Yale to increase endowment spending
Yale University President Richard Levin announced Monday that Yale would increase spending on its endowment by nearly 40 percent in the next year.
Levin's announcement comes on the heels of a controversial proposal by the Senate Finance Committee mandating that universities spend at least 5 percent of their endowment every year to increase the affordability of higher education.
Yale spent only 3.7 percent of its endowment this year because its spending rule prevented increased payouts to correspond to high investment returns. The new spending policy will mandate that Yale spend at least 4.5 percent and at most 6 percent of its endowment regardless of investment returns.
According to a university press release, Yale's increased spending will go toward expanding financial aid, increasing the student body, recruiting low-income students and funding online learning and research.
In response to Yale's proposal, Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) of the Senate Finance Committee told the Associated Press, "The Yale bulldog might take a bite out of tuition costs for middleand low-income families."
Many institutions have opposed the Senate's pressure on universities' endowment spending. "I think it's important that our schools be left to make those decisions for themselves," Levin told the Associated Press yesterday. "But I think Senator Grassley's done a public service by raising the issue."
Levin also said that the full new financial aid plan will be similar to the one announced by Harvard last month.
Grassley added, "It's a big deal that the two wealthiest colleges are making tuition more affordable. They set an example for all other well-funded schools to do the same."
In October 2007, Princeton Vice President and Secretary Bob Durkee '69 submitted a written statement detailing the University's complex methods of spending its endowment on financial aid.
"The percentage of budget at Princeton [spent on financial aid] is higher than any place else," Durkee said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian last year. This year, Princeton spent 4.6 percent of the endowment, within its spending rate target range of 4 to 5.57 percent.
Yale's institutional endowment, which totaled $22.5 billion in June 2007, is second only to Harvard's $34.9 billion endowment, the largest in the world. Princeton's endowment totals $15.8 billion, after a 24.7 percent increase from the 2006-07 fiscal year.
Penn announces loan-free financial aid policy
Penn announced a revised financial aid policy Dec. 17 that will eliminate student loans from all aid packages by fall 2009.
The announcement came a week after Harvard and Swarthmore announced the elimination of loans from their financial aid packages. Princeton has provided grant-based financial assistance since 2001 and was the first university to do so.
Because Penn students whose family income is under $60,000 already receive loan-free financial aid packages, the new policy will largely benefit middleand upper-middle class families, whose children will now be able to graduate without debt.
In the next academic year, students with family incomes below $100,000 will receive loan-free packages, according to a Penn press release. By fall 2009, loan-free packages will expand to the entire student body.
Currently, about half of the 4,000 students on financial aid at Penn receive loans as part of their packages.
Harvard undergraduate investigated for ID fraud
Harvard junior Theodore Pak was charged on Monday with manufacturing fake IDs, including state driver's licenses and Harvard student cards. Pak is currently being investigated by the Middlesex County district attorney's office and the Harvard University Police Department, according to the Harvard Crimson.
The fake Harvard IDs that Pak allegedly produced would give the holders access to Harvard buildings and to Crimson Cash accounts. Crimson Cash allows Harvard students to purchase food and other items by swiping their ID cards.
Harvard students have been urged to check their Crimson Cash accounts for any evidence of fraudulent purchases. According to a statement issued by Harvard on Monday, no fraud has yet been reported.
"We do not believe that this incident has created a safety risk for the community," the statement said.
There is also no evidence that the fake IDs have been used to access Social Security or credit card numbers or to gain entry to Harvard facilities.
Pak has issued no comments, and the investigation is ongoing.
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