TUITION FREE AT HARVARD? posted by Bill Lambert

[MCh 404 Data & Education]

Harvard University Announcement

Harvard University announced over the weekend that from now on
undergraduate students from low-income families will pay no tuition.
In making the announcement, Harvard's president Lawrence H. Summers
said, "When only ten percent of the students in elite higher education
come from families in the lower half of the income distribution, we
are not doing enough. We are not doing enough in bringing elite
higher education to the lower half of the income distribution."

If you know of a family earning less than $60,000 a year with an honor
student graduating from high school soon, Harvard University wants to
pay the tuition. The prestigious university recently announced that
from now on undergraduate students from low-income families can go to
Harvard for free… no tuition and no student loans!



To find out more about Harvard offering free tuition for families
making less than $60,000 a year, visit Harvard's financial aid website
at: http://www.harvard.edu/admissions/

SEND TO SOMEONE WHETHER THEY CAN USE OR NOT. THEY JUST MIGHT KNOW
SOMEONE WHO CAN.

[Dr. F. A. Young, Esq.]

We must do everything to preserve our HBCUs. It is nice of Harvard to remember the honor students from families making less than 60k. We must remember all of our Black American students graduating with or without honors and from families that are unemployed or living below the Federal poverty line. HBCUs educated us when Harvard and all the other institutions would not accept a Negro Black American. Our HBCUs have slipped and many are on the verge of bankruptcy. The Charters establishing the schools and the Federal mandates were specifically directed at educating our people. Apparently the alumni of these institutions, for whatever reasons, have not created Endowments sufficient to sustain their original mandate. It is only fitting the Federal Government stimulus provide funds to resolve their financial problems and ability to provide free education to Negro Black American students. Review the following and understand the importance of reviving the HBCUs.

Facts and Figures
HBCUs enroll upwards of 370,000 students and graduate a significant share of all African Americans receiving degrees. While comprising only three percent of the nation's 3,688 institutions of higher learning, the 105 HBCUs are responsible for producing approximately 23 percent of all bachelor's degrees, 13 percent of all master's degrees, and 20 percent of all first professional degrees earned by African Americans annually.10 Black colleges and universities contribute to the continuing rise of black intellectuals, professionals, and creative artists which is so evident throughout American society.
The following facts demonstrate the many successes of HBCUs:
• Nine of the top ten colleges that graduate most of the African American students who go on to earn Ph.D.s are HBCUs;
• More than 50 percent of the nation's African American public school teachers and 70 percent of African American dentists and physicians earned degrees at HBCUs;
• Over half of all African American professionals are graduates of HBCUs;
• In 2000, Xavier University in New Orleans individually produced more successful African American medical school applicants (94) than Johns Hopkins (20), Harvard (37), and the University of Maryland (24) combined. Two other HBCUs also placed in the top ten producers of medical school applicants, including Morehouse (33), and Spelman (38);
• Spelman and Bennett Colleges produce over half of the nation's African American women who go on to earn doctorates in all science15 fields; more than produced by the Ivy League's Seven Sisters combined (Barnard, Bryn Mawr, Mount Holyoke, Radcliffe, Smith, Wellesley, and Vassar Colleges);
• HBCUs significantly contribute to the creation of African American science degree holders: agriculture (51.6 percent), biology (42.2 percent), computer science (35 percent), physical science (43 percent), and social science (23.2 percent);
• HBCUs produce 44 percent of all African American bachelor's degrees awarded for communications technology, 33 percent of bachelor's degrees awarded for engineering technology, and 43 percent of bachelor's degrees awarded for mathematics; and
• HBCUs produce 40 percent of all African American doctorate degrees awarded for Communications.
Challenges
1. Strengthening and enhancing vital services and programs. As HBCUs strive to provide vital services and programs to students, President Bush's Fiscal Year 2005 budget proposal provided a minimal increase of approximately $17 million (or seven percent)- which deprived HBCUs of key resources.
2. Need for increased student financial aid. The majority of African American families have incomes under $25,000 a year. As a result, students enrolled in HBCUs disproportionately rely on federal student financial aid programs. The 1995-1996 data released by the National Center on Education Statistics reveal that of the 17 million students enrolled in undergraduate programs at our nation's institutions of higher education, about two million were African American. Of those enrolled, almost 63 percent of African American students received some form of student financial assistance. For those enrolled in HBCUs, the number is closer to 90 percent. Nearly half (47 percent) of white students received aid, while over half (54 percent) of Hispanic students received some type of financial assistance. Unfortunately, the level of financial need that is not met by existing aid programs is growing. The lowest-income students face $3,200 of unmet need at a four-year public institution. The level of student indebtedness is also growing. As a result, more than a half million college-ready students have decided to forego obtaining a higher education - a problem that hits African American students disproportionately hard and represents lost potential.
3. Underrepresentation of African Americans receiving doctorates in the sciences. Over 40 percent of all doctorates for African Americans are in education (compared to 19 percent for all U.S. citizens). Conversely, African American representation in the sciences is very low. In 1999, African Americans received the following number of doctorates compared to all those awarded to U.S. citizens in the following fields: mathematics - 10 of 538 (1.8 percent); computer science - 16 of 412 (3.8 percent); chemistry - 46 of 1251 (3.7 percent); physics - 6 of 651 (.9 percent); engineering - 84 of 247 (3.4 percent); and biological sciences - 109 of 3654 (3 percent).
Additional focus is needed to help African American students gain skills in these areas.
4. Lack of access to technology. According to a recent study, "HBCUs: An Assessment of Networking and Connectivity," conducted by the U.S. Department of Commerce, 12 percent of students and 71 percent of faculty members at HBCUs have a personal computer (PC). Other research indicates that 55 percent of the students at predominantly white institutions of higher learning own a PC, as compared to 15 percent of the African American students on these campuses.

