For the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, Harvard University has told its schools to expect a 4 percent rise in the value of the endowment payout for the next fiscal year, The Harvard Crimson reported. Despite the 30 percent drop in the value of Harvard's endowment between June 2008 and June 2009, the Harvard Corporation, Harvard's highest governing body, decided to raise the payout based on the last three years of the endowment's performance. The planned rise in the endowment payout came two weeks after the University announced that its endowment over the past year experienced an annual investment return of 11 percent, according to The Crimson.
A report issued Tuesday by the College Board shows that college graduates are much less likely to be unemployed than high school graduates, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. The study found that the unemployment rate for college graduates over 24 years old was 4.6 percent in 2009, while high school graduates experienced a 9.7 percent unemployment rate, according to The Times. It also found that the median earnings of full-time workers with bachelor's degrees were $55,700 in 2008, over $20,000 more than the earnings of high-school graduates, according to The Times. While workers with a high school degree spend more time in the labor force and do not have to take out student loans, the report found that college graduates' higher earnings compensated for this disparity after 11 years of working, The Times reported.
A new study by American College Testing has argued that a "rigorous" high school core curriculum can help close college achievement gaps along racial and economic lines. The study analyzed the postsecondary outcomes of tens of thousands of students who had taken the ACT in high school. Students were evaluated on their college outcomes on the basis of several factors, such as enrollment, need for remediation, first- to second-year retention, course grades, overall grade point average and degree completion. The report concluded that socioeconomic disparities can be overcome if students take at least a core curriculum in high school and specifically take courses that cover the "essential knowledge and skills needed for college and career," according to an ACT release.
