Following a faculty petition to eliminate Princeton University's investment in assault weapon manufacturers, members of the university's Student Anti-Violence Effort wrote a statement to support it, The Daily Princetonian reported. Both the faculty and student groups said they found inspiration in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in December. The effort aims to increase campus awareness of gun dangers and honor those who lost their lives in Newtown. Faculty first presented their petition in February to Princeton's Resources Committee, which is responsible for discussing objections to the university's financial strategies. It will be further reviewed alongside the student petition this April.
More parents are electing to pre-pay their children's college tuitions through the Private College 529 plan, a program that allows participants to prepay tuition at private colleges and universities at current tuition rates, according to The New York Times. The decision to participate is difficult because there are only certain colleges and universities that accept these prepaid plans, restricting students' decisions and increasing financial pressure, The Times reported. Students must also be accepted to one of the institutions participating in the program and are not given special preference for participating. Nancy Farmer, president of the consortium that runs the program, said a wide variety of schools participate in the program, which grants participating students and parents diverse choices. The plan creates a trust that parents contribute to through certificates, which represent yearly college tuition rates. If the child chooses not to attend a participating institution, parents can choose another beneficiary of the trust or receive a partial refund.
A report published Wednesday and financed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation describes state higher education funding from state budget officers' point of view, Inside Higher Ed reported. According to the report, state financing of higher education has drastically decreased in recent years. Public colleges will be unable to effectively combat these declines by increasing their tuition, and should instead focus on cost reduction. Leaders of these institutions need to better communicate with state policymakers in order to facilitate effective funding. The report found that state spending on public education is not likely to increase significantly in the near future, indicating that colleges and policymakers must make changes to their budgets, allocation plans and communication methods to make public education sustainable, Inside Higher Ed reported.
