Posts Tagged ‘college lecture notes’

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Presidential Pay

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

I read recently that public universities are finally trying to reign in the pay of chief executives. In this tough economy we have all had to make difficult decisions to make. Many of is here on sharenotes.com can’t even be sure that we can continue to afford college. So it’s nice to see executive pay fall in lockstep with the rest of us.

According to a survey released by the Chronicle of Higher Education, presidential pay packages are only now rising about 2.3 %. Compare that to over 10% in past years which was the rule rather than the exception. I for one do not know what goes into being a university president. I’ll admit it’s possible that they work for every single cent they make. However with government subsidies dwindling and tuition on the rise to compensate, it’s hard to see top execs of public institutions taking home bonuses and large increases.

According to the study 1 in 10 actually saw a decrease in pay and some even gave money back to the university. While I will agree it is nice to see, it’s also what you would expect. So for me it’s a little hard to pat someone on the back for doing the right thing. Let’s face it teachers are being cut, or furloughed, students who are already strapped are being charged more. So it’s only reasonable that the top dogs would feel the pinch as well.

Before you start feeling too badly for the presidents you should know that the average income in 08-09 was about 430K a year. Some earned as much as 700K and Ohio State’s Gordon Gee? 1.5 Million. Proponents of the educators salary would tell you that you get what you pay for. Top talent requires top pay while opponents would explain that the salary should match what is being asked of the students and faculty.

The bottom line I think is this, the big wigs at public schools are getting the message of public sentiment a lot better than wall street. Those of you on sharenotes.com at Ohio State can leave your comments and let us know if you feel like you’re getting what you pay for.

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Paying for College

Tuesday, January 12th, 2010

Recently MSNBC ran an article on Princton Review’s 12 tips for paying for college in these tough times. It’s good advice for all college students on sharenotes.com. I’m not going to reprint the all the tips, but I do strongly recommend you have a look at them. You can see the entire article by clicking here. Instead I thought I’d just cover what I thought where the top four tips that I’ve found useful in my experiences.

1. Apply strategically: Princeton Review says that if you apply to schools which you are over qualified for, you will be far more likely to a great aid package vs if you barely qualify. I have had friends who have scraped by getting into schools by the skin of their teeth and the aid packages offered really reflect that point. It’s almost as if the school is grudgingly allowing you in, but not really interested in encouraging you to go there. If you can afford it great, but they aren’t out to do you any favors.

2. Don’t pay tuition with credit…ever! This is one of those common sense things that you know better, but in a scrape, it’s awfully temping. We’ve done some pieces here on sharenotes.com about the pitfalls of credit cards and college students in the past, which is why I point this one out. College loans can be expensive enough, especially if you have to go private, but nothing racks up like credit debt. The interest rates are usually extreme especially for college students. We all know how much our tuition can be you don’t want to be paying interest on that money forever. It can literally follow you for the rest of your life. Don’t do it.

3. Get your aid early. This is probably the easiest one to follow but so many people allow others to get the aid they might have otherwise received. Federal Aid is limited and given out not only by merit by also in a first come basis. Get in early and get your money. The second half of this is to apply accurately, because your applications can get kicked back to you and your place in line lost. Do it early and do it right and maximize your returns.

4. Be realistic about your degree. This one is probably my favorite because I recently had a family member illustrate this rule all too well. Basically you have to be honest with yourself about what you are going to be making vs what your school costs to complete. There are plenty of equations you can run that will tell you how much you should be able to afford but also a little common sense goes a long way. The family member in question decided to go to a private school to the tune of about 30K per semester. Her desired profession would not even start at that much per year. So after a intervention with a calculator she changed schools after a semester. Do the math upfront so you don’t end up in a deep hole.

those four were probably my favorites but I do suggest that you have a look at the entire article because I think it’s really valuable information for college students. Times are tough and everyone is looking for ways to help pay that sizable college bill. If any of you sharenotes.com users have any other advice that wasn’t covered on the Princeton Review list please feel free to share in the comments section below.

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Harvard Ditching Public Law Incentive

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

Those of you on sharenotes.com that are attending Harvard with the hopes of entering the field of public law just lost a big incentive program. Previously Harvard’s program allowed a free year of tuition to students that planned on practicing public law post graduation. Good news is if you are already there the school is going to honor the program, however future classes will not receive the benefit of the program.

