Most people are not aware that research universities negotiate an “overhead rate” with the government. The simplest way to understand that is this example. Professor X gets a $1,000,000 grant. The grant pays her salary and benefits, and the salary for others. Her summer salary (which she would normally not get) would be paid, even […]
Don’t Let Colleges Conflate Budget Crises With Money Grabs – To The Detriment of Their Citizens
October 9, 2014 by
This story is about state schools admitting out-of-state students over in-state ones just for tuition. But that is not the whole story, as I described in my comment, posted below. Colleges’ Wider Search for Applicants Crowds Out Local Students – WSJ. “Yes, budgets have been cut – but that is not the whole story. […]
A Look at Stats on College Costs and Aid – WSJ
September 22, 2014 by
A Look at Stats on College Costs and Aid – WSJ. I’m providing this link for readers. (I also added a comment.) “Expectations are usually based on past experience. In this case they shouldn’t be. In most parents’ college experience- around 1980 – a college degree required about 20 hours of study per week. Now […]
Why Federal Ratings Might Not Do Anything
September 21, 2014 by
This is another comment on. Why Federal College Ratings Won’t Rein In Tuition – NYTimes.com. (The first comment is here.) “Colleges have ashown themselves adept at “solving for the winning solution”(as in “need fewer transfers to get a higher US News ranking?”, just add to dorms, subract from educational requirements, problem solved). Of course, no […]
High Tuition is a Gigantic Problem – But It Isn’t “The Problem”
September 20, 2014 by
Why Federal College Ratings Won’t Rein In Tuition – NYTimes.com. I made the following comment. A federal system of transparency and accountability is critical. But cost is not the most important reason. As the author notes, “..Economic theory predicts… INFORMED [my emphasis] consumers will choose the cheapest option that meets their needs…” Almost by definition, […]
A Wonderful Program For Students
September 16, 2014 by
‘A National Admissions Office’ for Low-Income Strivers – NYTimes.com. Though it appears to be a great program started by a caring couple, I did comment as follows, “I taught at both a regional state school and one of the country’s most selective schools. The difference was like night and day and this program is a […]
Washington U. in St. Louis is a Standout on NY Times Graph – See Why
September 12, 2014 by
Look at this article for the graph. Making Top Colleges Less Aristocratic and More Meritocratic – NYTimes.com. What is interesting is how Wash. U. brags that they do the opposite of what the graph shows. Look here for what I mean by that. I posted this comment on the Times article. (Someone didn’t agree what I wrote and […]
Colleges’ New Aid Target Sometimes is Just a Way to Make More “Profit”, Especially at Private Schools.
Colleges’ New Aid Target: the Middle Class – WSJ. Here was my comment. “Most private universities have only raised their published tuition. For over a decade, their net tuition has remained fairly constant. Basically, they give a discount by calling it “financial aid”. (I think economists call it discriminatory pricing, a way to maximize revenue and profit.) […]