Presidential Candidates on Higher Education

I have spent a few days researching and prodding around both Senator McCain’s and Senator Obama’s Campaigns to provide a review of the higher education policies and positions for each Presidential Candidate. While much of higher education is controlled outside the realm of the federal government, financial aid has traditionally be significantly supplemented by the federal government in the past. As costs rise in higher education, we as students should be looking at our schools, our state policymakers, and leaders at the federal level to provide leadership in broadening access and quality for higher education. Throughout this piece, I will editorialize a bit from my limited knowledge and perspective, but will provide you with links so that you can make your best judgement with the information at hand.

Senator John McCain

Senator McCain has put forth an idealistic platform for higher education with few specifics and many questions. His six planks are:

1. Prepare for the 21st Century in Higher Education- Senator McCain, in an effort to maintain the quality of higher education in the US, plans to support innovative approaches to education and eliminate unnecessary regulation. I have a request for more details sent to the campaign for more details on this.

2. Improve Information for Parents- The federal government collects a lot of information from universities each year, and Senator McCain hopes to provide this data for parents. I am interested to find out whether he will ask universities to provide more information than they already do.

3. Simplify Higher Education Tax Benefits- Senator McCain highlights that there are many tax benefits and programs that have been passed over the years. He hopes to consolidate these programs to make sure students and their families are more likely to apply.

4. Simplify Federal Financial Aid- There are a number of financial aid and scholarship programs available to students, and Senator McCain hopes to consolidate these. I have requested from the campaign further information on this. Specifically, which programs will be consolidated? Also, will there be cuts to the amount of aid provided with the consolidation of programs?

5. Improve Research by Eliminating Earmarks- One of Senator McCain's major talking points on the campaign trail has been ethics reforms and the elimination of earmarks. Senator McCain explains that the elimination of earmarks on research bills will open up more dollars for higher education institutions.

6. Fix the Student Lending Programs- Senator McCain hopes to expand the lender-of-last resort capabilities of the federal loan programs so that students can get last minute loans from the federal government as opposed to lender-sharks. He also hopes to negotiate with the private sector to ensure greater access to higher education and less debt for Americans.

Notably, Senator McCain was absent on sponsorship of the GI Bill for Post 9/11 Veterans, which would cover costs of four yours of higher education for veterans, after asked by Senator Webb (VA- Dem) to join. (List of signatories)

Senator Barack Obama

Senator Obama has provided concrete, albeit limited, explanations of his higher education plan. The plan is designed to increase access to higher education through expanded financial aid programs and expanded awareness of opportunities in higher education. Specifically, here are some of the plan’s proposals:

- Eliminate the FAFSA- Senator Obama's plan proposes elimination outright of the FAFSA form. He proposes that this 127-question form can be replaced with a simply check box on the filed tax form releasing data to be used to develop a student's estimated family contribution (EFC). His plan also proposes a new calculation of the EFC, although his plan lacks specifics on the details for this (I have placed a call into the campaign and will update as I learn more).

- American Opportunity Tax Credit- Senator Obama's trademark higher education talking point speaks to the $4,000 tax credit that students will recieve if they dedicate a certain number of hours each week to community service. His plan lacks specifics on the requirements of the community service. I have also placed questions into the campaign to learn more about who is eligible for the tax credit and also if the tax credit can be rolled over to future years if one's taxes do not exceed $4,000.

- Pell Grants- Obama's plan explains that he supports increases in Pell Grants like he has in the past as a Senator, but no specific amount or plan is explained.

- Community College Partnerships- Senator Obama proposes a plan to work with community colleges across the nation to 1) focus research on needed skills in the workforce, 2) support and help implement new degree programs, and 3) reward institutions which graduate more students. The federal level is a far distance from the community college level, so I am interested to see how this would be implemented.

- Early Assessment Program- California and a few other states have implemented Early Assessment Programs that help students find out in high school where they need to improve to attend college. Such programs are optional tests and are administered in sophomore and junior years of high school. President Obama would provide provide up to $25 million in matching funds to individual states each year to implement such programs.

Notably, Senator Obama also supported the DREAM Act in 2007 (Text / Wikipedia), which broadens accessibility for higher education for illegal aliens who have been present in the United States before age 16.

Senator Obama also was a co-sponsor of the new GI Bill.

To read Senator Obama's extended plan, click here.

Overall

Both Senator McCain and Senator Obama present vague plans for higher education. Senator Obama has presented more specific ideas, although they do not seem to provide either the comprehensive details that would support a realistic change in affordability for higher education in America. The good news--both candidates have two months to put forth more concrete plans for higher education before we vote.

What are your thoughts on the plans? Have you run accross other information?

