| MESSAGES FROM JIM |
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FOOD FOR THOUGHT
What do liberal arts colleges have in common with kangaroos? What will an Obama or McCain administration mean for higher education? Has the student loan crisis really blown over? Find out what Summer Seminar speakers had to say ...MORE » |
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STRAIGHT TALK ON STUDENT LOANS
We at Hardwick~Day are increasingly hearing this from colleges: they have issued RFPs for their preferred-lender lists, only to learn that certain lenders will not submit proposals or that existing proposals are being withdrawn. Last week, Occidental College’s Board of Trustees initiated and approved the use of $6.5 million in quasi endowment funds for emergency lending. There are no generic solutions, so our advice is this…. MORE » |
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FAQs ABOUT ALUMNI RESEARCH
Looking to use Comparative Alumni Research to bolster the case for your institution? There is a fine line between making research findings accessible, offering interpretation, and assaulting audiences with charts and graphs. Here is a list of Frequently Asked Questions that will help you address recurring questions in a confident way, before they’re even raised….
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GRADUATION RATES AND RETENTION
When Jim put together the policy analysis program at the Minnesota Private College Council, he took an assertive approach to differentiating private colleges from state institutions. This recent MPCC article provides a great example of how a group can impart information and cast comparisons more effectively and comfortably than individual institutions… MORE » |
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THE MATRIX OF MARKET PRESSURES ON STUDENT LOANS
While many eyes are fixed on Harvard's income-contingent tuition, Dartmouth's free tuition for families with incomes under $75,000, and additions to the list of "no-loan" schools, we at Hardwick~Day think a more immediate concern is whether and how families will find loan capital to finance whatever their contribution is this fall… MORE » |
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STUDENT-LOAN-BACKED-AUCTION-RATE SECURITIES EXPLAINED
SLARS sounds like an infectious disease and in many ways they are, because higher interest rates are wending their way through the financial markets and will affect your school, your students, and your competition. Yes you can understand a Wall Street Journal article! Here, Jim translates an important one and lays out what it means for you…
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| ONLINE ESSAYS |
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RETENTION FOR SMARTIES
Do you think you know all about retention? Do you think private schools outdo publics on retention? Do you think retention is a thoroughly researched subject? Do you think you can just “trust your gut” when it comes to retention? Well, think again. MORE » |
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TRUTH
and CONSEQUENCES
Start a conversation about financial
aid with almost any chief admission or financial aid officer,
and you'll
hear inspiring stories about heroic families and grateful students.
Very quickly, however, these conversations turn to the gathering
storm on the financial aid horizon. Limited government grant
aid, exploding student loan burdens, dwindling institutional
resources, increased price resistance. . . these are the swirling
winds of consumer revolt. Will colleges face the truth in time
to avert the consequences? MORE » |
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ENROLLMENT
FORECASTING
As we start the new century, the nation's
first and oldest higher education system faces a set of conditions
that resemble
those of the first half of the twentieth century more than
those associated with the periods ushered in by the GI Bill
following World War II or the Higher Education Act of 1965.
Government grant assistance for students represents a minimal
percentage of revenue for most private institutions, which
are again dependent on the ability of families to pay or finance
tuition. Unlike the first half of the century, however, a much
smaller percentage of families are able to pay fully today's
tuition rates. MORE » |
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HIGHER EDUCATION
LANDSCAPE
On the admissions front, and in conversations
with boards, we see the following... MORE » |
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ADMISSIONS
TRENDS
Here are some thoughts on admissions trends.
This may be a perspective that is more useful at an institutional
policy
level, but staff should at least have some awareness of the
forces underlying the institutional behavior they encounter
and the annual reports of who is up and who is down. MORE » |
