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December 2005 IN THIS ISSUE
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Higher Education Vital to Minnesota’s Future
Minnesota’s Private Colleges appear to be gaining support for their view that Minnesota’s economy could be adversely affected unless policymakers offer greater support for Minnesota’s higher education enterprise. In a recent report issued by the Brookings Institution and sponsored by a number of key business and community organizations, findings concluded that growing socioeconomic disparities may threaten our state’s continued economic vitality. In conclusions strikingly parallel to those of Minnesota’s Private Colleges, the study, entitled Mind the Gap, said that it is in the business community’s best interest to support policies designed to narrow the gap in income, healthcare and education between those in our region who are prospering and those who are not, including Minnesota’s minority groups. The study — and a call to action — were presented at a Minneapolis forum attended by approximately three hundred business leaders in mid-November. Called Closing the Gap and jointly sponsored by the Twin Cities United Way and The Itasca Project, the forum presentation included the study findings and urged action to assure a capable workforce in the years ahead. According to Brookings’ Deputy Director Amy Liu, metropolitan areas with high levels of income inequality tend to have lower levels of overall income growth. She said addressing disparities “will fundamentally strengthen the Twin Cities economy” and increase the size and quality of the workforce. Research undertaken independently by the Minnesota Private College Research Foundation also suggests the urgent need to improve educational attainment for Minnesota’s growing minority groups in order to produce the educated workforce necessary to sustain our economic vitality. That research found that within the next four years job growth will begin to outpace Minnesota’s production of baccalaureates. It also indicated that by 2017, our economy will be producing nearly 15,000 more jobs than there are graduates to fill. Minnesota’s Private Colleges have initiated a public engagement campaign that hopes to ignite public discourse on the subject through public events and advertising beginning in the spring of 2006 “We share many of the Brookings’ study concerns and look forward to the possibility of partnering with the Itasca Project effort,” said Amy Sunderland, senior vice president of the Minnesota Private College Council. “The statistical relationship between education and income is crystal clear. From our vantage point, we see support for minority access to higher education as a core means by which we can, indeed, close the gap.” Disabled students face funding cuts A recent proposal from the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED), would specifically cut state aid to more than 80 disabled private college students across Minnesota. These students currently receive Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) benefits — funds that assist them in paying for tuition, fees, books and supplies. An article about the impact of VR on students at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University appear in the CSB/SJU student newspaper, The Record. | Read the article Minnesota's Private Colleges in study abroad ranking In the category Top 20 Baccalaureate Institutions with Study Abroad Students (based on 2003-2004 academic year):
In the category Top 40 Baccalaureate Institutions with International Students (based on 2004-2005 academic year):
For more information on IIE Open Doors Report or to view the full list of rankings, visit Open Doors Online. Financial aid keeping private college affordable
The recently released survey, "Trends in College Pricing 2005" from the College Board demonstrates that private colleges — including Minnesota's Private Colleges — are maintaining their commitments to keeping their institutions affordable. The survey reported that while published tuition and fees at public four-year institutions increased 7.1 percent in 2005, the increase at private four-year institutions was a more moderate 5.9 percent nationally. The report also emphasized that students and families pay only a portion of the cost of higher education. Full-time students at private colleges and universities received an average of $9,600 in grants and tax benefits from a combination of institutional, government and private sources. This means that the average student paid a net price of just $11,600 in 2005 tuition and fees, well below the average list price of $21,235. The moderate growth in tuition and fees was partially offset by an 8 percent increase in institutional student aid. The companion survey "Trends in Student Aid 2005" found that 88 percent of full-time undergraduates at private institutions received financial aid. On average, grants from all sources plus federal tax credits and deductions covered about 45 percent of tuition and fees in 2004-05 for a full-time private college student — making the cost of attending college far less than the “sticker price,” particularly for students from lower-income families. According to the recent data on students attending Minnesota's Private Colleges, 89 percent received financial aid in the form of grants, scholarships, and loans. The average amount of grants and scholarships ($9,500) was comparable to national averages. Overall, Minnesota's Private Colleges distributed over $200 million in grants and scholarships — more than three times the amount from state and federal governments. | More about cost and aid surveys Macalester student named Rhodes Scholar Keon West, a senior at Macalester College and native of Jamaica, was recently named a Rhodes Scholar. He is the eighth recipient from Minnesota's Private Colleges in the past decade. The Cecil Rhodes Trust awards 95 scholarships each year with one of the awards designated for a Jamaican. West plans to study experimental psychology at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. He says that his Macalester education helped him “to think and to look at things critically.” | Read more about West |
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