Finn Smith

Not the only option, but a good one.

What’s the best way to reduce college costs? Joseph Cryan, who represents New Jersey’s 20th legislative district in the State Assembly, has proposed a bill to freeze tuition and fees for all state residents for nine semesters after their first enrollment.

I found out about the bill, A2807, through Inside Higher Ed and was a little surprised to see that they thought it wouldn’t go anywhere in the legislature. Democrats like Cryan control both the assembly and the senate. Matt Friedman, who wrote the article on nj.com that the Inside Higher Ed piece is based on, wrote that even if it does get through the assembly and the senate, Governor Christie will probably veto the bill:

@finnismundi @JoeCryanNJ20 gov’s office didn’t comment and I didn’t write that. But I think @GovChristie would more likely than not veto it.

— Matt Friedman (@MattFriedmanSL) September 19, 2014

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He probably wouldn’t approve, and that’s just fine.

The New York Times Upshot section is at it again with an analysis of economic diversity at top colleges in the United States. They’ve created something they call the College Access Index to measure how successful elite institutions are at enrolling students from different economic backgrounds (“Top Colleges That Enroll Rich, Middle Class and Poor“).

Reading it makes me feel a little patriotic (matriotic?) – Continue reading →