You might not think that this program effects too many students, however one of the reasons why Harvard had suspend the program was because they had more student than excepted. I guess there are a lot of public defenders out there! Free tuition at Harvard? It’s hard to say no! The program stipulates that the student agree to serve in the public sector for 5 years, after which they are free to do as they please.

Regardless of the amount of students the real problem is that Harvard announced last month that they were running a 110 Million dollar deficit. As a result jobs have been lost within the university, professors reduced and more cuts are on the way. Sadly this just seems to be another of a long line of universities, private or public that are suffering from the downturn in the economy.

Sadly the condition of the economy is causing students to rethink their careers, their loans, and tuition. It’s also causing schools to have to make tough choices in what programs they are able to offer and how many professors they are able to keep employed. As both schools and students struggle to make their way we all try to find some kind of balance so that we can get a quality affordable education and hopefully a job once we’re done. No doubt everyone on sharenotes.com has felt the cuts and changed at each of your schools. If you’d like to share your experiences, leave you comments below and join the discussion.

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The Results of Black Friday

Tuesday, December 1st, 2009

Those of us on sharenotes.com are probably watching the economy a lot closer than a college student probably should. But our future livelihoods depend on it. After the number have been crunched from the big sales weekend it seems as though things turned out okay.

I will say this, at least we did not crash and burn. I would have put money in Vegas on the fact that people just aren’t going to spend, but as it turns out, Black Friday just about broke even. People we’re out in droves… I was out there too so I know first hand but it seems as though people avoided impulse buys that often happen in a strong economy. They did however come out for the deals, which were a plenty. I personally bought a whole bunch of super cheap BluRay discs which is just about all I could afford to spend. It also doesn’t help that they were all for me and I still have a xmas list to fill.

Better news however was that “Cyber Monday” the newly founded tradition of online sales the Monday following Thanksgiving was pretty strong. The sales were up about 20% from last years sales. The economy shows signs of life. Much of the online sales are driven by the tech savvy college aged group who often favor buying online to fighting the crowds. Akamai a internet monitoring site, watched 270 retail sites and reported 4.3 million visitors per minute at on point during the day! I think in the coming years Cyber Monday is going to continue to grow under the clicking right hands of college students.

Hopefully this uptick in online sales is an indicator that our economy might be able to survive this holiday season. Free shipping and blow out deals with major retailers helps, but the shear fact that Americans are still willing to get out there and spend money at all is encouraging. So how about you sharenotes.com, did you get out there and hit the stores? Did you hit the online sales? Did you put what little money you have into some drinks to drown your sorrows? We want to hear form you! Leave your comments below and share you tales of mall crowds or killer deals!

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Does Your School Still Have Cafeteria Trays?

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

I know it’s an odd question, but i was reading a report today that states that many schools are getting rid of their cafeteria trays. Most likely there are some schools on sharenotes.com that have been effected by this trend. The schools have given different reasoning behind the decision, all of them surrounding the trimming down of costs and waste.

Some schools have cited a need to reduce the desire to reduce water consumption (both a green and financial decision) by reducing the strain on dish washing. Other schools have suggested that the lack of trays reduces the amount of wasted food. Still others have suggested that going trayless causes students to eat only what they need to fill themselves up, versus simply eating as much as possible. A healthier student body could be the result?

Whatever the reason I can say my personal opinion is that it seems silly. I can see some benefit coming from not having trays. Getting green and conserving is not necessarily a bad thing. But where does it end? How about we get rid of cups too and only drink what we can hold in our hands?

Reportedly, effected students are reduced to balancing their meals like Vegas entertainers or using their folders as substitute trays. Or for the very hungry student, multiple trips may be necessary. Luckily for me I haven’t really had to eat in the cafeteria too often so I wouldn’t have really noticed the lack of trays. But I know that many of you do eat on campus, so I’m wondering if you’ve noticed anything odd at your school?

I’m all for conservation and I feel like if colleges can reduce waste and unnecessary costs that would be a good thing in this economy. I’m certain all of us on sharenotes.com have seen efforts to reduce costs, waste etc… on our campuses, but I think there must be a better way? This one just seems silly to me. What are you thoughts? Leave your comments below with your opinions or experiences and join the discussion.

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