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Descriptors:
College Administration; College Admission; Strategic Planning; Time Management; Quality of Working Life; Work Environment

Abstract:
Over the last decade, admissions has become a front-page fixation, and the industry's professionals have higher profiles than ever, on campuses and off. In turn, today's admissions jobs come with heavy doses of prestige and pressure. In this article, the authors discuss the results of a new survey of college officers which suggest that, despite grueling hours, high turnover, and competing demands on their time, many in the field say that they find their work rewarding. Fifty-five percent of respondents said they were "mostly satisfied" with their jobs, and 25 percent said they were "extremely satisfied." Members of the latter group were more likely than their less-satisfied colleagues to report that they spent a lot of time on strategic planning, had a plan for responding to shifting demographics among applicants, and felt "mostly" or "extremely" satisfied with the information-technology support their offices received. When asked to name their biggest challenge, nearly one third--28 percent--cited administrative issues, including time management, inadequate resources, and managing their staffs. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Admissions Officers; Merit Scholarships; Student Financial Aid; College Admission; Eligibility; Tuition; Paying for College; Teamwork; Student Financial Aid Officers

Abstract:
While admissions officers are well versed in SAT-score and GPA requirements for their institutions, it is now crucial that they know how to answer questions about eligibility for financial aid and merit scholarships. A new "Chronicle" survey of admissions officers found that monetary issues weigh heavily on their minds. When asked about the "most important problem facing college admissions today," the most frequent response, cited by 34 percent of respondents, was "tuition and financial aid." When asked which activities were most time-consuming, admissions professionals ranked "communicating with other campus offices," particularly the financial-aid office, the highest, with 70 percent reporting that they spend a "high" or "very high" amount of time on that activity. Although many admissions deans say they have always worked in close collaboration with their financial-aid offices, such efforts are becoming more critical as colleges tweak their aid policies and packaging to attract accepted students. This article describes how financial-aid offices and admissions staffs are learning the value of working together more closely as students become more cognizant of costs. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Middle Class; Private Colleges; Income; Debt (Financial); Student Financial Aid; Tuition; Higher Education; Advantaged; Disadvantaged; Competition

Abstract:
A recent flurry of announcements from some of the wealthiest and most competitive private colleges brought welcome news to lower- and middle-income families. Many Ivy League institutions, along with dozens of smaller colleges that also attract high-achieving students, unveiled student-aid plans that will significantly lower the cost of attendance for those families. The new programs vary in scope and generosity, but most either replace loans with grants for all students or markedly decrease the debt burden for families below a certain income threshold. But the nation's two wealthiest colleges--Harvard and Yale Universities--increased student aid for far-more-affluent families. Harvard announced in December that families with annual incomes as high as $180,000 would have to pay only 10 percent of their incomes toward tuition. Yale also sharply increased aid, for families that earn up to $200,000. Those packages for families that are among the top 5 percent of earners in the country have changed the definition of "middle class" and put pressure on other top institutions to be equally generous. For institutions at the top of the pecking order, the offer of more student aid involves little more than getting the approval of trustees and administrators to dip into deep university coffers. But their new policies have a trickle-down effect: as colleges with fewer financial resources attempt to remain competitive with their richer peers, many student-aid professionals and higher-education experts worry, they might divert funds from the poorest students to give more money to middle-class ones in the form of merit aid and debt relief. Another concern is that those institutions will raise their overall tuition, and students who pay full price will finance programs for poorer students, in effect, recycling tuition revenue. Non-marquee colleges who do not have an oversupply of students and are highly tuition-dependent, will face difficult questions about how to finance student aid programs if they are to remain competitive. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Need Analysis (Student Financial Aid); Family Financial Resources; Student Financial Aid Officers; Family (Sociological Unit); Higher Education; Government School Relationship; Taxes

Abstract:
The writer discusses the challenges faced by financial aid directors. Determining how much families can pay for college has become more complex as the very definition of family has evolved. A growing number of students are coming from nontraditional families, and many college officials are scrambling to accurately evaluate their financial situations. Students whose divorced parents have remarried bring complex financial profiles, as do students with unmarried parents who live together. Colleges face more and more tough questions that they cannot answer by looking at checked boxes on tax returns or financial-aid forms. Many student-aid administrators say the Education Department sets forth the guidelines without specifying how and when to enforce them. And while the Education Department expects college financial-aid offices to ensure that families report their income correctly on tax forms, the IRS has been lax in enforcing those regulations over the last decade, according to a former IRS agent. The situation is further complicated by different standards used by the IRS, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (Fafsa) and the CSS/Financial Aid Profile. Although most college financial-aid officers say they want more guidance from the Education Department, none said they expected to receive it anytime soon. And, as pointed out by one director of financial aid, guidance is generally accompanied by restrictions. When requiring the flexibility to work with families on a one-on-one basis, lack of specific protocols may have some advantages for colleges. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Campuses; Violence; Death; School Security; School Safety; High Risk Students; Counseling Services; Crisis Management; Health Services; Mental Health Programs; Student Personnel Services; Needs Assessment; Accreditation (Institutions); Resource Allocation

