The U.S. The Department of Education has proposed a set of regulations to increase federal control over financially unstable universities, Higher Ed Dive reports. The package expands the list of circumstances in which universities are required to provide a letter of credit to the government as a means of safeguarding their finances. The regulations are implemented as college expenses skyrocket, adding $1.6 trillion to the federal loan portfolio. Consumer protections are also included in the new regulations, which require universities to provide transparent financial aid offers that detail the various forms of help and the cost of tuition. Additionally, they prohibit colleges from keeping academic records of students who used Title IV financial help to cover the cost of their college education. The approach, according to critics, may make it more difficult for students to transfer to another college or find employment.
Inside Higher Ed reports that “period poverty,” or inability to afford menstruation products, is a growing issue on college and university campuses. According to a recent survey, 18.7% of female college students report having had to choose between buying menstrual products and paying for other expenses. An organization for menstruation equity in Massachusetts called Dignity Matters partnered with MassBay and Framingham State University to create plans to gather and distribute free supplies in each college’s restroom. In California, the Menstrual Equity for All Act requires all 23 campuses of the California State University system to provide free menstrual products on campus. MassBay and Dignity Matters, who provide menstrual products to about 15,000 women and girls in Massachusetts every month, hope for a similar law for Massachusetts universities.
Montana is introducing a new program called Montana 10, designed to help low-income, rural, and Native American students adjust to college, stay enrolled, and graduate on time, according to The Hechinger Report. The program offers academic, social, and financial support to help students cope with challenges such as extensive commutes from rural areas and financial difficulties. Montana 10 provides advising, career planning, academic help, and financial support like textbook assistance and scholarships. Students must enroll full-time, complete federal financial aid paperwork, and meet with program staff regularly to stay on track. The program has proven effective in improving rural students’ likelihood of staying in college and earning a degree. Similar programs may offer the same benefits in other states with a high population of students from low-income rural communities.
Sollers College, a for-profit college in New Jersey, will forgive $3.4 million in student loans to settle allegations that it created illegitimate loans and used dishonest marketing to increase enrollment, Higher Ed Dive reports. Officials from the Federal Trade Commission and the state of New Jersey had accused Sollers of falsifying the employment statistics of its graduates and fraudulently claiming that it could place students in positions with well-known corporations. Additionally, they said that Sollers had entered into erroneous income-share agreements, or ISAs, which let students pay for their tuition at little or no upfront cost by guaranteeing a portion of their monthly pay for a predetermined amount of time after they graduate. On Wednesday, representatives of the FTC and New Jersey made the $4.6 million settlement agreements public. Sollers and its president, Siba Padhi, are fined $1.2 million by the state.