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House to Take Up Student Loan Fix 2013 - It's a better deal at first, but student loan rates could steadily
climb and cost students more over the long haul under the plan House Republicans are considering.

Members of the Republican-led House Education and Workforce Committee planned on Thursday to finish up a bill that would keep interest rates from doubling on new subsidized Stafford loans on July 1. The GOP measure provides lower rates immediately and for the next few years, but the plan also comes with potentially higher costs for some students in coming years.

Without Congress' action, interest rates for new subsidized Stafford student loans would double from 3.4 percent to 6.8 percent on July 1. Neither party wants to see that happen, although there are strong differences in the methods to dodge that.

Under the proposal by the committee's chairman, Rep. John Kline, R-Minn., student loans would be reset every year and based on 10-year Treasury notes, plus an added percentage. For instance, students who receive subsidized or unsubsidized Stafford student loans would pay the Treasury rate, plus 2.5 percentage points.

Using Congressional Budget Office projections, that would translate to a 5 percent interest rate on Stafford loans in 2014 but climb to 7.7 percent for loans in 2023. Stafford loan rates would be capped at 8.5 percent, while loans for parents and graduate students would have a 10.5 percent ceiling under the GOP proposal.

In real dollars, the GOP plan would cost students and families heavily, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. The office used the CBO projections for Treasury notes' interest rates each year.

Students who max out their subsidized Stafford loans over four years would pay $8,331 in interest payments under the Republican bill, and $3,450 if rates were kept at 3.4 percent. If rates were allowed to double in July, that amount would be $7,284 over the typical 10-year window to repay the maximum $19,000.

For students who borrow the maximum subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford loans, they would pay $12,374 in interest under the Republican bill. The interest charges would be $10,867 if subsidized loans were allowed to double in July, or $7,033 if rates stay the same. The maximum available in subsidized and unsubsidized amounts is $27,000.

Graduate students and parents, meanwhile, would see interest payments reach $27,680 for four years of college under the GOP plan. If Congress keeps the rates the same, their interest payments would be $21,654 on the original maxed-out $40,000 loan, according to the Congressional Research Service report.

Democrats ahead of the hearing pledged to oppose Kline's plan and said they would offer amendments to the bill. They declined to provide further details before Kline gaveled the committee into its morning session. One idea that is popular among Democrats is to extend the 3.4 percent rate for subsidized Stafford loans for two years while leaders work on a long-term fix.

Obama's budget outline included flexible rates for student loans, pegging the interest to markets, but did not have a cap. Republicans had long pushed for the flexible rates and Kline said he would go along with Obama on that principle while adding a cap that Democrats sought.

During the 2010-11 academic year, about 7.5 million undergraduates borrowed from the subsidized Stafford loan program. In all, there were 36 million students loan borrowers through federal programs, according to the Education Department.

Source : http://abclocal.go.com

Rutgers Coach Never Completed Degree - A report by the Web site Deadspin on Friday suggested that Jordan did not earn an undergraduate degree

Rutgers initially issued a statement that did not directly address whether Jordan had graduated. It instead noted that he was inducted into the Rutgers Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2004 and that he had been part of the Rutgers “family” since before 1977.

“His athletic skills and leadership and his professional accomplishments have been a source of pride for Rutgers for more than three decades,” the statement said.

Later Friday, the university said it was “in error” when it reported that Jordan had earned a degree from Rutgers. The university said neither it nor the N.C.A.A. requires a head coach to hold a bachelor’s degree.

However, recent athletic department job postings, including one this week for an assistant basketball coach, list a bachelor’s degree as a requirement.

“Rutgers sought Eddie for the head coach position as a target-of-opportunity hire based on his remarkable public career,” Rutgers’s second statement said.