Global Warming or Global Climate Destabilization?

InsideHigherEd discusses the true meaning and effect of the words we choose to describe the impending global climate change. Does "global destabilization" have a different ring to you than "global warming?"

Time to Talk the Walk: GreenEd

The debate on global warming and pending climate change is all but moot now, and so we now come together in a common sense of obligation and responsibility to preserve our environment. As students attending universities, we have the unique opportunity to learn, experiment, and share ideas in fields that we otherwise would not be invested in or exposed to.

We have experienced strong leadership for the system from Chancellor Kirwan in the area of climate change initiatives. The system's Environmental Sustainability and Climate Change Initiative is designed to promote leadership in the state through USM practices, programs, and policies. The Chancellor has also appointed Dr. Don Boesch, current President at UMCES, to also serve as the USM Vice Chancellor for Environmental Sustainability.

My post today, though, focuses on the lack of knowledge and understanding that we as average students hold about energy use and consumption and its effect on environmental sustanilbility. It's taken me an entire summer rooming with an "eco-warrior" to develop a cursory understanding of these issues. If we want to make sure that we preserve our world, we must get in the hearts and minds of our generation--and that is our mission.

Our colleges and universities are on track in terms of green practices, although there is always room for improvement. I want to focus on the programs. The brightside of this story is that we have outstanding research and programs across the system from UMCES to the various programs at the degree-granting institutions. The downside is that the programs are siloed, and too many students pass through our institutions without what I call "GreenEd."

I believe that we should work to move "GreenEd" into the general education requirements of our schools--no I am not saying that we should propose more general education requirements. Yet, I believe that we should work to reform some of our general education requirements to include GreenEd. Possibly non-lab sciences or social science courses would be required to include GreenEd principles.

What do you think? Have you recieved enough information about environmental sustainability and climate change in your education? Would you like to learn more?

Greetings

Good Morning All,

For those that are new, my name is David Walker and I am one of your USMSC Chairs. I am a senior Political Science major from Beaumont, Texas and this is my third year serving on the Council. I'd like to briefly welcome you all to a new year and to the Council. I am exicted to meet you all and look foward to a productive year.

My Goals and Standards

I figure it's time that I share with you my goals and standards for my service as student regent. During the coming year, I am dedicating nearly all of my time outside of my academics to better serving you. I want to better understand your experience, so I will be traveling all over the State visiting institutions, whether to sit in on classes or to attend sporting events.

My two main goals during the coming year are:

1. Broaden student advocacy for Maryland students by
1. facilitating student involvement in shared governance at all levels, and
2. networking with students across the system.
2. Increase access to higher education for current and future Maryland students by pursuing efforts to make costs more affordable.

My standards for operating are to:

1. Be passionate and thorough in all that I do.
2. In decision making, consider and weigh all perspectives, while ensuring that the student perspective is accurately and appropriately represented.
3. Be respectful of each and every person I work with, listening carefully to their perspective and holding judgments until I have developed a broader base of knowledge.
4. Meet, greet, and get to know students and other stakeholders across the system.
5. Listen and ask questions on all issues, making a significant effort to reach out to students.
6. Maintain constant contact with student leaders across the system.
7. Serve as a resource for students who struggle to solidify access and voice in public policy discussions and decisions.

To read more, check out my extended document.

Please hold me accountable to my goals and standards. Invite me to attend an event on your campus. Call me (410-294-8581) or send me an email (joshmichael@umbc.edu) with comments, ideas, complaints, or feedback.

West Village Opens at Towson

670 freshman and sophomores at Towson University will move into the "5-star" grade of college housing this coming thursday, August 28. As part of the West Village complex, the Paca House and Tubman house are the first of a number of new residential buildings at Towson.

West Village is located between the Towson Run apartments and Millennium Hall. Rooms are configured in doubles, each with its own bathroom, two closets, A/C, a microfridge unit, expansive cable access, and carpet. On the hall, students have access to study rooms wireless internet and entertainment/community rooms with plasma TV's.

These two residential facilities are examples of the new wave of construction and funding of what are considered "auxiliary facilities" in higher education. State dollars can only be used to construct buildings directly related to the academic mission of a given university; in other words, state funds cannot be used to fund residential halls, dining facilities, some athletic facilities, and student activity centers. Additionally, the University System of Maryland is reluctant to allow universities to use deferred debt to fund such projects in order to maintain its stellar AA+ bond rating.

These facilities must be funded and constructed in creative manners. And so, many universities engage in "public-private" partnerships to construct such auxiliary facilities. The West Village complex is an example of such a partnership, in which a private company owns, constructs, and operates the management of the building. In this case, and many, the company is Capstone Management. The institution usually owns the land, but leases it out for a number of years (around 40) to the developer, and overtime, buys the property and infrastructure back. Financing for the project is often handled by MEDCO.

