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Archive for the ‘Student Loan Mess’

New York Times Looks At Solid Schools….

October 13, 2008 By: richard.ginn Category: Student Loan Mess, Uncategorized

that are now missing NCLB AYP goals. One state they focus on is California.

They have found more schools this year are not meeting goals than last year.

Earlier this year I reported on a report where 23 schools have backloaded AYP gains. California is on the list.

The Student Public Interest Research Group….

August 27, 2008 By: richard.ginn Category: Student Loan Mess, Uncategorized

out with a report just looking at E-Textbooks and the prices for these kind of college textbooks. It also includes some survey questions.

From the Survey Questions:

33% of people surveyed say that they are at the least comfortable with viewing a book on a computer.

60% would buy a printed version of the book costing 30-40 bucks even if a online version was free.

If cost was not a factor, 75% would prefer a paper book over the online version.

The report then gets into some E-textbooks and showcases why they fail.

First one is Chemistry, 4th edition, by McGraw-Hill. The E-textbook cost which you can’t get any money back on is 88.17 says the report. The net cost of the book is 71.57 which means this book fails on price alone.

The second book they look at is Biology, 8th edition, by Pearson. This book they say fails on printing costs. The E-Book price is 86.50 while the new book price is 173 bucks. E-Textbook and full print job is over 211 bucks, that is more than the cost of a new book. Although I highly doubt someone is going to print out the full book, that is just too pricey as well.

The next book they look at is Calculus, 6th Edition, by Cengage Learning. E-Textbook price is 103.99. New Price is 207.95. They look at this book as a 2-semester deal which means you have to spend 103.99 twice for the E-book. That is a complete and total ripoff.

They say that 75% of the books they looked at only had 180 day subscriptions which I think is a complete no-no for the price the companies selling E-textbooks want.

They do look at some open-textbooks which are free online for use. They meet the PIRG standards and I love them. We need to come up with some quality free college textbooks.

I say for any E-Textbook that can be used for more than one semester must get at least a 360 day subscription and a discount for the last 180 days, but it would be best if a student could pay one price and get unlimited access to that book. The E-Textbooks also have to be cheaper than net cost(the purchase price minus the amount the student can expect to receive for selling it back to the bookstore) by 10-20%.

I like the idea of E-textbooks, but this report certainly showcases the problems that these books have with college students.

The New York Times….

December 12, 2007 By: richard.ginn Category: Student Loan Mess, Uncategorized

has up a bigger piece on Student Financial Services of Clearwater who has settled with the New York Attorney General on the student loan mess.

Dozens Of Colleges And Universities…

November 29, 2007 By: richard.ginn Category: Student Loan Mess, Uncategorized

have been told to fork over data as to why only one lender is the primary one used. The 55 schools contacted have received over 10 million in federal loans in the 2006-2007 school year.

An Audit On Student Loan Corportation….

November 20, 2007 By: richard.ginn Category: Student Loan Mess, Uncategorized

in Pennsylvania found that it exploited a subsidy program in order to get 34 million bucks.

A Congressional Panel Is….

November 15, 2007 By: richard.ginn Category: Student Loan Mess, Uncategorized

likely to pass a bill that would make lenders and colleges adopt codes of conduct governing student loans. This is the latest in student loan mess started earlier this year.