Latest news with #enrollment
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SPIRE continues to grow
HARPERSFIELD TOWNSHIP — The growth of SPIRE Academy continues in a variety of ways as more students are coming to the area and more businesses continue to open in the area. SPIRE Academy Chief Executive Officer Steve Sanders said enrollment for the recently completed school year was around 200 students and is projected to be 250-265 next year. He said the day-school program also is growing, with 15 students planning to come to the academy daily next fall. The construction of dormitories the last several years will be put on hold for a year, Sanders said. 'This will probably be the only year [dormitories aren't built],' Sanders said. He said the academy's credentialing process will likely be finalized in the next month, as well. A new traffic light at the northern entrance to SPIRE on Route 534 is in the final stages of approval from the Ohio Department of Transportation, Sanders said. He said the timing of the placement of the light is still being finalized. Several new businesses are on the horizon as well, Sanders said. He said a new Chipotle is planned for the area most recently occupied by Popp-a-razzi, which has moved to downtown Geneva. The building will be demolished and the construction of the restaurant will begin, Sanders said. A piece of property south of the Farmer Butcher Chef restaurant will likely become a Sheetz gas station and convenience store, Sanders said. The former Motel 6 on the west side of Route 534 is scheduled to be renovated into a Wyndham property in three to four months, Sanders said. The SPIRE Academy summer camp season is about to get started as well. 'This will be our biggest,' Sanders said. He said there were 1,850 campers last year, in many different sports, and will likely be around 2,000 this year. The SPIRE Academy basketball team recruiting class is growing as well, Sanders said. 'We are projecting a national-class team in year one,' he said. Sanders said there are already five Division I, potential NBA players, committed with several more likely to follow. The academy's running program is also moving ahead. Sanders said numerous athletes had national success this year, and many have signed with college programs. The academy is expanding into cross country, and creating a new course. He said land east of the present track and field building is being cleared for a new cross country course.
Yahoo
6 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
SPIRE continues to grow
HARPERSFIELD TOWNSHIP — The growth of SPIRE Academy continues in a variety of ways as more students are coming to the area and more businesses continue to open in the area. SPIRE Academy Chief Executive Officer Steve Sanders said enrollment for the recently completed school year was around 200 students and is projected to be 250-265 next year. He said the day-school program also is growing, with 15 students planning to come to the academy daily next fall. The construction of dormitories the last several years will be put on hold for a year, Sanders said. 'This will probably be the only year [dormitories aren't built],' Sanders said. He said the academy's credentialing process will likely be finalized in the next month, as well. A new traffic light at the northern entrance to SPIRE on Route 534 is in the final stages of approval from the Ohio Department of Transportation, Sanders said. He said the timing of the placement of the light is still being finalized. Several new businesses are on the horizon as well, Sanders said. He said a new Chipotle is planned for the area most recently occupied by Popp-a-razzi, which has moved to downtown Geneva. The building will be demolished and the construction of the restaurant will begin, Sanders said. A piece of property south of the Farmer Butcher Chef restaurant will likely become a Sheetz gas station and convenience store, Sanders said. The former Motel 6 on the west side of Route 534 is scheduled to be renovated into a Wyndham property in three to four months, Sanders said. The SPIRE Academy summer camp season is about to get started as well. 'This will be our biggest,' Sanders said. He said there were 1,850 campers last year, in many different sports, and will likely be around 2,000 this year. The SPIRE Academy basketball team recruiting class is growing as well, Sanders said. 'We are projecting a national-class team in year one,' he said. Sanders said there are already five Division I, potential NBA players, committed with several more likely to follow. The academy's running program is also moving ahead. Sanders said numerous athletes had national success this year, and many have signed with college programs. The academy is expanding into cross country, and creating a new course. He said land east of the present track and field building is being cleared for a new cross country course.
