The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops went behind closed doors at their fall meeting Wednesday to discuss, among other issues, what action they should take to increase oversight of the nation’s more than 200 Roman Catholic colleges and universities.

Chicago Cardinal Francis George, president of the bishops’ conference, revealed this week that he had formed a task force charged with reviewing the issue. Its research included a look at what church law says about bishops’ authority over the schools.

The Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities has planned a similar discussion of canon law and bishops’ authority at the group’s annual meeting, set to begin Jan. 30 in Washington.

“Can bishops just pull the plug on us? It’s not that simple,” said Richard Yanikoski, president of the Catholic college association. He attended a meeting of the bishops’ education committee last Sunday that briefly touched on higher education. He expected the bishops would more fully examine the issue in their executive session.

The decision by Notre Dame, the nation’s flagship Catholic university, to honor Obama at its May commencement caused an uproar within the church and drew protests from around the country and on the school campus by anti-abortion groups.

More than 70 U.S. bishops spoke out against the university’s decision, a remarkable reaction given that it is customary for only a local bishop to comment.

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While Yale previously resisted adopting the government’s Direct Loans program, the University announced it will make the switch even before it becomes (mandatory with the passage of the Student Aid and Fiscal Responsibility Act, expected as early as December.

Yale initially listed compromised service and higher fees among its concerns with the Direct Loans program, but the changes will not affect student loan availability or eligibility, Storlazzi said.

Yale currently uses the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) program, through which students receive federally subsidized loans from private banks. The new law would replace FFEL with the Direct Loans program, which lends federal funds directly to students and their families. Yale will make the switch in advance of the legislation’s likely passage because Storlazzi’s office must install new software and adopt new administrative procedures in preparation for Direct Loans, Storlazzi said. Under the new program, Yale will be held responsible for overseeing the distribution of federal student loans — a job that was done by private lenders under FFEL, he said — and also for restructuring the Financial Aid Office.

“The writing is on the wall, and we want to make sure that there is a smooth transition to the Direct Loans program when it passes,” Storlazzi said.

Discussion over plans to adopt the Direct Loans program has been on the agenda for more than two years, Storlazzi said. But Yale has been reluctant to assent to government requests that the University adopt the program (just last month, Secretary of Education Arne Duncan sent a letter to 3,000 colleges urging them to do so) because private lenders traditionally provided better service and borrower benefits such as lower interest rates, Storlazzi said. FFEL loan providers likewise have expressed concerns about the loss of innovation and default counseling services generated by competition among multiple private lenders.

Other benefits provided by private lenders included reduced interest rates during repayment for on-time payments, up-front fee reductions and better mortgage rates for consistent on-time payments, Storlazzi said.

But he noted that due to the economic crisis, such borrower benefits have disappeared, making FFEL and direct loans very similar.

Storlazzi pointed to Bank of America’s decision two weeks ago to pull out of the FFEL program and Congress’s refusal to renew the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loan Act (ECASLA), which ensured the continued availability of federal funds to private lenders through the economic crisis, as evidence that a switch to the Direct Loans program is all but inevitable.

According to data from the Yale Financial Aid Office, 399 Yale undergraduates currently hold Stafford Loans, the student loans subsidized or funded by the federal government, whose funding source will switch from private lenders to the federal government once the Direct Loans legislation passes. Storlazzi said he expects these students will barely notice the switch.

“Only the source of funding for student loans has changed,” he said. “Application procedures, eligibility and loan regulations will remain the same.”

Yale students who take Yale Student Loans or alternative loans provided by banks but not subsidized by the government — the two other lending options allowed by the Financial Aid Office — are not affected by the changes, and parents using the Federal PLUS loan, which helps parents pay their contribution, will see their interest rate drop to 7.9 percent from 8.5 percent, Storlazzi added.

Kevin Bruns, executive director of America’s Student Loans Providers, an organization that represents FFEL lenders, said competition among private lenders created incentives for lenders to develop new services geared toward increasing customer satisfaction. Among the innovations were the creation of an electronic signature tool that allowed students to complete their loan applications online.

Counseling services that help students who are about to default on their loan repayments will also disappear once the Direct Loans legislation is passed, said Richard Croce, senior vice-president and general counsel of Connecticut Student Loan Providers, an agency that guarantees FFEL loans.

Still, Zakiya Smith, policy advisor in the Office of the Under Secretary of Education, said concerns over compromised service are unwarranted. Under the direct loans program, the government outsources its lending to four private companies — Sallie Mae, American Education Services/Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, Great Lakes Education Loan Services, Inc. and Nelnet, Inc. — whose contract renewals will take into account the level of customer satisfaction and default prevention, Smith said.

