Agencies that administer college-entrance exams usually just cancel the scores
by Carla Rivera
Los Angeles Times
A group of students at a Los Angeles high school is suspected of cheating on the ACT college entrance exam by paying a former student, who used fraudulent identification, to take the tests.
The testing agency recently began investigating the claims, which could result in cancellation of scores provided to colleges.
But those colleges will not be told why the scores are invalid, nor will the students' high school be clued in.
In all likelihood, the students will retake the test with few consequences, the result of a little-known policy by the ACT and the College Board, which owns the rival SAT, to keep such irregularities confidential.
Kept in the dark
Each year, millions of stressed-out students take the two tests, hoping that a good score will secure them a spot at the nation's top colleges.
But most students know little of what occurs when a score is in dispute.
And the policies of the two nonprofit test companies seem to satisfy no one. Some complain that scores arbitrarily are canceled without evidence, while others criticize the companies for giving a free pass to cheaters.
If a score is invalidated, colleges receive a generic alert like this one sent to the University of California, Los Angeles.
"The ACT cancels scores for a variety of reasons, including illness of the examinee, mistiming of the test, disturbances or irregularity at the testing site. ... It is the ACT policy to treat the ACT's reasoning for canceling a specific score as confidential."
Question of integrity
The agencies say their only concern is the integrity of scores, and that it would be impractical to expose student cheaters or try to exact punishment, such as barring them from retaking the test or noting infractions on transcripts.
"We don't tell schools or anyone else — we simply cancel the score," said ACT spokesman Ed Colby. "What we're trying to do is make sure the scores that we send to colleges are valid. It's not our intention to go around punishing students who make mistakes or who've done something they shouldn't have done."
The Educational Testing Service, which administers the SAT for the College Board, had a similar response.
"The SAT does play a very important role in the college admissions process, and to prohibit somebody from taking the test that might hinder their educational future seems a bit extreme," spokesman Tom Ewing said.
But critics assert that such evasions let student cheaters off the hook.
Sending wrong message
"Their position is thoroughly unaccountable and promotes unethical conduct," said Michael Josephson, president of the Los Angeles-based Josephson Institute of Ethics. "What they're basically saying is, 'Try it. You have nothing to lose.' Why not say to someone who robbed a 7-Eleven, 'Please give back the merchandise or pay for it, but we don't want you to feel bad about stealing.' ?"
He contended that the stakes are much higher than just invalidated test scores.
With students spending hours preparing for the exams and their parents spending money on tutoring, the exams remain important factors in college admission, even though some colleges have stopped requiring them.
"If you put up for auction a guaranteed spot into Harvard or UCLA, people would pay tons of money — that's how much they're stealing when they falsely get a place they don't deserve," Josephson said.
According to the companies, cheating spurs about 2,000 probes out of the more than 3 million tests each year.
"I've known about this for 25 years but did not believe it served anybody's interest to be told there were no consequences for cheating on tests," said Paul Kanarek, president of the Princeton Review of Southern California. "It's not the right ethical message to send."
Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/5896315.html
Monday, July 21, 2008
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Want to Save? Shore Up that Credit Score
From the Associated Press
WASHINGTON -- Americans can save billions of dollars annually on credit card and other interest payments by raising their credit scores, but many consumers still don't know enough about the complex numerical values that represent their credit risk.
Although awareness of credit scores has increased in the last year, it remains poor, the Consumer Federation of America and Seattle-based thrift Washington Mutual Inc. found in an annual survey released Thursday.
The scores, which generally range from 200 to 800, play an increasingly important role in consumers' finances.
They are used by lenders to determine rates for loans, credit cards and other financing. Utilities, landlords and employers also are increasingly checking credit scores.
Washington Mutual estimates that, because financial institutions offer lower interest rates to consumers with better scores, consumers could reduce credit card finance charges by an average of $105 annually if they boosted their credit scores by 30 points. If all consumers did so, total annual savings would reach $28 billion.
One way to raise a credit score is to avoid exceeding the maximum limit on a credit card, the study said.
But credit card issuers have recently cut limits on many cards as financial institutions seek to reduce their credit risks. That can hurt credit scores because the scores are based partly on the balance a consumer carries on a card compared with its overall limit.
For example, if a consumer has charged $4,000 on a card with a $10,000 limit, the consumer's so-called utilization rate is 40%. But if a card issuer reduces the limit to $5,000, that bumps up the utilization rate to 80%, which could lead to a lower credit score.
