Posts Tagged ‘higher education’

Bill Gates Learns to Give… Better

Tuesday, August 2nd, 2011

bill-gates-thinker.jpg
(photo credit: Steve Jurvetson)

Or, maybe, “Bill Gates learns to give to learn to teach so kids can learn?” Or something like that…

What we’re getting at here is that the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, by far the biggest charitable foundation in the world, has given away billions of dollars total, and hundreds of millions to education, however, they’ve had little measurable impact in the last ten years on the one thing they were really trying to change – how many kids from disadvantaged neighborhoods are going to college.

Luckily, the last 10 years in schools have taught Bill Gates something – that he needs to learn more! Taking an idea from the private sector and applying it to education, the Gates Foundation thinks that a little R&D is exactly what the educational system needs to come up with innovative solutions to its big problems. And that’s where he’s going to put his money now.

It turns out that the business world and non-profit world aren’t so different. A lot of what we do spending and growing our money has real impact on society and the environment, and things we do in one are of our financial lives can apply to other areas in new and cool ways.

It’s not always just about giving more, but about learning to give better.

Paying For A Single Year Of College: Waste Or Investment?

Monday, October 11th, 2010

Dropping out of college after only one year does more than anger parents. Some people are saying it’s a waste of taxpayer money, too.

  • A new study shows that between 2003 and 2008, states distributed about $6.2 billion to help a very special group of students pay for school. This group is made up of students who dropped out after one year.
  • Critics and regulators are generally of two opinions about this apparent waste of public education funding: one group says it shows that colleges are not doing enough to retain its students. Others say this problem makes it clear that too many students are being encouraged to attend four-year colleges.
  • There are two approaches as well: Ohio has started basing its funding decisions on how many students graduate from a university – not how many enroll. But the Obama administration and certain private funders have been focusing more on helping students get through life without a college degree.

Facts & Figures

  • In addition to the $6.2 billion states spent on higher education for dropouts from 2003-2008, federal and state governments spent almost $3 billion on grants for these students.
  • These figures represent 2-8% of states’ total higher education spending.

Best Quote

“We recognize an institution is not going to be perfect on graduation and completion rates. But at the same time, we know they can do better than they’re doing. And if you place the financial rewards around completion, then you will motivate that.” – Eric Fingerhut, Chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents