Student Loan Blog : Grad PLUS loans

U.S. Reinstates 7 Fulbright Grants to Students in Gaza, Future of Other Students Accepted Abroad Uncertain

Student Loan Girl — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 21:45:00 GMT

The U.S. Department of State recently reinstated seven Fulbright Grants awarded to Palestinian students after withdrawing the awards when the students were denied permission to leave Gaza, according to an article in the Jerusalem Post (“State Tells Court It May Allow Study Abroad,” June 2, 2008).

Israel has imposed a travel ban on all Palestinian residents of Gaza for security reasons following attacks by the militant anti-Israeli group Hamas. However, now the U.S. government is assuring the Fulbright scholars that the American Consulate in Jerusalem is working closely with Israeli officials to ensure that the students obtain their proper exit permits.

The ban on Palestinians leaving the region “is part of a policy of closure and collective punishment that is trapping 1.5 million civilians,” said Sari Bashi, director of Gisha, a non-profit organization in Israel that facilitates the free movement of Palestinians.

But just last week, the education committee of Israel’s Parliament met to consider further student movement out of Gaza, with many members commenting that they were horrified by the policy that keeps students from leaving the area. The committee petitioned Israel’s Defense Ministry to revisit its policy and to report back in a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, only the seven Fulbright scholars are permitted to travel out of Gaza. Unlike Fulbright recipient Abdulrahman Abdullah, who told the New York Times that he can’t “be truly happy until the 600 or so Gazans with grants to study abroad also get out,” the remaining Gaza students who have been granted acceptance to schools outside the region face an uncertain fate regarding their education (“State Dept. Reinstates Gaza Fulbright Grants,” June 2, 2008).

Bashi said that while her organization supports the decision to let the seven Fulbright recipients leave, “Gisha calls on Israel to allow all Palestinian students accepted to universities abroad to exercise their right to leave Gaza and access education, in order to obtain the tools they need to build a better future in the region.”

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NextStudent Unveils Website with New Look, Improved Features

Student Loan Girl — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 01:37:00 GMT

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Check our education news bulletins to keep up to date on what’s happening in the world of financial aid, student loans, and higher education — all the changes and developments that affect you and how you’ll be able to pay for school.

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India Engineering Institute Bans Foreign Internships to Help Retain Graduates

Student Loan Girl — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 20:19:00 GMT

Despite producing approximately 240,000 engineering graduates every year, institutes of higher education in India graduate less than 1,000 engineering Ph.D.’s annually, because a vast majority of these students enroll in advanced degree programs in the United States or are absorbed by foreign job markets, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“India's Engineering Schools Losing Grads to U.S. Colleges, Jobs,” May 23, 2008).

This is true even at the seven of the country’s most highly-praised technology institutes where only one percent of students earning bachelor of technology degrees choose to pursue master's degrees, and only two percent of master’s degree recipients choose to pursue doctorate degrees.

At the Institute of Technology in Mumbai, 60 percent of the school’s engineering undergraduates choose foreign work or research internships at schools abroad like the University of Southern California or the Georgia Institute of Technology, with the intention of landing a spot in a U.S. graduate school or a position in a company outside India, according to another article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Elite Engineering School in India Bans Foreign Internships,” June 4, 2008).

In an attempt to reverse that trend and to encourage Indian engineers to pursue graduate studies or technical careers in India, the institute in Mumbai will no longer permit its students to partake in foreign research projects or foreign internships beginning in July.

Instead, undergraduate students will be required to work for an Indian research organization or company to earn academic credit for students’ mandatory internships.

“This move should help the students and the country,” said Ashok Misra, director of the Mumbai institute. “We want our students to see the excitement of engineering companies in India. We want our industry to see our exciting students.”

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Drexel University to Open Graduate Studies Program in California

Student Loan Girl — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:14:00 GMT

Pennsylvania–based Drexel University is planning to establish a graduate studies center and perhaps a “full-blown bi-coastal university” in California after receiving a 1,100-acre land offer just north of Sacramento from a group of real estate developers, according to an article in Inside Higher Ed (“Higher Ed Gold Rush?” May 29, 2008).

Drexel, following a similar move by Pittsburgh–based Carnegie Mellon University to launch software engineering programs in California in 2002, has expressed interest in establishing a west-coast presence due, in part, to the declining number of college students in its home state. By 2025, the state of Pennsylvania will have approximately one million college-aged students, fewer than were there in 1995, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

To establish Drexel’s brand on the west coast and to grow the institution in a state with a booming college population, the school has established a $10 million fellowship fund. The money will be awarded to students based on both need and merit, with the intention of attracting some 650 students in its first five years.

The Drexel University Center for Graduate Studies in Sacramento will offer five master’s programs including business administration, information systems, higher education, engineering management, and library and information sciences beginning in January, 2009, and will add four more in September.

“This idea of starting up a new campus, particularly within an entirely different regional area, that’s certainly something you’re not seeing very much,” said Donald Heller, director of the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Pennsylvania State University. “I think it’s something a lot of other institutions are going to be watching.”

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Commencement Speakers to Remain Upbeat Despite Slowed Economy

Student Loan Girl — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:36:00 GMT

This year’s MBA graduates will be seeing a sluggish economy and perhaps even bleak job prospects. Yet many high-profile business leaders returning to their alma maters as commencement speakers are expected to remain upbeat in their remarks to students, writes Kelly Bronk of BusinessWeek (“Graduation Talks Accentuate the Positive,” April 24, 2008).

Top business schools that have landed Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, or Jeff Immelt, CEO of General Electric for their commencement ceremonies, tend to want their speakers to keep things positive, yet realistic when addressing students this year.

Graduation “is all about the kids,” James Ellis, dean of the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business, told Bronk. Holli Budd, associate dean for MBA administration and external affairs at the University of Rochester Simon Graduate School of Business commented, “It’s a time to celebrate their success and their future.”

In an effort to do just that, J. Peter Simon, son of Rochester business school's late benefactor William E. Simon, will tend toward optimistic remarks as opposed to focusing on the doom and gloom of a potential U.S. recession.

Robert Rodriguez, CEO of First Pacific Advisors and alumnus of USC’s Marshall School, may convey similar sentiments to students. Dean Ellis expects Rodriguez to empathize with students regarding the difficult economy, but also tackle what students can do to conquer the challenges ahead.

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