Penn in the News

Research that finds the benefits of a “switchback” approach for technology entrepreneurs co-authored by David Hsu of the Wharton School is highlighted.

The American student loan crisis is often seen as a problem of profligacy and predation. Wasteful colleges raise tuition every year, we are told, even as middle-class wages stagnate and unscrupulous for-profit colleges bilk the unwary. The result is mounting unmanageable debt. There is much truth in this diagnosis. But it does not explain the plight of Liz Kelley, a Missouri high school teacher and mother of four who made a series of unremarkable decisions about college and borrowing. She now owes the federal government $410,000, and counting. This is a staggering and unusual sum.

Since 2008, student aid from federal and institutional sources has increased. Political and foundation leaders have also focused on the importance of a postsecondary education, and the need to increase college attainment. But in the years since 2008, the proportion of low-income recent high school graduates who enroll in college has seen a significant drop, according to a new analysis from the American Council on Education. In 2008, 55.9 percent of such high school graduates enrolled in college. By 2013, that figure dropped to 45.5 percent.

Sari Feldman, president of the American Library Association, sees a coming transformation of academic libraries thanks to technology. She says they are taking on greater roles in creating teaching materials and scholarship — and preserving tweets as well as books.

Is a high discount rate a guaranteed trouble sign for colleges? Not necessarily, experts say -- sometimes colleges can leverage discounts to increase revenue, at least if they are increasing enrollment. But maintaining very high discount rates can be a risky strategy and an indicator a college is in distress. The average discount rate offered by colleges to first-year students has risen significantly in recent years.

The statistic was shocking: Nine out of 10 colleges reported no rapes on their campuses in 2014. That finding, released on Monday by the American Association of University Women, seemed to contradict recent surveys of female undergraduates, as well as an oft-cited — and controversial — statistic that one in five women are sexually assaulted during their time in college. Advocates and researchers agreed something was amiss. But what do the low rates of rape reports — drawn from the campus-crime-reporting law known as the Clery Act — really mean? Here are three possibilities:

Low-income high school graduates were far less likely to enroll in higher education in 2013 than in 2008, a downward trend that came at the same time the Obama administration was pushing to boost college access and completion, according to a new analysis of Census Bureau data. College enrollment rates have fallen for all students since 2008, which is not surprising given that the economy has improved since then and therefore more young people can find jobs right out of high school.

Shaun Harper of the Graduate School of Education is quoted about how the national black student population is “not a monolithic group” regarding ways to address racism on college campuses.

Kat Rosqueta of the School of Social Policy & Practice’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy is interviewed about charitable giving during the holiday season.

Where are massive open online courses now, and where are they going? Robert A. Rhoads, professor of education at the University of California at Los Angeles, tackles those questions in MOOCs, High Technology and Higher Learning (Johns Hopkins University Press), in which he places MOOCs in the broader context of open courseware. In the book, Rhoads formulates seven theses about MOOCs to frame his arguments, writing that the loosely defined “MOOC movement” presents problems of diversity, faculty life and academic freedom, among others.