The state auditor's office has found significant problems in how 11 state colleges and universities follow federal rules governing the handling of student aid money.
Florida's top public universities could become a lot more expensive under a legislative plan that could also erode the value of Bright Futures scholarships and potentially end the state's prepaid tuition program.
Student borrowing is going up. National Student Loan Data System data shows that cumulative borrowing per student participating in federal loan programs increased from about $3,943 in 1990 to $11,510 in 2000 and $13,856 in 2009. Much of the increase is attributed to funding for graduate education, and recent changes in federal student loan policies for graduate students will likely cause this to go higher.
The Southern University System Foundation has received a gift of at least $1.3 million -- the biggest in its history -- from an estate set up by two Southern graduates. The bequest came from the James and Ruth Smith Trust. The couple met at Southern's Baton Rouge campus and were married for 44 years.
A Cedar Grove couple who recently died willed $5 million to the New Jersey Institute of Technology, the school’s largest gift to date from an individual, officials said Thursday.
