Rick Castellano, the Vice President of Corporate Communications for Sallie Mae, joined Ric this hour. He came on to talk about college planning for your children.
Tag Archives: college
WATCH Something Come Off in a Birthday Surprise!
Sirott and Murciano’s daughter Daniela turns 17 and she wants a surprise.
Studies: Illinois’ fixed-tuition law drives up others’ costs
(CHAMPAIGN) Researchers say an Illinois law that locks in tuition rates for in-state students appears to have the unintended effect of driving up tuition for out-of-state students and fees for all.
The law, which took effect in 2004, guarantees that a student starting as a freshman at a state university will pay the same tuition rate for four years.
Only three other states have similar laws, Oklahoma, Texas and North Carolina.
A recent study and another published last year show that tuition and fees started to rise much faster for non-resident students at Illinois state schools when the law took effect.
University of Illinois spokesman Tom Hardy says the school would like to see the law repealed.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Illinois Senate, House pass college funding bill
(CHICAGO) A $600 million temporary funding fix for financially struggling Illinois colleges and universities has finally passed in Springfield after lawmakers delayed a vote Thursday. The House and Senate was expected to vote on it Thursday, but instead adjourned for the night.
Republican House Leader Jim Durkin told lawmakers Gov. Bruce Rauner will sign the bill. In a statement, Rauner said, “By passing this bipartisan agreement, lawmakers in both chambers put aside political differences to provide emergency assistance for higher education, ensuring universities and community colleges remain open and low-income students can pay for school. We are hopeful the General Assembly will build on this bipartisan momentum in the weeks ahead as we negotiate a balanced budget with reform for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017.”
@ 2016 WLS-AM News
FAFSA Application Time
By Nick Gale
(CHICAGO) It’s that time of the year again when those getting ready to enter college, or are returning for another year, file their application for federal student aid.
According to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, a big mistake is waiting to file for student aid until after tax returns are filed. Since aid is granted on a first come, first served basis, the commission says you can estimate your taxes when filling out student aid forms.
The commission also says more families are available for monetary assistance then they might realize and encourages all families with college bound kids to apply.
Forms can be found online at www.fafsa.ed.gov
@ 2016 WLS News
State scores high in college completion: report
(ILLINOIS) Illinois won impressive scores in a report to be published Tuesday on college-completion rates, ranking among only a dozen states where more than 70 percent of students at four-year public colleges and universities graduated during the height of the recession, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
The report, compiled by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, based in Herndon, Virginia, shines a spotlight on graduation rates of students who started college during the Great Recession. The report tracked students who entered colleges and universities in fall 2008, and followed them for six years, until May 31, 2014.
Nationwide, a larger number of students enrolled during the recession than before the recession, but fewer completed their studies, the report concluded.
Illinois counted 73.2 percent of students who enrolled in and graduated from public four-year institutions during the six-year research period, according to the report. The percentage includes those who stayed at the same school and those — 10 percent — who transferred and obtained a degree elsewhere.
The report omitted Indiana in this statistic because it had inadequate information about the Hoosier state, research center spokeswoman Paula Newbaker said.
The report also showed:
– Illinois was one of only five states where at least one in three part-time students at four-year institutions received a credential, compared to a 21 percent national average. Illinois’ percentage stood at 40.61 percent, behind Maryland’s 42.4 percent. The other states with percentages higher than 33 percent were Massachusetts, Michigan and Mississippi.
– Illinois was among 11 states in which at least one in five women who started at two-year public institutions completed a degree at a four-year institution. In Illinois, 20 percent of women did so. In Indiana, the percentage was 9.98.
– Only two states reported at least 20 percent of men who started at a two-year public institution completed their degree at a four-year institution. Illinois’ percentage was 19.48, while Indiana’s percentage was 9.42. The top two states were Kansas with a 22.98 percent rate and Virginia, with a 20.53 percent rate.
– Sixteen states, including Illinois, reported that more than 40 percent of their community-college students completed their degrees. Illinois reported 43.81 percent did so, while Indiana reported that 23 percent of its students in two-year programs completed their degrees.
Dr. James Applegate, executive director of the Illinois Board of Higher Education, said in a statement Monday, “Overall completion rates at Illinois four-year public institutions is 73 percent, which is significantly higher than the national average of 62.85 percent. This good news continues to aid Illinois’ goal to ensure that 60 percent of its residents has a college credential by 2025.”
–Sun-Times
© Copyright 2015 Sun-Times Media, LLC