The episode is the latest in a sequence of embarrassing events for the university and its athletic department in the past month and a half. Jordan, who was introduced as the Scarlet Knights’ basketball coach on April 23, was hired to help restore the program’s reputation after his predecessor, Mike Rice, was fired following the release of a video in April showing him berating his players with homophobic slurs, throwing basketballs at them and pushing and kicking them during practice. Jordan’s professionalism and deep ties to the university were among the attributes mentioned by university officials when he was hired. (see HERE)

The furor surrounding the video of Rice led to the resignation of the athletic director, Tim Pernetti, as well as other officials, and the university faced widespread criticism for choosing to suspend Rice rather than fire him after learning of the video last year.

Rutgers appears poised to move forward with Jordan’s appointment. “We are excited to have him as our men’s basketball coach, and we look forward to many winning seasons,” it said.

A dozen years ago, Notre Dame terminated its newly hired football coach, George O’Leary, after he admitted falsifying parts of his résumé, including his claim that he had a master’s degree in education from New York University. O’Leary had been on the job for five days before the falsifications came to light.

A key difference is that Rutgers would presumably have had far better access to the records of Jordan, who has been honored repeatedly by the university for helping to lead it to its only Final Four appearance, in 1976. Jordan went on to play in the N.B.A., winning a championship with the Lakers, and was a head coach in the league for nine years.

at Rutgers 36 years ago when he was a star player, despite previous statements that he had. Deadspin reported that the Rutgers registrar’s office denied that Jordan had a degree from the university, which contradicts the biography on the university’s Web site, which says that he “earned All-America honors as a senior in 1977 before earning a degree in health and physical education.”

Source : www.nytimes.com

College Allocation Reduced for 2013 (Costly Classrooms) - Justin Capouellze works part time at the
Market Basket in Richland Township, doing anything that needs done. He also works as  a landscaper and at the commercial site of Stuver’s Nursery.

Capouellze, 20, a 2011 graduate of Greater Johnstown High School, knows how hard it is to earn money when so much has to go toward his college tuition.

His task will be even harder with an anticipated decision by the Cambria County Commissioners.



Effective with the 2014 budget, the commissioners plan to reduce the county’s allocation to Penn Highlands Community College, the school Capouellze attends.

“I’ve got to go back and look at my budget and find out where that money is going to come from,” Capouellze said.

“I’m worried about increasing my student loan debt.”

The commissioners recently notified the Penn Highlands board of directors that the county’s 2014 allocation will be reduced by $150,000 from the annual contribution of

$1.2 million, which includes $300,000 toward debt service.

The contribution does not come from Cambria County’s general fund, but rather a 1-mill dedicated tax imposed by county leaders about two decades ago when what was termed “The College Without Walls” was established.

Funds withheld from the college will be used for what Cambria County commissisoners Douglas Lengenfelder and Mark Wissinger are terming “economic development.”

Wissinger said the money is needed to cover costs associated with the planned Cambria County Economic Development Authority and setting up a foreign trade zone, which is designed to foster job creation.

“Last year, in the 2013 budget, to get enough money for economic development, we kind of robbed Peter to pay Paul,” Wissinger said.

The $150,000 cut, according to Frank Asonevich, Penn Highlands president, translates into a per student tuition hike of $75 per semester, or $150 per year. At this point, the only way to make up the $150,000 is by turning to the students, he said.

“I’m concerned if they’re going to look at the college budget and see it as a resource for other projects,” Asonevich said.

Future funding cuts to the college are not planned, said Lengenfelder who also is a member of the community college board. Prior to his election as commissioner, he taught at the college.

Lengenfelder views the funding reduction as indictive of what is happening everywhere in Cambria County government.

County offices have been forced to cut their expenses by 4.75 percent, something all are in the process of doing. The cut to the college, Lengenfelder said, is just more than 1 percent of its total annual budget of more than $12 million.

Those objecting to the cut point out it amounts to more than 12 percent of the total contribution from the county, far higher than the percentage of cuts in other budgetary areas.

Despite this, the $1.2 million the county is giving the college annually is significantly higher than what started out at $500,000 20 years ago, Wissinger said.

The total has more than doubled over the years, in part due to the action in 2005 to set the assessed ratio at 100 percent, up from the 50 percent of a property’s assessed valuation, Wissinger said.

