Notes in the Margins: Cancelled commencement, tuition vs. funding and Pell Grants

CLA cancels fall commencement ceremony The University of Minnesota’s College of Liberal Arts announced Thursday that, starting this year, there will be no December commencement ceremony for its fall graduates. (Minnesota Daily)

College presidents, students lobby to keep Pell Grant funding Before agreeing to raise the federal debt ceiling, Republican lawmakers want Democrats to agree to a number of budget cuts. Some of the proposed plans call for cuts to the Federal Pell Grant Program, which allows many of the country’s poorest students to attend college. (Washington Post Campus Overload blog)

Michigan State, Wayne State Universities Could Lose More State Funding Over Tuition Increase When Michigan State University students return this fall, they will be paying 9.4% more in tuition than they did last fall. On the surface that appears to put MSU in violation of a provision in the latest state budget, which put a cap on universities for raising tuition at 7.1%, to keep from losing additional funding. If they are found by the state budget director to be in violation, MSU would lose an additional $18 million in state aid. (Detroit Free Press via University Business Daily Newsletter)

• How Augsburg is going all Mark Twain
• How past U of M presidents view higher-ed today
• Metro State data breach affected 160,000 students