Boston University !MPACT @impactbu - Tumblr Blog

An infographic from the Huffington Post explaining why the new student loan deal will likely worsen the student debt crisis.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/02/studentloan-deal_n_3685199.html

#student debt #student loans #higher education #college #affordability #zombie apocalypse #walking dead

In an environment of high tuition fees and debt, unpaid work only worsens the negative impact students and the larger community experience. Check out this student-organized event:

Labor of Love: How Unpaid Work Exacerbates Inequality

Thursday at 19:00

Photonics Building Rm. 206, 8 St. Mary's Street, Boston, MA 02215

#event #impactbu #student labor action project #unpaid work #unpaid internships #gender #boston university

Join !mpact for our first film screening of "Default: The Student Loan Documentary". The film chronicles the stories of borrowers from different backgrounds affected by the student lending industry and their struggles to change the system. Many borrowers find themselves in a paralyzing predicament of repaying tow, three or multiple times the original amount borrowed, with no bankruptcy protection, no cap on fees and penalties and on recourse to the law.

Free food!

Date: November 21th, 2013 Location: The Center for Gender, Sexuality and Activism. 775 Comm Ave, Basement of the George Sherman Union Building Time: 7.00pm

Website | Trailer | RSVP.

#impactbu #student debt #student loans #college #tuition #debt #tuition hikes #bututition #bu

Student Leader Feels Dismissed by Administration

For Boston University students like College of Fine Arts sophomore Taylor Mortell, the debt they will be drowning in post graduation will critically hinder their plans for the future.

“I definitely am not going to be able to pursue graduate school until later in life, which is important to me because I would like to be teaching on a university level at some point, and in order to do that you need to get an MFA in whatever your specialized area is, so painting or sculpture [for me]. I will need to focus on paying off all this debt that I will have after I graduate,” said Mortell.

BU’s cost of education continues to escalate annually at astonishing levels: this 2013/2014 academic year, tuition rates ra

ised by 3.7% and room and board rates raised by 3.3%, according to financial reports.

Mortell is a co-founder of a greater Boston community art project called “Still Running: An Art Marathon for Boston,” which began in response to the Boston Marathon tragedy. She organizes free community art making events throughout the city to foster a sense of healing and growth. The artwork produced is then given to local hospitals, first responders, and police. Additionally, she is involved in the Arts Initiative group on campus, which was launched to ensure that all students, regardless of academic major, have exposure to the arts.

“I don’t like how you can’t be considered for really any additional scholarships after you’ve been accepted,” Mortell said. “Generally, what you’ve been accepted with is the best case scenario in terms of merit awards just because since I’ve gotten here, I have been particularly very active in arts outreach and done a lot of good things for BU and a lot of good things for the greater Boston community, and my financial package this year was non existent. I feel like I am doing a lot of good things for the school. It feels as though I don’t matter to them as a student, and that’s not right.”

Students like Mortell do not only feel dismissed financially by administrators, but also poorly informed, and even deceived in terms of where their money is going.

The financial reports released by BU administrators raise the questions of: why are these increasing rates necessary, and where exactly is our money going, as BU administrators fail to provide students with more transparent financial reports. Students are left unaware of where their disgusting near $60,000—and counting—is being invested. The reports consist of vaguely labeled categories of distribution such as “fees.

“When I was applying to this school, the way admissions advertised it to students was we have all these great facilities, and all these career resources, and we have the best dorms, the best dining halls, and that kind of justifies the price tag,” Mortell said. “But really, since I’ve been here, CFA doesn’t have those facilities, the career development center doesn’t know what to do for artists in particular. They’re like, ‘well, I don’t know what to tell you,’ so that resource is not there either.”

As for housing, “to live in the beautiful dorms that they advertise is significantly more money for housing. And the regular dorms that I am living in, does not have heat that works consistently, cell phone reception, or hot water. So, those are basic things that I feel if I am paying almost 60,000 dollars to live here, that I should have,” Mortell said.

Without transparency, students like Mortell are unable to determine if their money is being utilized responsibly, nor are they able to actively advocate for where they would like to see their money going towards.

“I don’t know where the funds are going, so I can’t really advocate for a better career development center, better facilities, better work—it directly impacts the quality of my portfolio in that maybe I’m not be producing the best work I could be, and also maybe I am not getting the most relevant experience I could be to become a studio apprentice or have some type of job in the visual arts, which are hard to come by and have that translate into a job, and eventually a career,” Mortell said.

Mortell suggests that had they been aware of these issues prior to coming BU, she would have made the decision to attend school elsewhere.