Still, Yale’s decision to switch to the Direct Loans program will mean the University will now face added administrative burdens, said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of FinAid.org, a Web site that offers financial aid information and advice to college-bound students.

Yale students holding Stafford Loans will be notified of the changes to the source of their funding by the Financial Aid Office beginning January of next year. An updated version of Yale’s financial aid application will also be made available that month.

Once legislation on Direct Loans is passed, universities will be required to convert their loans by July 1, 2010.

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(From the NAACP website) On November 17th, Lenny Springs joined Financial Student Aid (FSA) as Senior Advisor to the Chief Operating Officer for Traditionally Under-Resourced Schools. Springs will work with the Education Department and FSA leadership, and will provide support to traditionally under-resourced colleges and universities, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU), members of the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), and other organizations devoted to helping schools transition successfully to the Direct Loan Program.

“Mr. Springs is a committed leader who works tirelessly on behalf of small and minority businesses and educational advancement programs across this nation,” said NAACP President and CEO Benjamin Todd Jealous. “The NAACP congratulates Mr. Springs on this well deserved honor, and his expertise and experience will serve the administration well.”
“Lenny Springs record of service and leadership both in the NAACP and in the business world demonstrate his commitment to community and opportunity.  We congratulate Lenny on this great achievement,” stated Julian Bond, Chairman of the NAACP Board of Directors.

Springs brings to the position over 25 years experience specializing in promoting public awareness and instituting progressive initiatives for community and business development.  He has designed, developed and implemented numerous programs for small and minority businesses and educational advancement programs.

Most recently, Springs was the President and CEO of The S-Group, Inc, an organizational development and strategic management consulting firm specializing in developing and implementing business management and business development processes, to include diversity strategies and initiatives.  In addition, he also served as Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Business Development for Urban Settlement Services, the largest home retention loan modification company in the US.  Prior to that, Springs was the Director of Supplier Diversity and Senior Vice President in the Finance Division at Wachovia.

Springs earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Voorhees College, and has a Doctor of Humane Letter, Honoris Causa from Voorhees College.

He also serves on the NAACP National Broad of Directors and NAACP Special Contribution Fund Board of Trustees.

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The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has been the biggest player by far in the school reform movement, spending around $200 million a year on grants to elementary and secondary education.

Now the foundation is taking unprecedented steps to influence education policy, spending millions to influence how the federal government distributes $5 billion in grants to overhaul public schools.

The federal dollars are unprecedented, too.

President Barack Obama persuaded Congress to give him the money as part of the economic stimulus so he could try new ideas to fix an education system that most agree is failing. The foundation is offering $250,000 apiece to help states apply, so long as they agree with the foundation’s approach.

Obama and the Gates Foundation share some goals that not everyone embraces: paying teachers based on student test scores, among other measures of achievement; charter schools that operate independently of local school boards; and a set of common academic standards adopted by every state.

Some argue that a private foundation like Gates shouldn’t partner with the government.

“When you team up with the government, you compromise your ability to be critical of the government, and sometimes you compromise your ability to do controversial and maybe unpopular things with your money,” said Chester E. Finn Jr., president of

the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, an education think tank. The institute, is among the many that have received money from the Gates Foundation.

Another concern is that as a private foundation, Gates doesn’t have to disclose the details of its spending like the government does.

The big teachers’ unions dispute some of the goals shared by Obama and the foundation. They say student achievement is much more than a score on a standardized test and that it’s a mistake to rely so heavily on charter schools.

“Despite growing evidence to the contrary, it appears the administration has decided that charter schools are the only answer to what ails America’s public schools,” the National Education Association, the largest teachers’ union, said in comments about the grant competition submitted to the Education Department.

The NEA added: “We should not continue the unhealthy focus on standardized tests as the primary evidence of student success.”

The American Federation of Teachers submitted similar comments. Together the unions have 4.6 million members.

Education Secretary Arne Duncan welcomes the foundation’s involvement.

“The more all of us are in the game of reform, the more all of us are pushing for dramatic improvement, the better,” Duncan said in an interview with The Associated Press.

Bill Gates said his foundation is not the government’s partner in the new grant program, which the government has called the “Race to the Top.”

“It’s no secret the U.S. education system is failing,” Gates said. “We’re doing all kinds of experiments that are different. The Race To The Top is going to do many different ones. There’s no group-think.”

By:Libby Quaid

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A “yes” vote was a vote to pass the bill.

Voting yes were 247 Democrats and 6 Republicans.

Voting no were 4 Democrats and 167 Republicans.

