THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2011
PAGE 3
CALLERS FROM PAGE 1
money goes directly to help his major.
The relationships students start with alumni in the call center often begin with small donations but can escalate to larger giving in time. The interaction may also benefit the student callers, some of whom have been offered internships in their desired fields by impressed donors.
Once donors pledge to give money, they can then choose wherever they would like that money to go, whether it be to a specific department, scholarship or facility. They may also want to donate to the general Greater KU fund, which is then divided and given to where it is needed the most on campus. KU Endowment does not use any of the funds given by donors for operation costs, but rather relies on stocks and other investments that have been managed since the organization's formation.
"I remember what it was like going to KU and all the incredible opportunities and experiences it gave to me," said Dan Royer, an English professor at Grand Valley State University who earned his Ph.D. in composition and rhetoric at the University in 1995. "It's expensive to get a good education. I had help from KU back in the day, and now it's a pleasure for me to give back to help someone else."
University to launch new fundraising campaign
CAMPUS
— Edited by Jonathan Shorman
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little holds up a red high-heeled shoe that acts as a symbol of the "Far Above" fundraising campaign for excellence at the University. Gray-Little launched the campaign in April in an effort to raise funds for research at the University.
JESSIE BLAKEBOROUGH
jblakeborough@kansan.com
LAURA SATHER/KANSAN
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said the University has not yet put a number to its goal for the April 2012 "Far Above: The Campaign for Kansas" fundraising effort.
"It will certainly be an amount that begins with a 'B," Gray-Little said.
The University has already raised $153.2 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30.
The University is also restructuring the scholarship program and a portion of the funds raised will go into a research pool. Gray-Little said the new research money will go to undergraduate research projects
"Sometimes in order to finish a research project, you need an extra $500 or $5,000, and we want to enrich and support first year undergraduate research opportunities," Grav-Little said.
The research funding does not come from the same pool as scholarship money. Gray-Little explained that this is for situations when there is not enough money in a specific school. This way, there might be a pool of money in an undergraduate research office that students can tap into.
The scholarship program is targeted to students who have
strong merit, regardless of their field of study. Merit is determined by a combination of grade point average, SAT and ACT scores.
Gray-Little said the way specialized schools are partnering up with the University to match recruitment scholarships is one
of the fundamental differences for this program.
People may notice similarities between Far Above and other recently announced initiatives. Gray-Little said Bold Aspirations, Far Above, and Changing for Excellence, a project to increase efficiency and effectiveness at the University, were done this way on purpose.
In a letter to University staff, Gray-Little explained the reasoning behind initiating the three plans simultaneously.
while we first address research productivity, just like we can't tell those who depend on our discoveries to wait while we work on enrollment," Gray-Little said.
"We cannot tell students to wait
— Edited by Stefanie Penn
REGIONAL
College prep program pays
CLAIRE MCINERNY
cmcinerny@kansan.com
Once a week, Breann Collins stayed after school at F.L. Schlagle high school to meet with mentors, even though it meant adding to an eight-hour school day. Collins always attended the sessions and eventually the time spent paid off — by paying for 80 percent of her tuition.
The scholarships Collins, a freshman from Kansas City, Kan., received at the end of high school were thanks to the University's Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Education program (GEAR UP). GEAR UP, a mentor program established at the University in 1999, recently received an $8.9 million grant from the Department of Education.
GEAR UP works with low-income middle school and high school students in Kansas City, Kan., with the ultimate goal of sending them to college. It starts with a middle school class and follows them until the end of high school.
Lisa Henderson, project director of GEAR UP at the University, said she and her staff visit the four middle schools and two high schools in Kansas City anywhere from once a week to daily. THE GEAR UP staff supplements the students' curriculum in class and holds tutoring sessions after school as well. Not only do they provide assistance with a student's current education, but GEAR UP promotes educational opportunities past high school.
"There's a lot of information that kids and parents need to know as far as a FAFSA, scholarship opportunities, and preparing for the ACT," Henderson said. "A lot of counselors say that usually it wouldn't be until the spring of the senior year that kids would start thinking about college, instead of middle school."
Collins, the valedictorian of her graduating class, always knew she would attend college, even though she is the first in her family to go away from home to do so.
