"Yes, You Can Request More College Financial Aid—Even During A Pandemic"
“I wish I had this when I started college after I had my son.” The quote is scribbled in the margins of my focus group guide, but it still grabs hold of my heart when I review my notes. In the five months before the COVID-19 pandemic, I led over 20 focus groups with college students, financial aid officers, and student advisors. Even then, financial stability was tenuous for millions of college students.
“Students can appeal their financial packages for a number of reasons, and the Department of Education provides guidance to financial aid counselors annually. At the Seldin/Haring-Smith Foundation, we wanted to provide a similar resource for the 18.8 million Americans who apply for college financial aid each year. For the past six months, we have collaborated closely with 18 leading higher education associations, advocacy organizations, and colleges to build SwiftStudent: a new free, digital resource that helps students request changes to their college financial aid packages.”
Read more in Forbes.
"CDC recommended that migrants receive flu vaccine, but CBP rejected the idea"
SHSF grant’s to The Brookings Institution discussed in The Washington Post.
“A new report from the Brookings Institution warns that risk factors such as lackluster sanitation, overcrowding and poor nutrition are creating a “perfect storm” of conditions in CBP detention facilities that could lead to severe outbreaks of the flu and other communicable diseases. The report recommends vaccinating detained migrants as a way of limiting outbreaks.”
View the full article online at The Washington Post.
“The risk of outbreak rises as immigrant detainees are denied vaccinations”
John Hudak and Christine Stenglein of The Brookings Institution share the findings from their SHSF grant in The Dallas Morning News.
“While flu shots will protect countless Americans from the health and life effects of influenza this winter, we explain in new analysis at the Brookings Institution why denying vaccinations to those held in the nation’s immigration detention facilities puts at risk the health of detainees, government employees and the communities surrounding detention facilities.”’
View the full editorial online at The Dallas Morning News.
"Humanitarian crisis at the border is a concern for states as much as feds"
SHSF grant’s to The Brookings Institution was featured in The Las Vegas Sun.
“State and local officials can and should play an important role in addressing the humanitarian crisis that is America’s treatment of immigrant detainees.
So writes John Hudak of the Brookings Institution in an insightful paper that should be required reading for Nevada leaders at all levels.”
View the full article online at Las Vegas Sun.
"California's new law allowing college athletes to be paid is a step in the right direction"
“Student-athletes are envied by their peers, basking in national attention, and bound to make millions in professional leagues post-graduation. At least that’s what the public imagines. Reality is often far different.
In most sports, the odds of turning pro are less than 2%, and while in school student-athletes are often pulled away from other college opportunities. In fact, college athletes on scholarship are doubly disadvantaged: the NCAA forbids them from accepting compensation for their athletic efforts, even while their team obligations render other employment opportunities impossible.”
Read more on Salon.com.
"Final Four is a time to challenge college's true cost"
“Against the backdrop of recent college admissions scandals and the onslaught of March Madness, the staggering amount of money in college sports has never been more apparent. Everyone is making money -- except the players, of course.
For example: according to data from the Department of Education and USA Today, Duke makes more than $33 million annually on NCAA basketball-related revenue, and Coach Mike Krzyewski (Coach K) earns $8.89 million a year. In contrast, Duke's star player, Zion Williamson, is capped at $75,370, the cost of attendance at Duke, plus incidentals. All but $3,466 of this goes right back to Duke for tuition, room and board.”
Read more in CNN.
"Why did it take a celebrity scandal to talk absurd college costs?"
“The new admissions scandal is another sign of a badly broken system. For decades, fearful parents have invested in their children (test prep tutors! “Volun-tourism” to poorer countries!) with their hopes pinned on admission to just a few of our country’s fine colleges and universities. These parents will jump through every hoop — and spend every dime — to stack the odds in favor of a child’s admission to an elite school. The rich and powerful, celebrities among them, are falling for this nonsense.
Beyond being a study in bad parenting, these folks are ignoring two critical facts: There are many great colleges in America, and attending a rich or well-known school matters most if you come from an underprivileged background.”
Read more in The Philadelphia Inquirer.