The Consumer Federation recommends credit card users keep utilization rates below 50%, said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the group.
Anthony Vuoto, president of WaMu's credit card services unit, downplayed the consequences of the reduction of credit limits, saying it probably affected only a "small minority" of consumers.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-credit11-2008jul11,0,1968265.story
WASHINGTON -- Americans can save billions of dollars annually on credit card and other interest payments by raising their credit scores, but many consumers still don't know enough about the complex numerical values that represent their credit risk.
Although awareness of credit scores has increased in the last year, it remains poor, the Consumer Federation of America and Seattle-based thrift Washington Mutual Inc. found in an annual survey released Thursday.
The scores, which generally range from 200 to 800, play an increasingly important role in consumers' finances.
They are used by lenders to determine rates for loans, credit cards and other financing. Utilities, landlords and employers also are increasingly checking credit scores.
Washington Mutual estimates that, because financial institutions offer lower interest rates to consumers with better scores, consumers could reduce credit card finance charges by an average of $105 annually if they boosted their credit scores by 30 points. If all consumers did so, total annual savings would reach $28 billion.
One way to raise a credit score is to avoid exceeding the maximum limit on a credit card, the study said.
But credit card issuers have recently cut limits on many cards as financial institutions seek to reduce their credit risks. That can hurt credit scores because the scores are based partly on the balance a consumer carries on a card compared with its overall limit.
For example, if a consumer has charged $4,000 on a card with a $10,000 limit, the consumer's so-called utilization rate is 40%. But if a card issuer reduces the limit to $5,000, that bumps up the utilization rate to 80%, which could lead to a lower credit score.
The Consumer Federation recommends credit card users keep utilization rates below 50%, said Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the group.
Anthony Vuoto, president of WaMu's credit card services unit, downplayed the consequences of the reduction of credit limits, saying it probably affected only a "small minority" of consumers.
Source: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-credit11-2008jul11,0,1968265.story
Thursday, July 17, 2008
The Rising Cost of a College Degree
by Alan Auteri
College costs are going through the roof, outpacing inflation and creating a huge financial hurdle for prospective students and their families. Many factors are contributing to escalating college costs, many of which are beyond the control of those affected most. Parents who provide students with financial support will need deep pockets, a combination of grants and scholarships or a generous loan to afford a higher education.
How much have costs risen on the college horizon? Consider that in 1997, average tuition and fees for a full-time undergraduate student at a private, four-year college was $13,785 and at a public four-year school, a mere $3,111 annually.* Ten years later, the average cost has jumped to $23,712 and $6,185 respectively. These costs do not include what students must pay for room and board, books and transportation to attend school, which easily can run to $10,000 or more annually. The College Board reports that average room and board charges increased $7,280 between 1997-98 and 2007-08, while corresponding grant aid and tax benefits during that same time period rose only $4,940.
Interestingly, there appears to be some regional differences in the cost of higher education. Average tuition and fees at public two- and four-year public institutions in Vermont and New Hampshire, for instance, tend to be much higher than these same fees for schools in California, where the state provides generous financial support to post-secondary schools. The cost of attending private four-year colleges and universities also varies widely in different parts of the country. However, fluctuations may be more related to the prestige of the school and its faculty as well as the cost of living in the surrounding community, which influences professor salaries.
While the elite private universities may seem too pricey, data shows these schools are more likely to have generous endowments that enable them to help more students through grants and scholarships. Just this fall, Harvard, the pinnacle of the Ivy League, pledged that parents who earn under $40,000 will not be required to pay one cent for their child’s tuition, and also extended significant discounts to parents earning up to $120,000 annually. Few schools will be able to match this offer, but comparable big name schools with equally large endowments may follow suit.
The trends show that while college costs are rising across all institutions, tuition and fees at public four-year colleges appear to be rising at a faster rate. Plus, less money is available from state coffers for grants as education dollars shrink within state budgets. The more affordable route of attending a public university, while still less expensive, is not as affordable as it used to be.
More students are enrolled full time at four-year institutions compared to ten years ago, creating more competition for admission into coveted schools. At the same time, state and local appropriations per student declined.
On the bright side, a good percentage of students did not pay the full sticker price for their college tuition. Federal and state grants and institutional and private scholarships help to reduce the overall cost of students attending college. Unfortunately, many middle-income families may not qualify for federal Pell grants because of low income thresholds. These same parents may qualify for federally subsidized (or unsubsidized) loans. However, when the cost of financing $20,000 or more per year is factored into the equation — and interest rates for college loans (if you can get one) are steadily inching upward — the cost of college is even more daunting.
