Weekly Roundup

Higher Ed Roundup: Week of May 5 - May 9

Ed Policy — Thu, 08 May 2008 17:44:00 -0400

White House, Fed Move on Student Loans

Lawmakers Mobilize to Boost G.I. Education Benefits

Education Department Puts Off Review of ABA as Law School Accreditor

Coalition Offers Help to Schools Considering Switch to Direct Lending

White House, Fed Move on Student Loans

President Bush signed a bill into law on Wednesday that aims to increase federal loan options for students and ease the effects of the credit crunch for lenders that participate in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. The measure will increase the annual and aggregate federal unsubsidized Stafford loan limits, allow parents to defer payments on PLUS loans while their children are in school, and establish the Department of Education as a "secondary lender of last resort" with the power to purchase outstanding FFEL loans and service them through the Direct Loan program. On Friday, the Federal Reserve announced that it would provide further help to lenders by allowing them to swap student loan backed securities for Treasury bills through its 28-day term lending facility. The move was designed to inject liquidity into the student loan market. Some loan companies, however, remain unsatisfied and continue to push for an even bigger bailout.

Lawmakers Mobilize to Boost G.I. Education Benefits

Congress is set to debate two competing G.I. bills that would increase education benefits for service members returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. The first bill, S.22, sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), would cover up to the full cost of attendance at the most expensive public college in a veteran's home state for those who served in the military after Sept. 11, 2001. Under the measure, tuition and fees would be paid directly to colleges, averaging about $1,700 a month per veteran, up from the current $1,101. The bill, which may be inserted into the $108 billion emergency Iraq War funding bill to ensure a quick vote, has received bipartisan support. The Bush Administration, however, opposes the bill, saying it would be too costly and difficult to administer, because maximum benefit awards would have to be calculated on a state-by-state basis. Administration officials also fear that the legislation would harm the country's all-volunteer force by enticing soldiers to leave the military to pursue their studies. Instead, they have thrown their support behind S. 2938, sponsored by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), which would continue the tradition of paying a fixed award directly to veterans, set at $1,500 a month. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, is backing that bill.

Education Department Puts Off Review of ABA as Law School Accreditor

The Department of Education has decided to delay its review of the American Bar Association's status as an accreditor of law schools for six months, so it can take more time to investigate allegations that the association has overstepped its authority by requiring its members to demonstrate that they are taking "concrete action" to diversify their student bodies and faculties. Over the past decade, the ABA has withstood much criticism that its standards are poorly monitored and unrelated to law school quality. But the accreditor has come under intense fire from conservative groups since 2006 when it began requiring schools to meet its "Equal Opportunity and Diversity" standard. These organizations contend that the ABA is requiring law schools to employ racial preferences that are unlawful in some states. The upcoming review, which will now take place in December, could result in the ABA losing its status as the nation's sole accreditor of law schools.

Coalition Offers Help to Schools Considering Switch to Direct Lending

The National Direct Student Loan Coalition has announced that it will step up its efforts to assist colleges considering switching into the Direct Loan program. The announcement comes on the heels of a recent survey that showed as many as 20 percent of colleges, citing instability in the student loan market as a result of the credit crunch, were thinking about transitioning from the Federal Family Education Loan program to Direct Lending. Among other things, the coalition is starting a mentor program in which officials from Direct Loan schools will help provide technical and operational advice to colleagues considering making the move. In addition, the coalition is co-hosting an online event with the National Association of College and University Business Officers on May 20 "to provide an overview of campus operations under the Direct Loan program, the steps involved in switching, and address the many questions being raised" by college officials contemplating the switch. [If interested, register for the event here]

