From missed calls at Education Department helplines to charges being passed on to students to make up for state funding shortfalls, here are the top-line figures from some of our biggest stories of the week.
By the numbers
4 million
The number of calls to Education Department call centers that went unanswered between January and May during this year’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid rollout debacle, according to scathing reports and testimony from the Government Accountability Office. GAO said the department had failed to give its vendors accurate forecasts of how many calls to expect.
$350
The approximate surcharge Arizona State University plans to add to tuition for full-time students living on campus. ASU blamed millions in state funding cuts for the extra charge, which is part of other actions being taken to cut costs.
233%
The growth in median annual tuition and fee costs for graduate degrees between 2000 and 2020, according to a new report from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce. Rising costs and associated debt levels for students make graduate degrees a “risky” bet given uneven outcomes, according to the study’s authors.
2.8 million
The number of students who would receive Pell Grants under a proposal to award them to students from families with less than $500 in wealth, according to a recent white paper. The paper's authors said the proposal could eliminate racial disparities in student borrowing that exist under the current Pell system, which focuses on family income.
3
That’s how many unions voted for a no-confidence measure against Western Michigan University President Edward Montgomery, who recently announced plans to retire in June. The unions, in protracted contract negotiations with the university, said Montgomery was failing to “responsibly steward WMU’s core academic mission” and respond to employee concerns around a morale crisis.