If college costs cause you to doubt the value of a college education, think again. The statistics show a very strong correlation between future earning power and the presence of college degree, suggesting that it does matter in the long run. According to the Census Bureau, individuals with a bachelor’s degree will, on average, earn almost twice as much over the course of their lifetime as an individual who only holds a high school degree. ** What the Ivy League and other pricey schools may not tell you is that you may be able to get as much mileage out of a degree from a state university as one from a more expensive private school.
Whether your child is planning to attend college in the near or distant future, it helps to think about your options for footing the bill for tuition, fees, room and board, books and more as far in advance as possible. Think about your education goals for your children and start saving now to lessen the financial burden of college down the road.
*Source: Trends in College Pricing, data from Annual Survey of Colleges, The College Board, New York, NY, weighted by full-time undergraduate enrollment.
**Source: The Value of a College Degree, Porter, Kathleen, ERIC Digest.
College costs are going through the roof, outpacing inflation and creating a huge financial hurdle for prospective students and their families. Many factors are contributing to escalating college costs, many of which are beyond the control of those affected most. Parents who provide students with financial support will need deep pockets, a combination of grants and scholarships or a generous loan to afford a higher education.
How much have costs risen on the college horizon? Consider that in 1997, average tuition and fees for a full-time undergraduate student at a private, four-year college was $13,785 and at a public four-year school, a mere $3,111 annually.* Ten years later, the average cost has jumped to $23,712 and $6,185 respectively. These costs do not include what students must pay for room and board, books and transportation to attend school, which easily can run to $10,000 or more annually. The College Board reports that average room and board charges increased $7,280 between 1997-98 and 2007-08, while corresponding grant aid and tax benefits during that same time period rose only $4,940.
Interestingly, there appears to be some regional differences in the cost of higher education. Average tuition and fees at public two- and four-year public institutions in Vermont and New Hampshire, for instance, tend to be much higher than these same fees for schools in California, where the state provides generous financial support to post-secondary schools. The cost of attending private four-year colleges and universities also varies widely in different parts of the country. However, fluctuations may be more related to the prestige of the school and its faculty as well as the cost of living in the surrounding community, which influences professor salaries.
While the elite private universities may seem too pricey, data shows these schools are more likely to have generous endowments that enable them to help more students through grants and scholarships. Just this fall, Harvard, the pinnacle of the Ivy League, pledged that parents who earn under $40,000 will not be required to pay one cent for their child’s tuition, and also extended significant discounts to parents earning up to $120,000 annually. Few schools will be able to match this offer, but comparable big name schools with equally large endowments may follow suit.
The trends show that while college costs are rising across all institutions, tuition and fees at public four-year colleges appear to be rising at a faster rate. Plus, less money is available from state coffers for grants as education dollars shrink within state budgets. The more affordable route of attending a public university, while still less expensive, is not as affordable as it used to be.
More students are enrolled full time at four-year institutions compared to ten years ago, creating more competition for admission into coveted schools. At the same time, state and local appropriations per student declined.
On the bright side, a good percentage of students did not pay the full sticker price for their college tuition. Federal and state grants and institutional and private scholarships help to reduce the overall cost of students attending college. Unfortunately, many middle-income families may not qualify for federal Pell grants because of low income thresholds. These same parents may qualify for federally subsidized (or unsubsidized) loans. However, when the cost of financing $20,000 or more per year is factored into the equation — and interest rates for college loans (if you can get one) are steadily inching upward — the cost of college is even more daunting.
If college costs cause you to doubt the value of a college education, think again. The statistics show a very strong correlation between future earning power and the presence of college degree, suggesting that it does matter in the long run. According to the Census Bureau, individuals with a bachelor’s degree will, on average, earn almost twice as much over the course of their lifetime as an individual who only holds a high school degree. ** What the Ivy League and other pricey schools may not tell you is that you may be able to get as much mileage out of a degree from a state university as one from a more expensive private school.
Whether your child is planning to attend college in the near or distant future, it helps to think about your options for footing the bill for tuition, fees, room and board, books and more as far in advance as possible. Think about your education goals for your children and start saving now to lessen the financial burden of college down the road.
*Source: Trends in College Pricing, data from Annual Survey of Colleges, The College Board, New York, NY, weighted by full-time undergraduate enrollment.