County records show that in 2004, the college was receiving the revenue generated from

1.5 mills. Following the percentage change it was decreased to .75 mill and in 2010 increased to 1 mill.

This year, Cambria is facing a chicken and egg question – which comes first, Lengengelder said.

“With this, we will have a dedicated $150,000 a year for economic development, something the county has never had before,” he said. “It’s great to have an education, but if you have no jobs, it becomes an additional problem.”

A similar amount was carved out of the 2013 budget earmarked for economic development at the Johnstown/ Cambria County Airport.

The scope of Lengenfelder’s plans were larger than the all-volunteer airport authority wanted to tackle and the full $150,000 is still intact after Lengenfelder, in recent days, returned a $75,000 check to the county, Cambria County Controller Edward Cernic Jr. said.

Lengenfelder said the money will be used this year as efforts progress to form the authority, geared at economic development, and the $150,000 from the college will replace that county allocation.

Formed in 1993 as Cambria County Community College by commissioners Wissinger, Kathy Holtzman and the late Ted Baranik and later changed to Penn Highlands, the college has branch campuses in Richland, Ebensburg, Somerset and more recently Huntingdon.

The college is one of Holtzman’s most significant accomplishments.

“It’s my baby,” said Holtzman, who serves as vice president of the board. “It’s grown beyond my imagination.”

Holtzman said she has mixed emotions about the funding cut.

“I hate to see that happen, but I understand the position the commissioners are in,” she said. “We have to take our hit here, everybody is getting cut.”

Commissioner Thomas Chernisky said a vote on the initiative to cut the college’s contribution is a long way off.

“A lot can happen between now and the end of the year,” he said. “I’m not going to be supporting it, but we’ll vote at budget time.”

Penn Highlands is one of the fastest growing colleges in the state, Chernisky said, and deserves kudos for all it has accomplished in tough times.

“The college is an investment and a real economic generator for our county. We need a trained workforce,” he said.

Passing the cost of the cut onto the students is a move Holtzman is opposed to. She plans to come to an August meeting between the college board and Penn Highlands Foundation with some ideas about bringing the business community on board.

“I think we have to make up the money in other ways,” she said. “Businesses have an interest in the community college and we need to look for new revenue sources we can tap.”

Debt a drag on UK youth - Hard times - Young adults are finding it almost impossible to break free from their parents, both emotionally and financially, as they struggle to become independent, a British study has revealed.

A survey of 1500 people aged between 18 and 30 by The Co-operative Group found that debt had become the "new normality" for their generation.

Student loans, credit cards, loans and overdrafts were the main sources of debt, with almost a third admitting they are hiding the state of their finances from their parents.

More than four out of five of those questioned are receiving financial support from their parents, needing help to buy food or repay debts.(see HERE)

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Most also turned to their parents to help find a job, give them lifts, or do household chores, the report says.

The study also revealed that 18 to 30-year-olds were earning over £7000 ($A10,645) a year less than they thought they would in relation to their age and education, while one in 10 did not feel their job matched their qualifications.

Two-fifths of those surveyed were dissatisfied with their lives, believing they should have achieved more.

Martyn Wates, deputy group chief executive at The Co-operative Group, said: "It should not be forgotten that it is these young adults who are ultimately going to shape the future of Britain for years to come, so they need support and encouragement to thrive which, in turn, will only be positive for the future of the country.

"Whilst it is positive to see that young people believe that they will one day earn a healthy salary, the survey has signposted that the earnings of 18 to 30-year-olds do not currently live up to expectations which highlights that, for now at least, this ambitious group may have to re-evaluate their ideals."

The research also revealed that one in four young adults had never climbed a tree or played the traditional British game of conkers and one in eight had never ridden a bike.

25 Required Things Successful Educators Do Differently - If you ask a student what makes him or her
successful in school, you probably won’t hear about some fantastic new book or video lecture series. Most likely you will hear something like, “It was all Mr. Jones. He just never gave up on me.”

