Obama to Propose $12B Community College Boost

Introduces plan to control tuition costs

(AP) - President Barack Obama today called for an overhaul of the higher education financial aid system, warning that colleges and universities that fail to control spiraling tuition costs could lose federal funds. Speaking to students at the University of Michigan, Obama said he was "putting colleges on notice" that the era of unabated tuition hikes is over. "You can't assume that you'll just jack up tuition every single year. If you can't stop tuition from going up, then the funding you get from taxpayers each year will go down," Obama said on the final stop of a three-day post-State of the Union trip to promote components of his economic agenda. More»

Oversubscribed schools aim to accommodate unusual schedules

(NEWSER) - College students are famous for burning the midnight oil; now, professors are joining them. A "handful of colleges" throughout the US are offering late-night classes for their students—particularly those with kids or late shifts at work, USA Today reports. Leading the way are community colleges where enrollment is outpacing capacity. The odd hours allow classes to use campus space that’s filled throughout the day. More»

And yes, they can bet they will flunk—with 'grade insurance'

(AP) - A new website is taking wagers from American college students who want to bet on their own grades. Just as Las Vegas sports books set odds on sporting events, Ultrinsic will pay top dollar for A's, a little less for the more likely outcome of a B average or better, and so on. Students can also wager they will fail a class by buying what Ultrinsic calls "grade insurance." The site is taking wagers from students at 36 colleges nationwide starting this month. More»

It's a four year—or more—waste of time, author says

(NEWSER) - College is a must if you want to have a real career, right? Nope, it’s “a scam, a self-perpetuating Ponzi scheme that needs to stop right now,” writes James Altucher for DailyFinance.com . Here are his seven reasons you shouldn’t send your kids:

• It’ll cost more than you think: Thanks to the fact that more than 60% of college students will take more than 4 years to wear that cap and gown.
• It doesn’t matter, money-wise: Yes, the difference in income between a college grad and a non-grad is approximately $800,000 over a 45-year career. But if you invest the $200,000 likely college cost in bonds yielding 3%, over those 45 years plus the 4 spent in college, you’ll end up with $851,000.

Department of Ed. study shows e-learning is effective

(NEWSER) - The educational establishment has been slow to accept online colleges as serious teaching institutions—programs like the University of Phoenix are commonly dismissed as “diploma mills.” But a new study by the Department of Education shows that, in many cases, students perform better with e-learning than in a traditional college environment. The US needs to take advantage of online schooling as much as possible, writes the Christian Science Monitor’s editorial board. More»