We’ve all seen the ads, DeVry University, University of Phoenix, ITT Technical Institute… the list goes on and on. We know these schools are unique and different from a traditional 4 year university—many offer classes online, are shorter in duration and promise to help place you in your field of work after graduation. They benefit a growing population of low-income and working individuals who require the offered flexibility to further their education.

What also sets these universities a part from traditional colleges and universities is that they make a profit. All other schools, public or private, 2-year schools or 4-year schools, are non-profit organizations.

Recently, for-profit universities have come under heavy scrutiny from congress for abusing federal student aid funding. About 75% of for-profits’ school revenue comes from federal grants and loans.

What we’re seeing in the national trends among college-goers is a little alarming. Roughly 10% of people attending an institute of higher education go to for-profit colleges like DeVry. However, that 10% utilize 24% of the federal student aid. This 24% amounts to something close to $26 billion of tax payers monies that are going into the pockets of for-profit university entrepreneurs.

Frontline recently did a segment called College Inc. that interviewed “education entrepreneurs” to learn more about the world of for-profit education. It raises flags about universities’ recruitment tactics, the price of degrees and the promise of work after college.

If you are considering some form of post-secondary education, its worth your while to watch the Frontline segment! We’ll also be following and posting what congress has to say about the future of profit-generating universities so stay tuned.

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1) Obama stated his commitment to making community colleges across the country more affordable

2) the Bus held Olympia in a Can (part 1 of 3)!

The first three weeks of the legislative session have been a whirlwind of topics: the budget, pre-kindergarten, the budget, race to the top, umm the budget, new revenue sources, and did I mention that people are concerned about Washington’s budget? Not so much a ‘whirlwind of topics’ … maybe more of a black hole, actually.

Amidst the furor over our 2.6 billion dollar deficit, Washington students must know one thing.  State need-grants and work study money for two and four year students are on the chopping block.

This was the hot topic last night at Grey Gallery and Lounge, where over 100 young people convened with the Bus, LEV, WSA, and UAW Local 4121 to hear and discuss how this session will affect campuses across Washington.

A few, key facts:

Washington State has over 83,000 college students receiving some form of need-based grant or work study money.

83,000 is more than a sold out Seahawks game at Qwest Field and roughly 2/3rds of all students across the state!

Cutting the state-need grant would entirely eliminate funding for 12,300 students and reduce (by more than half) the awards for 57,000 other students.

Nobody likes the idea of students taking out private loans to pay for their education-except the banks.

Check out Washington Student Association’s calendar for days of action in February and stay posted to League of Education Voters’ student Facebook page for updates on how young people can stay involved in this year’s legislative session.

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Look no further. Friends at the Washington Bus are hosting tonight! It’s called ‘Olympia in a Can‘ and yes, there will be Obama. There will be Olympia in a can. There will be legislators’ faces projected on the wall. There will be a rich and lively discussion on Washington’s budget, financial aide cuts for college students, new revenue, and how it all effects STUDENTS.

Don’t miss it!

6-8pm at Grey Gallery and Lounge 1512 11th Ave

for more details, check out hella.bus.

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The title says it all… What will universities and community colleges across Washington do to cope with this session’s ominous budget cuts? A recent poll of UWers suggests some interesting student perspectives on the issue.

Primarily, UW students do not want the quality of their education to decrease given our State’s budget deficit. The survey results beg the question, “Are students willing to pay more tuition to maintain their current level of excellence?” and when you put it that way, then yes, it appears as though they are.

With Washington facing a 2.6 billion dollar deficit, we’re going to see some cuts to higher ed. In fact, it would appear inevitable. But does that have to mean higher tuition? It seems like UW students have a few of their own suggestions about where that money should come from. For the full report, check it out on Publicola.

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Looks like we have a confirmation that Rep. Derek Kilmer will present legislation this session proposing 4-year institutions get the O-K to raise tuition…

Read the full article here at Seattle Times.

Currently, the state legislators set our public institutions’ tuition cap. This legislation would hand that control over to state universities and community colleges to set their own tuition. A draft of Rep. Kilmer’s legislation caps tuition increases at 14% per year, with a 10% maximum increase over the span of the next two years.

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Yesterday, Christina Rocks from Washington Student Association and I (Maggie), spent the day traveling up the coast to visit the campus of Western Washington University. Besides wanting to catch beautifully obstructed views of the mountains (clouds, fog, rain, large trees), we roadtripped north to talk to WWU students about what Washington’s budget crisis will mean for their education.

The run-down…

We’re in a budget crunch. About 2.6 billion in deficit, actually. Annnnnnnd, the governor and our legislators have been tasked with the tough job of cutting back spending– in a very serious way. On the chopping block is state funding of need-based financial aide and work study grants. These cuts would affect almost 83,000 students (about 2/3rds of Washington’s 4-year students).

Also on the table for discussion? Allowing state universities to raise their tuition– up to 14%.

If some of you are thinking this sounds like déjà-vu from last year’s session, you are partially right. It partially is. Last year, UW raised its tuition 14%. Why 14?  Because 14 divided by 2 is the most magical number known to the wizarding community.

But I digress. If you want to hear what WWU students had to say, here ya go:

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