What students take away from a successful education usually centers on a personal connection with a teacher who instilled passion and inspiration
for their subject. It’s difficult to measure success, and in the world of academia, educators are continually re-evaluating how to quantify learning. But the first and most important question to ask is: Are teachers reaching their students?

How do you know if you are driving the right way when you are traveling somewhere new? You use the road signs and a map (although nowadays it might be SIRI or a GPS). In the world of education, your objectives for your students act as road signs to your destination. Your plan is the map. Making a plan does not suggest a lack of creativity in your curriculum but rather, gives creativity a framework in which to flourish.

We can’t all be blessed with “epic” workdays all the time. Sometimes, life is just mundane and tedious. Teachers who have a sense of purpose and who are able to see the big picture can ride above the hard and boring days because their eye is on something further down the road.

There is nothing worse than sweating over a lesson plan only to have your students walk out of class without so much as a smile or a, “Great job teach!” It’s hard to give 100% and not see immediate results. Teachers who rely on that instant gratification will get burned out and disillusioned. Learning, relationships, and education are a messy endeavor, much like nurturing a garden. It takes time, and some dirt, to grow.

Right on the heels of the above tip is the concept of discernment with student feedback. A teacher who never listens to his/her students will ultimately fail. A teacher who always listens to his/her students will ultimately fail. It is no simple endeavor to know when to listen and adapt, and when to say, “No- we’re going this way because I am the teacher and I see the long term picture.”

Negative energy zaps creativity and it makes a nice breeding ground for fear of failure. Good teachers have an upbeat mood, a sense of vitality and energy, and see past momentary setbacks to the end goal. Positivity breeds creativity.

This concept is similar for parents as well. Students need someone to believe in them. They need a wiser and older person to put stock in their abilities. Set the bar high and then create an environment where it’s okay to fail. This will motivate your students to keep trying until they reach the expectation you’ve set for them.

Humor and wit make a lasting impression. It reduces stress and frustration, and gives people a chance to look at their circumstances from another point of view. If you interviewed 1000 students about their favorite teacher, I’ll bet 95% of them were hysterical.
8. Successful educators use praise smartly
Students need encouragement yes, but real encouragement. It does no good to praise their work when you know it is only 50% of what they are capable of. You don’t want to create an environment where there is no praise or recognition; you want to create one where the praise that you offer is valuable BECAUSE you use it judiciously.

There is a wise saying that reads, “Those who go just a little bit too far are the ones who know just how far one can go.” Risk-taking is a part of the successful formula. Your students need to see you try new things in the classroom and they will watch closely how you handle failure in your risk-taking. This is as important as what you are teaching.

Consistency is not to be confused with “stuck”. Consistency means that you do what you say you will do, you don’t change your rules based on your mood, and your students can rely on you when they are in need. Teachers who are stuck in their outdated methods may boast consistency, when in fact it is cleverly masked stubbornness.

In order to avoid becoming the stuck and stubborn teacher, successful educators take time to reflect on their methods, their delivery, and the way they connect with their students. Reflection is necessary to uncover those weaknesses that can be strengthened with a bit of resolve and understanding.

Reflective teachers can easily get disheartened if they don’t have someone a bit older and wiser offering support. You are never too old or wise for a mentor. Mentors can be that voice that says, “Yes your reflections are correct,” or “No, you are off because….” and provide you with a different perspective.

Collaboration between parents and teachers is absolutely crucial to a student’s success. Create an open path of communication so parents can come to you with concerns and you can do the same. When a teacher and parents present a united front, there is a lower chance that your student will fall through the cracks.

It is easy to spot a teacher who loves their work. They seem to emanate contagious energy. Even if it on a subject like advanced calculus, the subject comes alive. If you don’t love your work or your subject, it will come through in your teaching. Try to figure out why you feel so unmotivated and uninspired. It might have nothing to do with the subject, but your expectations. Adjust them a bit and you might find your love of teaching come flooding back.

