Some non-elite colleges are freezing or dropping prices, reports Hechinger’s Matt Krupnick. They’re competing for a smaller cohort of 18-year-olds and facing more skepticism about the value of a college degree. Mills, a small private college in Oakland, “dropped its sticker price from $45,000 to $29,000 a year,” a 36 percent cut, he reports. Most students never paid $45,000; they were offered sharp discounts. But the big number was scaring potential students away. . . . almos

A new survey shows 74 percent of employers plan to hire recent college graduates this year, up from 67 percent last year. Thirty-nine percent will pay a starting salary of $50,000 or more. However, 23 percent will pay new graduates less than $30,000. Majors in the most demand: Business – 30 percent Engineering – 26 percent Computer and information sciences – 23 percent Engineering technologies – 16 percent Communications technologies – 13 percent Math and statistics – 11 perc