Higher Ed Roundup: Week of April 28 - May 2

Ed Policy — Fri, 02 May 2008 21:49:00 -0400

Student Loan Credit Crunch Bill Sent to President

One in Five Colleges Considering Switch to Direct Lending

Tuition On the Rise, but Spending for Instruction is Not

Report Calls for Revised Pell Grant Formula

Student Loan Credit Crunch Bill Sent to President

The U.S. House of Representatives moved quickly on Thursday to give final approval to H.R. 5715, which would increase the annual and aggregate federal unsubsidized Stafford loan limits, allow parents to defer payments on PLUS loans while their children are in school, and establish the Department of Education as a "secondary lender of last resort" (one of our ideas) with the power to purchase outstanding FFEL loans and service them through the Direct Loan program. Congress put the legislation on the fast track after President Bush used his weekly radio address to highlight the need for quick action to address tight liquidity for student loan providers. The final measure includes amendments that the Senate added to the bill before approving it on Wednesday. Among other things, the bill will now sunset the Education Secretary's authority to designate entire colleges for the "lender of last resort program" at the end of the 2008-09 academic year and direct all savings derived from the legislation to increase funding for the Academic Competitiveness and SMART grant programs. The President is expected to sign the bill shortly.

One in Five Colleges Considering Switch to Direct Lending

Citing instability in the student loan market, 19 percent of colleges surveyed last week by Student Lending Analytics say that they are considering switching from the Federal Family Education Loan program to the Direct Loan program, in which the Department of Education provides loans directly to students through their college. Nearly six percent of institutions surveyed have already made the switch. So far, the largest institutions to make the move have been Indiana University at Bloomington, Michigan State, Northeastern, and Pennsylvania State Universities. Those expressing the most interest in switching programs, however, are community colleges (about 7 percent are planning to make the switch, and another 29 percent are considering doing so) and for-profit trade schools (14 percent are planning to make the switch, and another 43 percent are considering doing so.) These results are hardly surprising as several banks in recent weeks have said they plan to be more selective in making federal loans to financially-needy students attending these types of institutions.

Tuition On the Rise, but Spending for Instruction is Not

Annual tuition hikes are becoming a fact of life at pubic and private colleges around the country, but little of that additional money is going towards student instruction. A new report from The Delta Cost Project, "A Growing Imbalance: Recent Trends in U.S. Postsecondary Education Finance," finds that the percentage of institution revenue dedicated to faculty salaries and other instructional costs at private colleges increased by just 1 percent between 1998 and 2005, down from a 2.2 percent increase between 1987 and 1996. In particular, tuition revenue at public colleges, though on the rise, often did not translate into increased spending because it was used to offset decreases in state appropriations. Since 1998, student tuition has covered a larger percentage of the costs of a student education, up from 37 percent to 47 percent at public schools and up to 31 percent from 24 percent at private institutions.

Report Calls for Revised Pell Grant Formula

Planned increases to the maximum Pell Grant award are important for helping low-income students, but a new report argues that additional modifications should be made to the program to ensure that funds are better targeted to the poorest individuals. "Window of Opportunity: Targeting Federal Grant Aid to Students with the Lowest Incomes," released Monday by the Institute for Higher Education Policy, argues for changes in the Pell Grant award formula, which is determined by taking the difference between the maximum award and the student's expected family contribution (EFC). The report recommends that students be allowed to have a negative EFC of up to $750 (the current minimum is zero), in turn allowing the poorest students to receive a Pell Grant award of up to $750 beyond the maximum limit. The report also recommends increasing both the minimum and maximum Pell Grant awards.

Higher Ed Roundup: Week of April 21 - April 25

Ed Policy — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 22:33:00 -0400

No Federal Borrowing for Lenders, Administration Says

Elite Colleges Enrolling Fewer Low-Income Students

Substantial Black-White Graduation Gaps in College Too

Iowa Law To Rein in Questionable Lending Activity

No Federal Borrowing for Lenders, Administration Says

The Bush administration disappointed the student loan industry on Wednesday when it rejected a plan that would have allowed lenders to borrow funds directly from the U.S. Treasury to make new student loans. The proposal, put forward by the student loan giant Sallie Mae among others, would have allowed lenders to gain access to desired liquidity by borrowing funds from the Federal Financing Bank (FFB), an arm of the Treasury, at a subsidized rate. However, In a letter to Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-CT), who had backed the plan, the Secretaries of Education and the Treasury and the Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget wrote that "after a thorough analysis, it is clear that the FFB does not have the authority under the Federal Credit Reform Act to purchase, or otherwise participate in, loans to non-Federal borrowers in these circumstances." Instead, the letter said the administration would be supporting policies already contained in legislation passed last week by the House of Representatives, including one that would allow the Department of Education to purchase outstanding loans from lenders.