#impactbu #impact #Tuition Hikes #student debt #student loans #dissatisfaction #dismsissed #boston university #still running #higher education #college #college loans

Why College Tuition Prices Have Skyrocketed

A number of our more dedicated members (people other than myself), probably already have their own notions about the underlying causes, but I worry that most people and our more casual members (like me) are aware of the result, but not the root of it all, which, I would say, would be antithetical to the intent of this organization. Problems aren't fixed by patching up holes; they're cured by identifying and tackling the root cause of it all.

A word of caution, however, is warranted before I go into depth in this article, as our readers who occupy the realm of the political spectrum to the far left of the center may find some of the posited theories about underlying causes to be extremely… neoliberal (conservative) in nature.

In October, the Wall Street Journal hosted a debate between three economists regarding the causes and possible remedies for rising tuition costs. In December of 2011, NPR also did a story on rising tuition costs, which included one of the same economists in the October 2013 WSJ interview. In sum, the argument identified the cause of rising costs down to two broad reasons.

The first, as odd as it may sound, was that increases in state aid actually exacerbate rising tuition costs, in that the nature of these state/federal subsidies to institutions of higher education essentially characterize a textbook principle-agent problem, in which there exists moral hazard risks. In part because information is not fully transparent between parties as well as to us students, the universities are not motivated to spend efficiently, nor responsibility. Adherents to this argument often argue for further reductions of state/federal subsidies to enhance competition, while at the same time deregulating government overwatch over universities on issues such as health insurance requirements and government inspections intended to ensure adherence building codes. In addition, it is argued that a reduction in federal aid will mean less students, further depressing demand while undercutting the universities ability to use state funds as an excuse to raise tuition costs, thereby forcing the university to lower costs. An important caveat to keep in mind is that this argument assumes an over saturated job market for college graduates. In short, it's a neoliberal argument in favor of privatizing the education system.

The second argument is that rising tuition costs can be attributed to an explosion in administrative staff. With the advent of information technology and tragic instances such as the Virginia Tech shooting, we see rises in security staffing, IT personnel, and other associated costs which contribute to ballooning costs. Furthermore, some people also attribute rising costs to college deans and presidents paying themselves as CEOs of companies while tenured professors squander valuable time they could be teaching by spending it on research, forcing universities to hire adjunct professors on the cheap to make up for difference.

The solution for these problems, it has been argued, is that we should actually increase state support for universities. For example, it has been argued that, if the state provided national healthcare, then the cost of tuition would go down because the university would be freed of the need to pay for health insurance and other medical costs. And although I didn't see it in the articles that I sourced, more regulation could also be a good thing, in that it could be used to ensure the proper and efficient allocation of state funds.

At the same time, it should be noted that while the sticker price has been insanely high, the actual discount rates continue to be extremely high as well. In the NPR interview, an economist argued that a combination of high sticker price tuition with high discount rates are actually a good thing. Since only the rich can actually afford the full price, perhaps it is patter to overcharge them, then use the money to help fund high discount rates for middle to low class families. In essence, these solutions are about a redistribution of cost towards people who have greater capacity to bear (at least partially) the costs for the underdog.

Finally, we should take note that state aid to many public universities have gone down, and in doing so tuition has been hiked up to make up more the difference.

Personally, I am drawn to the second argument and its solution. We live in a time where the income gap has grown at an uncomfortably high rate. Perhaps, if we can just get past the notion that competition is the coveted panacea to all our ails, we can do right by wrong and return a measure of balance back to society as a whole?

If anyone is interested, below are links to the sources I used. Peruse at your leisure.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324549004579068992834736138.html

http://www.npr.org/2011/12/14/143718677/does-a-college-education-have-to-cost-so-much

http://www.nationalreview.com/phi-beta-cons/356994/another-school-cuts-tuition-college-bubble-begins-burst-anne-d-neal

Marketing and Universities

Colleges and Universities have long been hailed as bastions of academia; the pursuit and dissemination of knowledge, not profit, has long been its professed goal. However, the dimensions of higher education have become much more wider. Increases in competition, schools costs, and the dawn of a neoliberal mindset era have transformed the game of higher education to the point that institutions of higher education are increasingly finding it necessary to sell themselves. That came out wrong. What I mean to say is that institutions of higher education have found it necessary to develop and expand marketing departments to advertise their services to prospective customers (students).

Ipso-facto, this is not entirely a bad thing. Rising tuition costs and increased competition from a surge of new higher education institutions, both convention and otherwise, both profit and non-profit, have forced this development. It has even saved some universities from the brink destruction. Northeastern for instance, was on its way out in the 1990's and early 2000's, thanks in part to the higher prestige and visibility of other reputable universities, such as Harvard and Boston University.

