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News Brief for the week ending May 10, 2013

Montana University System News:

UM, SKC to Co-Host Native American Student Advocacy Institute Conference- “The University of Montana and Salish Kootenai College will co-host the College Board’s Native American Student Advocacy Institute national conference May 30-31, reports the Missoulian. “The conference theme is “Educating Native Youth for Success: Many Nations, One Vision.” It will take place at the University of Montana campus on Thursday, May 30, and at Salish Kootenai College in Pablo on Friday, May 31. Transportation to and from Pablo is included in the conference registration fee. Joyce Silverthorne, director of the U.S. Office of Indian Education, will deliver the opening plenary titled “Opening the Doors for Native Students.” Silverthorne is a UM alumna and the nation’s lead official on Native American education. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business education with a minor in Native American studies and a master’s degree in education leadership, all at UM.” Read More

Steve Bullock Vetoes Bill That Allowed Guns At Montana Colleges- Montana Gov. Steve Bullock (D) vetoed a bill Monday that would have allowed guns on college campuses in the state, the Associated Press reported. Under the defeated bill, students would have been able to keep guns in their dorms if their roommate agreed to it, and students, staff and faculty could have carried a concealed firearm with a permit. The legislation, passed mostly along party lines out of the Republican-controlled legislature, would've stripped the state's Board of Regents and the Montana University System of their authority to regulate firearms on public college campuses. The board currently has a policy requiring students to store guns in a vehicle or a secure place on campus. These guns are typically hunting weapons kept in special lockers, the AP reported. Read More

MSU Graduates More than 1,600 at 118th Commencement- “Helene Michael shared her insights with hundreds of Montana State University graduates and thousands of their friends and family at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse on Saturday morning,” reports the Bozeman Daily Chronicle. “Life is about continuous improvement. Never be afraid to ask for help. Life can be short, so live it well and pay attention to the details. “Enjoy every moment,” said Michael, a 1985 MSU alumna and retired Boeing Company engineer who received an honorary doctorate in engineering. More than 1,600 graduates turned their tassels on Saturday during two commencement ceremonies at MSU.” Read More

View Feature Photos: MSUB's Commencement-

National News:

Experts Recommend New College Grads Make Paying Student Loans Top Financial Priority- Finding a job in a slow-growing economy is daunting enough without new financial obligations. Yet that’s the challenge many university students graduating over the next few weeks will face before too long. The clock on their student loans will begin counting down to their first payment due date. Both federal and private student loans give borrowers a six-month grace period before they’re required to begin making payments. Grads also have options to defer payments in certain situations, or even have their balance reduced if they qualify. But eventually the bill will come due, and it won’t be insignificant. A study released in January by credit reporting agency TransUnion found that the average student loan debt rose 30 percent between 2007 and last year to $23,829. And even missing a few payments early on can hamper credit scores — not a good scenario when you’re just venturing out on your own and looking to land a job. Here are six tips on how new grads can manage their student loan debt: Read More

Rising Student-Loan Debt Hinders Spending and Hurts the Economy, Report Says- The increasing volume of student-loan debt may have a significant effect on the nation's economy, hindering borrowers' ability to qualify for home and automobile loans, save for retirement, and pursue entrepreneurial ventures, according to a report from the federal government's consumer-watchdog agency. The report, released on Wednesday by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, analyzes more than 28,000 comments solicited from the public on how to create affordable repayment options for borrowers with private student loans. With collective student-loan debt now totaling more than $1-trillion and far outpacing wage growth for college graduates, borrowers are less likely to take financial risks that would normally help fuel economic growth, the report says. Read More

Warren Bill Would Ease Student Loan Interest Rates- U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren is calling on Congress to stop student loan interest rates from doubling this summer.  The Massachusetts Democrat introduced a bill Tuesday which would let students pay the same interest rate on their government loans as banks. Student loan interest rates are set to jump from 3.4 to 6.8 percent in July. Warren said banks can borrow from the Federal Reserve at an interest rate of less than 1 percent. Read More

Higher Education Act Necessary for a Quality College Education- Since the passage of the Higher Education Act in 1965, we have worked to make sure higher education institutions have the resources to serve students and provide them with a quality education. The most recent authorization, passed in 2008, expires in 2014 and must be updated and extended. One area that deserves our attention is reporting requirements, which have become quite burdensome on institutions of higher learning. In the 2008 reauthorization, Republicans took strong steps to increase transparency and data collection by directing the secretary of Education to collect and report 26 different pieces of information about students, including the percentage of students receiving financial aid, the average cost of tuition and fees and the percent change in total tuition and fees. However, students still report confusion when trying to sift through the available data. Meanwhile, institutions are spending a lot of time and money in an effort to comply with the federal reporting requirements. The 7,000 post-secondary schools in the United States spent $31 million and 850,000 hours in the 2012-2013 school year just on reporting the required data to the federal government. Worse, some worry these costs could trickle down to students in the form of higher tuition and fees. Read More

Andrea Opitz/Outreach Coordinator
406.444.0681