Elite Colleges Enrolling Fewer Low-Income Students

The proportion of low-income students enrolled at the nation's most elite colleges has declined in recent years, according to an analysis published yesterday in The Chronicle of Higher Education. On average, only 13.1 percent of the students at the nation's 75 wealthiest colleges received Pell Grants in 2006-07, down from 14.3 percent two years prior. While most schools lost ground in enrolling students with Pell Grants in this period, some made significant gains, including Amherst College and the University of Texas - Austin. Princeton University reported that enrollment of low income students increased from 6.9 percent in 2001, when the school decided to replace its loans with grants, to 10 percent in the current academic year. Many of the nation's elite colleges, which announced similiar financial aid plans this year for low-income students, hope for similiar improvement in socio-economic diversity.

Substantial Black-White Graduation Gaps in College Too

Low high-school graduation rates, especially among minority students, have garnered significant attention in the press, but the rates at which minority students are graduating from college are just as sobering, according to a new report from Education Sector's Kevin Carey. Less than half of black students who enroll at a four-year institution graduate in six years. At many schools, black students graduate at a rate 20 percentage points lower than their white peers. Graduation rates at the nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities, though varied, average about 38 percent. The report points to some successful models to improve minority retention, and recommends that state accountability officers, college accreditors, and the U.S News & World Report's annual college rankings pay greater attention to these gaps in the hopes of narrowing them.

Iowa Law To Rein in Questionable Lending Activity

State lawmakers in Iowa have agreed on compromise legislation that would prohibit colleges in the state from accepting gifts from student loan providers and from entering into revenue sharing agreements with them. In addition, the bill, which is similar to a law passed last year in the State of New York, would require lenders to provide more information to students at Iowa colleges about the range of interest rates charged on private loan products. The legislation comes as the state's attorney general nears completion of an investigation he has been conducting into well-publicized allegations that the Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation, the state affiliated lender, pushed students into taking on high-cost private loans and paid kickbacks to colleges, including $500,000 in reimbursement payments to Iowa State University. The problem of student debt is especially acute in Iowa, where 74 percent of students graduate with debt over $24,000, while more than half of students nationwide have less than $19,000 in debt. The bill is expected to pass, and lawmakers may add more regulations in October, when the AG is expected to submit the findings from his investigation.

Higher Ed Roundup: Week of April 14 - April 18

Ed Policy — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:56:00 -0400

House Passes Bill to Ease Credit Crunch Impact on Student Loans, Others in the Works

No Crisis Here, Says American Council on Education

Dems Introduce Legislation to Allow Private College TA Unions

House Passes Bill to Ease Credit Crunch Impact on Student Loans, Others in the Works

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation on Thursday designed to increase federal loan options for students and ease the effects of the credit crunch for lenders that participate in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. The bill, which passed by a vote of 383 to 27, would increase the annual and aggregate federal unsubsidized Stafford loan limits, allow parents to defer payments on PLUS loans while their children are in school, and establish the Department of Education as a "secondary lender of last resort" with the power to purchase outstanding FFEL loans and service them through the Direct Loan program. The House also approved several amendments to the bill, including one that would require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a study to determine whether the loan limit increase causes colleges to raise their prices. The study would also look into whether increase the limit on federal loans has the desired effect of leading colleges to reduce their students' use of high cost private loans.

In a Statement of Administration Policy, the White House expressed general support for the legislation, but shared concerns with for-profit colleges that increasing federal loan limits may push the trade schools' dependence on federal funds beyond the 90 percent limit required in order to participate in the federal student-aid program.

Meanwhile last week, Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) introduced legislation to use the Federal Home Loan Bank System to boost liquidity in the student loan market. The Emergency Student Loan Liquidity Market Act, is a companion bill to legislation that was introduced two days earlier in the House by Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA). It would allow the Federal Home Loan Banks to use surplus funds to invest in student loans, use student loans and related securities as collateral, and advance funds to member banks to originate student loans.

