J2: Group Exercise

Tommy Collins
Katie Cantu
Daniel Salazar
Amber Burton

How is the economy affecting private university attendance in Texas? (Meaning application rates and dropout rates) How are universities reacting and what budgets are they cutting? With private universities being more expensive than public schools, where can students get more financial aid? Focus on St. Edward’s: application fees, graduate donations, etc.

Multimedia:
If we find that St. Edward’s is cutting funding in building maintenance, a video of buildings flooding after the pipe’s burst. Or if sports teams are losing funding, we could show the fields lacking maintenance. We would depend each multi media thing on what we find. It would be good to focus on St. Edward’s then broaden the view. It would be good to have multimedia maps of schools and where they are hurting for help.

Sources:
• http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=113965656&sc=emaf
o College tuition is riding even with the recession making college more unaffordable than before
• http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/21/education/21costs.html?_r=1&ref=education
o Article from the Times stating that college costs are rising.
• http://dir.yahoo.com/Regional/U_S__States/Texas/Education/College_and_University/Private/
o List of private universities
• http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/moms/6288904.html
o Houston Chronicle writes about ways private universities are trying to ward off the recession
• www.Collegeboard.com
o They have a few spreadsheets with facts about education and how costs have changed in the past 30-40 years of the cost of education.
• http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2009/01/universities_look_for_ways_to.html
o NPR talks about universities prepping for budget cuts
• http://www.ucan-network.org/searchInstitution.asp
o University and college accountability network
• http://www.naicu.edu/news_room/private-colleges-respond-to-the-economic-downturn
o National Association of Independent College and Universities