School Funding Issues

463 federal employees were discovered to have been enrolled in the three schools at the time of the inquiry. The Department of Defense had the highest number of enrollees, with 257 employees registered. There were 22 schools that went under review to make sure they meet NCAA requirements in 2005.

The Education Department will provide guidance later for a maintenance of equity clause, which governs funding for schools with concentrated poverty. Last month, the department released aninterim rulelaying out a process for states to develop and submit plans for spending their share of the $123 billion the American Rescue Plan reserved for public K-12 schools. The department also provided a template for state plans, which must be submitted by June 7.

Also, keep in mind that state-sponsored prepaid plans provide maximum benefits when the student attends an in-state public college. If the student attends an in-state private school or an out-of-state school, the plan may yield only a refund of contributions without interest or a refund with a small amount of interest. In recessionary periods, when state tax revenues may decline and stock market returns may be lower than expected, state-sponsored prepaid tuition plans may have difficulty fulfilling their obligation to investors. Historically, under these conditions, prepaid plans have either closed to new investors or increased their pricing for new investors. Nevertheless, the risk that prepaid plans may not be able to fulfill their obligation to investors does exist.

Part-time students and students enrolled in associate programs may not qualify for this tuition plan. Other eligibility requirements may vary from one college to another. The biggest benefit of a prepaid tuition plan is that it allows you to lock in the first year tuition fee until you graduate. By locking in the first-year tuition fee, the yearly fee hike won’t affect you. You will continue paying the lower rate for every year that you attend college.