No Crisis Here, Says American Council on Education

There may be cries of panic from some in Congress and the student loan industry, but the one of the leading lobby groups for higher education reports no evidence of a "student loan crisis." Terry Hartle, senior vice president of the American Council on Education (ACE), reported to the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions on Thursday that the organization has not heard complaints so far. He added that the group will continue monitoring the situation. The council briefed staff working for the Senate panel's chairman, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), two days after the Senator sent a letter to the ACE, urging its member institutions to sign up for the Direct Loan Program, even if they have no intention of using it. [Disclosure: the Editor of Higher Ed Watch used to work for Kennedy.]

Meanwhile, the Department of Education is planning its own assessment of student loan availability, as part of its efforts to monitor the situation. A proposed emergency survey of all FFEL colleges, will ask schools if they have secured lenders for the 2008-09 academic year and requests a list of these lenders.

Dems Introduce Legislation to Allow Private College TA Unions

Teaching assistants at private colleges and universities would be granted the same right to unionize and engage in collective bargaining as their peers at public schools under a bill introduced Thursday. Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) and Rep. George Miller (D-CA) dropped companion versions of legislation that would overturn a 2004 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) holding that private college teaching assistants are primarily students, not employees, and thus do not have the right to unionize. Public colleges are not affected by the same ruling, because teaching assistant unions there are covered by state laws. [Disclosure: the Editor of Higher Ed Watch worked for Kennedy.]

Higher Ed Roundup: Week of April 7 - April 11

Ed Policy — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:41:00 -0400

Student Aid Bill Approved by House Committee

Fed Chairman Rebuffs Calls from Pro-FFEL Lawmakers for Lender Bail Out

Settlement Doesn't Stop Sallie's Online Presence, Chronicle Investigation Finds

Student Aid Bill Approved by House Committee

The House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor unanimously approved a bill on Wednesday designed to increase federal loan options for students and ease the effects of the credit crunch for lenders that participate in the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. The bill, which is similar to legislation introduced last week by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), would increase annual Stafford loan limits by $2,000 a year for undergraduates (bringing the aggregate totals to $31,000 for dependent students, and $57,500 for independent students); allow parents to defer payment of PLUS loans while their children are in school; and maintain eligibility for parents to PLUS loans even if they are delinquent on their mortgages. The bill also would allow the U.S. Department of Education to serve as "a secondary lender of last resort" to help provide liquidity to lenders that need new sources of capital to stay in business. Under the plan, the department would purchase outstanding FFEL loans from struggling lenders and service them through its Direct Loan program.

While many praised the legislation, the nation's leading student advocacy groups have questioned a provision in the bill that would allow the Education Department to designate student loan guarantee agencies as the "lender of last resort" for entire colleges rather than for individual students, as is the currently the case. In a letter to Congress, the groups expressed concern that the provision would open the guaranteed loan program up to abuse by guarantors eager to expand their business and win greater federal subsidies, and schools that are eager to maintain the sweetheart deals the have had with lenders. The advocates called on lawmakers to alter the provision to prevent guarantee agencies from marketing "lender of last resort" loans, and require colleges to prove their students are unable to obtain FFEL loans without the designation.

Fed Chairman Rebuffs Calls from Pro-FFEL Lawmakers for Lender Bail Out

Late last week, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke rejected calls from Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-PA) and 31 other lawmakers to use the Fed to inject liquidity into the student loan market. In a letter to Kanjorski, Bernanke said that while he shared their "concerns about the difficulties in the student loan market," the problems some lenders are facing do not rise to the level required for Fed action. "The Federal Reserve," he wrote, "has extended credit to primary deals in recent weeks only after it reached a judgment that a failure to lend could well prompt a systemic crisis in the financial system that could threaten the health of the overall economy." Undaunted, Kanjorski, who has long been a strong FFEL advocate, introduced a bill this week that would authorize the Federal Home Loan Banks to use surplus funds to invest in student loan securities, accept student loans and related securities as collateral, and provide secured advances to members so that they can originate student loans. The bill's prospects are unclear.

