University Business - July 2006 - (Page 18)

U B E H I N D the NEWS Reaching Out S TAT S WAT C H to Retirees Education as Equalizer INTEREST IN CREATING ON- OR NEAR-CAM- TED LONG, PRESIDENT OF ELIZABETHTOWN COLLEGE, A SCHOOL OF pus retirement communities continues to 1,600 students in central Pennsylvania, has seen many students go from economic strug- grow. Recent research explores the per- gle to success thanks to higher education. It is a way for them to essentially move up the spectives of potential residents and IHEs ladder compared to their parents, pursuing these projects. Characteristics of Recent Graduates by Economic Status he says of lower-income students. Moody's Investors Service reports that Five years out of college, students ... We have an alumnus in New about 50 university-linked retirement com- were employed full time: York who is already vice president 82% munities likely exist already; many others 83% for an investment company, man- are in development. The paper, Retire- were earning between $40,000 and $80,000: aging the energy portfolio, and 72% ment Communities Present Op- 69% he's supervising folks from Stan- portunities and Risks for had completed additional degrees: ford and Harvard. He came from 50% Universities, concludes 50% an ordinary background. There High income that IHEs must take had bought homes: are stories like that all the time. Low income 58% a deliberate and stra- 61% Such anecdotal evidence of t e g i c approach to had registered to vote: the power of a degree is now 95% help ensure the suc- 94% backed by data from the Asso- cess of these facilities. 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% ciation of Independent Colleges A copy can be found and Universities of Pennsylvania online at www.university AICUP , which surveyed 16,000 graduates of the Class of 1999 five years after their business.com/webexclusives . graduation from 46 Pennsylvania private colleges and universities. The survey returned Potential opportunities include revenue findings on several areas, but clearly showed that low-income students those who re- sources such as selling land to a developer ceived Pell Grants enjoyed similar rates of success five years out of college as those who and collecting tuition from residents who came from wealthier backgrounds. This is what we all hope that education will do, take courses. A careful approach to these says Don Francis, president of AICUP. What the data is showing is that education is projects would help avoid wasted money leveling the playing field for people from different socio-economic categories. and a tarnished institutional reputation, With interest rates on student loans rising, individuals from private colleges are should the project fail. concerned about students from low-income backgrounds. Elizabethtown, for one, is This distraction risk, as Moody's calls investing $20 million in financial aid for the 2006-07 academic year. Students take it, is one reason schools often hesitate on on a lot of debt, frequently they work, and our job I think is to make it as reasonable these developments, notes Gerard Badler, as possible, says Long. Now there's hard evidence to prove that fight is worthwhile. managing director of Campus Continuum, A full copy of the AICUP report is available at www.aicup.org. C.M.F. which is creating a network of campus- based communities. Not many retirement communities have been organized with a Going Global high level of school input, he says. Criti- cal steps such as conducting market and THE FACULTY AT FAIRFIELD UNIVER- internal constituency assessments and de- s i t y Conn. will be able to share veloping financing projections could wind their expertise with the world without up being skipped or mismanaged. leaving the comfort of campus, thanks A Campus Continuum survey of 233 baby to a new satellite uplink truck. The boomers who like the idea of retiring to a $400,000 piece of equipment broad- college campus helps confirm that a market casts an HD-quality television signal Satellite truck links a campus to the world. exists. Living in a small college town is pre- to a geostationary satellite. The uni- ferred and more than one-third expressed versity will be able to broadcast lec- experience with state-of-the-art equip- interest in retiring to an IHE with which tures and special events to the world, ment, says the Rev. James Mayzik, di- they had no prior affiliation. M.E. rector of the Media Center. A.M. and students will gain hands-on 18 | July 2006 universitybusiness.com 81 ddni.607etadpU MP 13:73:4 60/12/6 http://www.universitybusiness.com/webexclusives http://www.universitybusiness.com/webexclusives http://www.aicup.org http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - July 2006

Contents
College Index
Advisory Board
Company Index
Editor's Note
People Watch
Sense of Place
Stats Watcch
Viewpoint
Marketing
Human Resources
Future Shock
Money Matters
Community Colleges
Diamond in the Mudd
Higher Ed at the Crossroads
Property Values
The President Next Door
Good Medicine
The Outs (and Ins) of Facility Management
Business Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - July 2006