**Source: The Value of a College Degree, Porter, Kathleen, ERIC Digest.
Friday, July 11, 2008
About Federal Student Aid
Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education, ensures that all eligible individuals can benefit from federally funded or federally guaranteed financial assistance for education beyond high school. We consistently champion the promise of postsecondary education to all Americans—and its value to our society.
Federal Student Aid plays a central and essential role in supporting postsecondary education by providing money for college to eligible students and families. We partner with postsecondary schools, financial institutions and other participants in the Title IV student financial assistance programs to deliver services that help students and families who are paying for college.
Today, Federal Student Aid performs a range of critical functions that include, among others:
Processing 14 million student financial aid applications each year;
Disbursing more than $80 billion annually in financial aid to students through schools;
Enforcing financial aid rules and regulations;
Partnering with schools, financial institutions and guaranty agencies to prevent fraud, waste and abuse;
Educating students and families on the process of obtaining aid and other college funding;
Servicing millions of student loan accounts;
Securing repayment from borrowers who have defaulted on their loans; and
Operating information technology systems and tools that help manage our $400 billion loan portfolio.
This is a complex, multifaceted mission that calls on a range of staff skills and demands coordination by all levels of management. Consequently, Federal Student Aid—the government's first Performance-Based Organization (PBO)—emphasizes tangible results and efficient performance, as well as the continuous improvement of the processes and systems that support our mission.
Strategic Planning, Performance and Reporting
As a federally designated PBO, Federal Student Aid operates under a congressional mandate to achieve concrete results while improving performance. Since Federal Student Aid became a PBO in 1998, we have introduced many substantial and measurable improvements in how we plan and report our operational and portfolio performance in administering the federal student financial assistance programs. Learn more about Federal Student Aid's Strategic Planning, Performance and Reporting here.
Federal Student Aid Conferences
Each year, Federal Student Aid engages more than 5,000 members of the financial aid community during our Federal Student Aid Conferences. These conferences provide us with direct access to our customers in order to share the most up-to-date information on Title IV programs and Federal Student Aid policies and procedures.
Source: http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/about/index.html
Federal Student Aid plays a central and essential role in supporting postsecondary education by providing money for college to eligible students and families. We partner with postsecondary schools, financial institutions and other participants in the Title IV student financial assistance programs to deliver services that help students and families who are paying for college.
Today, Federal Student Aid performs a range of critical functions that include, among others:
Processing 14 million student financial aid applications each year;
Disbursing more than $80 billion annually in financial aid to students through schools;
Enforcing financial aid rules and regulations;
Partnering with schools, financial institutions and guaranty agencies to prevent fraud, waste and abuse;
Educating students and families on the process of obtaining aid and other college funding;
Servicing millions of student loan accounts;
Securing repayment from borrowers who have defaulted on their loans; and
Operating information technology systems and tools that help manage our $400 billion loan portfolio.
This is a complex, multifaceted mission that calls on a range of staff skills and demands coordination by all levels of management. Consequently, Federal Student Aid—the government's first Performance-Based Organization (PBO)—emphasizes tangible results and efficient performance, as well as the continuous improvement of the processes and systems that support our mission.
Strategic Planning, Performance and Reporting
As a federally designated PBO, Federal Student Aid operates under a congressional mandate to achieve concrete results while improving performance. Since Federal Student Aid became a PBO in 1998, we have introduced many substantial and measurable improvements in how we plan and report our operational and portfolio performance in administering the federal student financial assistance programs. Learn more about Federal Student Aid's Strategic Planning, Performance and Reporting here.
Federal Student Aid Conferences
Each year, Federal Student Aid engages more than 5,000 members of the financial aid community during our Federal Student Aid Conferences. These conferences provide us with direct access to our customers in order to share the most up-to-date information on Title IV programs and Federal Student Aid policies and procedures.
Source: http://federalstudentaid.ed.gov/about/index.html
Debt Concerns Turn Medical Students Away From Primary Care
By Christina Olenchek
Wesley Flint hasn't decided which specialty he'll pursue when he graduates from Penn State College of Medicine in Derry Township, Dauphin County.
But playing no small role in his decision is that he expects to owe nearly $300,000 in student loans by the end of his studies.
"I think it has some bearing (on my decision)," said Flint, a 27-year-old from Salt Lake City. "It definitely makes those fancy specialties look a lot more attractive."