**Settlement Doesn't Stop Sallie's Online Presence, Chronicle Investigation Finds**

An investigation by The Chronicle of Higher Education revealed this week that student loan giant Sallie Mae is continuing to act "as host to the entire online presence for the financial-aid offices" at three minority-serving colleges, despite the spirit of a settlement agreement it reached a year ago with New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo. Under that settlement, Sallie Mae agreed to pay a $2 million fine and stop partnering with colleges to provide financial aid services to students. Despite that deal, the Chronicle found that Bennett College for Women, Bethune-Cookman University, and Wiley College were all continuing to use the company's Campus Gateway software - a web-design tool that lets colleges "organize and present products for every phase of the college experience," according to Sallie Mae's Web site. None of the schools' sites contain a warning about the lender affiliation, and the top loan choice available at Bennett is a private Sallie Mae loan. Not surprisingly, Sallie Mae held the vast majority of federal loan volume at the two schools that provided minimum additional lender options.

Higher Ed Roundup: Week of March 17 - March 21

Ed Policy — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 15:00:00 -0400

Students at Trade Schools Most Likely to Borrow, New Study Shows

Changes Ahead in Future Applicant Pool

Ed Dept. Officials Reassure Students of Loan Availability

Students at Trade Schools Most Likely to Borrow, New Study Shows

A new study by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics shows that students attending for-profit trade schools are by far the most likely to borrow to attend college. According to the report, entitled "Trends in Undergraduate Borrowing II," nearly three quarters of proprietary school students took out a federal loan in 2003-04, compared to 53 percent of students attending private nonprofit colleges and universities. Meanwhile, 42 percent of students at four-year public colleges and 11 percent at community colleges obtained a federal loan that academic year. Overall, the report showed that federal loan borrowing is up among students in all higher education sectors, with most of that growth occuring in the unsubsidized loan program, which is available to all students regardless of financial need. The report did not, however, examine students' use of private student loans to pay their college expenses.

Changes Ahead in Future Applicant Pool

The demographic boom in college bound students that began in the early 1990s is coming to the end this year, according to a new analysis of census data conducted by the Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education (WICHE). The report, "Knocking at the College Door," estimates that the total number of high-school graduates will top off this summer at 3.34 million, before beginning to dip. The biggest drops in are expected to be among white and black students, while the largest rates of growth are projected to be among Asian and Hispanic students. By 2022, minority students are expected to make up nearly half of all public high school graduates, the report states. The changes are also geographic in nature, with substantial declines predicted in the Northeast and Midwestern states. College admissions counselors say that in the future they expect to focus more on Southern and Western states such as Arizona, Texas, and Florida, which have the largest projected applicant growth.

Ed Dept. Officials Reassure Students of Loan Availability

Speaking at a Senate hearing in Boston on Monday, federal officials said that despite the credit crunch, there is no reason for students and their families to panic about the availability of federal student loans. Deputy Secretary of Education Sara Martinez Tucker said that colleges and universities have "indicated no difficulty in lining up student loans." Tucker and others at the hearing noted that lenders are expected to cut back on their private loan offerings. But Deanne Loonin of the National Consumer Law Center said that a slowdown in private lending, particularly to subprime borrowers, represented a necessary market correction, not a crisis. "To the extent there is a crisis for students today, it is that heavy reliance on loans to finance education means that many students come out of college buried in debt," she stated.

While the Department does not expect a student loan crisis, Martinez Tucker assured Kennedy that the Department is keeping a close eye on the situation and that adequate safeguards are in place in case circumstances worsen. Her remarks echoed those her boss, Education Secretary Margaret Spellings, made a week ago while testifying before the House Committee on Education and Labor.

Higher Ed Roundup: Week of March 10 - March 14

Ed Policy — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 06:07:00 -0400

Kennedy Offers Amendment to Increase Fed. Loan Limits

Lawsuit Alleges Online University Bilked Billions from Ed Dept.

Two Companies Announce End to Controversial Loan Programs

Kennedy Offers Amendment to Increase Fed. Loan Limits

While the credit crunch continues to have little effect on federal student loans, concerns about private loan availability have prompted preparatory action by Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA), Chairman of the Senate Education Committee. On Wednesday, Kennedy put forth a budget resolution proposal that signifies his willingness to raise federal Stafford loan limits at a later date should the private loan market worsen. In his floor speech, Kennedy emphasized that higher Stafford loan limits could benefit the "40 and 60% of students who turn to high-cost private loans" before exhausting federal aid eligibility. Kennedy attributed those figures to the U.S. Department of Education. [Disclosure: the Editor of Higher Ed Watch used to work for Kennedy.]

