News You Need to Know: Daily Roundup, Thu., Oct 5th

Higher Ed Arms Race Reaches Univ. of Wisconsin

The University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse is considering raising tuition in order to increase quality and access to the university without additional money from the state. A new revenue plan outlines an increase in tuition of $1,320 over three years, on top of annual statewide tuition growth for inflation. Heightened tuition would be used to hire 100 more professors, add 1,000 students to the campus, and provide more financial aid and scholarships to low-income students. One of the goals of the plan is that half of those new students will be minority or low-income. Critics maintain that middle-class families will be hurt, and that UW-LaCrosse is inappropriately trying to operate like a private university. Privatization trends at public universities include shifting more of the financial responsibility for academic quality and need-based aid from states to families and students, as schools like UW-LaCrosse confront cuts in state funding. The proposal will go to the Governor and Legislature next year.

NACAC Toys With Early Admission Recommendation

The National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC) will debate a proposal at its annual conference aimed at discouraging colleges from conferring admissions decisions before a high school students senior year. The limited proposal would require schools to wait until September 15th to extend offers to students, and it would also require them to accept applications through at least October 15. A NACAC survey found that 25 percent of colleges rendered some decisions before the start of the senior year, although usually in July or August. The current version of the proposal would not significantly change the admissions schedule for most schools. It is shockingly modest in light of Harvard and Princetons decision to end all early decision prior to the second semester of a high school students senior year.

MOHELA Lawsuit Reveals Secret Talks

According to documents from an open meetings lawsuit, four Board members of Missouris student loan agency (MOHELA) engaged in one-on-one discussions last January about firing then-Executive Director Mike Cummins. According to State Senator Joan Bray (D-St. Louis), Cummins was against Governor Matt Blunts proposal to sell the agency to Sallie Mae. The Columbia Daily Tribune obtained the internal documents associated with a lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon. Nixons lawsuit accuses MOHELAs Board of illegally conducting public business in secret. The agency is currently fighting the suit. The documents say that the four members voted to fire Cummins, because he violated the Boards directive to investigate only rumors about the possible sale of MOHELA, but not to lobby for or against it. The four members in question recently left MOHELAs board.