Tuition increases for undergraduates attending public colleges and universities in their home states appear to be all over the map this fall.

The range so far -- from no change at Maine's community colleges to double digits at some Virginia and Arizona universities -- reflect the variety of strategies schools and states are trying to balance their economic challenges with those of students and parents.

"States are starting from different places," says Julie Bell of the National Conference of State Legislatures. But in general, money for higher education "just isn't there."

College leaders just about uniformly endorse the idea of community service by students. And college leaders just about uniformly endorse the idea of tax breaks to help pay for college. But combine those two concepts? Higher education isn't excited about that idea.

For-profit schools have been getting a lot of attention over the last few weeks -- and not much of it has been good. While managers of these institutions often argue that the industry offers an efficient and cost effective opportunity for students to better their education, the track record of many of these companies when it comes to the career mobility or the financial improvement of students, does not exactly garner high marks.

Ribbon cuttings.

Press releases.

Posed photographs with shovels in hand.

Such are the tools colleges often use to illustrate their close ties to the business community.

And as public institutions work ever harder to make the case that they serve as economic engines for their cities, states and regions, college leaders are likely to cozy up to the business world even more.

We are initiating coverage of the proprietary (for-profit) post-secondary education space with Buy ratings on  Apollo Group (ticker: APOL) and  American Public Education (APEI) and Neutral ratings on  DeVry (DV) and  Career Education (CECO)

President Obama has proposed a plan to strengthen the higher education pipeline to ensure that more students succeed and complete their degree. In fact, the President wants the U.S. to have the world's highest % of graduates by 2020. Currently the U.S. ranks seventh.

ARA) - By now, everyone knows that the Obama administration's stimulus bill is designed to get the economy moving again. However, you may not know that most of the bill's $70 billion for education will go to low- to middle-income individuals.

A major part of the bill is a $13.8 billion tuition tax credit boost called the American Opportunity Tax Credit. This tax credit reimburses 100 percent of the first $2,000 of educational expenses for lower income students. For the next $2,000, students will receive a 25 percent reimbursement. In short, lower income students will receive $2,500 in education reimbursements per year.

As the economy collapsed last fall, so did the job prospects of thousands of college seniors, especially those who had set their sights on Wall Street.
   
But after the initial panic, some students said they felt an odd relief.

Instead of going straight into a 100-hour-a-week job at an investment bank, they are pursuing less lucrative but potentially more satisfying opportunities in public service, enrolling in record numbers in the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, and Teach for America. Other students seeking refuge from the recession are flocking to graduate schools, increasing competition for admission.

Perhaps your work involves travel and you need the flexibility to study when and where you like; perhaps you can neither afford the time nor cost of tuition fees, along with (unpaid) time off work to attend a full-time or part-time MBA.

Or, you live, say, in Ukraine, but want an American MBA when no such school is available; equally feasibly, you live and work in the back of beyond, and want to stay there, many hours away from the campus and classroom.

Whatever, you have weighed up the options and decided to trust all to the digital age and take an online, or distance learning, MBA.

That, you thought, was the hard part; choosing a provider would be the easy bit.

Early Arrival of Membership Renewal Notices Planned
Preparations are being made to mail out renewal notices several weeks early in 2008. To prevent your renewal from being delayed or not reaching your desk, please send any school contact changes (include name, mailing address, and email) to DaKeia Wheeler at dakeiaw@career.org.
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