From the student side of things, they have RA's and many of the same resources and more available in these residential halls. Yet, they pay their rent to Capstone Management instead of Towson. And, sometimes the rates fluctuate, depending on the market value of the living arrangement.

These partnerships help universities respond quickly to market demands for new student housing, while not getting bogged down in the process of state funding and appropriations. I spoke with President Caret and other students, who have explained that Towson has a great relationship with Capstone.

Yet, with any partnership, there are growing pains and unexpected hurdles. Because higher education is moving in this direction, it is important that the hurdles are aired and discussed so that they can be avoided in the future. So, let me know what your experiences have been on your campus with Capstone or other private management groups.

UMB/UMBC Shuttle

For nearly twenty years, a shuttle line has run from the downtown UMB campus to the UMBC campus in Catonsville, stopping at the Rolling Road Park and Ride in between. A variety of members from each campus use the service, including students participating in classes, research, and teaching.

Late last month, UMB considered discontinuing the funding for the program. After a number of students and community members spoke out on the issue, UMB decided to continue the service at least through the Fall 2008 semester. UMB administrators have concerns that the original purpose of the service is being neglected, because more UMB staff and faculty seem to be using the line than students.

In my view, a transportation service for students from UMB to UMBC cannot be discontinued--too many of our students right now rely on the service to enhance their academic experience, and many more should be doing the same through greater collaboration between the two institutions. Possibly, UMB and UMBC can work together to reform who can ride the shuttle and limit ridership only to students. But eliminating the service now or in four months would not be wise.

Should you have further concerns on this issue, feel free contact officials at either campus:
UMB- 410-706-6603 or 410-706-1216
UMBC- transit@umbc.edu

If interested in taking the shuttle, check out the route schedule.

What are your thoughts? Do you think your transportation fees should help support this service?

U.S. News and World Report: UMBC on the Rise

US News and World Report published its annual rankings of colleges and universities today. New to this years rankings, a number of institutions have been ranked for their progress and growth within their category and labeled "up-and-coming." UMBC ranked fifth in the report for up-and-coming national universities.

University of Maryland, College Park moved up a spot in overall rankings for national universities to 53. University of Maryland, Eastern Shore maintained its prominent stature as a leading historically black institution at 28 in its category.

To see all rankings, review the U.S. News and World Report College Rankings 2009.

University of Maryland Medical System Shake Up

This week, University Maryland Medical System (UMMS) experienced a second phase of leadership change as Board Chairman John Erickson and nine other Directors on the 27-person Board resigned. Three weeks ago, UMMS CEO Ed Notebaert stepped down from his post.

Speaker of the House Michael Busch will attain interim-chairmanship of the Board. The Board also selected Robert Chrenchik, the current UMMS CFO, to serve as interim-CEO.

This shake-up is particularly relavent to USM students because of the close-nit relationship between UMMS and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) Medical School. The UMMS CEO also serves as a Vice President of UMB. UMMS and UMB work together to bring recruit the most qualified faculty members and doctors to both practice at the hospital and teach in the medical school.

Break on Cost Of Textbooks Unlikely Before Last Bell, 2010

Front page of The Washington Post this morning. Interesting how Virgina passed "The Textbook Fairness Act" in 2005, but Maryland's bills have died in committee for the last three years.

Read it here.

Drinking Age Revisited

Chancellor Kirwan of the University System of Maryland and other higher education officials spoke out today to re-open the conversation about the current drinking age, covered by an article in The Sun. Presidents and others are working together through the Amethyst Initiative to encourage a new conversation about alcohol consumption. The initiative contends that the raised drinking age has brought about a culture of "binge-drinking," particularly on college campuses.

The following administrators in Maryland have signed onto the Initiative:
Chancellor William E. Kirwan, University System of Maryland
President C.D. Mote Jr., University of Maryland--College Park
President Robert Caret, Towson University
President Jennifer Hunter-Cevera, University of Maryland-Biotechnology Institute
President Mary Pat Seurkamp, College of Notre Dame of Maryland
President William Brody, Johns Hopkins University
President L. Baird Tipson, Washington College
(click here for a full list of signtories)

How do you feel on this issue? Would lowering the drinking age decrease binge-drinking on your campus? Do you feel like students safely drink on your campus? How do laws and campus-policies affect drinking patterns at your college?

Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008

Congress has come to agreement on the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. Among the highlights of the bill include Pell grant reform, textbook sale regulation, and illegal filesharing. An introductory conversation of the bill can be found at Inside Higher Ed.