Transcript Sunshine in the Middle of a Rainstorm

Sunshine in the
Middle of a Rainstorm
Diane Auer Jones
Former Assistant Secretary for
Postsecondary Education,
U.S. Department of Education
Understanding the
Policy Environment
• $25.4
billion for Pell Grants - 2009-2010 (up from
$14 billion with stimulus spending)
• Average Stafford Subsidized loan ~$7580
•Average Unsubsidized Stafford loan - ~$9288
•Average Consolidation loan - ~$74,106
•Average PLUS loan - $22,897
•Average Student indebtedness - $23,200
2009 Average Tuition and Fees
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Public 2 year - $2,544
Public 4 year - $7,020 (in state) [$28,000]
Public 4 year - $18,548 (out of state) [$80,000]
Private 4 year - $26,273 [$120,000]
For Profit - $14,147
Cohort Default Rates are rising after hitting an all time low
several years ago (largely because hurricane states were
exempted from the numbers)
• Despite rhetoric to the counter, the true cost to families is much
higher once living expenses, books, and loan interest are
included. For those who get aid, the unpredictability is a
problem.
The Campaign Trail
At the top of almost every family’s worry list are:
•Concerns about college cost
•Concerns about college admissions
Elected Officials
MUST
Address these Concerns
Misuse of the BLS Report
• 2002, The Big Payoff: Educational Attainment and
Synthetic Estimates of Work-Life Earning
• $1 million in added earnings for those who hold
baccalaureate degrees (over generalized)
• Professional degrees is where the payoff is most
prominent
What Do We Do Now?
• Unemployment is at a record high
• Unemployment among recent college graduates is even higher
(double?)
• Student loan indebtedness is at a record high
• The salary earned at a person’s first job is largely predictive of
earnings for the next ten years
• Job placement of college graduates in 2009 was under 19%; it
was 51% in 2007
• Many students turn to graduate school to avoid unemployment,
but in so doing, take on additional debt.
What can the Federal
Government do?
• The
Federal government cannot control college costs
(although they are experimenting with new regulations that
would allow them to cap tuition costs based on career
earnings)
•The Federal government is unwilling to provide enough
funding to meaningfully help families pay.
•Elected officials used the Pell program to gather votes,
based on the dollars they can find, not on the data about
how much families need.
• Stimulus funding provided for significant increases in Pell
grant funding, but this will expire.
What can the Federal
Government do?
• Savings
from conversion to Direct Loan program will provide
some additional funding, but not as much as predicted by the
Congressional Budget Office or the Office of Management and
Budget (cost of originating the loan and administering the
program not included in “scoring” process)
• State and local budget shortfalls will exacerbate tuition
increases
• Unemployment remains high
What can the Federal
Government do?
Nothing…..
So politicians, scholars, and
think tankers
jump on the
Accountability Train
Accountability
• Graduation Rates
• Retention Rates
• IPEDS database – first time, full time students; cohort
assessment
• So where did the idea of measuring student achievement
assessments come from, anyway, and was it such a bad idea?
•Can you ever beat the selective elites in the accountability
game?
How Can You Change the
Conversation?
Let the Sun Shine!
Take control of the story!
Are Students and Families
Concerned about Quality?
NO
Are Students and Families Concerned
about Grad and Ret Rates?
NO
How Can You Change the
Conversation?
•Provide clear information – and honest information –
about rising costs.
•Focus on a new student aid system rather than small
changes in the old one. Revive coop!
•Conduct institutional research on long-term completion rates
•Survey graduates to understand employment placement, both
long term and short term
•Conduct studies to learn more about why students drop
out/transfer/wait out
•Publish data about job placement by program area
How Can You Change the
Conversation?
•Encourage alumni to participate in curriculum review activities
(and not just the star students)
•Use your campus website to provide more information about
unique features of various programs
•travel abroad is no longer novel
•everyone knows that research opportunities are limited to
a select few
• how many undergraduates will actually get to work with
the new Nobelist you just hired?
How Can You Change the
Conversation?
•Find out what information matters to students and families and then report on it
•Graduation and Retention Rates are meaningless to most families
•What do students care about?
•Access to parking
•Access to daycare
•Tutoring and Support Services
•Number of students in a freshman survey course
•Availability of required courses
•Faculty advising ratios
•Relationships with local employers
•Alumni activities – real ones!
•Year round programming
•Online courses, tutoring, supplemental assistance
•Availability of housing
•Experience of transfer students – both in and out
How Can You Change the
Conversation?
•What are you doing to help students avoid and manage debt
– and not just the poor kids. Middle class families may be
struggling more than anyone now.
•Disclose more information about costs
•How are dollars spent?
•Why did tuition go up?
•Are undergraduate tuition dollars cross-subsidizing other
programs? If so, is this reasonable or should the other
programs be eliminated?
How Can You Change the
Conversation?
•What is the true cost of Federal regulatory compliance?
•Is it worth participating in the Federal student aid program
given the cost of compliance?
• Be honest about marketing costs versus educational quality
costs.
•Withdraw from the
U.S. News rankings
Every Campus Has a
Story to Tell
•Tell it!
•And don’t focus only on the uber-students or the outliers – talk
about real students with real lives and real outcomes.
•Strengthen ties to employers – I mean really strengthen the
ties.
•Think seriously about the trade offs between serving more
students marginally and serving fewer students better
Every Campus has a
Story to Tell
•Bring elected officials and staff to your campus
•Bring student groups /alumni to Washington
•Local press (I know, it’s hard to get the press to tell a
good news story)
•Make sure your website is telling a good story. Websites
have become so generic.
And Above All….
• Stop apologizing
• Get out of defensive mode
• And spring into offense!