More Accolades for U-CAN

U-CAN, NAICU's college information Web site, continues to draw praise from experts on the college search process.

CollegeExplorations.com reports that U-CAN was named one of the top college search sites during a recent gathering of independent college consultants. Participants considered "accuracy, ease of use, breadth of information, and currency of data sources" in choosing their six favorite Web resources. A day earlier, AdmissionsAdvice.com wrote that U-CAN "is a terrific resource for quickly comparing facts and data in standardized form." Since its launch in 2007, U-CAN has generated accolades from admissions experts, consumers, and policymakers.

U-CAN, which features more than 800 college and university profiles, is close to completing its 2009 data update. Make sure to visit the site in mid-December for the most recent institutional information.

Honoring -- and Supporting -- Those Who Have Served

Private colleges and universities across the nation marked Veterans Day in a variety of ways. In addition to campus observances, several announced new student veteran support services and others got word out about the opportunities provided by the new GI Bill.

Here's a quick, far-from-exhaustive sampling of what's happening on private college campuses. 

• Today Boston College dedicated a memorial wall in honor of 209 alumni who died while serving in a war zone, while Harvard University, with the U.S. Army Chief of Staff in attendance, honored its 16 alumni who have received the Medal of Honor. (Boston Globe)
• Drexel University yesterday dedicated a new veterans office. Veteran enrollment at the institution is up 15 percent over last year. (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• During a campus reception for military veterans today, Pacific University recognized a 2009 graduate who escaped harm last week during the shooting at Fort Hood, where she is preparing to be deployed. (Oregonian)
• Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management just announced that it is expanding its free entrepreneurship "boot camp" for disabled veterans to a sixth institution. (Syracuse Post-Dispatch)
• Xavier University yesterday announced the formation of a new veterans affairs office, to attract and support the growing number of military veterans returning to college. (University news release)
• Saint Leo University held an observance and a free lunch for veterans and their families today, followed by a day of community service in the afternoon. (Tampa Tribune)

In recent days, a number of newspapers have published pieces by college and university officials -- including those at Le Moyne College, Marist College, Rochester Institute of Technology, and Saint Leo University -- that highlight the new higher ed opportunities that now exist for veterans.  Across the nation, hundreds of private, nonprofit colleges and universities are participating in the new GI Bill Yellow Ribbon program.  

In addition, the American Council on Education launched a Web site two days ago to help educate veterans about the new GI Bill and encourage them to take advantage of its benefits. Meanwhile, the Christian Science Monitor published an editorial yesterday that noted the difficulties facing many student veterans who are still waiting for their stipends to arrive from the VA. The editorial encouraged the agency and colleges to "do right by student vets," while recognizing the efforts being made by institutions to serve the veteran population. 

Presidential Compensation: "Paying the Smart Money"

The Los Angeles Times' editorial page follows up two days of heavy national media coverage of the Chronicle's presidential compensation report with a defense of executive salaries at private colleges (while imploring them to better control overall institutional costs).

From the editorial: 

We agree that colleges and universities could do more to contain costs. The academic arms race for prestige names has kept tuition costs on an inexorable, family-budget-crushing trajectory upward, regardless of the pain in the rest of the economy. ...

But excellent college leadership is necessary, now more than ever, and that costs. University presidents usually are respected scholars in their own right who must combine a broad grasp of academic issues with administrative and public relations skills -- and perhaps above all, a knack for fundraising. Great university management draw great faculty, who in turn attract top students, fellowships, and grants."

The piece also provides some important context for the Chronicle's figures: 

"[B]efore you start yelling "excesses of the financial industry all over again," it's worth noting that this elite club [of million-dollar packages] is still tiny -- 23 college presidents among the 419 reviewed by the publication. ... As the economy spiraled downward in 2008, many college leaders took no raises or volunteered for pay cuts.

The total number of private, nonprofit colleges and universities in the U.S. is approximately 1,600. For the most part, the Chronicle looked only at institutions that reported expenditures of at least $50 million on their 2007-08 Form 990s. 