Classrooms are like an ever-evolving dynamic organism. Depending on the day, the attendance roster, and the phase of the moon, you might have to change up your plans or your schedule to accommodate your students. As they grow and change, your methods might have to as well. If your goal is to promote a curriculum or method, it will feel like a personal insult when you have to modify it. Make connecting with your student your goal and you’ll have no trouble changing it up as time moves on.

This relates to the above tip, but in a slightly different way. Have you ever been so bored with your house or your bedroom, only to rearrange it and have it feel like a new room? Change ignites the brain with excitement and adventure. Change your classroom to keep your students on their toes. Simple changes like rearranging desks and routines can breathe new life in the middle of a long year.

With the advance of technology, there are fresh new resources and tools that can add great functionality to your classroom and curriculum. There is no doubt that the students you are teaching (far younger than you) probably already have a pulse on technologies you haven’t tapped into yet. Don’t be afraid to push for technology in the classroom. It is often an underfunded area but in this current world and climate, your students will be growing up in a world where technology is everywhere. Give them a headstart and use technology in your classroom.

There are days when your students will need your emotional support more than a piece of information. Connecting to your students on an emotional level makes it more likely that they will listen to your counsel and take your advice to heart. Students need mentors as much as they need teachers.

It’s difficult to teach in an environment where you don’t know the future of your classroom budget, the involvement of your student’s parents, or the outcome of all your hard work. On a more philosophical level, educators who teach the higher grades are tasked with teaching students principles that have a lot of unknowns (i.e. physics). How comfortable are you with not having all the answers? Good teachers are able to function without everything tied up neatly in a bow.

Unfortunately, parents and teachers are sometimes threatened by one another. A teacher who is insecure will see parent advocacy as a threat. While there are plenty of over-involved helicopter parents waiting to point out a teacher’s mistakes, most parents just want what’s best for their child. Successful educators are confident in their abilities and not threatened when parents want to get into the classroom and make their opinions known. Good teachers also know they don’t have to follow what the parent recommends!

Don’t be too serious. Some days, “fun” should be the goal. When students feel and see your humanness, it builds a foundation of trust and respect. Fun and educational aren’t mutually exclusive either. Using humor can make even the most mundane topic more interesting.

Learning does not happen in a vacuum. Depression, anxiety, and mental stress have a severe impact on the educational process. It’s crucial that educators (and the educational model) take the whole person into account. You can have the funniest and most innovative lesson on algebra, but if your student has just been told his parents are getting a divorce, you will not reach him.

Good teachers find time in their schedule to learn themselves. Not only does it help bolster your knowledge in a certain subject matter, it also puts you in the position of student. This gives you a perspective about the learning process that you can easily forget when you’re always in teaching mode.

It may be a self-made box. “Oh I could never do that,” you say to yourself. Perhaps you promised you’d never become the teacher who would let the students grade each other (maybe you had a bad experience as a kid). Sometimes the biggest obstacle to growth is us. Have you built a box around your teaching methods? Good teachers know when it’s time to break out of it.

Good teachers need to know their craft. In addition to the methodology of “teaching”, you need to master your subject area. Learn, learn, and never stop learning. Successful educators stay curious.

Pulitzer Center 2013 Student Fellows Announced - The Pulitzer Center and its Campus Consortium partners are pleased to announce the nearly two dozen students selected to receive international reporting fellowships this year. The fellowship recipients will report on a range of global issues from around the world and be mentored by Pulitzer Center-supported journalists and staff over the course of their projects. The reporting fellowships are awarded to students who attend colleges and universities that are part of the Pulitzer Center's growing Campus Consortium educational initiative.. Depending on the arrangements with each educational institutions, one to two students are selected as fellows. A unique arrangement with the College of William and Mary incorporates a seminar in which up to a dozen students work on individual reporting projects, generally without a travel element.

Most of the students undertake their reporting during the summer, but several already have begun their projects. Catherine Schurz is a Guilford College senior studying criminal justice and political science in the pre-law program who undertook her reporting project in London in spring 2013. She is examining the case of convicted murderer Gary Dobson. Dobson was one of five suspects accused in the 1983 stabbing death of an 18-year-old black man by a group of white teenage boys in a racially motivated attack. The suspects were found not guilty. The High Court of the United Kingdom reversed double jeopardy in 2003, allowing two of the original suspects, including Dobson, to be tried twice for the same crime. Both were found guilty this time. From March to May 2012 Cate was an intern at the visiting center of Belmarsh Prison in London just months after the conviction.