Abstract:
The fatal shootings at Northern Illinois University this month were shocking yet familiar. For the second time in 10 months, a student with a record of mental-health problems went on a killing spree at a large public university. Ever since a disturbed student fatally shot 32 students and professors at Virginia Tech last April, college administrators nationwide have been pumping more money and resources into efforts to prevent a similar tragedy on their campuses. Administrators have updated their emergency-alert systems and refined their crisis-management plans. They are working more collaboratively with their mental-health staffs and other groups on their campuses to identify at-risk students. But colleges cannot keep up with the rising demand for mental-health services. And disagreements over exactly how to handle at-risk students have stymied efforts to allocate limited resources. The International Association of Counseling Services, a nonprofit accrediting organization, recommends that colleges have a ratio of one counselor every 1,500 full-time-equivalent students. The average ratio, according to 2007 data, was one counselor per 1,969 students, and 85 percent of counseling centers reported that more students were arriving at their centers with significant histories of mental-health issues. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Admissions Officers; Student Attitudes; Higher Education; College Applicants; College Admission; Internet

Abstract:
If coming back to work after winter break seems daunting, consider the plight of college-admissions officials. While most high-school students are breathing a sigh of relief after finally submitting their applications, those on the receiving end are rolling up their sleeves. January is crunch time for many admissions offices. Admissions officers emphasize how many hours they spend reviewing the qualifications of each earnest applicant, even as they anticipate record-breaking application numbers this year. What isn't as well known, however, is how much time it takes to get those applications ready to read. Most students apply online, but the process is far from automated. This article describes the admissions officers' intricate yet often ignored efforts to organize the truckloads of paperwork that pour in this time of year. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Graduation Rate; Academic Achievement; School Holding Power; Developmental Studies Programs; Individualized Education Programs; Academic Advising; Case Studies; School Effectiveness

Abstract:
The road to a college degree is often littered with potholes of self-doubt, and sometimes those are deep enough to discourage even the most ambitious students. If the transition from high school to college were easy, the average six-year graduation rate at four-year institutions in the U.S. would probably be higher than 63%. To improve those numbers, colleges and universities across the country have added an array of student-support services, including peer counselors, academic advisers, and tutors. Many institutions have summer programs that bring underprepared students up to speed academically. Some even have wellness centers that offer free massages before exams. In this article, the author discusses how personalized coaching motivates students to improve academically and achieve their goals. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
College Faculty; College Applicants; College Admission; Higher Education; Enrollment; Colleges; Selective Admission; Educational Attitudes

Abstract:
Admissions deans have perfected the wistful tone of regret. In rejection letters, they talk of wrestling with "difficult decisions" and having "so many more qualified applicants than space." To the rejected, those words often ring hollow. After all, the student remains excluded no matter what the reason. There is mounting evidence that top colleges, especially wealthy private ones, do sincerely feel bad about having to turn away so many of their applicants. Stanford feels bad. Yale feels bad. And Princeton does, too. This article describes how some wealthy and elite private institutions are looking at ways to accept more qualified applicants. Stanford University's president, John L. Hennessy, recently floated an idea that has already gained some traction at other ultraselective institutions: Why not expand? Yale University is considering a similar move. Two committees there are examining the possible impact of gradually adding 650 more undergraduates, for a total undergraduate enrollment of 5,900. Princeton University is already in the third year of an expansion that will eventually bring its undergraduate enrollment up to 5,200, an increase of 500 students. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Standardized Tests; Psychometrics; School Counselors; College Admission; Deans; High School Students; Counselors; Educational Policy; College Applicants; Meetings; Early Admission

Abstract:
At the annual conference of the National Association for College Admission Counseling (Nacac), admissions deans and high-school counselors gathered in September 2007 to grapple with questions such as: (1) Rethinking the role of standardized tests in admissions (many attendees predict that psychometric giants ACT and SAT, will not always dominate the industry); (2) How early should colleges be permitted to accept students (in September 2006, Nacac members voted to prohibit colleges from accepting students before September 15 of their senior year but 2007 members approved a policy that would allow colleges to accept a student upon receiving a transcript that reflects completion of the final semester of the junior year of high school or the equivalent); (3) Use of the Common Application (the Common Application allows students to apply to any of 315 member colleges by using the same form, although some colleges require additional essays or short-answer questions, others make reporting test scores optional, and applicants may want more flexibility such as applying for financial aid at one institution but not another); (4) Admissions policies (some attendees advocate that colleges care too much about test scores, or that students apply to too many colleges; others say admissions deans are pressured to sell their institutions like products); and (5) Increasing commercialism at the Nacac conference (some attendees expressed unease about the number of vendors offering promotional items in the wake of recent scandals in the student-loan industry.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Student Financial Aid; Paying for College; Consultants; Family Income; Eligibility; Federal Aid; Resource Allocation; Budgeting; Need Analysis (Student Financial Aid); Parent Financial Contribution

Abstract:
Five years ago, the National Institute of Certified College Planners, an organization that licenses college-planning professionals, did not exist. This year the organization has 1,200 registered members. Professionals in college financial planning say business is booming, and the bulk of demand for their services is coming from families with annual incomes between $50,000 and $150,000. Even though these families tend to be financially savvy, they have discovered that working with a specialized professional can mean the difference between qualifying for financial aid and being expected to pay the full sticker price. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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