Media
Newly released
Cost Containment: A Survey of Current Practices at America’s State Colleges and Universities
Member institutions of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities are witnessing measurable success in identifying and implementing cost containment strategies in order to reduce operating costs. Nearly all survey respondents at AASCU institutions place high importance on cost containment, with most having implemented cost control strategies in multiple operational areas. As a result, a majority of the state colleges and universities participating in this study indicated sufficient satisfaction with their cost containment efforts. Institutions rely more on support and business functions in their cost control efforts than on core academic functions. Energy management and consortium purchasing are the two most common areas of focus for cost containment.
Policy Matters:
The Public Realities of Private Student Loans
The use of private loans to finance students’ college education has increased dramatically in the last decade. Insufficient public financial aid support, a complex federal aid application process, aggressive marketing by private lenders, and an unwillingness by some parents to borrow under the federal PLUS program are leading students to take out what can be costly student loans. These loans can lead to an immense debt load, especially for young borrowers. Officials at the federal, state and institutional levels must work collectively to provide greater transparency and consumer protection in the private student lending industry so that students have access to clear, impartial information on financing postsecondary education.
Public Purpose: (excerpt)
Regional Development, Regional Leadership Four AASCU member institutions take regional economic development to an exciting new level
In 2002, AASCU released a report titled Stepping Forward as Stewards of Place: A Guide for Leading Public Engagement at State Colleges and Universities. That report argued that “if institutions are to be effectively engaged with their communities and regions, they cannot do so with activities at the margin—engagement must become a core value of the institutions and incorporated into all key activities of the enterprise.” A follow-up report, Tools and Insights for Universities Called to Regional Stewardship, published in 2006 by AASCU, the Alliance for Regional Stewardship, and the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems, outlined a concept of stewardship based on “the boundary-crossing required to build sustainable places and focuses on the imperatives of an innovative economy, livable communities, collaborative governance, and social inclusion.” Taking these goals to heart, the four AASCU institutions mentioned above are actively transforming the way they approach community engagement. Out is the notion of service as an add-on, conducted from the margins of campus, and narrowly defined as top-down largesse from the ivory tower. In is engagement-as-stewardship, with institutions taking a broad view of their community-development responsibilities as they tackle a wide range of regional priorities. Thoughtfully, strategically, the schools have crafted strong connections between their commitment to economic outreach and the core of their educational missions.