Latest news with #privateuniversities
Forbes
17-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Senate Proposes A Smaller Increase For University Endowment Tax
The Senate version of a proposed tax hike on private university endowment earnings offers some ... More relief to colleges. The U.S. Senate Committee on Finance has proposed a smaller increase to the endowment tax on private universities and colleges than the reconciliation tax and spending bill previously passed by the House of Representatives. According to the committee's plan, the top rate would be 8% on endowment earnings versus the 21% that had been set by the House. The Senate version retains the House's tiered structure that specifies that the tax rate grows as the size of the endowment per student increases, and it also includes a similar methodology for calculating the tax rate. Both plans raise the tax on the endowment earnings of private colleges and universities from its current 1.4% flat rate. Currently, a few dozen private universities with at least 500 full-time equivalent students and an endowment worth at least $500,000 per student are subject to a 1.4% tax on endowment earnings, a levy that was passed during Trump's first term. Under the new proposals, the increases would be tiered. Both plans also change how the number of enrolled students is calculated. By excluding foreign and undocumented students from the count, the proposals increase both the number of institutions subject to endowment taxes and the number who would have to pay a larger rate. Religious colleges would be exempted from the tax under both proposals, but what schools qualify as being religious will likely be debated. One difference in the two plans is that the Senate would exempt colleges that don't accept federal financial aid from paying the tax. The House version does not include that exemption. The Senate's softening of the endowment tax increase will be seen as an improvement for institutions, although it fails to provide all the relief they have been lobbying for. Schools have been trying to persuade legislators to lighten up on the tax increase, arguing that if it becomes law, it will result in the reduction of hundreds of millions of dollars in financial aid for students. According to the 2024 NACUBO-Commonfund Study of Endowments, the largest share of endowment spending — 48.1% — goes to provide financial aid through institutional scholarships and tuition discounts. Should endowment taxes increase, dozens of prominent institutions may need to reduce their spending on helping financially needy students be able to attend college. "The Senate version of the so-called endowment tax is better, but it's still bad and harmful tax policy,' said Steven Bloom, American Council on Education assistant vice president of government relations, according to Inside Higher Education. 'They're going to take money that would likely have been devoted to financial aid and research and other academic purposes on campus, and they're going to send it to Washington, where it's used largely for purposes unrelated to higher education.' Expect colleges and universities to continue to press legislators for modifications to the tax hike. Among the alternatives they have suggested is a promise to spend more of their endowment's earnings on student financial aid in exchange for a lower tax rate. Other have pitched the idea that small colleges should get a break on how much they are required to pay or that the rate should be adjusted based on the number of students from low-imcome families that are enrolled. The House and Senate will need to iron out the discrepancies in their two versions of the overall reconciliation bill later this summer. The two packages involve major differences in policy that go far beyond disagreements over the endowment tax, making it increasingly unlikely that final legislation will be enacted by the target date of July 4.
Bloomberg
16-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Rich Colleges Would Face Lower Tax Hike Under Senate Bill
Wealthy US colleges scored a win on Monday with the release of Senate Republicans' tax bill, which would institute a lower tax hike on endowments than what GOP House members have backed. Private universities with at least 500 students that have endowments of $2 million per pupil or more would pay an excise tax of 8% under the new bill released by the Senate Committee on Finance. That's much lower than the 21% rate that was included in the House proposal, which passed the chamber in May.
Bloomberg
10-06-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Education Sec. McMahon on Harvard Grants, College Accreditations
US Education Secretary Linda McMahon says private universities like Columbia and Harvard could get some of the federal funding cut by the Trump administration restored if they change their policies. Speaking with Akayla Gardner at a Bloomberg Newsmaker event in Washington DC, McMahon also comments on dismantling the Department of Education. (Source: Bloomberg)
Independent Singapore
27-05-2025
- Business
- Independent Singapore
Weaker hiring demand meant fewer private uni grads found full-time jobs in 2024
SINGAPORE: This year's Graduate Employment Survey ( GES ), published on Monday (May 26) by SkillsFuture Singapore, showed the effects of slower economic growth and lower hiring demand on the newest members of the workforce. Within six months of having graduated from bachelor's degree programmes in private education institutions between May 2023 and April 2024, nearly three-fourths (74.8%) of the 2,300 respondents who had participated in the survey had found work. In comparison, among those who graduated the year before, 83.2% had gotten employed within six months. Among the fresh graduates who had found jobs, 46.4% were hired full-time, compared to 58.7% the year before. Notably, while 18.9% found part-time or temporary employment in 2023, this number went up to 24.2% last year. As for freelance jobs, while 5.7% of respondents landed this type of employment in 2023, last year, 4.2% ended up in the gig economy. 'This reflects the weaker overall hiring demand as compared to previous years,' the statement from SkillsFuture Singapore noted. Interestingly, the salary of fresh graduates from private universities in full-time jobs has gone up from S$3,400 to S$3,500. Those who studied Engineering, Sciences, and Business courses had the highest percentages of graduates in full-time permanent employment. In contrast, graduates from the Information and Digital Technologies course cluster had the highest median gross monthly salary last year. The numbers are slightly different for students who graduated last year from Autonomous Universities (AU), Nanyang Technological University (NTU), National University of Singapore (NUS), Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT), Singapore Management University (SMU), Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), and Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD). Among fresh graduates from AUs, 79.5% found full-time employment, and they had a median gross monthly salary of S$4,500 in 2024. For post-National Service polytechnic graduates, meanwhile, 65.2% found full-time jobs and received a median gross monthly salary of S$3,000. 'The PEI GES provides prospective students with valuable insights, enabling them to make informed decisions about their education and career paths. This latest survey takes place amidst global economic uncertainties and lower hiring demand. However, there are numerous resources and learning opportunities available through SkillsFuture for Singaporeans today to support their career aspirations, so that they are able to make informed choices based on skills demanded by industries and employers,' said Ms Angela Tan, Director-General (Private Education) of SSG, in the statement. /TISG Read also: Private uni grad struggles to land a job, gets only 2 replies after countless applications