Elon University senior journalism majors Kassondra Cloos and Rachel Southmayd completed their project in January 2013, reporting from an organic, sustainable farm in Cuba. Before the fellowship, Cloos interned for Al Jazeera English and the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs in Washington, DC. One of her pieces from the Pulitzer Center reporting project was published in the Huffington Post. She is now has working at The Gazette in Colorado Springs. Southmayd has held senior reporting and editor positions at Elon's student newspaper, The Pendulum, and internships at The Coastal Point, 60 Minutes and the Cape Cod Times. She also freelanced for Delaware Beach Life magazine.

University of Chicago junior Yiqing "Linda" Qiu took a semester abroad to study in Botswana in spring 2013 and is now exploring the "Diamond-Cattle-Water Paradox." She will look into Botswana's water usage and management policies to examine a limited water supply faced by the country due in part to livestock production and its four profitable diamond mines. Qiu, an international and environmental studies double-major, is a news production intern at GabzFM and serves as news editor for The Chicago Maroon.

Among the students undertaking reporting during summer 2013 are two Davidson College juniors Jonathan Cox and Adrian Fadil. Cox is a political science major who will travel to Andhra Pradesh, India to report on the effects of a highly publicized Aarogyasri Public Health program that intends to make health care affordable for the rural poor. This trip will be his second to India. Cox also spent 14 years living in Romania and has traveled to Europe, Mexico, and Turkey. Fadil is a junior English major whose proposed a project will take him to the West Bank to report on the effects of Israeli occupation on Palestinian farmers. Fadil spent fall 2012 farming throughout the region. He also has spent time in Ecuador, Costa Rica, Spain, France, England, Egypt, and Cyprus.

Loyola University Chicago junior Shirley Coenen will trek south to Chile to report on the volatile relationship between the government and Chilean youth who are demanding change in their country. Coenen is an international studies and journalism double major and an intern at El Instituto Cervantes. She also is assistant news editor for The Loyola Phoenix and has written for USA Today College.

Senior Devon Smith studies history at Westchester Community College. She will report from northern Ireland, an area rife with tension and segregation, on conflict between religious communities and "peace walls" that physically separate these communities by religious belief. High Point University junior Henry Molski will be nearby to cover Scotland's debate over whether to secede from the United Kingdom. On September 18, 2014, Scottish citizens – from 16-year-olds on up – will vote on the issue. Molski, a communication major with a concentration in journalism, serves as a sports and organizations editor and staff writer for the Campus Chronicle and an admissions ambassador for the University. He is a Dean's List scholar, Presidential Scholar and treasurer of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity.

South Dakota State University graduate journalism student Melisa Goss will examine human trafficking in Cambodia, writing victims' stories as well as documenting the methods used to acquire slaves and current efforts to prevent this exploitation. Goss has a Bachelor of Arts in theology and philosophy from the University of Sioux Falls and has written freelance pieces for The Christian Century, Throne Publishing and BizNOW magazine. She has also spent time in South Korea.

Eleanor Klibanoff, a junior political communication major at The George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs, will travel to El Salvador and Nicaragua to report on women's healthcare and the effect of the countries' abortion laws. After abortion was made illegal in 2006 maternal health has declined and the number of mothers under age 15 has risen 48 percent. Klibanoff has interned for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty in Prague and for The Nicaragua Dispatch. She is a member of GWU's University Honors Program.

Nicholas Swyter, a sophomore at the University of Miami double-majoring in broadcast journalism and international studies, heads to Panama to report on the controversial construction of the Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam. Flooding caused by the dam may displace more than 36,000 indigenous Ngobe-Bugle in the semi-autonomous region. Swyter has served as a MetroTV News intern in Indonesia and reported for the King's College of London international politics journal. He is a contributing blogger to the Huffington Post.