Lawsuit Alleges Online University Bilked Billions from Ed Dept.

An online university may have defrauded the U.S. Department of Education more than $4 billion, according to a recently unsealed federal lawsuit filed by three ex-employees. The plaintiffs, two department chairmen and a former dean, charge that Kaplan University engaged in questionable enrollment practices to bilk the Education Department out of roughly $500 million a year since 1999. According to the Miami Herald, the suit accuses the Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based online college of "accepting unqualified students and pressuring faculty to grade leniently to keep students enrolled so it could continue receiving hundreds of millions in student financial aid each year." The claims are similar to ones previously leveled at the University of Phoenix, another large for-profit college offering online education. Kaplan, which is owned by the Washington Post Company and generated $1 billion in revenue last year, denied the allegations, saying the plaintiffs are disgruntled and that one of them may have abused the e-mail system to send threatening messages.

Two Companies Announce End to Controversial Loan Programs

Problems in the credit market continued to affect student lenders this week with the announcement that the Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation will stop offering private loans in April. These are the same loans that the company ran into trouble with last December, when the agency came under fire for allegedly using overly aggressive marketing tactics and its cozy ties with colleges to push Iowa students to take on a disproportionate amount of high-cost private debt. Despite misleading reports such as the one found here , the lender will continue to offer federal loans.

The Iowa agency is not the only company to announce the end of a controversial practice this week - on Tuesday Nelnet revealed that it would stop working with the 20 schools in its school-as-lender program. Operated by about 150 schools nationwide, the program involves colleges originating loans to their students using funds provided by a private lending company. Once the loan is disbursed, however, the school then sells the loan at a premium back to the loan company. The "store front" operation came under fire last March following revelations that Nelnet had forged a questionable partnership with the University of Nebraska involving cash payments and stock transfers.

Early Ed Roundup: Week of March 10 - March 14

Christina Satkowski — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 22:10:00 -0400

Boston Launches Birth to Five Initiative

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino announced plans on Thursday for a 10 year program to expand and streamline early education services for Beantown’s youngest learners. The public-private partnership, "Thrive in Five", will align educators, health and human service providers, city departments and the private sector to connect families with local services and ensure that day-care providers offer high-quality pre-k programs. The City of Boston, The United Way, local hospitals and others have already committed $3.25 million for the program. Boston's schools have made significant progress under Menino's leadership, and working to extend those education improvements down into the early years is a logical next step.

New Hampshire Lawmakers Debate Kindergarten Funding

Last year the New Hampshire State Senate passed legislation requiring school districts to implement kindergarten programs by September 2008, but lawmakers still can't agree on how to fund it. Eleven New Hampshire school districts, serving nearly 15 percent of the state’s students, do not offer public kindergarten, making New Hampshire the only state that does not offer kindergarten in all districts.

The primary obstacle has been paying for space to house kindergarten classrooms. The state of New Hampshire traditionally funds 75 percent of the cost of building or leasing new classrooms, but Senate Republican leader Ted Gatseas is pushing to make the state foot the entire bill, estimated at $20 million. In a preliminary vote last week, legislators voted against Gatseas’s plan and gave initial approval to allow districts to delay kindergarten programs by one year.

Pre-K on the Delaware Campaign Trail

Delaware State Treasurer and Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Jack Markell outlined a comprehensive plan to consolidate and expand early education programs in the state. The plan includes $12.5 million to subsidize 75 percent of the salaries of high-quality teachers working in childcare classrooms. The state would also work to connect private childcare providers with local schools in an effort to align pre-school and elementary-grade curricula. Candidates John Carney and Mike Protak have yet to outline their views on early ed.

