Stimulus Funds Give Oregon Pell-Grant Recipients a Boost

Student Loan Girl — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:54:00 GMT

Funding from President Obama’s stimulus plan will soon reach Oregon college students in the form of almost $280 million in Pell Grant funds, a 41-percent jump over the previous year, reports the Portland Business Journal (“Stimulus boosts Oregon Pell Grants to $279.4 million,” March 31, 2009).

This funding boost will translate to about a $500-award increase for Oregon Pell Grant recipients, which the students can use to offset the $18,500 in tuition it costs on average to attend one of the state’s six public institutions.

Approximately 10 percent of the nearly 180,000 students who enroll in Oregon’s public colleges and universities during the 2009–10 school year will benefit from the stimulus money; they could see their maximum Pell Grant award bumped up to as much as $5,350.

Donna Fossum, student financial aid director at Western Oregon University, says the new maximum award amount is almost enough to cover all tuition costs at her institution, at which about one-in- four students rely on Pell Grants to help pay for college.

At Portland State University, Oregon’s largest institution by enrollment, more than 45 percent of the school’s 27,000 students receive Pell Grants, the Portland Business Journal reports.

It’s “amazing” that Oregon college students are getting the extra money for school, says Mary Moller, the associate director of government relations for Portland State University.

Although the $500 increase may not seem like a deal big, says Phillip Rodgers, director of student financial aid at PSU, it matters to students. “They’re watching closely. Everything (that) helps them be able to afford going to school helps.”

Share this post: email this | del.icio.us | reddit

Congress Joins States and Colleges in Efforts to Reduce Soaring Textbook Costs

Student Loan Girl — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 07:09:00 GMT

With the average college student now shelling out between $900 and $1,000 each year for textbooks and supplies, according to the College Board’s latest Trends in College Pricing report, schools, states, and now Congress are getting involved in the crusade to control the spiraling costs of college textbooks.

Propelled by studies that show the prices of textbooks are rising faster than the rate of inflation, the House of Representatives included provisions in the recently approved College Opportunity and Affordability Act that are specifically targeted at making textbook costs more manageable, reports Elia Powers of Inside Higher Ed (“Different Tacks on Textbook Choice,” Feb. 19, 2008).

The House bill (H.R. 4137), which passed the House on February 7 and renews the Higher Education Act, would have colleges provide advance information in their course schedules about required books to give students time to plan for expenses and comparison-shop for the most cost-effective options.

Also approved by the House was an amendment (H.AMDT.951) proposed by Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio that would create a pilot competitive grant program to assist a select number of colleges in setting up textbook rental programs.

States Enacting Their Own Textbook Legislation

H.R. 4137 would also require textbook publishers to provide more information about pricing and changes from previous editions, which follows bills already passed by some state legislatures, writes Powers.

Last April, for example, Washington state House Bill 2300 was signed into law, requiring textbook publishers to disclose retail prices and a history of revisions from edition to edition when presenting any materials to faculty.

In June, Oregon passed its similar Senate Bill 365 into law. In addition to charging publishers with providing retail prices and a list of all previous versions of a text to potential adopters, the Oregon measure requires publishers of textbook “bundles” (textbooks packaged with an accompanying CD-ROM or study guide, for instance) to make each component of the bundle available to students separately and to disclose the retail price of each piece.

In California, Assembly Bill 1548, known as the College Textbook Transparency Act, likewise calls for publishers to provide a list of revisions made to new editions, as well as for college bookstores to release the wholesale prices of textbooks. The California bill was signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in October and goes into effect in 2010.

Changes at the College Level

In response to the increasingly vocal concerns of students, families, and legislators, not all schools are waiting on Congress or state officials to adopt changes to textbook pricing and marketing practices. Some schools, writes Powers, have already instituted book rental, buyback, or other programs in a move to extend textbook affordability.

At Rio Salado College in Arizona, for example, a partnership with Pearson Custom Publishing allows professors to “build” custom textbooks, drawing material from multiple sources. Administrators believe this program could save students up to 50 percent on reading materials.

The University of Virginia, in addition to expanding its textbook rental and guaranteed buyback programs, is increasing its selection of e-books, which can save students as much as 30 percent over print versions of new editions. And a growing number of U.Va. professors are choosing to purchase older editions of books in cases where the new material isn’t a necessity, a move the university says cuts an average of 75 percent off new book prices.

Share this post: email this | del.icio.us | reddit

Student Loan Blog : Oregon

Stimulus Funds Give Oregon Pell-Grant Recipients a Boost

Congress Joins States and Colleges in Efforts to Reduce Soaring Textbook Costs