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Following is the unanimous decision of the U.S. Supreme Court that the University of Wisconsin at Madison does not violate the First Amendment rights of students when it uses their [...]

Ireland New Labor government's decisions of scrapping tuition fees for undergraduates and its implication to the expansion of higher education is discussed. Government funding in lieu of lost fees is steadily declining resulting in cash-strapped universities being unable to cater to the growth in research programs and the rise in student numbers at the same time maintaining their quality.

University graduates in Scotland have to pay a graduation fees when they finish college. This fee has been abolished due to a political dealing, which the government will consider raising the student support provided.

IMMIGRANT BAN: Public colleges in Missouri would be required to certify that they had not knowingly admitted illegal immigrants before receiving financial support from the state under a measure moving [...]

Byline: SARA HEBEL Year after year, Steve Munch has watched his tuition bill at the University of Kansas increase by double-digit percentages. He wants state policy makers to do something [...]

Despite widespread opposition from many higher education groups, Congress is finishing work on 2006 budget bills that will leave most higher education programs with either level funding or cutbacks next [...]

A poll conducted by the Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) reveals that the government faces an uphill battle if it is to get its planned university top-up fees legislation through an hostile Parliament. Of the 143 vocal Labour critics of the top-up fee plans contacted by the THES in its survey, only three said that they had been convinced by the government's arguments and would now support the legislation. The legislation will fail if just 83 of Labour's 408 MPs vote against it, assuming, as is expected, that all 54 Liberal Democrat and 163 Conservative MPs also vote against it. Under the plans, universities will be allowed to charge variable top-up fees of up to UKPd3,000/yr.

Higher education leaders are waging a pre-emptive strike against new legislation they fear could impose government price controls on colleges. At issue is a proposal from Rep. Howard 'Buck' McKeon, [...]

Issues relating to top-up fees for students in the UK are examined in the light of the government's white paper on higher education which will allow universities to begin charging fees of up to UKPd3,000/yr for courses from 2006. The size of the fee could also be varied by subject, be levied for departments or across whole institutions. Course fees in the UK are currently capped at UKPd1,100/yr, with the state reimbursing universities for the 43% of students who pay no fees due to their parents earning too little. The universities will have to satisfy certain stipulations before they are allowed to levy top-up fees, with the first step being to satisfy a new access regulator that their widening participation targets are justified.

The US Supreme Court is being petitioned by colleges, student organizations and 15 states to overturn a federal appeals court decision prohibiting the use of student fees to fund campus groups and events with political or ideological themes. The petitioners claim that campus diversity would be compromised if the fees were not used for these activities. Opponents, however, claim political use of student fees violates First Amendment rights of students who do not support the ideals expressed by certain groups.

Congress passed tax and spending legislation in Jun 1997 that would provide between $31 billion and $32 billion in tax breaks to college students and their families, and cut about $1.8 billion in administration costs from federal student loan programs. The House passed both its tax and spending measures, while the Senate approved a spending bill and had a tax bill pending. President Clinton and congressional Democrats claim that both tax measures fall short of the amount of education-related tax relief agreed to in the balanced budget deal struck between Clinton and Republican congressional leaders.

State legislatures debate on the viability of high tuition-high financial aid plans. Its proponents state that the additional revenue generated by higher tuition fees can provide more financial help to students who cannot afford increased costs. However, critics contend that this set-up will only work if there are more high-income students than low-income ones. Moreover, further economic downturns and political use of financial-aid funds will only worsen the situation. It may cause upper- and middle-income students to flock to private colleges while daunting needy students from pursuing a college degree.

A PA Supreme Court ruling which states that divorced parents may not help pay their children's college tuition sent many talented college students and their mothers to file petitions or call the state congress for help. Petitioners usually have sad stories to tell about shattered dreams and abandoned college education since non-custodial fathers stop paying bills in the midst of their children's studies.

Key figures in the higher education sector in the UK have been secretly prompted by the Government to campaign for the UKPd3,000 cap on top-up fees to be removed before the 2010 date specified by the Labour Government when it pushed the Higher Education Bill through Parliament in July 2004. While the Government promised that it would be at least 2010 before universities would be allowed to raise top-up fees, sources claim that the Government only introduced the UKPd3,000 limit in order to buy off backbench MPs who were against the legislation and that the Government would be pleased to see the cap gone.

Government plans to allow universities to charge top-up fees of up to UKPd3,000/yr could be defeated by Christmas 2003 unless the government makes additional concessions to appease rebel Labour MPs. Over 120 Labour backbench MPs have signed an early-day motion opposing the variable fees and calling for 'informed debate' prior to the introduction of top-up fee legislation. In order to defeat any top-up fee legislation, it would take at least 83 rebel Labour MPs as Liberal Democratic and Conservative MPs are expected to vote en masse against it.

John Howard, Australian prime minister, has indicated that he supports calls from vice-chancellors for greater freedom to set the level of tuition fees. Howard has promised to reconsider proposals for deregulation from the Australian Vice-Chancellors' committee that he had earlier ruled out only two years ago, stating that times have changed and that the government had to be prepared to address reform proposals.

Students, lecturers and vice-chancellors are concerned about the potential financial consequences of the Scottish Parliament's planned abolition of undergraduate tuition fees. Fees of 46 million pounds sterling are required in 2001-02 to maintain existing standards in Scottish universities, says the Committee of Scottish Higher Education. Lecturers' union Natfhe supports the withdrawal of fees but is concerned that pay recommendations may be adversely affected. The National Union of Students will campaign for tuition fees to be abolished throughout the UK if they are withdrawn in Scotland.

California lawmakers are considering two bills that would cap tuition at the state's public universities and link future increases to changes in per capita income. Legislators in Washington state rejected a similar indexing plan in May 1997. Iowa has followed such a tuition-indexing policy since 1990. Lawmakers are increasingly proposing tuition-indexing as a response to the public perception that tuition costs rise too high and too rapidly. Administrators claim that unless tuition-indexing is linked to guaranteed levels of state funding for higher education, it is unfair to universities and colleges.