Forbes
6 days ago
- General
- Forbes
College Admission Waitlist Follies
getty Historically, the college admission 'waitlist' was something that enrollment leaders used to round out their first-year class after the May 1 National Candidate Reply Date. With enrollment deposits in the bank, schools had a better sense of their yield—the number of students who accepted their offer of admission–and would rely on the waitlist to fill in the gaps or replace students who 'melted' (withdrew for any number of reasons after enrolling) over the spring and summer. Most of the waitlist activity was in May and early June and more prevalent among less selective schools. That was then, this is now! As application numbers have soared and admission and yield (as well as teenage behavior) are less and less predictable, enrollment managers increasingly use the waitlist actively as a significant tool in their process. No longer is it confined to a month or two. During this current admission cycle, some students were placed on the waitlist starting in November and December when their early application decisions landed. Instead of a college deferring an Early Decision applicant to the Regular Decision round, only to then waitlist them (this unfortunately happens), some schools are skipping the deferral and sending them directly to the waitlist. Other students were notified of their placement on the waitlist in March, and by the end of that month and into April, there was already significant movement with colleges accepting students off their waitlist. As we near the end of May, there are miles to go before enrollment leaders sleep. Waitlist activity at many institutions will likely persist well into the summer. Uncertainty reigns, even among the most selective colleges and universities. Take Harvard University for example where the Trump Administration has banned international students from enrolling. If nearly a quarter of their students are unable to attend, one has to assume that the waitlist will be crucial, and this will have repercussions throughout the admission landscape. Students track waitlist activity on social media, Reddit, and among friends while developing their own acronyms, like LOCI (Letter of Continued Interest). They often wonder if the 'list' is ranked (no) or if there is some priority, rhyme, or reason. The reality is that most colleges use it to fill specific needs. For example, if they are tracking behind on full-pay, male students from the midwest, these applicants will get the call. For universities that admit by college and/or major, if they are running short on humanities students in the College of Liberal Arts, these applicants will be in luck. There are plenty of articles and consultants that will claim they have the secret formula to being admitted off the waitlist. This is not that. Instead, I wanted to take a break from the hype around high-stakes selective college admission and offer some stories from admission officers and counselors. I asked them to share outlandish, creative, and/or head-scratching approaches that students have taken to try and be accepted from the waitlist. Stories flooded in, like the student who had a life-sized paper mache statue of herself with a fake acceptance card in her hand-delivered to the admission office. The follies had common themes and here they are: Footwear Fouls In an attempt at a Cinderella motif, one student sent a small glass slipper with a note asking to be accepted from the waitlist saying, 'I had a ball when I visited and the fit is there.' Another applicant sent a gold shoe that said "Just trying to get my foot in the door." Clearly, this is a popular approach, as one admission officer explains, 'Once we had a young man send the admissions office one of his size blue 15 Converse All-Stars with a note saying, 'I've got one foot in the door, how about the other one?'' Unfortunately, all they did was lose a shoe! Laughable Letters Often, waitlisted students will enlist alumni, politicians, celebrities, or other VIPs to write appeals to the director of admission on their behalf. Regrettably, the individual writing seldom knows the applicant well enough to be compelling. One student asked a notable senator to support them with the waitlist, but likely an aide wrote the letter because they mixed up the names. The plea they sent to the college was mistakenly addressed to the applicant and spent the whole note explaining how impressive the director of admission was and why they should be admitted. Needless to say, this correspondence was posted in the office for some time. An admission leader shared, 'One thing that I still have in my drawer is a folder from a girl who listed the number of reasons we should admit her from the waitlist. It was the exact number of people we had on the waitlist.' Another student sent a postcard to the director of admission every day until his status changed. A budding poet (pun intended) who found themself on a waitlist sent a letter with this simple rhyme: 'Roses are red, Violets are better. I will sit on your waitlist until I get my acceptance letter.' A counselor writes, 'About 25 years ago, I worked in admissions at a university in the Pacific Northwest. One year, a waitlisted student from Colorado took it upon himself to launch a daily letter-writing campaign to our office. Each day an envelope would arrive with a new reason for why we should admit him off the waitlist. I think it was Reason #6 that stated simply, 'I SUNBURN EASILY.'" Edible Efforts Many contributors shared stories of branded cookies or baked goods that incorporate the institution's colors that arrive at their offices. An admission officer writes, 'A