The Kept-Up Academic Librarian

Not The First Mayor To Seek Tax On Tuition

Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl plans to propose a 1 percent college-education privilege tax to council today, in a move that's likely to set off a fight with the city's schools of higher learning. College and university representatives met with the mayor on Wednesday and argued against the tax, which would be assessed on a college student's tuition. It technically would not be a levy on the students or their schools, but rather on the privilege of getting a higher education in Pittsburgh.Formulas like Mr. Ravenstahl's have met with vigorous opposition in other cities, like Providence, R.I., where a mayor's bid to tack a $150-per-semester fee on to tuition bills at four universities ended in stalemate. Read more at:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09313/1011971-53.stm

Senate To Act On Credit Card Marketing To College Students

The Senate may vote on a bill as early as May 11 that would prevent credit-card companies from targeting college students such as Cabrilo by requiring parental consent for a borrower under age 21 unless there is proof of independent income or completion of a financial literacy course. Average credit-card debt among graduating college seniors increased to more than $4,100 last year from $2,900 in 2004. Read more at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=ajVskGdVyPSw&refer=home

Financial Crisis Has IHEs Preparing For The Worst

Amid a deepening financial crisis that has sapped college endowments, college and university officials are grappling with the growing fear that the Wall Street turmoil could cast a shadow over nearly all their operations. Administrators at small colleges and large universities across the state huddled in tense meetings this week to discuss worst-case contingency plans and appraise their financial status after the market meltdown. While colleges stopped short of adopting new policies as Boston University did Tuesday when it froze hiring and halted new construction projects, they are scrutinizing everything from budgets and building plans, to how they and their students borrow money. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/10/03/financial_chaos_threatens_to_besiege_universities/

Banning Marketing Practices Of Credit Card Companies

College students get flooded with offers for free T-shirts and other goodies when they apply for credit cards, but the easy access to money can result in serious financial trouble. To help solve the problem, Giannoulias is proposing legislation that targets the marketing practices of companies issuing credit cards by banning on-campus giveaways. The plan, which will be introduced in the General Assembly early next year, also would prevent colleges and their alumni associations from selling students’ contact information to credit card lenders. Read more at:
http://www.reviewatlas.com/news/x1969504972/Plan-would-protect-college-students-from-too-tempting-credit-card-deals

Shift On Campus From Credit Card To Debit Card Marketing

Many colleges have tightened rules on credit-card marketing on campus in order to discourage students from racking up huge amounts of debt. Now another kind of card is being pushed on campus -- with its own set of issues. This fall, financial-services companies are focusing more of their campus marketing on "prepaid debit cards," which work like standard debit cards except that they aren't linked to a traditional checking account. On the plus side students can't get into thousands of dollars of debt, as they can with credit cards. Read more at: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122109287812921669.html

Bad Idea When Banks And IHEs Team Up For Debit Cards

Banks have long pitched credit cards on campuses through exclusive deals with university alumni and athletic groups. But in marketing financial products to students, debit card partnerships have become the next frontier. Why? One major reason is that debit card use is growing faster than credit card use, and young adults have proved especially willing to embrace the financial industry's push for cashless payments.Students also tend to be short on cash. That makes them a reliable source of fees for banks, which charge up to $38 each time consumers overdraw their accounts. At Portland State University hundreds of students protested, angry that the school was promoting a bank account they felt cost students more than other banking options. Read more at:  http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2008-03-16-cover-college-debit_N.htm

Teaming Up To Reach Out To Lower-Income Applicants

Harvard University, Princeton University and the University of Virginia, after dropping early admissions programs criticized for catering to the wealthy, are now teaming up on a tour to attract lower-income applicants. The tour will stop next month in 19 cities, including Detroit, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington. Admissions officials will discuss financial-aid programs and academic offerings at meetings with high school students and their parents, the universities said in a statement today. Read more at:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=washingtonstory&sid=a2yXG4lYVV1s

Elite IHEs Providing More Aid To Middle-Income Families

Some of the nation's most elite colleges, trying to ward off perceptions that they've become unaffordable to even high-income families, are bolstering their financial aid packages by offering grants to students whose parents earn as much as $180,000 a year. IHEs are increasingly reaching out to families caught in the middle: those who are too wealthy to be eligible for federal grants, but not so wealthy as to be able to absorb the $50,000 a year for college, particularly with the rising costs of home ownership. Read more at:
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/09/27/at_elite_colleges_new_aid_for_the_middle/

Examining The Big Bucks In The Student Loan Industry

The student loan industry could be in for more jolts. Policy makers and regulators say that there are dangerous parallels between the private student loan and subprime mortgage markets. In both, there have been phenomenal profits, aggressive marketing and, until the recent credit market turmoil, a healthy appetite from Wall Street investors. This article profiles a company called First Marblehead, that made vast amounts of money marketing loans to college students. Read more at:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/business/02jabba.html?th&emc=th

Student Lenders Get More Competitive

With the student loan industry under scrutiny, at least three lenders are sweetening their discounts on loans, potentially cutting costs for millions of students. The lenders — Sallie Mae (SLM), Nelnet (NNI) and College Loan Corp. — say they've decided to make their loans more enticing because of fierce competition in the industry. "As the public turns its eye to the student loan market, the lenders are trying to appear competitive," says Luke Swarthout, a consumer advocate at the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. Read more at: http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/banking/2007-05-15-student-loans-usat_N.htm?csp=34