Student Loan Blog

Although school administrators across the nation are reporting an increase in applications, they’re worried about just how many college students will actually enroll in their institutions this fall as families continue to tighten their budgets amid this recession, reports Inside Higher Ed (“Parents’ View of the Economy,” ...

For the first time, San Jose State University has turned away qualified students from its freshmen class — 4,400 students who live outside the county, to be exact — saying that budget cutbacks have forced the university to scale back enrollment, reports the San Jose Mercury News (“San Jose State University Rejects 4,400 ...

The City University of New York school system hopes to open a “college of the future” that would limit enrollment to under 5,000 students, offer degrees or certificates only in fields with promising job growth, and serve as a model for community colleges nationwide, The New York Times reports (“CUNY Plans New Approach to Community College,” ...

The financial outlook for community colleges in nearly half of all states is “not good,” with many institutions anticipating midyear cuts in funding, according to a member survey by the National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges (“State Budgets Are Likely to Squeeze 2-Year Colleges,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, ...

A California community college is being investigated by the FBI and the Department of Education for overpaying students more than $327,000 in financial aid during the 2005–06 school year, reports the Contra Costa Times (“Berkeley City College Overpaid Financial Aid,” Oct. 8, 2008).Berkeley City College, under former financial aid director Robert ...

With gasoline prices approaching $5 a gallon, students who attend community colleges in rural America — where a one-way trip to school is often 30 miles or more — are being forced to make some tough decisions about school, according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Rising Cost of Gas Pinches Rural Community Colleges,” June ...

Results of a recent public opinion poll point to a strong belief among Americans that career and technical schools may be better than community colleges at preparing students for today’s competitive workforce, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education (“Americans Favor Career and Technical Colleges Over Community Colleges, Report Says,” June 4, ...

Students at community colleges, for-profit universities, and other less competitive institutions may have trouble finding a lender willing to offer them federal student loans as some of the nation’s biggest banks pare down the list of schools they serve, according to an article that appeared today in The New York Times (“Student Loans Start to ...

Several two-year schools with large numbers of commuter students have reduced the length of their academic week from five days to four in an effort to reduce their students’ commute and help them save money on gas.Making class sessions longer, these schools have been able to cancel classes one day a week, mostly opting for Fridays. This move has ...

In what may be the largest gift ever donated to the nation’s community colleges, the San Francisco–based Bernard Osher Foundation recently announced that it has pledged up to $50 million to help needy students attending California’s two-year institutions, writes Matt Krupnick of The Mercury News (“Endowment to Aid Needy Students,” May 5, 2008).The ...