University Business - March 2012 - (Page 13)

BEHIND the NEws Politics and Higher Ed The President and frontrunner candidates on tuition costs When President Obama called for more college graduates during his 2009 State of the Union Address, higher education leaders embraced the challenge. His 2012 speech challenging colleges and universities to control tuition—and adding there would be dire funding consequences if they didn’t— was not as well received. American Association of State Colleges and Universities President Muriel Howard expressed concern in a statement about the President saying institutions that can’t hold costs down risk losing federal support. “While I understand his viewpoint, public institutions in 40 states do not have complete control of their pricing.” “Colleges, states, and the federal government must work together in a climate of mutual trust and collaboration,” NAICU President David L. Warren said in a statement. “The answer is not going to come from more federal controls on colleges or states, or by telling families to judge the value of an education by the amount young graduates earn in the first few years after they graduate.” He emphasized the need to continue to serve low-income students and provide quality education to all students. U President Obama and his main opponents Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich are all expressing concern about the high costs of college. iMAges fAr left And fAr right: OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE PHOTO By PETE SOUzA In subsequent speeches, Pres. Obama suggested increasing funding for the Perkins Loan Program and Federal Work-Study with distribution tied to controlling costs and student success. ACE President Molly Corbett Broad wrote in her weekly “President to President” update, “While we support the president’s goal, we are concerned about how such a provision would be implemented.” While people might be conflicted over Obama’s higher ed proposals, at least they know where he stands. Leading republican candidates Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich don’t have higher ed sections on their official websites (Gingrich does have a K-12 section). In various stump speeches, they have both spoken in favor of reducing the cost of a college education. During a U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce event on Jan. 25, Gingrich compared the rising cost of higher educa- tion to that of health care, saying the “scale of bureaucracy built into higher education makes it more expensive than it should be.” He sees the importance of STEM education and thinks students at all levels should be encouraged to pursue them. He also favors Pell Grants. Romney made some missteps in January when he praised for-profit colleges for their ability to graduate students at lower costs. Pundits and experts were quick to point out that community colleges are a far more affordable option. In the end, it would appear he feels the free market and competition will help bring costs down. One thing is clear, with five more months until the Republican convention in August, and eight months until the election, the candidates’ stand on a variety of issues, including higher ed, will continue to be critical on the campaign trail. —Ann McClure Donor Giving Strong An Atlas of Giving report reveals that the education sector was the strongest for charitable giving in 2011. The sector received $54.30 billion in 2011, an increase of 9.8 percent over 2010 when donors gave $49.44 billion. Education still falls in second place to religious charities, with education accounting for 16 percent of total giving in 2011 and religion at 36 percent. The religion sector saw a more modest 6.5 percent increase in giving in 2011 over 2010. Charitable donations as a whole increased by 7.5 percent. The report doesn’t specifically focus on giving to higher ed, but Rob Mitchell, CEO of Atlas of Giving, notes that, in terms of dollars, higher ed likely accounts for 80 percent to 90 percent of donations. “Other parts of the sector, private secondary schools and one-off education programs, are relatively insignificant,” he says. universitybusiness.com Gifts like the $350 million donation made to Cornell University in December of last year—the largest gift in Cornell history to date—likely contributed to the strong philanthropic year for the sector. On December 16, an anonymous donor, now known to be The Atlantic Philanthropies (whose founding chairman is 1956 alumnus Chuck Feeney), an organization that has given hundreds of millions of dollars to the university, donated the huge sum to Cornell to support its New York City Tech Campus. In a statement, university officials said Feeney and The Atlantic Philanthropies have made it possible for the university to maintain its need-blind admission policy; and recruit and retain faculty in key academic areas, including the life sciences, biological sciences, and social sciences; among other initiatives. The Atlas of Giving report can be found online at www.atlas ofgiving.com. —Kristen Domonell March 2012 | 13 http://www.atlasofgiving.com http://www.atlasofgiving.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - March 2012

University Business - March 2012
Contents
Editor’s Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Human Resources
Campus CFO
ERP in the Ethers
Digital Treasure
Scoring Big With New Football Teams
Money Matters
End Note

University Business - March 2012