Brandice Camara is pursuing a master's degree in human development with concentrations in social justice and nonprofit management from Saint Mary's University in Minneapolis. She will journey to Guinea to study its state of maternal and child health, which is among the worst in the world. Camara will focus specifically on the Donka hospital in the capital city of Conakry. She writes that "newborns suffering from malnutrition, HIV, malaria and vitamin deficiencies crowd a small ward where one incubator is used to sustain the life of multiple babies, simultaneously." Camara works with Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Twin Cities and has served as program coordinator for Hands Across the World Catholic Charities La Cruz Community Program.

As the world's population continues to expand and bring with it larger economies, water rights issues, hydropower in particular, come to the forefront. On the banks of the Kosi River, between Nepal and the Indian border state of Bihar, conflict over rights to its water has dragged on for decades. Photographer Steve Matzker, who graduated from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in December 2012, will report from the Kosi during its flooding season. Matzker, who also earned a degree in liberal studies from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville in 2003, is the 2013 recipient of the John H. White “Keep in Flight Award” and was named 2013 runner-up Student Photographer of the Year from the Illinois Press Photographers Association. Matzker will be paired for the reporting project with Jennifer Gonzalez, who also received her bachelor of science in journalism with a specialization in photojournalism from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale in December 2012.

The Wake Forest University fellow, Jawad Wahabzada, plans to visit Rio de Janiero, Brazil to explore the 2014 World Cup-sponsored relocation efforts in the region and their effects, especially on children of the favelas, or shanty towns. Wahabzada has worked on documentaries in Afghanistan, India, and United States, including his project on child laborers, "Children of Kabul." His work has been featured on CNN International, CNN Heroes and NPR, and screened in film festivals in Canada, Russia, Denmark, Finland and the United States. Wahabzada is a senior studying communication, film production and religion at Wake Forest.

Three students – two from Boston University and one from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health – will combine their international reporting projects with work at the Pulitzer Center's Washington, DC, office during the summer. Varsha Ramakrishnan, a master's in public health candidate at the Bloomberg School, is a physician from India who is majoring in health in crisis and humanitarian assistance. Her project will focus on dowry violence in India, with reporting from district hospitals in the states with some of the highest reported violence of this kind: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Madhya Pradesh. The two Boston University students will also undertake reporting projects focused on global health issues as part of their fellowships. Lusha Chen, a senior with a focus on broadcast journalism at the College of Communication, has had internships at UNICEF's media section in New York, WDHD-TV's public affairs/program services section in Boston, and China Central Television's "Insight Program"in Beijing. Kerstin Egenhofer, a graduate student in the School of Public Health, came to Boston University from the University of Massachusetts Amherst where she received her undergraduate degree in anthropology along with a Five Colleges Certificate in African Studies.

As part of a pilot program, the Pulitzer Center is partnering with the University of Pennsylvania's Africa Center to provide support for two students' reporting projects this summer. Diksha Bali, a junior studying English (creative writing) and economics (operations and information management), will travel to Ghana through UPenn's Africa Center and report on issues related to the growth of rural communities, such as waste management. Bali has been a public speaking advisor at UPenn's Communication Within the Curriculum program and project implementation intern at The Student Leadership Project, a start-up at Kipp West School. Bali also has been a staff writer and general assignments reporter for The Daily Pennsylvanian. Luke Messac will spend time in Malawi reporting on the effects of health user fees at hospitals and health centers, especially on the rural poor. The country has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the world, but its ongoing economic crisis has helped to keep the debate over fees alive. Messac graduated summa cum laude from Harvard University, where he was a Truman Scholar. He is working toward his MD/PhD in history and of science at UPenn. He is a Gamble Scholar and student editor of The New Physician, and he sits on the board of trustees at the American Medical Student Association.

Looking Works to Control the Cost of a College Education - Among the most significant barriers facing
Vermonters who are seeking a college degree is the cost of an undergraduate education. Sterling College, a leading voice for environmental stewardship in the United States, is making a new commitment to providing financial aid to graduates of Vermont high schools, as well as associate degree recipients and transfer students.

