Harvard Law School Suspends Program Giving Students Free Tuition

Harvard University’s law school is suspending its offer to waive tuition for students who promise to spend five years working for nonprofit groups or the government, citing economic pressures and the program’s surprising popularity. Nearly twice as many students as expected applied for the waiver, introduced two years ago. Martha Minow, the law school’s dean, said the program “was always an experiment,” adding that “what we found is that we had less trouble than we thought encouraging” students to pursue public-interest positions.
Full text article by Tamar Lewin is available via The New York Times, 12/2/09.

U. of Phoenix Expects to Spend Up to $80.5-Million in Settling Whistle-Blower Case

The parent company of the University of Phoenix expects to spend no more than $80.5-million to settle a contentious six-year-old whistle-blower lawsuit filed by two former admissions counselors, the company announced on Tuesday. While the amount could be a record settlement for an institution of higher education, the sum is far smaller than the $1.5-billion that the parties had hoped to collect for themselves and the federal government after accusing Phoenix of obtaining federal student-aid funds under false pretenses.

Full-text post by Goldie Blumenstyk is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 10/27/09.

Sen. Edward Kennedy, Longtime Champion of Higher Education

Former aides to the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy described him as a "consummate legislator" who never forgot the people behind the problems he sought to solve.

Mr. Kennedy had a hand in the creation of nearly every major federal student-aid program, from Pell Grants in 1972 to the Academic Competitiveness and Smart Grants for high-achieving, low-income students in 2006.


Full-text article by Kelly Field is available via The Chronicle of Higher Education, 8.26.09.