long time ago, we had a student who had created a baking company while in high school. While on the waitlist, they sent a package of baked goods to us every single day.' Another leader explains, 'Every week through the month of April, a bundt cake arrived for the admissions staff and on the Friday closest to Easter, a human in an Easter bunny costume came with a bundt cake to continue with the creative waitlist advocacy.' And a student on the waitlist at Harvard, whose parents owned a candy store, once sent a three-foot-wide chocolate Harvard seal to the admission office. Musical Maneuvers One admission officer shares, 'My favorite waitlist attempt was a rap video about all the great things this student would do on campus if admitted,' adding, "Think Michael Scott meets Napoleon Dynamite.' A high school counselor says, 'Back when I worked in admissions, I traveled to New England each spring for a week or two of college fairs. One school in particular always hosted a lovely dinner for the admissions representatives before the fair, and I arrived on campus looking forward to the dinner and meeting with interested juniors at the fair. I had completely forgotten that there was a senior at this school on our waitlist. I enjoyed dinner and the chance to catch up with other admissions colleagues, right up until I heard that the school's a cappella group would be performing while we ate dessert. That's when I remembered that this waitlisted student was in the singing group. What I thought might be a slightly awkward few minutes of trying not to make eye contact with him while they sang turned even worse when I saw him step forward after their first song to call my name and ask me to come forward so they could serenade me. Bright red, I stood in front of the entire room of cackling college admissions officers while he kneeled in front of me and sang a song I've clearly blocked from memory. Unfortunately that turned out to be a year that we were not able to make many offers of admission from the waitlist and we did not admit him.' But the story doesn't end there…the former admission officer writes, 'Flash forward five years to my first year as a college counselor, working for another New England school. I went out to greet an admissions representative, visiting our students on behalf of another university, and discovered that he was the same young man who had serenaded me at that college fair. He ended up graduating from the college he was now representing as an admissions officer, wanting to share his transformative experience at that college that he ended up loving. Sometimes this process works out just as it should!' Closing Counsel My advice is, 'don't try these at home,' as more often than not it does not end well and you run the risk of annoying the very advocates that you want to have pulling for you. Follow the directions on your waitlist offer and don't do any more or less than instructed. If they ask for a letter of interest, send it. If they direct you not to submit additional materials, definitely do not send a rap video, shoe, or bundt cake. If it is meant to be, the college or university will reach out. In the meantime, while it does not hurt to remain on the waitlist optimistically, make sure you are getting excited about the school in which you enrolled and all the opportunities that you will have there.
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Associated Press
Penn State trustees vote to close 7 branch campuses amid declining enrollments
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Penn State University's trustees voted Thursday night to close seven of its 19 branch campuses amid declining enrollments, demographic shifts and financial pressures that backers say made it a necessary decision. The 25-8 vote by the trustees came after a nearly two-hour public meeting that was streamed live online, and after hours of closed-door debate between the trustees. The campuses to close — Dubois, Fayette, Mont Alto, New Kensington, Shenango, Wilkes-Barre, and York — together are enrolling slightly over 3,000 students this year, according to Penn State data. Branch campuses collectively have about 23,000 students, and the seven to be closed are among the smallest in terms of enrollment. No campus will close before the end of the 2026-27 academic year and, under the plan, every student who begins a degree at a closing campus will have the opportunity to complete their degree at Penn State. Opponents warned that the vote was premature, that affected communities hadn't been adequately consulted and that the trustees were acting without complete information on the most important vote they'll make as trustees. 'It will be the most impactful vote we will ever make on this board. It will impact this university long beyond our years,' trustee Anthony Lubrano said. Lubrano voted against it. Criticism also has poured in from state lawmakers who represent areas that are home to a closing campus and who vote annually to send hundreds of millions of dollars to Penn State to subsidize tuition for in-state students. Penn State's president, Neeli Bendapudi, announced in February that an internal team would study which ones to close and make a recommendation to the board. Bendapudi said Penn State has tried to save the campuses, but enrollments are declining at most schools and their surrounding populations are projected to continue declining. Historically, the smaller campuses draw most of their students from their local area, and it's not realistic to recruit elsewhere to buttress those enrollments, Bendapudi said.
Health Line
12-05-2025
- Health
- Health Line
When Should I Sign Up for Medicare Part D?