But thanks to a concerted effort in recent years to advertise and renovate its facilities, Northeastern has found its ranks surging with flesh blood. Probably one of the most visible signs of Northeastern's advertising blitz is the Northeastern name plastered on the electronic bill board in Fenway. By advertising and developing its image by renovating and constructing newer facilities and by advertising its co-op program, the university has made a name for itself.

Northeastern is not an isolated case. Other universities and other institutions across the United States have faced this pressure. Probably the most notorious example is the University of Maine system, which has launched an advertising blitz on Youtube, and has hired recruiters abroad to attract more international students (all of whom pay full tuition, and are thus seen at times as cash cows). Why has U Maine suddenly become so concerned with selling itself and attracting new students? The reason is that a large majority of college-age people from Maine are choosing to go out of state to attend other universities. No students equals no money, and no money means no university, and no university means one less institution of higher education that provides the training and education necessary to compete in today's service based economy.

Another result of this phenomenon then, is that universities have increasingly tasked resources to programs and majors that they believe are in high demand. Hypothetically, this would mean tasking the lion share of revenues to a program that increases one's edge in a competitive economy, such as a business degree, as opposed something more academic, such as a focus in philosophy.

A number of question are brought to the foreground when one thinks about this relatively new phenomenon. Does advertising feed into a vicious cycle? Does this nation-wide push equate to something of like a marketing arms race between colleges and universities, resulting in inflated tuition hikes to fund these costs? Or will it result in lower tuition to improve one's competitive edge?

For Boston University, the answer seems to be a resounding no, so far. According to Boston University's annual financial reports, operating revenues and expenses have been increasing over the past five years. In 2007, expenses were $1,333,442 while revenues were numbered at $1,389,496. In 2012, these numbers were $1,678,095 in revenues and $1,596,373 in expenses. These have been accompanied by noticeable tuition hikes over the past years, as well as a series of projects meant to refine the university's facilities.

Unfortunately, the biggest question is how does the university spends this money and whether it is spending it appropriately. Looking at financial reports only gives one a vague idea, since expenses and revenues are shrouded in accountant jargon such as "auxiliary enterprises" and "educational support activities". Transparency in the form of easily readable financial reports that are published online and date back at least ten years are in dire demand, if one wishes to establish a clear picture of the situation.

#student debt #higher education #boston university #college #college loans #impact #impactbu #impacters #university #markets #!mpact #submission

Two cents on MA Senator trying to lower student loan interest rates

Before I say anything, I want to applaud Senator Elizabeth Warren and Congressman John Tierney for working to make positive change for students in higher education. The past week, both of them proposed the Bank on Students Loan Fairness Act in their respective chambers. This would bring interest rates for Federally subsidized student loans currently at 6.5% down to the same level as the 0.75% ones big banks take out from the government.

With that being said, I think the legislation may exacerbate the problem of rising college cost rather than fix it. Too often, our discussion surrounding unaffordable college education focuses on too few grants and too high interest rates. Neither of these addresses the issue at the core of the matter: skyrocketing cost.

While low interests will alleviate some burden on students, it will give colleges another opportunity to justify even steeper increases in tuition. If loans have less interest, why not make students take out more?

Unfortunately for Massachusetts representatives, higher education increasing tuition prices is a double edged sword. The industry is a huge source of revenue for the state, but crippling student and increasingly prohibitive prices hurts its long term growth. The industry's increasing profits also means that higher ed is becoming a more powerful lobbying force in government.

It comes as no surprise to me that the higher education industry would support lower interest rates. It helps them in the long run and hurts every day student of our generation. I respect the representatives efforts, but please, for the good of all students, recent graduates, the commonwealth, and the nation, focus on the root of the problem. Without financial transparency, we will continue to drown under crippling student debt. If they truly represent the people, they need to work towards financial transparency so that students and families make informed decisions, and, ultimately, drive down tuition.

#impact #impactbu #student debt #student loans #higher education #bank on students loan fairness act #Transparency #john tierney #elizabeth warren #submission

The information gathered in this survey will be used in a research study and all responses are anonymous. Your input is very important and no identifying information will be collected, tracked or disclosed. Given that two–thirds of all college graduates today leave school with some student loan debt, it is an issue that is impacting the lives of many!

RE: BU’s Les Misérables: The Reality of Post-College Life.

#college loans #college #tuition #Tuition Hikes #survey #boston #university #higher education #student debt #student loans

Impact now has 16 groups supporting its cause!