X denotes those not voting.

ALABAMA

Democrats — Bright, Y; Davis, Y; Griffith, Y.

Republicans — Aderholt, N; Bachus, N; Bonner, N; Rogers, N.

ALASKA

Republicans — Young, N.

ARIZONA

Democrats — Giffords, Y; Grijalva, Y; Kirkpatrick, Y; Mitchell, Y; Pastor, Y.

Republicans — Flake, N; Franks, N; Shadegg, N.

ARKANSAS

Democrats — Berry, Y; Ross, Y; Snyder, Y.

Republicans — Boozman, N.

CALIFORNIA

Democrats — Baca, Y; Becerra, Y; Berman, Y; Capps, Y; Cardoza, Y; Chu, Y; Costa, X; Davis, Y; Eshoo, Y; Farr, Y; Filner, Y; Harman, Y; Honda, Y; Lee, Y; Lofgren, Zoe, Y; Matsui, Y; McNerney, Y; Miller, George, Y; Napolitano, Y; Pelosi, Y; Pelosi, X (the speaker by tradition often does not vote); Richardson, Y; Roybal-Allard, Y; Sanchez, Linda T., Y; Sanchez, Loretta, Y; Schiff, Y; Sherman, Y; Speier, Y; Stark, Y; Thompson, Y; Waters, Y; Watson, Y; Waxman, Y; Woolsey, Y.

Republicans — Bilbray, N; Bono Mack, N; Calvert, N; Campbell, N; Dreier, N; Gallegly, N; Herger, N; Hunter, N; Issa, N; Lewis, N; Lungren, Daniel E., N; McCarthy, N; McClintock, N; McKeon, N; Miller, Gary, N; Nunes, X; Radanovich, X; Rohrabacher, N; Royce, N.

COLORADO

Democrats — DeGette, Y; Markey, Y; Perlmutter, Y; Polis, Y; Salazar, Y.

Republicans — Coffman, N; Lamborn, N.

CONNECTICUT

Democrats — Courtney, Y; DeLauro, Y; Himes, Y; Larson, Y; Murphy, Y.

DELAWARE

Republicans — Castle, N.

FLORIDA

Democrats — Boyd, N; Brown, Corrine, Y; Castor, Y; Grayson, Y; Hastings, Y; Klein, Y; Kosmas, Y; Meek, Y; Wasserman Schultz, Y; Wexler, Y.

Republicans — Bilirakis, N; Brown-Waite, Ginny, N; Buchanan, Y; Crenshaw, N; Diaz-Balart, L., N; Diaz-Balart, M., N; Mack, N; Mica, N; Miller, N; Posey, N; Putnam, N; Rooney, N; Ros-Lehtinen, Y; Stearns, N; Young, N.

GEORGIA

Democrats — Barrow, Y; Bishop, Y; Johnson, Y; Lewis, Y; Marshall, Y; Scott, Y.

Republicans — Broun, N; Deal, N; Gingrey, N; Kingston, N; Linder, N; Price, N; Westmoreland, N.

HAWAII

Democrats — Abercrombie, X; Hirono, Y.

IDAHO

Democrats — Minnick, Y.

Republicans — Simpson, N.

ILLINOIS

Democrats — Bean, Y; Costello, Y; Davis, Y; Foster, Y; Gutierrez, Y; Halvorson, Y; Hare, Y; Jackson, Y; Lipinski, Y; Quigley, Y; Rush, Y; Schakowsky, Y.

Republicans — Biggert, N; Johnson, Y; Kirk, N; Manzullo, N; Roskam, N; Schock, N; Shimkus, N.

INDIANA

Democrats — Carson, Y; Donnelly, Y; Ellsworth, Y; Hill, Y; Visclosky, Y.

Republicans — Burton, N; Buyer, N; Pence, N; Souder, N.

IOWA

Democrats — Boswell, Y; Braley, Y; Loebsack, Y.

Republicans — King, N; Latham, N.

KANSAS

Democrats — Moore, Y.

Republicans — Jenkins, N; Moran, N; Tiahrt, N.

KENTUCKY

Democrats — Chandler, Y; Yarmuth, Y.

Republicans — Davis, N; Guthrie, N; Rogers, N; Whitfield, N.

LOUISIANA

Democrats — Melancon, Y.

Republicans — Alexander, N; Boustany, N; Cao, Y; Cassidy, N; Fleming, N; Scalise, N.

MAINE

Democrats — Michaud, Y; Pingree, Y.

MARYLAND

Democrats — Cummings, Y; Edwards, Y; Hoyer, Y; Kratovil, Y; Ruppersberger, Y; Sarbanes, Y; Van Hollen, Y.

