Our Voices
Why a tuition moratorium would be an opportunity for colleges?
By Bob Hildreth Tuition increases are at the very center of today’s college financial crisis. They must be turned back if any reform is to take hold. As a first step, Washington should ask all institutions of higher learning to accept a five-year moratorium on raising...
Zero Student Loans
By Bob Hildreth Giving loans to anyone not ready to repay them is cruel. America has set up millions of students to fail just when their careers should be taking off. Any reform of the college finance system should do away with loans. They are ill suited to the task...
Why We Demand #ZeroDebt?
By Bahar Akman Imboden There is increased evidence that student loans perpetuate, if not aggravate, existing inequalities.[i] Studies show that debt is disproportionately burdening low- and middle-income households,[ii] blacks,[iii] Latinos,[iv]and...
Get Out Those Boxes of Tea
By Bob Hildreth Our forebears tossed tea in the harbor and fought in Shea’s Rebellion to protest taxes. Today we must find their spirit to protest the taxes the GOP wants to levy on our colleges and students. The Republican tax bill includes six taxes on higher Ed,...
The DACA Decision: New Uncertainty for Vulnerable Students and their Families
I can’t say that I was shocked. I knew it was expected. I hoped it would not happen, but I have just watched the U.S. Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, say, in a press briefing, that, “I’m here today to announce that the program known as DACA (Deferred Action for...
UMass Is Under Intolerable Financial Pressure. Let’s Work Together To Relieve It.
By Bob Hildreth The University of Massachusetts has a bad case of the college-cost disease, a contagion that is sweeping across America. The cost of attending, in tuition and fees, has increased three years running — by a total of 12 percent. That’s $1,915 more per...
ViewPoint: Save colleges from themselves
The effect of America’s student loan program on our country’s young people is ground well covered. It is a $1.3 trillion mess with tentacles hurting spending power and reaching all sectors of the U.S. economy. The housing market, the stock market, automotive sales,...
Why is college tuition rising and how can we curb it?
By Bob Hildreth Working closely with parents of high school students who are preparing and saving for college, we at Inversant are interested in better understanding how our higher education system works. Why is tuition always rising? What are the possible solutions...
What are colleges to do in face of declining enrollment and changes in demographics?
By Bob Hildreth In my last blog, I looked into future enrollment trends and made the argument that colleges are facing a demographic and existential crisis. With this blog, I attempt to provide some suggestions to weather the storms to come. I have no doubt that over...
U.S. Colleges Are Facing a Demographic and Existential Crisis
By Bob Hildreth At colleges and universities across the country, students and faculty are preparing for the new fall term. But behind the scenes, administrators are dealing with a harsh reality. Many of them have failed to meet their enrollment targets for the...