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Wary students seek no-debt degrees -- and no-degree jobs
Young Americans are trying to avoid student loans or find low-debt paths to good jobs, reports Nirvi Shah in USA Today. Janika Cook...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 13, 20242 min read


College grads aren't baristas for life (usually)
The crisis for new college graduates is a media perennial, writes Kevin Carey in The Atlantic. "Find some recent grads working humble...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 21, 20232 min read


Free money! Grandpa Joe says you don't have to repay student loans
Free money! Grandpa Joe Biden knows you'd rather not repay your federal student loans, so he's doing his best to wipe out your debt,...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 13, 20232 min read


'Dual credits' aren't very helpful, but that can be fixed
Dual-credit programs are supposed to put students "on the fast track" to an affordable college degree, but many teens are earning credits...

Joanne Jacobs
Nov 7, 20232 min read


Arkansas students can qualify for 'free' bachelor's degree
The University of Central Arkansas will offer a tuition-free bachelor's degree to in-state students from families earning less than...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 12, 20231 min read


To control college costs: Work harder, dump gen-ed, fire DEI staff
College costs keep rising, even as more young people question a degree's value. The James Martin Center for Academic Renewal asked for...

Joanne Jacobs
Oct 12, 20232 min read


College is a gamble: Will you graduate? In what major? Owing how much?
Americans have soured on the value of a college education, writes Paul Tough in the New York Times Magazine. Ten years ago, 86 percent of...

Joanne Jacobs
Sep 11, 20232 min read


Apprenticeship-to-degree model launches debt-free careers
How do you get a job at Goldman Sachs? In the U.S., it usually takes a degree from an elite college to get in the door. In Britain,...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 20, 20232 min read


How to fix higher ed: Make public college free
"Higher education is deeply screwed up," writes William Deresiewicz on Persuasion. The first step to fixing it, he argues, would be to...

Joanne Jacobs
Aug 3, 20232 min read


Class of '23 has high hopes -- $84,855 -- for post-college pay
Gen Z college students are clueless about the workforce, according to a survey conducted in March, writes Jaime Dunaway-Seale for Real...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 20, 20232 min read


Who do you trust? Not higher ed or public schools -- or Congress
Americans' confidence in higher education has fallen sharply, according to a new Gallup poll, reports Hechinger's Jill Barshay. Yet most...

Joanne Jacobs
Jul 19, 20231 min read


$1.78 trillion in college debt: Can US derail the debt train?
Student loan debt now totals $1.78 trillion, reports Motley Fool. That number has doubled in the last 10 years. The average debtor owes...

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 19, 20232 min read


Should I go to college? Class of '23 worries about costs, feels less prepared
The Class of '23 missed the last part of ninth grade, and many missed chunks of 10th and 11th grade as well. Forty-two percent say...

Joanne Jacobs
Jun 8, 20231 min read


Higher ed's future: Microcredentials?
Microcredentials, which certify completion of short-term training in marketable skills, are the "new new thing in higher education,"...

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 22, 20232 min read


Dead wood in the groves of academe
The U.S. has led the world in higher education but our "university system is beginning to molder," writes Adrian Wooldridge in Bloomberg....

Joanne Jacobs
Apr 22, 20231 min read


Florida Atlantic wins upward mobility tournament
Florida Atlantic University beat Memphis in the closing seconds of the first game of the NCAA tournament, and play Farleigh Dickinson...

Joanne Jacobs
Mar 19, 20231 min read


Apprenticeships on the rise
BMW’s Rising Scholars program lets 12th-graders launch a pre-apprenticeship in advanced manufacturing, including paid work and training,...

Joanne Jacobs
Feb 24, 20231 min read


Under Biden's new plan, most college borrowers won't repay loans
Don't save for college. Don't choose a cheaper alternative. Unless you become a very higher earner very quickly, you'll make only...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 18, 20232 min read


San Diego legislator proposes in-state tuition for Tijuana residents
Tijuana, Mexico residents would pay in-state tuition at San Diego community colleges under a bill proposed by Assemblyman David Alvarado,...

Joanne Jacobs
Jan 12, 20231 min read


Emily the art student, debtor and criminal
Emily owes $60,000 for an art degree she never finished. Her payments, from her job delivering food, reduce the interest but aren't...

Joanne Jacobs
Dec 24, 20222 min read
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