One diploma and a whole lot of loans

In 1992, Congress increased the amount of money a student can borrow from the federal loan program with the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The act also enabled students defined as "in need" easier access to funding. Now we see student loans dominating the higher-education industry and accounting for 50% of all financial-aid packages.

According to FinAid.org, the average range of tuition inflation is normally 8% annually, and prices have not fallen or stabilized once since 1977, regardless of economic climate. In 2004, the Census Bureau released a report saying private university and college tuition are "up 93 percent from 1990." This symptom may be attributed to cheap and accessible money, and it is becoming an issue now because tuition is still rising but wages have been flat for a decade.

The Department of Education reports having a $63.7 billion budget in appropriations for 2010. It has also received $96.8 billion from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The department's website states that "department programs also provide grant, loan, and work-study assistance to more than 14 million post-secondary students." That is roughly 4 million short of every college student in the country. Does this mean that only 22% of students in the United States have adequate means to pay for college? Based on America's economic model, this statistic should theoretically be impossible. This means that over 3/4 of Americans attending higher-education institutions are "in need."

A small, for-profit college in DeLand

Angley College, a small, for-profit college in DeLand, has been unable to pay some employees for work as far back as February, and the college's owner is blaming the former president for the financial problems.

About half of the school's work force of 100 at the start of the year has left. New student recruiting is down about 80 percent, Joseph Angley says, claiming many of the college's problems date to the hiring of Raymond Nunziata Jr. as president and chief executive officer in June 2008.

Nunziata, who was fired in October 2009, is the defendant in a civil lawsuit filed last month by Angley College in circuit court. In the suit, Angley alleges Nunziata spent more than $500,000 on raises and bonuses for himself and other workers, unauthorized car and mortgage payments, worthless computer purchases from a company he co-owned and deficient construction work he awarded to a friend and business partner.

As a consequence, college vendors are owed more than $400,000. Nunziata had assured the board those bills had been paid, the lawsuit contends. Nunziata could not be reached for comment.

Additionally.

Debate increasing on student aid

Today, he has that degree, but it came at a cost of more than $80,000 in student loans. Graduating last year into a down economy, the job he has now doesn’t have much to do with what he studied.

Pontiff’s predicament is one faced by a growing number of students, according to new research from the College Board, the organization that runs the SAT and other college-prep tests. About 17 percent of students nationally are taking on student-loan debt of more than $30,500, more than they may be able to repay in full.

Pontiff, who expects to be paying his loans for as long as 30 years, says he wants to share his story so others can learn from it.

“I just assumed that because it was a school loan everything was going to be OK, the payments were going to be reasonable,” said Pontiff, 28, who now lives in Baton Rouge and works as a salesman for a computer company. “I went to school to better myself, and I feel like I’m not in a better position.”

Financial aid night

Chipola College will hold a Financial Aid Evening Workshop on Tuesday, May 11, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Financial Aid Office, in the Student Services Building.

The workshop is scheduled to give those individuals who can’t leave work during the day an opportunity to seek assistance with their financial aid paperwork. Efforts will focus on new students enrolling at Chipola and helping students and parents complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Applicants need to bring copies of the parent and applicant’s 2009 tax forms, W-2 forms, and other un-taxable 2009 income documentation such as child support received and paid out. Other helpful items to bring include driver’s license and social security card for student and parent. Staff members will provide each person with individualized assistance.

Dr. Jayne Roberts, Dean of Enrollment Services, says, “This event is designed to help students with their college finances for Fall 2010 so they will be ready to learn instead of being preoccupied with how to cover college costs.”

For more information, contact the Financial Aid Office at (850) 718-2366 or visit them online athttp://www.chipola.edu/financialaid/.

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Chipola College will hold a Financial Aid Evening Workshop on Tuesday, May 11, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Financial Aid Office, in the Student Services Building.

The workshop is scheduled to give those individuals who can’t leave work during the day an opportunity to seek assistance with their financial aid paperwork. Efforts will focus on new students enrolling at Chipola and helping students and parents complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Applicants need to bring copies of the parent and applicant’s 2009 tax forms, W-2 forms, and other un-taxable 2009 income documentation such as child support received and paid out. Other helpful items to bring include driver’s license and social security card for student and parent. Staff members will provide each person with individualized assistance.

Dr. Jayne Roberts, Dean of Enrollment Services, says, “This event is designed to help students with their college finances for Fall 2010 so they will be ready to learn instead of being preoccupied with how to cover college costs.”

For more information, contact the Financial Aid Office at (850) 718-2366 or visit them online athttp://www.chipola.edu/financialaid/.

For more information: http://www.estudentaid.com/