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Why You Need Tuition Insurance Before College Starts 2021

Many college parents have been asking us about tuition insurance. Tuition insurance is an affordable form of protection that reimburses a college student / family if they are forced to complete a withdrawal from college due to a covered reason. Part of the growing interest relates to new forms of tuition insurance that are now available through Allianz and GradGuard. A.W. Dewar's has offered tuition refund insurance for 80+ years, but these new providers have entered developed new approaches to helping families protect the nearly $500 billion invested in a college education annually. Typical tuition insurance programs, which only offer tuition refunds when a student withdraws due to illness, injury, psychological conditions or death.

FERPA: The Form to Access Your Student’s Academic Records

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (sometimes referred to as the Buckley Amendment) was designed to protect the privacy of educational records and to establish the rights of students to inspect and review their educational records. It also provided control over the release of educational record information. The original intent of this legislation was to keep elementary and high school records private and to give parents access to their child’s school records.

Habits Build Student Success

At College Parents of America, we strive to provide valuable resource information to our members, as well as vigorous advocacy.While many of my recent columns have centered around some of the key advocacy issues that we are focusing on – to serve you – here in Washington, DC, we also work to benefit you with resource information that hits home wherever you live.One of those key resource areas involves the question of academic preparation for college, not just what it takes to get in to school, but what it takes to succeed.

Transparency when dealing with student mental health policies

This is an important article from The Atlantic. It highlights the complex issues surrounding how colleges and universities manage mental health issues of students.

What About an Online Class for Your College Student?

There is a good chance that at some point in your student’s college career he will have the opportunity to take an online class. The question is, should he? There are many appeals to online classes – especially convenience. Students can complete their entire class without having to go to a classroom or sit through a lecture, and very often, students can complete the work at their own pace and at whatever time of the day or night is convenient.

College Credit Without Taking a Course?

Did you know that it is possible for students to get college credit for what they already know by taking a CLEP exam?

Building Trust Between Colleges and Parents

Presidents of colleges and universities love to talk.They love to talk about the schools they lead, and why they are great. They love to talk about problems facing America and the world, and how U.S. higher education is producing the next generation of leaders to solve those problems. And they love to talk about the federal government, and how it is not spending enough money in support of colleges and universities.Actually, college presidents love to talk most of the time. When it comes to certain subjects, they grow quiet.

Eight Ways to Help Pay for College

The National Commission on the Cost of Higher Education reports that the cost of higher education has risen dramatically. Between 1987 and 1996, the cost of attending public institutions rose by 132 percent, and the cost for private institutions increased by 99 percent both during a period of relatively low inflation with a modest 52 percent increase in family disposable income.

Building Bridges Between Schools and College Parents

Not too long ago, the role of college parents at the start of a school year was akin to employees at a moving company: fill up station wagon, drive to appointed destination, unload items and leave town.Now, thanks to a growing recognition by colleges and universities of the changing roles and expectations of incoming college parents, these one-time pack mules for their children's belongings are beginning to feel more like invited guests to a command performance.

Making a Resume Stand Out

Your child has dedicated a large amount of time and effort to his/her college education and experience, and accomplished a great deal. You know it. Your family knows it, but when it comes to landing that first job or internship, your child needs to make sure the recruiting director knows it!

Schools Should Prove and Demonstrate Financial Accountability

Not only should all colleges and universities - public and private - be financially accountable, they should also be to prove that accountability and to demonstrate it to all of their constituencies, including their parents.Several groups specializing in academic finances are advising higher-ed institutions to adopt provisions that mirror those targeted at publicly traded corporations in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the federal law that was designed to better police corporate governance.

Some College Honor Societies are More Credible than Others. Here’s How to Judge.

We've all seen the bumper stickers. "My child is honor student at fill-in-the-blank middle school."Some of you may have even had the chance to slap one of those bumper stickers on your own car fender.When it comes to honors in high school and college, however, the bumper stickers get fewer and the standards get stricter.College Parents of America thought you would find it useful to learn more about college honor societies and how you – and your child – can judge their credibility.

HOW TO BEST HELP YOUR CHILD TO SUCCEED IN SCHOOL

Over the course of the past decade, the concept of parent involvement in American secondary and higher education has evolved considerably, from occasional, mostly ceremonial activities for a small percentage of parents to carefully conceived and widely available goal-oriented activities that are geared to supporting student success.

MAKING TIME FOR STUDY CAN BE A CHALLENGE

The school year is now at least a few weeks old for the vast majority of colleges across the country, though some on the quarter system may just be getting started this week or next.If your child is still in secondary school, you've probably remarked to each other how difficult it is, with today's busy lifestyles, for him or her to actually find time to study.But study time is critical, and it gets even more important when the young adults in your household go off to college.

Teens Reap Many Benefits from Mentor Relationships

Teens who identify at least one influential, "natural" mentor in their life - a person not assigned by a formal mentoring program - report that they have a higher sense of self and are more likely to take risks that affect their lives positively, according to data recently released by SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and Liberty Mutual.

COLLEGE TODAY: THE BEST – AND WORST – OF TIMES

To paraphrase Charles Dickens, it is the best of times and it is the worst of times for American higher education.A college education is more widely available than at any time in our nation's history, with well more than two-thirds of high school graduates attending college in the year following high school, and more than 80 percent beginning their higher education within a few years.

4 Steps to Cringe-Free Networking

by Alexandra Levit

A Q&A You Can Use With Your Friends

Since September 2003, with your support, I have been steering College Parents of America's advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., supporting legislation and rule-making that reduces the complexity of the education planning process and makes college more affordable for families. If your family members, friends and neighbors can be convinced to join you as a member of our organization, then our advocacy efforts can become even more effective, as they will be "on behalf of" an even greater number of people.

Footsteps to Follow

He is the son of a shipyard worker. He will be a first-generation college student from a hard-working family in an old industrial town. He dreams of becoming a lawyer and, someday, serving in Congress. He is, in short, the American dream.

10 ATTRIBUTES OF A STRONG PARENT PROGRAM

At College Parents of America, one of our goals is to encourage colleges and universities to develop strong programs in support of the current parents at their institutions. Many of you have asked me over the past 14 months what the hallmarks are of such a program. Following is my take on the "Top Ten" attributes of a supportive parent program:

Ready, Set, Hike: Today’s Starting Lineup Of Student Aid Programs

With football season in full gear, I thought it would be helpful to give you today’s starting lineup of federal student aid programs. No matter what your budget resources, or where your child is in the process of preparing for, applying to or attending college, these are the eleven federal programs (eight undergraduate and three graduate) of which you should be aware. It’s time for the first snap!