Penn in the News

As college-bound students prepare for a new school year, they should be aware of a new date that’s important for future financial aid: Oct. 1. That’s the new, earlier date after which students can file the Fafsa, or Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The infamous form is used to calculate how much students and their families must contribute to the cost of college, and how much help they will get in the form of grants, scholarships and loans. Students seeking financial aid must file the form, used by most states and colleges as the gateway to financial aid, each year.

Shaun Harper of the Graduate School of Education is quoted about an Illinois community college that decided against the idea of limiting a class to only black students.

The U.S. Department of Education this week asked colleges and universities not to move up their deadlines for applying for financial aid. In theory, colleges could do so this year because of the adoption by the government of "prior prior year," a policy in which students may apply for financial aid based on family income from a year earlier than has been possible in the past. A letter sent to colleges by Ted Mitchell, the under secretary of education, asked colleges to publicize this change, and to use the change to provide students with earlier information on their aid eligibility.

A shakeup in the security department of ACT Inc. is being reported after revelations about cheating overseas in a program run by the giant testing nonprofit organization. Reuters, which has published a series of stories about cheating on high-stakes tests that students around the world take to get into college, has a new story that says ACT Inc. “is laying off its head of test security and plans to audit nearly 200 education centers” after revelations were published about cheating in the Global Assessment Certificate program, which is recognized by scores of U.S.

Susan Wachter of the Wharton School comments on homeownership and saving methods.

Orkan Telhan of the School of Design, Karen Hogan of the School of Nursing and alum Mike Hogan of the School of Engineering and Applied Science are featured for developing a countertop genetic engineering machine and for the Microbial Design Studio.

Jeffrey Vagle of the Law School is quoted about how racial and structural inequities are evident in technology.

Three campus leaders in the University of North Carolina system have been charged by lawmakers with carrying out a college-affordability experiment that has drawn both praise and criticism for its ambition: $500 tuition per semester for in-state students. At a time when the average published cost of in-state tuition and fees at four-year public colleges nationwide is nearing $10,000 annually, many see the measure, dubbed "NC Promise," as a bold move.

I’m beginning to wonder if my edtech community is making a fundamental error when it comes to our work at the intersection of learning and technology. This error is to believe that technology will make education more productive. The idea that technology can lower the cost of education while improving quality - or improve quality while keeping costs steady, or lower costs while keeping quality steady - is anchored in basic misconception about how technology behaves. This misconception is that new technologies substitute for existing actions, or for existing technologies.

Alum Katlyn Grasso, a 2015 President’s Engagement Prize winner, is highlighted for creating “Discovery Days” to connect girls with successful female role models in the corporate world.