The Senate has passed S. 196, the Digital Wireless and Technology Act of 2003 and the House Committee on Science has approved H.R. 2801, the Minority Serving Institutions Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act. Both of these bills seek to establish a digital and wireless technology program at eligible institutions. While similar, H.R. 2801 contains several additional provisions which are important to the HBCU community: the placement of the program at the Department of Commerce, which affords the flexibility necessary to meet the widely varying needs of HBCUs and other minority serving institutions (MSIs), and a peer review process that ensures representation of HBCUs and MSIs. Given the differences between the two bills, the Senate and House need a formal conference or an agreement to consider H.R. 2801 instead of S. 196.
5. Need to enhance faculty and strengthen the science, mathematics, engineering, and technology (SMET) student pipeline. Minorities make up less than 14 percent of all collegiate faculty. Of this figure, five percent are African American, five percent are Asian/Pacific Islander, three percent are Latino/Hispanic, and 0.5 percent are Native American/Alaskan Native. Although women make up one-third of full-time collegiate faculty, they tend to be concentrated in less-senior instructional positions and at two-year institutions, as opposed to research universities. Similarly, African Americans and other minorities are underrepresented across-the-board in science, mathematics, engineering, and technology disciplines and careers.

Black American organizations and parents Black American High School Principals and teachers must call to account the Presidents and boards of the HBCUs and find out why these institutions are in such dire circumstances and so poorly managed. Find out why they have sat in their offices and drew paychecks as their institutions slipped into the abyss!

Kindly review the following and pass it on.

Click here for Welcome to Call Me MISTER


The mission of the Call Me MISTER (acronym for Mentors Instructing Students Toward Effective Role Models) National Initiative is to increase the pool of available teachers from a broader more diverse background particularly among the State's lowest performing elementary schools. Student participants are largely selected from among under-served, socio-economically disadvantaged and educationally at-risk communities.

The Call Me MISTER program is contributing to the talent pool of excellent teachers by identifying and supporting students like Mr. Mark Joseph (shown here), who are literally "touching the future" by teaching children. Mark's teaching degree was made possible through the Call Me MISTER program.

The project provides:

* Tuition assistance through Loan Forgiveness programs for admitted students pursuing approved programs of study in teacher education at participating colleges.
* An academic support system to help assure their success.
* A cohort system for social and cultural support.

“Call Me MISTER” was developed by some of our State’s visionary educational leaders who sincerely believe we can build a better tomorrow by getting you involved today.
Maintained by [e-mail]
Copyright ©2009 Call Me MISTER, 203 Holtzendorff, Clemson, S.C. 29634, [phone]

Email Hoax
March 6, 2009

To Whom It May Concern:

It has been brought to our attention that an erroneous e-mail, rife with inaccuracies and misinformation about the Call Me MISTER Program, is making its way around the country. Said e-mail makes such false claims as “South Carolina HBCUs offer FREE TUITION” and our program is for “African American MALES ONLY”, neither of which is true. While we do offer tuition assistance and book support, plus a small stipend to defray other associated costs of attending college, we DO NOT now offer, nor have we ever offered, a full scholarship**.

All funding that CMM participants receive, as of Fall 2007, is given in the form of loan forgiveness—meaning that participants who complete their education degrees, receive their teaching credentials, and secure a position on the faculty of a South Carolina elementary school will have a certain percentage of their CMM debt forgiven for each year of credible service rendered. Based on available funding, we are providing a total assistance package of approximately $12,000 for academic year 2007-2008**.

Also, in compliance with Clemson University policy, as well as federal and state guidelines, the Call Me MISTER program does not discriminate based solely on race or gender. Please visit our web site at www.callmemister.clemson.edu to obtain accurate information about the requirements, policies and procedures for the Call Me MISTER Program. Any specific questions thereafter can be directed to our office:
1-800-640-2647 or 864-656-4646 or [e-mail].

We apologize for any confusion and/or frustration this has caused, but obviously the originating email came from neither our office, nor one of our subsidiaries.

Sincerely,
Winston E. Holton, CMM Field Coordinator

Maintained by [e-mail]
Copyright ©2009 Call Me MISTER, 203 Holtzendorff, Clemson, S.C. 29634, [phone]