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Leslie Garner
President
Cornell College
October 2008
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To read part 1, click here
Describe your students and where they come from.They are very talented academically. Our average ACT/SAT scores are 26.5 and 1,200 respectively. As high school students they were very much involved in activities outside the classroom. Our new fall freshmen and transfers totalled 383, and they come from 38 states and seven foreign countries. Illinois and Iowa account for 40 percent of them. Colorado and Minnesota provide eight percent each. The student body is 50/50 male/female and has been so for three years. Eleven percent are non-white. Almost all are age 18 - 22.
Do they share a unique characteristic that's readily identifiable?
Yes. They are adventurous enough to want to try a unique academic calendar. (See part one of this interview).
What are your charges and how are your students paying them?
Our tuition, fees, room and board for 2008-09 total $35,070 per year. About two-thirds of our annual student revenue comes from students, families and non-Cornell financial aid. The other third is provided by Cornell, and it's gift aid.
Were many Cornell College students affected by the loan shortage this fall, and how was it handled?
When we found private loans were likely to be curtailed, we worked with about 200 students through the spring and summer. We used PLUS loans more aggressively than we had before. And the Department of Education helped by making the repayment provisions and in-school deferments more attractive.
What complication does federal financial aid add to college administration?
When a small college wants to chart and navigate a new direction regarding access and financial aid, the federal rules and procedures make it daunting. I think many colleges would like to do the financial aid job better, and they would do so if the federal role could be streamlined.
Any other financial aid complications?
We are involved in screening far more family financial information than we would otherwise choose. In addition, the array of aid programs that have resulted from serial additions over the years presents unusual complexity to parents and families. As a result of this summer's extra attention it's become clear to me that a solution may lie in being able to present a clear pathway to a family. And it's likely that one path won't be suitable for all families.
What is U-CAN and your relationship to it?
The University and College Accountability Network is a web-based source of consumer information about independent colleges and universities. At present 700 colleges are on display, and they are viewable via a single template. Launched in September 2007, I chaired the U-CAN board during that year. We conducted focus groups of students and parents. We've subsequently involved high school counselors. About 400,000 unique visitors have viewed 1 million pages in its first year. We expect to add another 100 schools this year.
What is the 'kitchen-table test?'
Early in our focus groups, students and parents prescribed a template that they wanted to use as follows. They wanted to print templates for four to ten schools on their home printers and compare them sitting together at the kitchen table. The template had to be right for that process. It had to be relatively concise. We made it two pages. It had to have color, and understandable charts and graphs. The template and the U-CAN site facilitate the next step by enabling access to each selected campus web site.
What results of U-CAN have become evident?
Visitors are happy and their usage is robust. Participation among the colleges has been excellent. In addition, we now clearly distinguish between transparency and accountability. Transparency, which tells what we do, is an essential first step to accountability. And accountability tells how well we do it. U-CAN represents a major step forward in transparency. As we develop better outcome measures, those results will appear in the template as well.