higher education

Smart Enough To Get Into College, Not Smart Enough To Go?

The Conversation with Ross Reynolds — Wed, 01 May 2013 19:12:30 +0000

Nearly half of all US undergraduates show up to their first day of class unprepared for the rigors of college life. Many of these students require extra education to ready them for their college courses.

These extra classes cost time and money, leading students to drop out or pile on additional debt. To solve this, some colleges are turning to the fast-growing supply of online courses to help prepare their freshmen for college.

Who Needs A Ph.D. When You Can Get A "Mrs." Degree?

The Conversation With Ross Reynolds — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 19:00:45 +0000

Recently, Princeton alum Susan Patton prompted a heated discussion when she urged women at the Ivy League school to find a husband before graduating. She argued that men regularly marry women who are younger, less intelligent and less educated. Patton thinks Princeton women should marry a man who is their intellectual equal. What do you think about the "Mrs." degree? Ross Reynolds talks with listeners about the poorly received push for a "Mrs." degree.

What Happens In Washington If Student Loan Interest Rates Rise?

The Conversation With Ross Reynolds — Tue, 09 Apr 2013 19:00:16 +0000

The interest rate on many student loans is scheduled to double on July 1, to 6.8 percent from 3.4 percent. That was expected to happen last year, but Congress voted to extend the lower rate. If the student loan interest rate does increase it will be way above loans for cars or even homes. Ross Reynolds talks with The Chronicle of Higher Education's chief Washington reporter, Kelly Field about the potential impacts of rising student loan interest rates.

UW To Offer Discount Online Bachelor’s Degrees

Ann Dornfeld — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:43:51 +0000

The University of Washington plans to offer its first online bachelor’s degree program beginning this fall, with steeply discounted tuition compared to on-campus undergraduate classes.

Online College: Valuable Tool Or Waste Of Your time?

Producer — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 18:39:48 +0000

Online learning may be widening the education achievement gap for some community college students in Washington state, according to a new study by researchers at Teacher’s College at Columbia University. They looked at 500,000 courses taken by 40,000 students over a four-year period. And in that study more of the online students dropped out compared to students who took traditional classes in brick-and-mortar buildings. Plus, more online students got failing grades. Ross Reynolds talks with Western Governors University chancellor, Jean Floten about the benefits and drawbacks of online education.

Paying For College Without Going Broke

producer — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 19:11:40 +0000

The average cost of a four-year public college shot up 6 percent last year to over $17,000 a year on average. Private colleges are up to over $35,000 a year (beer and togas not included.) So how do parents pay for college these days without going broke? Ross Reynolds talks with Kalman Chany, author of "Paying for College Without Going Broke," about the GET program and other ways to fund your child's higher education.

Can We Still Afford Higher Ed?

Steve Scher — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Recent debate over the future of the state's pre-paid tuition program and the continually rising cost of college raises a larger question: Who is going to pay for a college education? It used to be that Washington state paid most of the cost of a public university degree. Today, students must find most of the funds. As costs rise, how will society keep higher education affordable? William Zumeta heads the graduate program at the Evans School of Public Affairs and has written about the costs of college. He joins us to talk about how we can make sure people in Washington state can pursue higher education without having to go into crushing debt.