Student Loan Blog : University of Minnesota

‘Swine Flu’ Causes Colleges to Cancel Study Abroad Programs

Student Loan Girl — Fri, 01 May 2009 22:29:00 GMT

Although the swine flu virus (H1N1) hasn’t hit most U.S. college campuses, college health officials are starting to take precautions, including cancelling study abroad programs in Mexico, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports (“Swine Flu Prompts More Colleges to Cancel Study-Abroad Programs in Mexico,” April 28, 2009).

Earlier this week, the University of Minnesota announced it was suspending “all current and planned education abroad programs in Mexico until further notice” and advised its 21 students currently studying in Mexico to return immediately. The school also canceled several other Mexico-bound programs, involving an additional 52 students that were set to depart in May.

The University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire said that it would not be proceeding with its six-week summer program in Mexico, scheduled to begin May 26. The 23 participating students will be given the option to study abroad in Costa Rica instead.

Officials at Butler University in Indianapolis have called off a three–week Spanish language immersion program for more than a dozen students, which was scheduled to begin in about two weeks.

And study abroad administrators at Pennsylvania State University at Altoona said they would be calling off a program in the Mexican cities of Guanajuato and Mexico City, which was to begin in just over a week.

Many college officials are adopting a “wait-and-see” attitude regarding the spread of the swine flu virus in the United States to see how it may affect their campuses and are closely monitoring reports from the State Department and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for guidance.

So far, only two institutions — both in the state of Massachusetts — have reported possible cases of infection of the swine flu virus: Amherst College and the Harvard School of Dental Medicine and clinic.

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Minnesota College Students May Miss Out on Pell Grant Increase

Student Loan Girl — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 20:48:00 GMT

In spite of an increase to the maximum federal Pell Grant award of more than $800 — mandated by President Obama’s stimulus plan — Minnesota college students may not receive a single percent increase in funds due to the way the state distributes its Pell Grant awards, the Minnesota Daily reports (“Students Aren’t Guaranteed Pell Grant Increase,” March 2, 2009).

In Minnesota, federal Pell Grants — which are awarded to low-income students based on need — are linked to state grants. Historically, when a larger amount of Pell Grant money comes into the state than was expected, the Minnesota legislature reduces state grant awards.

This exact scenario occurred a year after Minnesota received a Pell Grant fund increase of $55 million in 2003. That year, the local legislature reduced state grants by about $18 million, resulting in almost 3,000 fewer students receiving state aid, according to the Minnesota Office of Higher Education.

“If [students] are getting both the state [grant] and the Pell [Grant], they’ll keep getting what they’ve always gotten, but I’m not sure if they will see any significant increase,” said Republican Sen. Claire Robling, the Senate Higher Education Committee’s ranking minority member.

Although MOHE, which distributes state aid, assures students that they should receive at least a portion of the increase from the stimulus funds, the Minnesota Senate’s Higher Education Committee members are concerned that the state’s $5 billion budget shortfall will force the state to redistribute excess student aid funds to programs that show a greater need than higher education.

At the same time that many students are wondering if they’ll ever see a portion of the $800 Pell Grant increase, University of Minnesota president Bob Bruininks says he has earmarked those funds for a different purpose. Faced with a $151 million budget cut, Bruininks is hoping that his institution will be able to use the stimulus money to hold the university’s tuition increase to 10 percent.

Rodrigo Zamith, a journalism senior at the university who receives Pell Grants, is worried about his bottom line. He’s afraid that students may start resenting state legislators if they redistribute the excess Pell Grant funds, intended for college students, to other programs.

“$800 for students matters a lot,” Zamith said. “For me, that’s two months worth of rent.”

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College Employees’ Donations to Obama Far Outweigh Contributions to McCain

Student Loan Girl — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 17:38:00 GMT

College employees have given eight times as much money to Barack Obama’s presidential campaign — $12.2 million — as they have to John McCain’s — just over $1.5 million, making it the widest gap in donations by academics in the past five presidential elections, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics.

Obama, who taught constitutional law as a lecturer at the University of Chicago, has received donations from dozens of college presidents, from professors from a variety of liberal arts disciplines, and from faculty members at business, law, and medical schools, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Donors From Academe Favor Obama by a Wide Margin,” Oct. 24, 2008).

A large amount of McCain’s donations from academic sources also came from a handful of college presidents and from faculty members at business, law, and medical schools. McCain also received donations from the head football and basketball coaches at the University of Arizona, a school in his home state.

Among the top 10 academic institutions to make donations to Obama’s campaign were the University of Chicago, Columbia University, where he earned his bachelor’s degree in political science, and Harvard University, where he earned a law degree.

Top 10 Colleges With Donors Giving to Obama Campaign

University of California: $778,000
Harvard University: $496,000
Stanford University: $342,000
University of Chicago: $285,000
Columbia University: $267,000
Northwestern University: $179,000
Georgetown University: $179,000
University of Washington: $165,000
University of Pennsylvania: $162,000
New York University: $158,000

Top 10 Colleges With Donors Giving to McCain Campaign

University of California: $40,000
Harvard University: $39,000
Columbia University: $35,000
University of Texas: $33,000
University of Pennsylvania: $28,000
Northwestern University: $21,000
Stanford University: $19,000
University of Minnesota: $18,000
George Washington University: $17,000
Washington University in St. Louis: $16,000

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Renting May Be Solution to High Cost of College Textbooks

Student Loan Girl — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:51:00 GMT

Hoping to reduce the premium prices college students pay for textbooks, which on average cost students $900 a year, some colleges and universities are opting to let their students rent their books rather than buy them.

For the first time, six schools in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities System are allowing students to rent selected textbooks, according to a Minnesota Public Radio report (“College Textbook Rental Coming to Minnesota,” June 20, 2008).

"Each semester I pay anywhere from $300 to $600 on books, so renting them would probably save me quite a bit,” University of Minnesota student Sonya Sturgis said.

The Minnesota schools are following the model of online book rental sites like Chegg.com and Bookrenter.com, which have offered students an alternative to buying their textbooks for years.

The sites claim that book rental programs could save students 75 percent or more on new and used textbooks, which would allow students to use less of their financial aid and student loans for books and free up more of those funds for tuition and other education-related expenses.

Propelled by studies that show the prices of textbooks are rising faster than the rate of inflation, Congress proposed legislation in February that would require publishers to make unbundled and less expensive versions of textbooks available to students and would require publishers to disclose retail prices and a history of textbook revisions from edition to edition when presenting any new materials to faculty.

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