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The Journal
Check out our newest commentary and analysis from New England's higher education leaders
University Communities and the Next American Upgrade
More than 30 leading research universities from across the U.S. are banding together to deploy ultra high-speed ne tworks to leading universities and their surrounding communities. Blair Levin, a fellow with the Aspen Institute who formerly oversaw the National Broadband Plan, describes his latest gig: the University Community Next Generation Innovation Project or Gig.U. Now, NEBHE is building gigabyte broadband networks in New England via a collaboration of regional higher education institutions and municipalities.
Before We're Up to Our Necks in Aggregators, Let's Get Out Our Net Value Calculators!
Federal law now requires that colleges post a Net Price Calculator on their websites allowing students to calculate an estimated net price of attendance based on cost minus grant and scholarship aid. Here, higher ed consultant Lawrence Butler notes that students and families will increasingly want to know t he net present value of investing in College A vs. College B, taking into account not only the net price of attendance over, say, four years, but also the stream of future earnings historically associated with graduating from each institution over one's working lifetime. An ideal Net Value Calculator, he says, would also gauge the net present value of a whole range of factors we know students "value" but cannot readily quantify: things like quality of teaching, compatibility with fellow students, campus climate, potential for post-graduation professional networking, institutional reputation in the job market, grounding in critical thinking and communication skills.
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ew England Colleges and Universities!