Sterling College is committed to providing access to students who wish to pursue studies in Ecology, Environmental Humanities, Outdoor Education, or Sustainable Agriculture. While Sterling is a private college, it has committed to match in-state public
university tuition of the University of Vermont, for all Vermonters who gain admission for September 2013.

Sterling College is only one of seven federally recognized work colleges helping students reduce tuition and living expenses through on-campus work. Additionally, the College’s Board of Trustees recently limited the increase in tuition to only 2% for 2013-14. “The board understands that these are very challenging financial times for families in Vermont, and it is our intention that Sterling help ease the transition for students who want access to our unique programs of study,” said Wendy Koenig, Sterling College trustee and chair of its Enrollment Committee. (see HERE)

“We know that the growing career opportunities associated with the Sterling College curriculum are the most important areas of challenge facing society in the 21st century, and, that Vermont is the epicenter in the nation for studying critical disciplines focused on food, water, health, energy, soil, climate, and education, as such, it is essential that students who aspire to become environmental stewards have access to a Sterling education,” commented Matthew Derr, Sterling’s new president at the College’s most recent admission open house.

“Sterling College is taking important action to support Vermonters who aspire to earn a college degree. The College is committing itself to keeping educational costs under control. I commend President Derr’s leadership on both access and affordability,” offered Congressman Peter Welch of the College’s recent actions. (see HERE)

“Sterling College is committed to educating future generations of environmental stewards, and providing financial aid is a key commitment we make to see that that happens” continued President Derr. “We think big and act on our convictions, whether it’s divesting our endowment from fossil fuels or offering scholarships to climate justice activists.

From Americans to Canada for College Education - Americans are increasingly leaving the country to
seek an education in Canada, where college tuition costs are significantly lower and the quality of education is high.

Over the past decade, the number of Americans who enrolled in Canadian colleges has risen by 50 percent. About 10,000 Americans are currently enrolled at universities in Canada, the Institute for College Access & Success reports.

“Undergraduate students that complete [school] in Canada have tremendous access to the best graduate programs right now in the world,” Paul Davidson, president of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada, told AP. “So, if you’re a student that wants to pursue graduate studies,
a Canadian degree will serve you very well, indeed… They also are a passport to a good job.”

And that passport comes at a much lower price: Undergraduates in Canada pay an average of about $5,000 in tuition fees during each undergraduate year, while undergraduates at a private university in the US pay an average of $32,000 each year, according to the Institute of Education Sciences.

Some American universities charge nearly $50,000 per semester, which often forces students to take out hefty loans to afford a basic undergraduate degree. (see HERE)

Eric Andreasen, a college student from Maine, told NBC News that he chose to attend Montreal’s McGill University because of the low tuition cost. A four-year undergraduate program at McGill cost him what it would have cost for just one year at George Washington University in the US capital.

“When the financial packages came in, it was a no-brainer for me,” he said. McGill is ranked 18thon US News & World Report’s ranking of the world’s 400 best universities and some refer to the school as the “Harvard of the North”.

“At McGill I believe I’m paying at most $20,000 with tuition and housing,” Jamie Berk, a fourth-year college student from Pennsylvania, told USA TODAY. “Which is pretty good, it’s about a little less than half of what a lot of Americans pay for private university.”

Those who graduate from an American university carry an average of $26,000 debt, causing nine percent to default on their student loans within two years. And with low-skill jobs largely replacing high-paying ones, hundreds of thousands of college grads are finding themselves working minimum wage jobs post-graduation. 

“Money is definitely a factor,” 20-year-old Leah Ott, a physiology major from Houston, told NBC News. She and her two sisters all attend universities in Canada. (see HERE)

And as Americans continue to discover the benefits of attaining a high-quality education in Canad, more students may choose to head north – especially since the cost of education continues to rise in the US.

About six percent of undergraduates at McGill are Americans, and at the current rate, that number could double within the next twenty years.