There’s buzz around Capitol Hill and within Washington’s education policy community that the Pell Grant program faces serious funding challenges. Much attention has incorrectly fallen on a possible “shortfall” in funding, [...]
There’s buzz around Capitol Hill and within Washington’s education policy community that the Pell Grant program faces serious funding challenges. Much attention has incorrectly fallen on a possible “shortfall” in funding, [...]
We are sorry to report that legislation that would eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program remains stalled in the Senate, as debate on the health-care overhaul bill continues to [...]
In their fight against legislation that would end the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, student loan industry officials have one overriding goal: to persuade lawmakers to keep as much of the [...]
[Next week, the U.S. House of Representatives is planning to consider legislation that would overhaul the government’s financial regulatory system. As part of that bill, Congress would create a new federal agency that would aim to protect consumers from predatory lending practices. In [...]
At Higher Ed Watch, we have repeatedly called on federal policymakers to strengthen regulations that aim to prevent unscrupulous for-profit colleges and trade schools from taking advantage of financially needy students. [...]
At Higher Ed Watch, we are off this week to celebrate Thanksgiving, and help ourselves to plenty of turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. There's plenty to be thankful for this year, but mostly we're thankful for our loyal and spirited readership. Have a great holiday!
' [...]
At Higher Ed Watch, we are off this week to celebrate Thanksgiving, and help ourselves to plenty of turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. There's plenty to be thankful for this year, but mostly we're thankful for our loyal and spirited readership. Have a great holiday!
' [...]
November 24, 2009
At Higher Ed Watch, we are off this week to celebrate Thanksgiving, and help ourselves to plenty of turkey, cranberry sauce, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. There's plenty to be thankful for this year, but mostly we're thankful for our loyal' [...]
[Editor's Note: A version of this post ran yesterday in the Albany Times Union]
The College Board reports tuition is up nine percent this year in inflation-adjusted terms, despite declining prices throughout the economy and stagnant median family income. Parents want to know why the sharp increase and [...]
[Editor's Note: A version of this post ran yesterday in the Albany Times Union]
The College Board reports tuition is up nine percent this year in inflation-adjusted terms, despite declining prices throughout the economy and stagnant median family income. Parents want to know why the sharp increase and [...]
[Editor's Note: A version of this post ran yesterday in the Albany Times Union]
The College Board reports tuition is up nine percent this year in inflation-adjusted terms, despite declining [...]
Earlier this week, we called attention to the fact that some of the student loan industry's most fervent supporters in the financial aid world are potentially putting their schools and students at risk by refusing to take even the initial steps to prepare for the possible shift to' [...]
Earlier this week, we called attention to the fact that some of the student loan industry's most fervent supporters in the financial aid world are potentially putting their schools and students at risk by refusing to take even the initial steps to prepare for the possible shift to [...]
Earlier this week, we called attention to the fact that some of the student loan industry's most fervent supporters in the financial aid world are potentially putting their schools and students [...]
Yesterday the Lexington Institute held a policy forum in Washington, D.C. on the future of the federal student loan programs. Jason Delisle of the New America Foundation was a featured speaker along with representatives from Sallie Mae, the financial aid industry, and a student organization. A webcast [...]
Yesterday the Lexington Institute held a policy forum in Washington, D.C. on the future of the federal student loan programs. Jason Delisle of the New America Foundation was a featured speaker along with representatives from Sallie Mae, the financial aid industry, and a student organization. A webcast [...]
Yesterday the Lexington Institute held a policy forum in Washington, D.C. on the future of the federal student loan programs. Jason Delisle of the New America Foundation was a featured speaker along with representatives from Sallie Mae, the financial aid [...]

Back in September, we predicted that we'd all be in for "a wild ride" as legislation to overhaul the federal student loan programs makes its way through Congress. Boy, were we wrong.
Instead, progress on the legislation, which would eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program' [...]