I Embrace You and BU Vietnamese Student Association have just joined our list of groups that have endorsed us.

#impactbu #impacters #impact #student debt #Tuition Hikes

Boston University's Alpha Phi Chapter supports !mpact

#BUtuition tuition BU AlphaPhi

#impactbu #kazakh student union #tuition #bu

Corporate greed leaving students by the way side

Bridget Daley (CAS ’16)

There’s a problem with BU that does not have to do with rising tuitions, bad housing numbers, or not having enough dining points to order Dominos every weekend. BU has lost its sense of being a university; an academic atmosphere geared towards molding the minds of our generation, and instead has become obsessed with its need to fuel its corporate appeal.

As someone who grew up in Boston, I had the unique opportunity to watch how the universities around me took over the city. College students surrounded me, literally, as I couldn’t walk down any street in Boston without spotting at least one student. They were everywhere, they are everywhere, and they are taking over. The problem, however, is not the college students’ faults; it’s the colleges and universities they attend that are perpetuating these growing populations. It’s no secret that colleges and universities are seeking money, whether it’s from their students, alumni, or even the general public, but it’s getting out of hand.

BU is taking over and they are taking over with a vengeance. I remember before I was a student, as a Bostonian, I would completely avoid the MBTA Green Line and BU’s campus in general. Even as BU student, I still want to avoid these areas. Commonwealth Avenue is no longer a major street in Boston that connects the heart of Boston to the suburb of Newtown, rather it’s identity cannot be separated by the ever-growing corporate entity that is BU. Because BU is so large and is so focused on it’s corporate appeal, it has forgotten its students. BU is obsessed with its presence as a university but forgets what it actually means to be a university. As a BU student, you are not treated like a person with needs and aspirations, but as an ID number. Freshmen learn how the systems work at BU from their upperclassmen friends, instead of from the university. If you do not actively seek answers to your questions, or solutions to your problems, you will not find them on campus. Resources are plentiful at this university but the problem is, the university does not advertise these resources nearly half as much as they advertise themselves as a corporate entity. The identity of BU does not represent the resourceful university it is and therefore students get left by the way side in favor of building the university rather than building up its students.

This is not an attack on BU as an institution, but rather a call for awareness. I want students to realize that they have the ability to rise up and have a call for action. That they do not have to allow BU to treat them like an ID number, but rather call for them to treat them like a person. You are a student here at Boston University and that means that you deserve to be treated as such. BU cannot continue to work on its corporate appearance and forget about the students that make it the institution it is, or one day there will no longer be any students to neglect.

#boston university #Tuition Hikes #college loans #impactbu #college #higher education #education #student debt #student loans #bu #submission

BU Culture Shock: Where’s My Money Going?

Tuition hikes have been a recent topic of discussion at BU. BU Today published an article on March 19thexplaining that tuition is set to rise 3.79 percent for the 2013-2014 school year. It states that this hike is smaller than last year’s and is one of the lowest tuition increases among universities of similar standing. And yet, our tuition has risen 20.5 percent over the past five years, three times the 7.8 percent rate of inflation. Many students want to know how their money is being spent here and if it is being done in efficient and responsible ways.

Common justifications for the high cost of tuition at BU include the idea that debt will be paid off through a financially secure career, that tuition is a small price to pay for the reward of being admitted to an elite educated class, and, of course, that the various facilities and services on campus are of such high quality that we must raise tuition annually in order to establish and maintain them. But is all of this true? Will we have a smooth transition into the job market following graduation, such that our burdensome debt will be justified? Does BU legitimately need to raise tuition each year in order to avoid cutting employee wages or laying off workers?

Perhaps our tuition is being spent mostly on paying the salaries of administrators, which BU has hired many of in recent years in order to run programs that market our school to incoming students. In a capitalist society where money can be used to achieve almost any goal, we must be conscious of how much we are spending and where it actually ends up.

Though the fact that BU is a private institution accounts in part for the high cost of our education, this does not mean that we should not question how our tuition payments are being spent. As students of this university we have every right to protest hikes in tuition, and should do so with the intent of helping current and future students receive an education that they can be proud of.

If this topic interests you, a group called Impact is hosting an event called Is BU Worth It on Wednesday, April 3rd in SCI (590 Comm Ave) room 117. A speaker from the Service Employee International Union will be speaking about the high costs of tuition within institutions of higher education in the US. Hopefully he will provide a deeper understanding of how our university works and what we can do to make the changes we would like to see.

seen on: The Official blog of the Howard Thurman Center

#Is Bu Worth It #student debt #tuition #Tuition Hikes #college #college loans #HTC