For a sense of what NAICU has been saying about presidential compensation, see U.S. News' and Bloomberg's coverage.

Inflation-Adjusted Net Tuition at Private Colleges Drops 8.6 Percent in Past Five Years

Missed in most of the coverage of the College Board's just-released annual tuition and student aid trends reports is this important piece of information:

Net tuition at private, nonprofit four-year colleges declined 8.6 percent ($1,120) between 2004-05 and 2009-10, in constant 2009 dollars. Inflation-adjusted net tuition this year is also lower than what it was 10 years ago -- $11,870 vs $12,150, respectively, in constant 2009 dollars. (See figure 7 in Trends in College Pricing 2009.)

Students at private colleges have seen healthy increases in grant aid from their institutions and the federal government in recent years. In addition, the College Board reports that average annual percentage increases in inflation-adjusted published ("sticker") prices at private colleges rose at a smaller rate over the last 10 years (2.6 percent) than in either the '90s (2.9 percent) or '80s (4.7 percent). (See figure 4 in Trends.)

This isn't to say that private colleges and universities are satisfied with the current state of college affordability. They aren't. They will continue to work to ensure they remain accessible and affordable to students from all backgrounds. Nevertheless, this new net tuition data is a reminder of the very real efforts they have already taken.

California Budget Cuts and Private College Enrollment

Will state budget cuts in California boost enrollment at the state's private colleges, especially as independent institutions increase student aid and think creatively about how to enhance affordability?

For example, it's hard to imagine that the new program announced by the private, nonprofit University of San Francisco won't generate interest. Starting in January, the Jesuit institution will offer some general education classes at a 50-percent discount "to help non-USF students trapped by the devastating budget cuts at California's public universities, and give them the classes they need to graduate."

As one USF official told the local press:

“What we’re really trying to respond to is this pent up need on the part of students who can’t get into the classes they need to graduate or to remain full-time students through the Cal State systems,” said Jennifer Turpin, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at USF. “Many of these students were calling us to say ‘help.’ … That prompted us to say that we already have a presence in these regions, let’s start offering classes for undergraduates.”

Further down the coast, California Lutheran University, which introduced a public university tuition match for the 2008-09 academic year (and expanded eligibility for it this year), announced a record number of new students this fall.

According to CLU:

Budget cuts at state institutions, the extension of the "CLU Guarantee Scholarship: Private Education, Public Price" to transfer students, and increased outreach to community colleges all contributed to the surge.

And back up in Northern California, William Jessup University, which cut tuition by 2.5 percent for 2009-10, enrolled its largest-ever class this fall. 

Affordability and Access ... in Connecticut and Nationwide

The Hartford Courant published this letter from NAICU President David Warren and Judy Greiman, president of the Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges over the weekend, under the header "College Dreams Need Not Be Deferred":

October 11, 2009

There's no question that the economic downturn has added to the pressures of paying for college [CTLiving, Oct. 7, "Dreams Deferred"]. However, it is important to note that because of student aid increases and other measures, private, nonprofit colleges and universities are still an affordable option for most students and families.

Because of the recession, some students who otherwise would have enrolled at a private college have had to turn to community colleges and public universities. But they have proved to be the exception, not the rule.

Nationwide, tuition and fees at private colleges this year increased by the lowest average rate in 37 years (4.3 percent), while institutional student aid rose by 9 percent. Many private colleges have set up reserve student aid funds for students whose families have been hit hard by the recession.

Increased funding for Pell Grants, work-study and federal student loans this year have also helped. In Connecticut, support for state-funded need-based aid has been strong in spite of the state's budget problems, and its private institutions award more than $457 million in institutional student aid.

As a result, enrollment at private colleges and universities nationwide increased for 2009-10. The bottom line for students and families is not to let sticker shock stop you from considering a private college or university. Because of student aid, independent higher education remains a great investment.

Judith B. Greiman, president, Connecticut Conference of Independent Colleges, Farmington

David L. Warren, president, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, Washington, D.C.