Republicans — Bartlett, N.

MASSACHUSETTS

Democrats — Capuano, Y; Delahunt, Y; Frank, X; Lynch, Y; Markey, Y; McGovern, Y; Neal, Y; Olver, Y; Tierney, Y; Tsongas, Y.

MICHIGAN

Democrats — Conyers, X; Dingell, Y; Kildee, Y; Kilpatrick, Y; Levin, Y; Peters, Y; Schauer, Y; Stupak, Y.

Republicans — Camp, N; Ehlers, N; Hoekstra, N; McCotter, N; Miller, N; Rogers, N; Upton, N.

MINNESOTA

Democrats — Ellison, Y; McCollum, Y; Oberstar, Y; Peterson, Y; Walz, Y.

Republicans — Bachmann, N; Kline, N; Paulsen, N.

MISSISSIPPI

Democrats — Childers, Y; Taylor, Y; Thompson, Y.

Republicans — Harper, N.

MISSOURI

Democrats — Carnahan, Y; Clay, Y; Cleaver, Y; Skelton, Y.

Republicans — Akin, N; Blunt, N; Emerson, N; Graves, N; Luetkemeyer, N.

MONTANA

Republicans — Rehberg, N.

NEBRASKA

Republicans — Fortenberry, N; Smith, N; Terry, N.

NEVADA

Democrats — Berkley, Y; Titus, Y.

Republicans — Heller, N.

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Democrats — Hodes, Y; Shea-Porter, Y.

NEW JERSEY

Democrats — Adler, Y; Andrews, Y; Holt, Y; Pallone, Y; Pascrell, Y; Payne, Y; Rothman, Y; Sires, Y.

Republicans — Frelinghuysen, N; Garrett, N; Lance, N; LoBiondo, N; Smith, N.

NEW MEXICO

Democrats — Heinrich, Y; Lujan, Y; Teague, Y.

NEW YORK

Democrats — Ackerman, Y; Arcuri, Y; Bishop, Y; Clarke, Y; Crowley, Y; Engel, Y; Hall, Y; Higgins, Y; Hinchey, Y; Israel, Y; Lowey, Y; Maffei, Y; Maloney, Y; Massa, Y; McCarthy, Y; McMahon, N; Meeks, Y; Murphy, Y; Nadler, Y; Rangel, Y; Serrano, Y; Slaughter, Y; Tonko, Y; Towns, Y; Velazquez, Y; Weiner, Y.

Republicans — King, N; Lee, N; McHugh, X.

NORTH CAROLINA

Democrats — Butterfield, Y; Etheridge, Y; Kissell, Y; McIntyre, Y; Miller, Y; Price, Y; Shuler, Y; Watt, Y.

Republicans — Coble, N; Foxx, N; Jones, N; McHenry, N; Myrick, N.

NORTH DAKOTA

Democrats — Pomeroy, Y.

OHIO

Democrats — Boccieri, Y; Driehaus, Y; Fudge, Y; Kaptur, Y; Kilroy, Y; Kucinich, Y; Ryan, Y; Space, Y; Sutton, Y; Wilson, Y.

Republicans — Austria, N; Boehner, N; Jordan, N; LaTourette, N; Latta, N; Schmidt, N; Tiberi, N; Turner, N.

OKLAHOMA

Democrats — Boren, Y.

Republicans — Cole, N; Fallin, N; Lucas, N; Sullivan, N.

OREGON

Democrats — Blumenauer, Y; DeFazio, Y; Schrader, Y; Wu, Y.

Republicans — Walden, N.

PENNSYLVANIA

Democrats — Altmire, Y; Brady, Y; Carney, Y; Dahlkemper, Y; Doyle, Y; Fattah, Y; Holden, Y; Kanjorski, N; Murphy, Patrick, Y; Murtha, Y; Schwartz, Y; Sestak, Y.

Republicans — Dent, N; Gerlach, N; Murphy, Tim, N; Pitts, N; Platts, Y; Shuster, N; Thompson, N.

RHODE ISLAND

Democrats — Kennedy, Y; Langevin, Y.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Democrats — Clyburn, Y; Spratt, Y.

Republicans — Barrett, X; Brown, N; Inglis, N; Wilson, N.

SOUTH DAKOTA

Democrats — Herseth Sandlin, N.

TENNESSEE

Democrats — Cohen, Y; Cooper, Y; Davis, Y; Gordon, Y; Tanner, X.

Republicans — Blackburn, N; Duncan, N; Roe, N; Wamp, N.