That is bad news for doctors and policymakers trying to make primary-care services accessible to more Pennsylvanians. Rising medical-student debt is another reason why students will shy from relatively low-paying primary-care fields, such as internal medicine and pediatrics, and instead focus on higher-paying specialties like cardiology and radiology, observers said. A lack of primary-care doctors could force consumers to seek expensive emergency-room and specialist care for general ailments, which could drive up the cost of health care.
"Students with huge debt are not going to choose to go into primary care," said Dr. Daniel Kimball, chairman of the health and public-policy committee of the Pennsylvania chapter of the American College of Physicians. "They're going to look to a field where they can pay off that debt more easily or rapidly."
In 2006, medical-student debt averaged $120,000 for students graduating from a public medical school and $160,000 for students graduating from a private institution, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (see "A growing burden," page 1). The average debt for a student at Penn State College of Medicine is about $150,000, said Dr. Harold Paz, the college's dean.
The financial pinch for new doctors doesn't end there, Kimball said. There are costs related to establishing a solo practice or buying into a group practice. There are medical-malpractice premiums to pay. Reimbursements from government payers and insurers often are inadequate, forcing doctors to see more patients to make ends meet.
Kimball, former chief of the residency program at The Reading Hospital and Medical Center, said he knew of many residents who initially wanted to go into family medicine but later decided against it because they could make more money elsewhere.
"You add (the other costs) on top of the debt, and it's overwhelming," Kimball said.
Loan forgiveness might be the only way to convince medical students like Kelly Burba to go into primary care. Burba, a 25-year-old from Ann Arbor, Mich., said she is more interested in a career in cardiology or emergency medicine.
"Without loan forgiveness, there wouldn't be enough (money in primary care) to pay back the loans," she said.
Kimball said he believes drastic action might be needed to make medical school less financially taxing to students. The United States could follow the model of other countries that offer medical school tuition free.
"I don't know if we'll ever get to that point," Kimball said. "But there has to be a big relook at how we fund medical care."
Source: http://www.centralpennbusiness.com/weekly_article.asp?aID=84064264.928651.873028.7127463.4956535.178&aID2=67147
Wesley Flint hasn't decided which specialty he'll pursue when he graduates from Penn State College of Medicine in Derry Township, Dauphin County.
But playing no small role in his decision is that he expects to owe nearly $300,000 in student loans by the end of his studies.
"I think it has some bearing (on my decision)," said Flint, a 27-year-old from Salt Lake City. "It definitely makes those fancy specialties look a lot more attractive."
That is bad news for doctors and policymakers trying to make primary-care services accessible to more Pennsylvanians. Rising medical-student debt is another reason why students will shy from relatively low-paying primary-care fields, such as internal medicine and pediatrics, and instead focus on higher-paying specialties like cardiology and radiology, observers said. A lack of primary-care doctors could force consumers to seek expensive emergency-room and specialist care for general ailments, which could drive up the cost of health care.
"Students with huge debt are not going to choose to go into primary care," said Dr. Daniel Kimball, chairman of the health and public-policy committee of the Pennsylvania chapter of the American College of Physicians. "They're going to look to a field where they can pay off that debt more easily or rapidly."
In 2006, medical-student debt averaged $120,000 for students graduating from a public medical school and $160,000 for students graduating from a private institution, according to the Association of American Medical Colleges (see "A growing burden," page 1). The average debt for a student at Penn State College of Medicine is about $150,000, said Dr. Harold Paz, the college's dean.
The financial pinch for new doctors doesn't end there, Kimball said. There are costs related to establishing a solo practice or buying into a group practice. There are medical-malpractice premiums to pay. Reimbursements from government payers and insurers often are inadequate, forcing doctors to see more patients to make ends meet.
Kimball, former chief of the residency program at The Reading Hospital and Medical Center, said he knew of many residents who initially wanted to go into family medicine but later decided against it because they could make more money elsewhere.
"You add (the other costs) on top of the debt, and it's overwhelming," Kimball said.
Loan forgiveness might be the only way to convince medical students like Kelly Burba to go into primary care. Burba, a 25-year-old from Ann Arbor, Mich., said she is more interested in a career in cardiology or emergency medicine.
"Without loan forgiveness, there wouldn't be enough (money in primary care) to pay back the loans," she said.
Kimball said he believes drastic action might be needed to make medical school less financially taxing to students. The United States could follow the model of other countries that offer medical school tuition free.
"I don't know if we'll ever get to that point," Kimball said. "But there has to be a big relook at how we fund medical care."
Source: http://www.centralpennbusiness.com/weekly_article.asp?aID=84064264.928651.873028.7127463.4956535.178&aID2=67147
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