To teach students how to effectively save for college, GEAR UP added financial literacy education to the curriculum. This new aspect sets up savings accounts for the students and offers monetary rewards on a monthly basis for accomplishments such as
completing all of their homework or having perfect attendance. This money will go straight to their savings accounts. Students can earn up to $200 per school year.
"They helped us make smart decisions about what college we wanted to go to without breaking our pocket," Collins said.
Barbara Phipps, professor in curriculum and teaching and director of the Center for Economic Education, is the financial adviser for the new financial literacy program. Phipps is developing the curriculum for GEAR UP students and parents to promote how to use the students' savings accounts properly.
"There is a lot of research that has been done that says kids that have any kind of savings, lower income kids in particular, are more likely to enroll in college and graduate," Phipps said.
This year, the renewed grant allows GEAR UP to reach more than 1,600 students in Kansas City.
"If I hadn't been in GEAR UP," Collins said. "I wouldn't have the values and skills that I have now."
Collins said she is excited the program received more funding because more students can have the same opportunities she has. Not only has the scholarship opportunity affected her education, but Collins still uses handouts and tips provided to her from GEAR UP in her classes at the University.
- Edited by Mike Lavieri
NATIONAL
Obama plans to reduce student debt
ASSOCIATED PRESS
DENVER — President Barack Obama recalled his struggles with student loan debt as he unveiled a plan Wednesday that could give millions of young people some relief on their payments.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Speaking at the University of Colorado Denver, Obama said that he and his wife, Michelle, together owed more than $120,000 in law school debt that took nearly a decade to pay off. He said that sometimes he'd have to make monthly payments to multiple lenders, and the debt meant they were not only paying for their own degrees but saving for their daughters' college funds simultaneously.
"I've been in your shoes. We did not come from a wealthy family," Obama said to cheers.
Obama said it's never been more important to get a college education, but it's also never been more expensive. Obama said his plan will help not just individuals, but the nation, because graduates will have more money to spend on things like buying homes.
President Barack Obama waves after speaking to students and faculty at Auraria Events Center in Denver yesterday. Obama outlined a plan to allow millions of student loan recipients to lower their payments and consolidate their loans.
Obama's plan will accelerate a measure passed by Congress that reduces the maximum required payment on student loans from 15 percent of discretionary income annually to 10 percent. He will put it into effect in 2012, instead of 2014. In addition, the White House says the remaining debt would be forgiven after 20 years, instead of 25. About 1.6 million borrowers
"Our economy needs it right now and your future could use a boost right now," Obama said.
could be affected.
He will also allow borrowers who have a loan from the Federal Family Education Loan Program and a direct loan from the government to consolidate them into one. The consolidated loan would carry an interest rate of up to a half percentage point less than before. This could affect 5.8 million borrowers.
Student loans are the No. 2 source of household debt. The president's announcement came on the same day as a new report on tuition costs from the College Board. It showed that average in-state tuition and fees at four-year public colleges rose $631 this fall, or 8.3 percent, compared with a year ago. Nationally, the cost of a full credit load has passed $8,000, an all-time high.
Student loan debt is a common concern voiced by Occupy Wall Street protesters. Obama's plan could help him shore up re-election support among young voters, an important voting bloc in his 2008 election. But, it might not ease all their fears.
"By the time I graduate, my interest rate is going to be astronomical, especially when you don't have a job." Van Pelt said. "So it's not just paying the loans back. It's paying the loans back without a job."
Anna Van Pelt, 24, a graduate student in public health at the University of Colorado Denver who attended the speech, estimates she'll graduate with $40,000 in loans. She called Obama's plan a "really big deal" for her, but said she still worries about how she'll make the payments.
The White House said the changes will carry no additional costs to taxpayers.
Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., his party's ranking member on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said in a statement that while he supports efforts to help struggling graduates, the president's plan was crafted behind closed doors and "we are left with more questions than answers."
Last year, Congress passed a law that lowered the repayment cap and moved student loans to direct lending by eliminating banks as the middlemen. Before that, borrowers could get loans directly from the government or from the Federal Family Education Loan Program; the latter were issued by private lenders but basically insured by the government.
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