Back in September, we predicted that we'd all be in for "a wild ride" as legislation to overhaul the federal student loan programs makes its way through Congress. Boy, were we wrong.
Instead, progress on the legislation, which would eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program' [...]
Back in September, we predicted that we'd all be in for "a wild ride" as legislation to overhaul the federal student loan programs makes its way through Congress. Boy, were we' [...]
By Travis Reindl
For the better part of the last decade, the higher education community has debated the question of whether public colleges and universities are on the path to privatization. Will state support for public institutions sag to the point where they are not really public? Should these institutions be [...]
By Travis Reindl
For the better part of the last decade, the higher education community has debated the question of whether public colleges and universities are on the path to privatization. Will state support for public institutions sag to the point where they are not really public? Should these institutions be [...]
By Travis Reindl
For the better part of the last decade, the higher education community has debated the question of whether public colleges and universities are on the path to privatization. Will state support for public institutions sag to the point where they are [...]
The news that Matteo Fontana, a former high-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Education, has pleaded guilty to charges that he lied to the government about his ownership of stock in a student loan company he was in charge of overseeing provides a timely reminder of why the [...]
The news that Matteo Fontana, a former high-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Education, has pleaded guilty to charges that he lied to the government about his ownership of stock in a student loan company he was in charge of overseeing provides a timely reminder of why the [...]
The news that Matteo Fontana, a former high-ranking official at the U.S. Department of Education, has pleaded guilty to charges that he lied to the government about his ownership of stock [...]
In April 2007, Higher Ed Watch revealed that Matteo Fontana, a former high-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid office, had held at least $100,000 of stock in a student loan company he was in charge of overseeing. Last week, the Justice Department filed criminal' [...]
In April 2007, Higher Ed Watch revealed that Matteo Fontana, a former high-ranking official in the U.S. Department of Education's Federal Student Aid office, had held at least $100,000 of stock in a student loan company he was in charge of overseeing. Last week, the Justice Department filed criminal [...]
[Editor's Note: Yesterday we ran an excerpt from an article that Higher Ed Watch Editor Stephen Burd wrote for The Washington Monthly [cover pictured right] on the subprime student loan crisis at some of the nation's largest chains of for-profit colleges. Today, we're running a second excerpt that' [...]
[Editor's Note: Yesterday we ran an excerpt from an article that Higher Ed Watch Editor Stephen Burd wrote for The Washington Monthly [cover pictured right] on the subprime student loan crisis at some of the nation's largest chains of for-profit colleges. Today, we're running a second excerpt that' [...]
[Editor's Note: In this month's edition of the Washington Monthly, Higher Ed Watch Editor Stephen Burd looks at the subprime student loan crisis at some of the nation's largest chains of for-profit colleges. We've included an excerpt from the piece below. To read the full article, click' [...]
Despite all of the evidence to the contrary, the student loan industry has always denied that loans made through the Department of Education's Direct Loan program cost taxpayers less than subsidizing private lenders under the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. With a bill pending in Congress that would' [...]
As we reported on Tuesday, Qorvis Communications, a top public relations firm in Washington, has taken the lead in the student loan industry's efforts to manufacture grassroots student opposition to legislation that would eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. But getting students to rally behind an' [...]

It's no wonder Americans are deeply suspicious of special interest lobbyists in Washington. Take the student loan industry's latest efforts to kill legislation pending in Congress that would end the Federal Family Education Loan program. It's a prime example of special interest lobbying at its worst.
In 2007, shortly [...]
Testifying yesterday at a House of Representatives hearing on alleged admissions abuses at several for-profit colleges, Harris Miller, the president of the Career College Association (CCA), said that his organization doesn't have any tolerance for "schools that violate the rules and regulations" that govern the federal student aid' [...]

At Higher Ed Watch, we have made clear our opposition to a provision in the pending student loan reform legislation that would provide a set aside for all existing non-profit student loan agencies to service up to 100,000 borrowers in their home states. But we have also [...]
The student loan industry must think we all have very short memories. As part of their effort to derail legislation that would eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, lenders have been sharing talking points with Senators and staff arguing that the “pay for play” scandals that engulfed [...]
By now it's common knowledge in Washington that the proposal pending in Congress to move federal student loans to 100 percent direct lending generates savings by eliminating subsidies to private lenders under the alternative program, the Family Education Loan (FFEL) program. The student loan industry is now trying to' [...]

The General Accounting Office (GAO) recently released a report revealing that some publicly traded for-profit colleges have been pumping up their enrollment numbers by deliberately admitting unqualified students.
Federal law requires that students who have neither a high-school diploma nor its equivalent must pass a government approved [...]
We probably should have expected this. Since the Obama Administration declared its intentions to pump nearly $800 billion into the economy and put $12 billion on the table to help regain world leadership in college attainment by 2020, some of our most elite institutions have gone public [...]
In the coming weeks, the Senate is expected to begin consideration of a companion bill to the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act adopted by the House of Representatives last month. In an effort to derail the legislation, which would expand the Direct Loan program and eliminate the Federal [...]
While the Obama Administration's proposal to index the maximum Pell Grant to one percent over the inflation rate is a step in the right direction, it would not do enough to increase the number of low income students enrolling and graduating from college. Congress needs to take [...]
Pity the student loan industry. Even with the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program on the verge of extinction, the industry's plight has not generated grass-roots opposition from anyone other than those who have a vested interest in the program's survival (yes, that includes financial aid administrators who serve on [...]
(Editors Note: Today we are running an abridged version of testimony that three major higher education associations have submitted to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Commercial and Administrative Law, which is holding a hearing this afternoon on the treatment of private student loans in bankruptcy.' [...]

Legislation that the U.S. House of Representatives approved last week would make landmark changes to the federal student loan programs -- changes that we have advocated at Higher Ed Watch for the last three years.
We can not overstate the significance of this achievement. Despite fierce [...]

The House of Representatives is expected to approve a bill today that would eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, expand the Direct Loan program, and put the resulting savings into student grant aid. But before a final vote is taken, the loan industry's champions in the' [...]
With the U.S. House of Representatives poised to take up legislation that would eliminate the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program and provide all federal student loans directly from the government, lawmakers opposed to the plan are coming armed with talking points straight from the student loan industry. Unfortunately [...]
Michael Dannenberg, Stephen Burd, Ed Policy, admin