TEXAS

Democrats — Cuellar, Y; Doggett, Y; Edwards, Y; Gonzalez, Y; Green, Al, Y; Green, Gene, Y; Hinojosa, Y; Jackson-Lee, Y; Johnson, E. B., Y; Ortiz, Y; Reyes, Y; Rodriguez, Y.

Republicans — Barton, N; Brady, N; Burgess, N; Carter, N; Conaway, N; Culberson, N; Gohmert, N; Granger, N; Hall, N; Hensarling, N; Johnson, Sam, N; Marchant, N; McCaul, N; Neugebauer, N; Olson, N; Paul, X; Poe, N; Sessions, N; Smith, N; Thornberry, N.

UTAH

Democrats — Matheson, Y.

Republicans — Bishop, N; Chaffetz, N.

VERMONT

Democrats — Welch, Y.

VIRGINIA

Democrats — Boucher, Y; Connolly, Y; Moran, Y; Nye, Y; Perriello, Y; Scott, Y.

Republicans — Cantor, N; Forbes, N; Goodlatte, N; Wittman, N; Wolf, N.

WASHINGTON

Democrats — Baird, Y; Dicks, Y; Inslee, Y; Larsen, Y; McDermott, Y; Smith, Y.

Republicans — Hastings, N; McMorris Rodgers, N; Reichert, N.

WEST VIRGINIA

Democrats — Mollohan, Y; Rahall, Y.

Republicans — Capito, N.

WISCONSIN

Democrats — Baldwin, Y; Kagen, Y; Kind, Y; Moore, Y; Obey, Y.

Republicans — Petri, Y; Ryan, N; Sensenbrenner, N.

WYOMING

Republicans — Lummis, N.

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The vote was 253-171 in favor of a bill that fulfills nearly all of President Barack Obama’s campaign promises for higher education: The measure ends subsidies for private lenders, boosts Pell Grants for needy students and creates grant programs to improve community colleges and college graduation rates, among other things.

“These are reforms that have been talked about for years, but they’re always blocked by special interests and their lobbyists,” Obama said Thursday during a rally at the University of Maryland.

“Well, because you voted for change in November, we’re going to bring change in the House of Representatives today,” the president said.

Ending loan subsidies and turning control over to the government would save taxpayers an estimated $87 billion, according to the Congressional Budget Office. Lawmakers would use that money to help make college more affordable, increasing the maximum Pell Grant by $1,400 to $6,900 over the next decade.

“The choice before us is clear. We can either keep sending these subsidies to banks or we can start sending them directly to students,” said the bill’s sponsor, California Democratic Rep. George Miller, chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee.

Yet the money also would be spent on things that don’t help pay for college, such as construction at K-12 schools and new preschool programs.

And while the measure would increase Pell Grants, it would do nothing to curb college costs, which rise much faster than Pell Grants do.

In addition, the CBO says that when administrative costs and market conditions are considered, the savings from switching to direct government lending could be much lower, $47 billion instead of $87 billion.”

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“Within our country, the Obamajority is needed to take to the streets in support of health care with a public option paid for by reversing the obscene tax giveaways to the super rich during the Bush years. If health care reform fails, it will be a giant step backwards for the Obama administration and for working people, the labor movement, African American, Latino, Asian-Pacific Island communities, women and youth on every issue including the economy, peace and democracy.”

Click here for the answer.

Syracuse, NY — Vice President Joe Biden will chair a meeting of the White House Task Force on Middle Class Families during his trip Wednesday to Syracuse, Biden’s office announced Monday.

Biden will lead a panel discussion on college access and affordability. Panelists will include Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Education Secretary Arne Duncan and other education experts, and they will talk about helping families save and pay for college, Biden’s staff said.

The meeting will convene at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Syracuse University’s Goldstein Auditorium at the Schine Student Center, 303 University Place. Tickets will be available from noon to 5 p.m. Tuesday at the Schine center to those showing SU or State University of Environmental Science and Technology student, faculty or staff identification. Tickets are limited to one per person.

Biden also will be featured speaker at a $250-a-plate fund-raising luncheon for Rep. Dan Maffei, D-DeWitt, drawing criticism from Republicans.

Ask moms and dads in Farmington, Utah, who discovered this week that their children sat through a Hollywood propaganda video promoting the cult of Obama. In the clip, a parade of entertainers vow to flush their toilets less, buy hybrid vehicles, end poverty and world hunger, and commit to “service” for “change.” Actress Demi Moore leads the glitterati in a collective promise “to be a servant to our president.” Musician Anthony Kiedis pledges “to be of service to Barack Obama…”

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