Graduating Ceremonies, Online Student Style

July 24th, 2008

Have you ever wondered how students who take online classes celebrate their graduation from college or university? If you’re thinking that everyone logs on to a website at a prescribed time to view a cyber event, you’d probably be correct. Yet, the University of Phoenix (UP) has taken a broader approach — they invited all of their grads to Phoenix to attend graduation ceremonies in person.

Although most students have never met each other, the thousands of newly conferred UP grads and their families traveled to Phoenix, Arizona last weekend to attend ceremonies that were held on Friday and Saturday at the University of Phoenix Stadium. Graduates of  UP and two affiliated schools, Axia College and Western International University, were in attendance at one of four ceremonies with 3651 students taking part. This number is only a small portion of the 59,566 students who were awarded degrees, but is an amazing feat considering the disconnect to a physical campus that most students have (some students take classes locally at various learning centers established by UP).

At the ceremonies, the university conferred 753 associate’s degrees, 1,266 bachelor’s degrees, 1,451 master’s degrees and 180 doctoral degrees. For those students unable to attend the Arizona ceremonies, the university set up a live link to each event. Students from all fifty states were represented in this year’s graduating class with 32 countries in all included.

As of May 31, 2008, 345,300 students were enrolled at UP, making the school the largest private university in North America. UP serves a diverse student population, offering associate’s, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs from campuses and learning centers across the U.S. as well as online throughout the world.

The university has set up a special page on their website to allow friends and family members to send cyber congratulations to the grads they know.

(Source: University of Phoenix)

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Project Working Mom Offers Full Scholarships

July 23rd, 2008

Mothers who work outside the home and still need to take college classes often find that balancing work, family, and educational pursuits is an impossible task. But, thanks to an innovative program created by Penn Foster College, eligible working mothers can also receive full scholarships.

Project Working Mom 2 is a joint effort of Penn Foster College and eLearners.com, the second phase of a project that awarded $2 million in scholarships to some of the more than 50,000 applicants that applied during its initial phase. Project Working Mom 2 plans to grant another $2 million in scholarships to working moms, just in time for the back-to-school season. The deadline to apply for a scholarship at www.projectworkingmom.com is August 31.

“Penn Foster College has been providing an affordable, accessible alternative to traditional college education for over 30 years,” said Richard R. Ferrin, President of Penn Foster College, adding, “this scholarship program is a great opportunity for some working moms to receive a college education at no cost.”

“When we launched the first Project Working Mom campaign, we had no idea that the need and aspiration of working moms to advance their education was so enormous,” said Terrence Thomas, EVP Marketing Operations at EducationDynamics. “The sheer volume of the applicants and the heart wrenching essays demonstrated a national imperative to support working moms to better their lives and the lives of their families.”

Project Working Mom is all about helping women overcome important barriers including time, money and their personal confidence to earn a degree. Visitors to www.projectworkingmom.com can find a comprehensive interactive website with online education resources, profiles of working moms going to school online, and a community of women sharing their educational journey.

As part of this initiative, Penn Foster College is offering full-ride college scholarships for 20 different associate degree programs in several fields including healthcare, business, criminal justice, education and technology. A complete list of Penn Foster College’s programs can be found at www.pennfostercollege.edu. To apply for the scholarships, working moms submit a short application and an essay with their life, education and/or career goals, and explain how an online education will allow them to achieve those goals at www.projectworkingmom.com. The recipients will be announced this September.

Penn Foster College was founded in 1890 as the International Correspondence School (ICS) adding a college in 1976 and changing its name when the school moved from Pennsylvania to Arizona in 2006. eLearners.com is a leader in online education, connecting students to providers since it was founded in 1999. The site offers useful tools and financial aid information to prospective and current students.

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Lower Interest Rates Make Student Loans More Affordable

July 22nd, 2008

When it comes to paying for higher education, many students are finding that they are coming up short when they take a look at their tuition bill. The price of higher education continues to surge, far outpacing the cost of living at many institutions.

Lately, college students have received some good news when it was revealed that the interest rates for various college lending options has actually dropped. For example, the federal student loan program, called Stafford Loans, is leading the way by dropping from 6.8% to 6% effective July 1^st for their subsidized loans, a particular type of loan available for all students, but often favored by those with a low-income.

Over the next three years subsidized Stafford loan rates will continue to drop until they bottom out at a rate of 3.4%. These rates apply to newly written loans, but not for loans previously issued. Unsubsidized student loans will continue to carry the 6.8% rate.

Students who have already completed their education and are in the process of paying off their student loans have received some welcome news too. Specifically, those students with federally guaranteed student loans issued before July 2007 are learning that now is an excellent time to consider consolidating their loans under the government’s Direct Loan program.

If former students consolidate their loans before the next rate change kicks in, they’ll pay a fixed rate of just 4.2% for the life of the loan. This is down significantly from the most recent 7.2% figure thanks to rate cuts made the Federal Reserve Bank over the past year.

Grads who fail to take action will continue to see their rates adjusted annually, depending on market conditions. Clearly, for people who want to get a handle on their debt, consolidating now makes sense.

For students taking out private student loans, there is good news for them too. Annual borrowing limits have been raised to $45,000 and rates with various lenders remains competitive. Just as they are with Stafford Loans, payments are deferred until after you graduate, allowing you to concentrate on getting good grades and finding the right job.

Lastly, the amount of money qualifying students can get from a Pell Grant for the coming school year has been raised to $4731, a $421 boost over the previous year. Federal Pell Grants are based on a family’s financial need and because they are a grant, the monies are not paid back.

Yes, the cost of getting a higher education continues to rise, but thanks to changing market conditions loan plans and other assistance options is making college more affordable for millions of Americans.

(Source: Los Angeles Times)

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