Student Loan Blog : Pennsylvania

‘Frill-Less’ Campuses Shave Thousands Off College Tuition

Student Loan Girl — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 20:24:00 GMT

At a time when parents and students are finding it increasingly challenging to get the money they need for college, some schools are coming up with creative options to cut thousands of dollars off annual tuition bills, The Boston Globe reports (“Students Forgo Frills to Save Thousands,” Feb. 3, 2009).

Offering savings of up to approximately $10,000 to $15,000 annually, these colleges are gambling that parents and students — worried about layoffs, getting student loans for college, and an unstable economy — will go for these less-expensive satellite campuses that forgo the traditional college campus amenities of lavish food courts, fitness centers, and dorms.

Students Find Value In Commuter Education

Twenty miles south of its main campus in Manchester, Southern New Hampshire University has established a no-frills sister campus in Salem, New Hampshire.

Freshmen and sophomore students attend classes taught by some of the same professors found on the Manchester campus and study subjects as diverse as Greek tragedy, the Roman Empire, and business statistics.

The school believes that many students will be willing to pay considerably less, $10,000 as opposed to $25,000 in tuition, for the same quality of education that students receive on its main campus.

Daniel Webster College, another small private school located in Nashua, New Hampshire, intends to extend a comparable tuition break for freshmen students who live at home and commute to the main campus — $15,000 a year in tuition versus $26,000 for those students who live on campus.

And in Pennsylvania, the public university system is contemplating whether to move forward with plans to create four-year colleges without dorms, athletics, or extracurricular activities in order to lower the price of a bachelor’s degree.

Cheaper Model as Effective?

While many parents may relish the savings that these new frill-less colleges represent, other people question whether the less expensive, commuter-based model of higher education is as effective as the traditional campus-based model, the Globe reports. Research indicates that those who live on campus are, on average, more likely to graduate on time, get better grades, and be happier in college.

However, Richard Ekman, president of The Council of Independent Colleges says, “A no-frills approach is better than nothing, but it’s very difficult to achieve the same thing as having a total educational experience that comes with living on campus.”

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Two-Year Schools Waiving Tuition For Laid-Off Workers

Student Loan Girl — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 23:17:00 GMT

Typically, when the economy is down, enrollment is up at the nation’s community colleges. However, in the current economy, in which the unemployment rate is at a record high, Americans who find themselves recently unemployed can’t afford to further their education even at inexpensive local institutions.

In an effort to help, some community colleges in Pennsylvania are waiving tuition for local residents who were recently laid-off, reports Inside Higher Ed (“The Jobless Discount,” Dec. 5, 2008).

Reading Area Community College in Reading, Pa., extends a waiver to local residents who have been laid off within a year of applying to the school. The waiver, which represents a potential savings of $962, is valid for one semester to qualified students for up to 13 credits.

The tuition waiver benefits both students and the institution, since RACC students will get financial assistance furthering their education in the hopes that they’ll continue their education and become paying students once they’re employed, said David Zimmerman, a career services officer at RACC.

“It’s good will, and it’s good PR,” Zimmerman said. “It helps the community and helps people get back into the work force.”

This year, participation in the tuition waiver program is higher than in previous years, Zimmerman said. He speculates the closing of two local business plants owned by the Hershey Company and Tyco Electronics Corporation may be contributing to the spike in interest.

Tuition Waivers May Cost Pa. School $100,000 in Lost Revenue

Northampton Community College, located in Bethlehem, Pa. announced that starting next semester it would begin waiving tuition for those who were recently laid off due to plant or local business closings.

Under the waiver, qualified students will be able to take a maximum of 12 credits at a reduced cost beginning in January 2009. Students would be required to pay $28 in fees per credit, for a total savings of $900. The number of students allowed to enroll under the waiver program would be limited to the number of empty seats available in each class section.

Northampton President Arthur Scott said offering a tuition waiver may cost his school more than $100,000, because the school isn’t adding sections or other resources to accommodate for students who take advantage of the waiver, meaning the waiver isn’t considered an institutional expense, but rather lost revenue.

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Wilkes University Puts Freshman Recruits Front and Center and Billboard-Size

Student Loan Girl — Sun, 04 May 2008 22:56:00 GMT

Wilkes University, a small, private school in northeastern Pennsylvania, is using a quirky new in-your-face $120,000 ad campaign to get the attention of today’s media- and marketing-savvy students.

The university is plastering personalized messages on billboards, pizza boxes, gas pumps, and even on MTV, VH1, and Comedy Central to students it wants to make a part of its freshman class, reports Michael Rubinkam in a story by The Associated Press (“Pennsylvania College Woos Students by Putting Them in Ads,” April 30, 2008).

The “trendsetting and forward-thinking” marketing campaign appeals to the “look-at-me generation,” teens comfortable sharing all-things-personal on social networking sites like Facebook and MySpace, says Nancy Costopulos, chief marketing officer of the American Marketing Association.

The Message: Personalized and Not for the Shy

Wilkes features applicants in its ads who have a “mix of talents and determination” and who live in markets where the university wants to promote itself, says Jack Chielli, the school’s director of marketing. Students must also consent to having their names used.

The ads, writes Rubinkam, are meant “to convey the message that the school gets to know its students personally and pays close attention to their needs.”

To get messages with the right personal touch, 160over90, the Philadelphia marketing firm contracted by Wilkes, interviews participating students and their friends and families, uncovering likes, dislikes, hobbies, nicknames.

The agency uses the information it gleans from these in-depth interviews to design the highly personalized ads that have turned some college-bound seniors into quasi-celebrities in their high schools and communities:

“Lake Lehman senior Greg Heindel: You give your time at the soup kitchen, the firehouse, and your church summer camp. Wilkes University would like to give you something — a top-quality education.”
“Hey Kristen Pecka. Only your closest friends at Central Catholic call you Pecka-lecka-lecka. Choose Wilkes University and add 2,362 more people to that list.”
“Scranton High senior Nicole Pollock: Our goal at Wilkes University is to be as much a mentor as your mother has been. (Now, if we could only make her ravioli.)”

Each ad includes an invitation to “call a Colonel” (the school’s mascot) and provides a phone number that plays a recorded message from a current Wilkes student.

It’s the Thought That Counts

Even if targeted recruits end up choosing another school, says Chielli, he considers the ads successful as long as they continue to grab attention and get other students to think about Wilkes.

But besides drawing more students to apply, the school wants to help make it possible for them to actually attend: Nearly all students receive some form of financial aid apart from student loans to help cover the $25,000 price tag. Wilkes awards $22 million in financial aid each year.

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