Legislation, Uncategorized

News Update: Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program

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A new report from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finds that many qualified student borrowers have been delayed, or even denied, access to the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

The program, a Department of Education initiative, allows borrowers to have their federal student loans forgiven after making 120 eligible payments over the course of 10 years  working in eligible public service careers.

Yet despite meeting all eligibility requirements, the CFPB found that some borrowers have spent years paying into the program without receiving their promised loan relief.

Continue reading News Update: Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program →

Access, College Admission, NACAC News

4 Ways College Counselors Can Increase Access for Underrepresented Students

NACAC 

Diversity on campus strengthens our colleges and our country.

Yet a large number of qualified students from low-income and minority populations are still underrepresented in American higher education due to inadequate access to college advising resources.

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Access

Reflections on Diversity in Higher Education and the Consideration of Race in Admission Decisions

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Editor’s Note: This column was first published by Education Counsel.

The New York Times  recently reported that the US Department of Justice [DoJ] released an internal document indicating action with respect to “a new project on ‘investigations and possible litigation related to intentional race-based discrimination in college and university admissions.’”

The DoJ responded with indications that its effort was aimed at one case on behalf of Asian-American students — a position, according to the Times, that was greeted with some skepticism by others. While there is much more to learn about the Department’s planned action, we should take this opportunity to reflect on the fact that time-tested, common sense principles derived from settled federal law continue to inform the work of higher education institutions today, just as they did last week…and last year.

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College Admission

College Coaches Use Social Media to Vet Recruits

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Editor’s note: A version of this post originally appeared on Admitted in June 2016. It’s being republished as part of NACAC’s Best of the Blog series.

Hoping to play sports in college? Make sure your social media accounts send the right message to recruiters.

“Right or wrong, most college coaches will assume that how you act on social media will be how you act on campus,” according to a recent USA Today column by Fred Bastie. “For that reason, your actions and behavior on social media in high school are critical if you expect to play in college.”

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Cost of College

Private Colleges Propose Tuition Reduction Strategy

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What if America’s private colleges could stop their annual increases in tuition or even drop their prices down?

The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (NAICU) has an idea it says would do just that.

NAICU has recommended that Congress give private, nonprofit colleges a temporary anti-trust exemption for the purposes of promoting affordability.

Current laws ban discussion about prices and discounts — including student aid — among competitors in any industry. NAICU says that this has led to a vicious cycle of ongoing tuition inflation and has forced private colleges to offer larger and larger discounts on the sticker price to stay competitive.

They believe that if schools could talk to one another, they could end this cycle and start targeting financial aid to the students who need it most. The thinking is that if everyone made the decision to collectively lower tuition, then no college would feel like it “lost” because it wasn’t offering the huge discounts that are currently available to counter price inflation.

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Access, NACAC News

ICYMI: NACAC President Responds to Trump Administration’s Reported Plan to Challenge Affirmative Action

NACAC President Nancy Beane

NACAC President Nancy T. Beane responded Wednesday to media reports suggesting the Trump administration is considering legal action against colleges and universities with race-conscious admission policies.

In a statement released to the press, Beane noted that the Supreme Court upheld in 2016  the right of colleges to consider a student’s race or ethnicity as one factor when making admission decisions.

“By disregarding the Fisher ruling, the administration and Justice Department would frustrate efforts to improve educational opportunity, and would erode respect for diversity in higher education,” she said. “This initiative would be a serious challenge to the critical work of improving college access and success for all students.”

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Access, NACAC National Conference, NACAC News

Real Talk: Discuss Diversity, Bias, and Cultural Fluency at #nacac17

It’s human nature: Difficult conversations are often the easiest ones to avoid.

Yet when it comes to discussions surrounding diversity, bias, and cultural fluency, educators owe it to themselves and the students they serve to tune in.

Next month, attendees at NACAC’s national conference in Boston will have the opportunity to do just that. Two interactive Real Talk sessions—one addressing workplace issues, the other focused on the needs of students and families—will be facilitated by Lisa D. Walker, former director of Cross Cultural Student Development at the University of California-Berkeley.

“Good conversation and effective dialogue can inspire us to change individually and collectively,” Walker told Admitted. “In my experience, those changes often start small but can gain momentum over time.”

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Uncategorized

Feds Offer Tips for Students Seeking Work-Study Funds

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Counting on Federal Work-Study funds to help pay for college?

Officials at the US Department of Education want to make sure students understand the program’s quirks. For instance, being awarded work-study funds doesn’t guarantee you a job.

“Some schools may match students to jobs, but most schools require the student to find, apply for, and interview for positions on their own, just like any other job,” according to a recent article shared on the department’s Homeroom blog. “Either way, students who are interested in work-study or who have already been awarded work-study should contact the financial aid office at their school to find out whether positions are available, how to apply, and how the process works at their school.”

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College Admission, Importance of School Counselors

Apply to 100 Colleges? What 1 Student Wishes She Had Known About the Admission Process

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A freshman college student in Tennessee isn’t experiencing buyer’s remorse over her college choice. But she has some issues with the way she was told to shop for one.

“I was also told by counselors to apply to 100 colleges. I was never told why that number was chosen, but my peers were told the same,” Anisah Karim, now a psychology student at the University of Memphis, wrote in Chalkbeat.

“We were often pulled out of class to complete these applications, which took away from instructional time — about an hour per day. My high school also ran on an infraction system, and not turning in college applications and other documents led to disciplinary actions.”

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Uncategorized

College T-Shirt Beach Etiquette

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Editor’s note: This column was first shared on the NACAC Exchange.

Like many college counselors, the only T-shirts I own are college T-shirts. Last week, I wore lots of them during a beach vacation. Since the only time I usually wear them is at the gym at 5 a.m., I don’t usually get many reactions. However, at the beach, people would respond to the college on the shirt, and it became challenging to know how to respond:

Steve Peifer with his wife, Nancy. (COURTESY PHOTO)

Person at Beach: I WENT TO TEXAS A&M!

Me: That’s nice.

PAB: DON’T YOU JUST LOVE IT? (At the beach, people scream when they see their college on a T-shirt.)

Me: I think it is one of the greatest large universities in the US.

PAB: WAIT. DIDN’T YOU GO THERE?

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