Posts Categorized: Financing

Student Debit Card Programs: Friend or Foe?

The rising cost of tuition, the loan burden, the diminished grant availability—these usually come to mind when the subject is paying for college. Surprisingly, though, many students are actually entitled to thousands of dollars in refunds, usually paid when students borrow more then they need to, or when late federal aid arrives supplementing already paid tuition fees.The distribution of the...

Swimming in Debt, Hebrew College Relocates

Hebrew College of Newton, Mass., announced it will be move its operation to Andover Newton Theological School in 2011 or 2012, contingent on the sale of its current building.The college is facing debt of more than $32 million.Hebrew College offers undergraduate degrees and several master’s degrees and certificates in Jewish Studies and Jewish Education.Hebrew recently teamed up with Northeas...

Drop the PILOT? Not Yet, Say Cash-Strapped Municipalities

Private colleges, nonprofit hospitals, museums, soup kitchens and churches are exempt from property taxes. As cash-strapped host municipalities look for more revenue, their interest in collecting payments in lieu of taxes (PILOTs) from charitable nonprofit organizations will grow, according to a report by the Cambridge, Mass.-based Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. In recent years, many cities ...

Maine Works on its System

Trustees of the University of Maine System got an update this week regarding the financial and programmatic health of the state’s seven university campuses and its online and distance-learning initiative called University College.Last year, projected budget shortfalls to the tune of $42.8 million prompted administrators to reevaluate the management and academic structures of the Maine system...

WPI Tuition to Increase by 3.4%

Worcester Polytechnic Institute announced it will increase undergraduate tuition and fees by 3.4%, to $38,700, for the 2010-11 academic year. Last year's 2.9% increase was the lowest percentage increase at WPI in nearly 20 years, and considerably lower than the U.S. average of 4.4%. WPI has maintained a "frost" on staff positions, replacing departing staff or adding new positions only in the most ...

Conn. Higher Ed Dept Unveils Online Financial Literacy Game

At the March 17 meeting of the Connecticut Department of Higher Education, Commissioner Michael Meotti and Associate Director Mark French demonstrated a new online financial literacy game, called Who Wants to Be Financially Responsible? The interactive course, found at flip.ctdhe.org, designed to help young adults become more confident in managing financial matters, is a collaborative effort by th...