Three interrelated factors have combined to produce what is rapidly becoming a crisis in access to higher education. In the first place, the cost of higher education has risen steadily as a percentage of family income only for low-income families, but middle-income affordability and merit have begun to displace access as the focus of policymakers…

This document summarizes recommendations contained in five recent reports on California higher education and is directed to policymakers involved in higher education planning. The five reports were intended to raise public awareness of the major challenges facing higher education in California and to provide policymakers and others with various…

The U.S. Department of Education Student Financial Assistance (SFA) outlines its three major objectives for fiscal year 2000 in its progress report. The objectives are: 1)customer satisfaction; 2) reduction in the overall cost of delivering student aid; and 3) employee satisfaction. Several new capabilities were added to the Direct Loan servicing…

Notes that President Clinton's final budget provides $94 billion of tax relief for American families. Discusses the education tax credit, including the Hope Scholarship and Pell Grant awards; children's health insurance coverage, aimed primarily at low-income children; the child tax credit, aimed at working families; and the capital gains tax cut,…

The Massachusetts college tuition prepayment program has been praised by many as helping families pay for college, but a few elite institutions have not joined, saying the program does not fit their financial aid policies and philosophies. Supporters feel the program could be even stronger if they joined. The plan differs from most state plans by…

Parents are covering less of their children's college costs than ever before, according to a recent study. On average, parents contributed 55% in 1997-98, down from 69% in 1986-87; during the same period, college costs increased 38%. Reasons include decreased family savings, higher consumer debt, incomes not keeping up with inflation, and…

Examines the financial situation of college students in the United Kingdom during the last years of the old higher education system. Examination included income levels and sources, and the total teaching cost per student and per graduate. The implications of this data within the new, developing system of higher education funding are discussed.…

Reports on a $1 billion dollar grant from Bill and Melinda Gates to send 20,000 low-income minority students to college. The Gates Millenium Scholars Program will require students to demonstrate financial need and maintain a 3.0 grade point average in college. A list of the largest private gifts to higher education since 1967 is also provided. (DB)

Discusses how, as more countries have instituted or increased tuition, student loans have spread. But the programs are a flop in much of the world, raising fears that many low-income people will be shut out of higher education. (EV)

This first edition of Key Data on Higher Education in Europe consists of 70 indicators offering both qualitative and quantitative information and data on 31 European countries. Key Data on Higher Education in Europe is intended to provide a very wide audience with information on many aspects of higher education systems. Its aim is to highlight…

For all of the attention rising college costs continue to receive, it is striking how poorly informed many decision makers are when it comes to setting tuition and fees. And it's equally astounding that so many institutions are learning the consequences of pricing decisions undertaken solely by trial and error when a wrong judgment can affect…

The Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) survey of California Latino youth perceptions of college financial aid reveals: (1) Ninety-eight percent of respondents felt it was important to have a college education; (2) Thirty-eight percent of respondents did not feel the benefits of college outweigh the costs; (3) Not being able to work and incurring…

Some education officials with expertise in American Indian scholarship programs say a lack of available money and information continue to limit American Indian enrollment in higher education. Pamela Silas, director of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, says they help more than 100 students a…

This booklet contains suggestions to assist Alaskans interested in postsecondary education through the process of selecting a school, a program, and a financial plan. The document proposes as a first step that potential students research fields in which they are interested, talk to people in the field, confer with high school and college…

This booklet provides information about the state of Mississippi's Prepaid Affordable College Tuition Program. The state-guaranteed program creates tax-exempt monthly or lump-sum prepayment plans that cover tuition and all mandatory fees at state-supported colleges or universities, are portable to private and out-of-state schools, and can be…