Posts Categorized: Financing

Early to College, Likely to Rise? Benefits and Challenges of Early College Programs

Look around your campus this semester for some students who look unusually young, eager and attentive. It may not be, as faculty sometimes say, that “the students are looking younger every year” or that you yourself are aging rapidly. They may be students in an “Early College” program. Less evident at first gaze may be the multiple types of students within the ranks of Early College goers,...

Campuses Look to Keep Green Energy Efforts Out of the Red

It is difficult to travel on any road today without seeing solar panels on the rooftops of houses, larger solar farms across vast fields or wind turbines in the distance. With larger initiatives to create more environmentally sustainable energy and reduce carbon footprint, many universities are reviewing their options for alternative energy sources. Three of the most common types of alternative e...

Post-Labor Days … and More from the NEJHE Beat

Post-Labor Days. For many, that means time to put away the white pants and relish that last summer getaway. Few will reflect on the true meaning of Labor Day (and May Day) or the too-often-denigrated labor movement in general. Fewer will think of the 19th century mill girls in Lowell, Mass., and their successors who risked their jobs—and sometimes their lives—to create the day of recognition ...

Rhode Island Pilots a Partnership for Combating Summer Melt

Imagine that you have a big trip coming up to someplace you have never been before. You’ve been thinking about this trip for a long time, and many people have helped you plan it and figure out how to pay for it. Along the way, you’ve managed to book the ticket and reserve a place to stay. You are apprehensive about going, but all of your friends are getting ready for similar trips, and there i...

Small Private Colleges Can Survive

With high school populations declining throughout New England and in several other regions of the country, it’s only natural to be concerned about the fiscal challenges confronting our nation’s private colleges and universities. Forecasts by prominent higher education experts increasingly suggest that many, if not most, of our small private institutions will face closure in the decade ahead. H...

Reexamining Our Approach to College Access

Recently, I read yet another higher education professional’s case for standardized testing, specifically that making such tests free and universal would help level the playing field for low-income and minority students seeking access to top colleges. But while the SAT’s hefty $57 fee contributes to the barriers low-income students face, eliminating it won’t solve the problem. Access to highe...

Commit to Building on New England’s “Employability” Advantage!

Higher education has provided New England with an economic advantage, as the region without strong natural resource advantages has relied on its higher education institutions (HEIs) and brainpower. A higher education-based economic advantage has enabled the region to develop strong well-paying technology and knowledge-based industries tied to New England’s academic research and development (R&am...

Working Classes? Preparing for Employability

On June 28, the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) convened members of the Commission on Higher Education and Employability (CHEE) in Providence to discuss concrete ways New England employers, education leaders and policymakers can work together to ensure a successful, equitable workforce future. The Commission comprises high-powered educators, employers, economists, policymakers and...

Amid Free College Proposals, a Guarantee from New Hampshire

Regardless of where you come from, the ability to access and receive a high-quality education is the key to success. The dream of an accessible education will now become a reality for many New Hampshire youngsters, thanks to a new University of New Hampshire (UNH) initiative called the Granite Guarantee Program. The UNH Granite Guarantee will begin with the incoming freshman class in fall 2017....

A Chance at Life: The Value of Legislative Action and Institutional Leadership for DACA Students

A Massachusetts resident, Faustina began working on her college applications last August. In the beginning, the process was going well. However, as she began receiving acceptance letters and financial aid award letters, things became difficult. As an undocumented student, Faustina did not have a permanent residency card, which most colleges need in order to provide financial aid. Unwavering in her...