing debt burden, borrowing trends among student subpopulations, and why debt is increasing. It asserts that to reverse these trends, particularly among low-income and minority families, Congress must increase grant aid, lower the cost of borrowing to students, and make repayment less…

Most private colleges are slowing down their tuition increases for fall 1995 to 4-5%. Most public colleges have not yet set tuition. In some cases, student financial aid is being apportioned less generously to raise the student self-help level. Most tuition increases reflect cost of institutional investments in technology. (MSE)

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will not ask the Supreme Court to review a lower court's decision to exempt the Michigan Education Trust from federal income taxes. The state college tuition prepayment plan was discontinued in 1991 due to legal challenges but promised to honor its commitments to 55,000 participants. The program may now be…

Summarizes the federal treasury regulation governing the deductibility of educational expenses and outlines why it is disadvantageous to student taxpayers. Proposes that Congress permit the accelerated amortization of qualified educational costs over a five-year horizon. (155 references) (MLF)

A survey of United States colleges and universities that enroll the largest numbers of students from Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, and Thailand, which have experienced currency devaluations and economic uncertainty, found a less than 10% drop in those enrollments, a much lower rate than anticipated. Institutions have taken steps to ease the…

Reviews issues surrounding college tuition discounting, and outlines sources of confusion, defines various discount types, provides historical background prior to recent changes in fund accounting rules, describes the new rules' impact, outlines different uses of tuition discounting by three groups, and applies the accumulated definitions to an…

With women undergraduates now outnumbering men, there are now more women than men borrowing for college. A study used three national data sets to examine differences in borrowing between male and female undergraduates. While some differences both in borrowing patterns and behaviors were found, men and women were found to be borrowing similar…

Explains how changes in government policies have caused college students to seek alternative ways to finance college. Explores strategies used by students to pay for college, and the impact work has on their success. Looks at some alternative ways to pay for college, such as employee supported educational programs, savings incentives, and the…

Although the default rate on federally insured student loans is declining, the amount of student borrowing has almost tripled since 1990. Borrowers may be finding loans more burdensome, as nearly one-third are unsubsidized and amounts borrowed are steadily increasing. Also, the General Accounting Office has discovered serious program management…

Analyzed data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) to examine the awarding of institutional need-based versus non-need-based grants to undergraduate students. Determined: (1) how use of these grants has changed; (2) socioeconomic characteristics of student recipients; and (3) how institutional and student characteristics help…

Examined the choices Scottish undergraduate students make in relation to work, debt, and economizing. Found that even when parents are generous, most students seek an additional source of income to increase spending autonomy; for a financially vulnerable group whose parents are unable to offer much financial support, college is characterized by…

The fourth Nellie Mae survey of student loan borrowers in repayment reveals that education debt burdens remain manageable for most borrowers. A clear majority of those in repayment report that the benefits of the educational opportunities made possible through borrowing are well worth any problems associated with paying off the loans. There are,…

As a faculty member/administrator at a community college for more than 40 years, the author has seen first hand the role that education can play in transforming lives. He also can see that low tuition, the main pillar of their policy of open access, is giving way in the face of declining state and local support. This certainly is a form of…

Recent headlines about spiraling college prices combined with congressional proposals to penalize colleges and universities that increase their tuitions much faster than the rate of inflation could lead one to conclude that America faces an unprecedented crisis in college affordability. Closer examination of what students actually pay for college,…