Pre-School Intervention Curbs Obesity, Study Finds

Cookie Monster may not be a good role model after all. A new study from the University of Miami finds that targeted nutrition and physical activity programs in pre-k classrooms can instill good eating habits and reduce the risk of obesity for children aged 2 – 5. Children, parents, and teachers in the study participated in a six-month program, where they learned about healthy eating, how to incorporate physical activity into lesson plans, and about the cultural and environmental barriers to implementing a healthy lifestyle. By the end of the program, the percentage of children at risk for overweight dropped from 16 to 12 percent. The study’s authors hope that the findings will encourage the public to think more about the importance of nutrition and exercise in the early years.

Higher Ed Roundup: Week of March 3 - March 7

Ed Policy — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 15:00:00 -0500

Cuomo Targets Sallie Mae Again

Truth in Tuition Advances in Maryland

Cuomo Targets Sallie Mae Again

New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is once again investigating student loan practices at Sallie Mae — this time targeting a private loan product that the company markets directly to students and their families. The student loan giant confirmed last week that it had received a subpoena from Cuomo’s office on Feb. 11 asking for more details about its Tuition Answer Loan program. Sallie Mae is just the latest loan provider to be caught up into Cuomo's probe into the marketing of direct-to-consumer private loans. In October, his office issued subpoenas to 33 private-loan providers, including Nelnet, JPMorgan Chase, and Student Loan Xpress. At the time, he accused lenders of engaging in "misleading and deceptive tactics to entice young borrowers seeking college loans."

This is not the first time Sallie Mae has drawn unwanted scrutiny over these loans. Last fall, Higher Ed Watch revealed that the lender had filed Freedom of Information Act requests in several states demanding public college systems to provide contact information on their students so that the company could market private loans directly to them. Soon after our item appeared, the company backed off its demands. Also in the fall, we discovered that Sallie Mae was placing ads on Google for "Private Loans — No FAFSA," a move that ran contrary to the company’s pledge to encourage students to exhaust their federal loan eligibility before taking out more costly private loans

Truth in Tuition Advances in Maryland

Four years after it was first enacted in Illinois, Maryland lawmakers are now considering adopting their own Truth in Tuition plan. Maryland Delegate Heather Mizeur has introduced legislation in the state house that would allow students at the state's public universities to lock in a four-year tuition plan. Truth in Tuition plans, which the New America Foundation favors, are gaining steam at statehouses and colleges across the country, including George Washington University and the University of Minnesota. A recent poll found that 77 percent of Maryland residents support the idea. Mizeur, who likens her proposal to a fixed-rate mortgage, says the certainty will help ensure that more students finish college.

Early Ed Roundup: Week of March 3 - March 7

Christina Satkowski — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:17:00 -0500

Pre-K Gets a Boost in Kansas

More kids in pre-k now means less crime in the future, say law enforecement officials, who went to the Kansas legislature Tuesday to support pre-k. Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius, a strong pre-k supporter, highlighted the importance of early education programs in her January State of the State address. Sebelius' FY 2009 budget proposal includes a $30 million increase in funding for early education, most of which will go to block grants for at risk children, and a $1.2 million boost to the state’s pre-kindergarten program.

Pre-K That Counts: New Study Looks at Pre-Kindergartener’s Math Potential

When we think about quality pre-k curriculum, we tend to focus on how programs support children's emerging literacy and language development. These skills are important, but high-quality pre-k programs should also develop children's emerging math skills. A new report from the Society for Research in Child Development suggests that most pre-k programs do not devote sufficient attention to developing children's emerging mathematics skills. The report shows that children under five are able to grasp concrete and abstract mathematical subjects, in addition to the basic counting and shapes taught in most pre-k classrooms. It adds that pre-k instructors need to be better trained in their students’ math capabilities and advanced instruction methods.

Who’s Minding the Kids, and For How Much

Last week, the Census Bureau released "Who's Minding the Kids? Child Care Arrangements: Spring 2005," a report that describes the childcare arrangements American families use, and how much they pay for them. Nearly 90 percent of children under age 5 with employed mothers are in some form of regular childcare arrangement. Nearly half of these children are cared for by relatives while their mothers work, and a quarter attend center-based childcare or preschool. Children with Black or Hispanic parents are more likely that White children to be cared for by relatives. Families with an employed mother and a child under 5 paid $129 a week for childcare. For families in poverty, childcare costs represent almost a third of their income, compared to 6 percent of the income of wealthier families.