Accredited-Education.com Blog

Seventeen states across the US have joined an alliance to assist in improving college completion rates. These states will be setting degree goals and coming up with and implementing plans of action and reporting on their progress made toward completing the goals.

The AP has reported that the goal of the campaign is to ensure that 60 percent of adults between the ages of 25 and 35 obtain a college degree by the year 2020. As of now, 38 percent have earned associate or bachelor’s degrees.

There are several foundations that are sponsoring this effort and together they are donating $12 over four years. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is one of the foundations giving money as is the Lumina Foundation. Colleges that are well known are partaking in the endeavor as are several community colleges and regional universities. Strong state leadership is very important in assuring that two and four year colleges act with urgency to increase college completion. Many students who enroll in college end up dropping out so this project is a great way to change this fact and much attention will be paid to the results obtained.

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written by AE Admin

The FAFSA has on it about 100 questions whose answers are analyzed by the federal government. How exactly is your need calculated for federal student aid?

Your need is directly proportional to you or your parent’s income and our estimated family contribution is subtracted from the cost of attendance. Your earning potential is estimated based on what school you may enroll in.

All federal aid recipients receive the same amount of money every year as long as the students have completed the FAFSA.

Faced with state budget cuts, many colleges are offering more student aid to their students. The price of attending college has increased dramatically over the past decade with tuition, fees and room and board increasing a full 45% in the past ten years.

If you plan on attending college and will be needing some assistance, be sure to fill out the FAFSA application. You can find information on this form at the US Department of Education’s website. Be sure to have your parents or a counselor assist you in completing the form so that nothing is omitted.

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written by AE Admin

The average college tuition debt is $23,200 and in light of this there are some things that the average student can do to keep debt down. Loan default rates are very high at for-profit colleges so students need to think about where they are enrolling so that they can keep their debts low.

Recently, about 80 student borrowers sent in their photos showing their college debt at the invitation of Huffington Post’s new college site. This will become a part of a new story that profiles recent graduates with large debt in the paper’s new section. It is expected that the piece will get a lot of attention as people all across the US are worried that soon students will not be able to attend college.

It was found that student characteristics do indeed matter but they are not the only predictor of a school’s default rate. Institutional characteristics-especially a school’s ability to retain and graduate students is very important in reducing student loan default rates. The report also found that some schools do a better job than others in keeping students enrolled.

Students should look at statistics like these and enroll at schools that have a good graduation rate.

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written by AE Admin

Connecticut governor M. Jodi Rell has announced that the state will take part in the Complete College America plan, a nonprofit organization that is working to increase the number of young people with a college degree. This group has come up with a rather aggressive state and campus level action plan to meet those goals.

By 2020, the percentage of young adults that have a bachelor’s degree is expected to be 30 percent compared with 34 percent in 1993. After thirty years of growth, the trends in Connecticut has been on a downturn.

Connecticut has always been known as a state that has a highly educated work force yet today there are signs of slippage. This has serious repercussions on both the the economic and social scale so it is now time to take the steps necessary to put a focus on how vitally important it is that students complete college.

Connecticut joins 16 other states to form the Complete College Alliance. Less than 40 percent of young adults have an associate’s degree or higher. In order for the US to remain competitive, 6 of 10 adults between the ages of 25 and 35 must hold a college degree. In order to join the Alliance, a state must pledge to make college completion a top priority.

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written by AE Admin

The US Congress created the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education grant program or TEACH that provides grants of up to $4000 per year to students who want to become teachers in either public or private schools that serve students from low income families.

In exchange for receiving a TEACH grant, you have to agree to teach as a full time teacher in a high need field in a school that serves low income students.  You have to teach for at least four years of completing the program of study for which you received the grant.

If you fail to complete this service, all amounts of the TEACH grant money that you got will be converted into a Stafford Loan of which you must repay to the US Dept of Education. You will also be charged interest from the date of the grant’s disbursement.

TEACH grant recipients are given a six month grace period prior to entering repayment if a grant is converted into a loan. Some of the high-need fields are English, math, reading, science and special education.
If you are interested in this program, simply visit the US Department of Education’s website to read more information.

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written by AE Admin \\ tags: Learning About the TEACH Grant Program

If online learning sounds good for you, you should know how to choose the right program for you. Obviously, where you live is not a factor when taking classes online so you have thousands of programs and schools to choose from. Online degree choices vary in what they offer and how they deliver education and the cost is not a reliable indication of an online school’s value.

In order to choose the right program you should find out the different graduation rates at the schools you are interested in. If the retention rates are low then it most likely means that students are not taught well at that school.

You should also find out the number of students in the classes. The best schools will publicize their student to instructor ratio so this is a good indicator of a quality program. Those schools that cram students into programs are most likely the schools who are not that interested in giving their students a quality education.

Be sure that the program you choose fits your needs. It should specialize in the courses you are interested in. Take the time necessary to research each  online degree program thoroughly and be sure it has what you need. Find out the policies in place for transferring credits and ask what should happen if you need to leave a class half-way through.

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written by AE Admin \\ tags: Choosing an Online Degree Program

Earning a college degree online is more popular than ever before with more and more online programs being offered today. Even Ivy League colleges are offering online degree programs today allowing students the chance to learn from home.

Earning a college degree online is the most flexible way to educate yourself today. Most of the students taking online classes today are women. The American Association of University Women or AAUW has found that over 60% of all students currently studying online are women-most of them being over the age of 25.

Many women today are not happy with their life situation as they often feel ‘stuck’ in a boring and poor-paying job while at the same time having family responsibilities to deal with. More and more women are discovering that they can now return to college in order to earn that college degree they have always wanted by enrolling in online programs.

Most of the women who are studying online today have a specific degree plan and have goals and aspirations that are very much like those that freshmen students at ‘brick and mortar’ schools have.

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written by AE Admin \\ tags: Online Learning Opportunities for Women

It is never too late to go back to college and earn that degree! You may be going back to finish a degree or seeking a second degree or taking classes to advance your career.

Most colleges and universities now offer adult student services to assist you in managing your time with childcare and flexible course schedules by offering classes at night and on the weekends.

Many colleges have a separate application for students who had been previously enrolled and have been absent for a semester or two. Often the application must be submitted at least 2 months prior to the start of a term.

You should talk to a college counselor about credit evaluation. Ask about your earned credits and whether or not they will count toward the current degree you are planning on earning. You may have to take a few classes over again if the field has changed dramatically.

Consider taking online classes or programs if you have serious time constraints. Colleges are well aware of the fact that adult students are often improving on their performance when returning to school because this group takes their education seriously.

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written by AE Admin \\ tags: How to Re-Enroll in College