One of the more common complaints against for-profit colleges is that the institutions make promises to prospective students about job placement and salary that the schools don’t make good on. A woman in Missouri recently sued one such for-profit school, saying it misled her about its medical assistant program. She had been seeking somewhere between $2-4 million in damages, but the jury went ahead and awarded her $13 million. [More]
education
Why College Isn’t Always A Good Financial Investment
By 5.8.13
There’s no doubt that the average college graduate earns more than the average worker with only a high school diploma, but a new report shows that it may not always make financial sense to invest in a degree. [More]
Some For-Profit Colleges Taking “Unlimited Data Plan” Approach To Tuition
By 12.13.12
A number of recent studies have cast a negative light on the for-profit college industry. A disproportionate number of students are not graduating or unable to find jobs that pay enough to allow them to repay their student loans. With so many people concerned that these schools might be debt traps, some programs are taking a new approach to tuition. [More]
Study: Women Earning Less Than Men Immediately After Graduating College
By 10.24.12
For anyone who thinks that the pay gap between men and women is something that doesn’t begin until later in their careers, or that this salary disparity is a disappearing relic of a bygone era, a new study claims that within one year of graduating from college, women are only earning 82% of what their male counterparts are making. [More]
Minnesota Says No To Free Online College Courses
By 10.19.12
A new trend has popped up on the education radar lately — free online classes anyone from anywhere can take to learn about a plethora of subjects. It’s known as MOOC — massive open online courses, and Coursera is one of the big names out there offering a variety of learning material. But the state of Minnesota is miffed because the universities offering classes through Coursera didn’t get permission to operate there, prompting the company to change its terms of services for customers in that state. [More]
University Of Phoenix Not Exactly Rising From Ashes, To Close 115 Locations
By 10.17.12
With enrollment and revenue declining, the University of Phoenix announced yesterday that it will close about half of its physical locations around the country in an effort to save $300 million.
The closed locations includes 90 learning centers and 25 campuses, accounting for a total of 13,000 students. This will leave 112 Phoenix locations in 36 states. [More]
Amazon Makes A Push To Get Kindles Into A Very Lucrative Market — Schools
By 10.17.12
Let’s see… where is a place with a captive audience that will always involve reading books, paper or otherwise, that will also need to keep updating its tools as the years go by? Oh yes, schools. They’re quite an attractive market for the makers of tablet and e-readers, and now Amazon is making a big push to make sure Kindles are the technology of choice in schools. [More]
Fed Chair Bernanke: Smart Consumers Are Good For The Whole Economy
By 8.7.12
Too often when people talk about being a good consumer or being educated about financial matters, the big picture is ignored in favor of images of individual wealth and well-being. But Federal Reserve Chairman Ben “It rhymes with stanky” Bernanke says that it’s really in everyone’s best interest for us to be smart about what we do with our money. [More]
Build Your College Fund With Your Kid, Not Just For Him
By 3.14.12
If you harbor a dream of your child graduating from college without being buried in student loan debt, you’re probably going to have to save up a heck of a lot of money for the cause. The earlier you start saving, the more you’ll be able to contribute. But it’s important that you get your kid in on the effort. [More]
Apple Really Pushing iPads As The Future Of Textbooks
By 1.19.12
Textbooks suck. They’re pricey, heavy, often outdated and they don’t play videos or music. The folks at Apple have been pushing possible educational aspects of the iPad since its release, but today the company went hogwild on the topic, introducing both a new version of its iBooks e-reader app and an app to help anyone create truly interactive books on the fly. [More]
Some Private Colleges Are Actually Lowering Tuition
By 11.21.11
As everything else seems to be getting more expensive, including the cost of education at most colleges, there are a few places of learning actually cutting the price of tuition for those who want a private school experience. [More]
White House Announces Plan To Cut Some Student Loan Payments
By 10.26.11
The Obama administration has announced two initiatives to lower student loan payments for some borrowers. One, an update to the existing income-based repayment program, will cap loan payments at 10% of discretionary income for certain borrowers. The other proposal will let some borrowers merge older student loans with newer ones. [More]
20 Colleges Costing Over $55,000 A Year Total
By 10.7.11
In 2007, there was only one college that had a total cost of over $50,000. Now, there are twenty that cost over $55,000. Here they are. [More]
This UPS Driver Needs A Review Of The ABCs
By 10.5.11
It’s not that the UPS delivery driver who brought George’s wife’s Avon order to their apartment is stupid. He just has a very poor understanding of how the alphabet works. That’s the only explanation for why he brought the package to vacant apartment A instead of George’s apartment C, and how the package later ended up re-routed to another woman in a different town. Clearly letters are just symbols without meaning. [More]
Bundle Together Several Small Scholarships
By 10.3.11
Rather than banking on one big scholarship, students are finding success by stringing together several small scholarships. By filling out an online questionnaire, you can get matched up with organizations that focus on specific subjects, talents, interest groups, ethnicities, and industries. Here’s your first step: [More]
Quantifying The Value Of College Degrees
By 5.31.11
As college costs continue to rise, it’s reasonable to step back and take a look at how much a bachelor’s degree may be worth in terms of career earnings. [More]
How To Pick A Preschool: Hang Out In It For A Few Hours
By 5.23.11
Just because it says “Montessori” on the front door doesn’t mean it’s a good preschool. Over at the Science-Based Parenting blog they learned that the hard way after putting their kid in a place that called itself a Montessori school and he was miserable. It was only after going there and watching for a few hours that they saw diapers weren’t changed frequently, there was a layer of grime on everything, and the teachers spoke to the children in admonishments. So now they’ve learned their lesson: [More]
Class Of 2011 Have Most Debt Of All Time
By 5.10.11
Congratulations, graduating class of 2011. You’ve pulled all-nighters, subsisted on ramen for weeks, and worn pajamas to class, all to achieve the beautiful shining goal of a college degree. Add to that another distinction, one that probably won’t be mentioned during too many commencement speeches. You’re also graduating with the highest debt of all time, an average of $22,000 a person. Hope that business about a degree giving you a higher earning potential is true, because you’re gonna need it. [More]