There are set times during the year, and during a person's life, when they may sign up for Medicare Part D. In some situations, not signing up for Part D when you are first eligible can lead to future penalties. Medicare Part D is prescription drug coverage. A person can purchase a Part D plan when they become eligible for Medicare and have either Part A or Part B coverage. Medicare-approved private insurance companies offer Part D plans. There are two general options for Part D coverage: Stand-alone Part D plans: A person with Part A or Part B can sign up for a stand-alone Part D plan in addition to their Original Medicare coverage. Bundled drug coverage: A person can sign up for a Medicare Advantage plan that bundles Part D coverage with their hospital insurance and medical insurance. If you have a Medicare Advantage plan that does not include Part D, you cannot sign up for a stand-alone Part D plan. Doing so would disenroll you from your Medicare Advantage plan. In this article, we discuss when you can enroll in Part D and the potential penalty for not enrolling. Part D enrollment periods You can only sign up for Medicare coverage, including Part D coverage, during specific periods throughout the year. Initial enrollment period (IEP) The first opportunity you'll have to join a Part D plan is during your IEP. This is a 7-month window that begins 3 months before you first qualify for Medicare. A person will only have one IEP during their lifetime unless they become eligible for Medicare before the age of 65 years due to a disability or chronic health condition. To join a Part D plan during the IEP, you will need to have either Part A or Part B coverage. The IEP is the best time for most people to sign up for a Part D plan. If you choose not to enroll during this time, you may face a late enrollment penalty later. Open enrollment period (OEP) The OEP is an annual Medicare enrollment period that runs from October 15 to December 7. During the OEP, Medicare beneficiaries can make many types of changes to their coverage. A person with Original Medicare can join a stand-alone Part D plan, switch Part D plans, or drop their Part D coverage. A person could also switch from Original Medicare to a Medicare Advantage plan that includes Part D coverage. Alternatively, people with Medicare Advantage can switch to Original Medicare. Medicare Advantage open enrollment period (MA OEP) The MA OEP runs from January 1 to March 31. During this time, a person with Medicare Advantage can switch to a new plan or return to Original Medicare. If they choose to do the latter, they can also sign up for a Part D plan. Special enrollment period (SEP) The last type of enrollment period during which a person can sign up for Part D plan is called a SEP. The timing of SEPs varies. People can qualify for an SEP when they experience a life event that affects their insurance coverage. For example, if a person has health insurance through an employer when they turn 65 years old, they will qualify for an SEP when they lose their employer-sponsored insurance. Depending on the situation, a person can typically sign up for Part D during an SEP. The length of time they'll have to do so will vary based on their individual circumstances. When does Part D coverage begin? If you sign up for Part D during the IEP, your coverage will begin either when your Part A or Part B coverage starts or on the first day of the month after the insurance carrier receives your request. It depends on when you sign up. If you sign up for a new Part D plan — or a Medicare Advantage plan that includes drug coverage — during the OEP, your coverage will begin on January 1 of the following year. If you return to Original Medicare during the MA OEP and sign up for a Part D plan, your coverage will begin at the start of the month after the insurance carrier receives your request. What happens if you don't sign up for Medicare Part D? If you don't sign up for Part D when you first become eligible, you may face penalties later on when you do go to enroll. For every month that you go without Part D coverage, you incur a 1% penalty based on the national base beneficiary premium. In 2025, this base monthly premium is $36.78. The penalty gets added to your Part D monthly premium. Here's an example: If you chose not to enroll in Part D when you turned 65 years old, and you decided to enroll in a plan when you turned 67 years old, you would have to pay a 24% penalty each month (because you went without coverage for 24 months). This works out to about $8.82, based on the base premium of $36.78. This is a permanent penalty that you will pay for as long as you have Part D coverage. You can avoid the late enrollment penalty if you have creditable drug coverage from another source in place of Part D, such as through an employer-sponsored health plan or the Department of Veterans Affairs. Summary The best time to sign up for Part D to avoid paying penalties is during the initial enrollment period (IEP) when you first become eligible for Medicare. If you miss the initial enrollment period, you can also sign up for Part D during the open enrollment period (OEP), which is from October 15 to December 7 each year. However, if you have drug coverage from another source, you will not have to pay a Part D late enrollment penalty.
