CONSORTIUM on FINANCING HIGHER EDUCATION

The Consortium on Financing Higher Education

There are 31 colleges and universities represented in the COFHE, the Consortium on Financing Higher Education. COFHE was formed in 1971, initially funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to examine how selective, private colleges and universities could discuss their commitment to providing exceptional educational opportunities for highly talented students as well as best practices in fiscal management. As an organization, COFHE seeks ways to improve the quality and effectiveness of these institutions and to reinforce their efforts to remain affordable and accessible for students from all socioeconomic backgrounds. As individual institutions, these colleges and universities share a dedication to educational excellence, a commitment to opportunity that is not constrained by economic circumstance and a devotion to public service.

While these are "private" institutions, they nonetheless are institutions that work to influence a public trust. They fulfill that trust, in part, by the research they support and the teaching they provide at the post secondary level. COFHE member schools fulfill it through the discovery, transmission and preservation of knowledge, understanding and cultural expression. They also fulfill public goals by opening wide the doors of opportunity and by sending forth graduates, whose college experiences inspired them to help make the world a better place for all of us.

Below I have listed a few of the COFHE funding sources:

Grant Aid – cash awards that need not be repaid. Grants help pay for tuition and fees, as well as room, board, travel and other expenses.
Financial Aid – grant aid plus other forms of assistance, such as federal subsidized and unsubsidized loans and student work-study jobs. Loans and jobs are known as “self-help.”
Parent Contribution – the amount that parents are expected to pay from their own resources for their child’s education. Programs such as the PLUS loan program help parents finance these costs.
Family Contribution – includes the parents’ contribution as well as an additional contribution that the student is expected to make from summer earnings.

            The colleges and universities represented in COFHE member schools use their endowments and other funds to strengthen their programs of teaching and research.  They also create residential experiences that encourage personal growth and support financial aid programs that make it possible for students from all backgrounds not just to attend, but to flourish. “Students on these campuses come to appreciate that much has been given to them, and that from those to whom much is given, much is expected.”

            The COFHE member colleges and universities have changed over their long histories and they continue to change as funding sources change.  Almost 30 percent of the students who attend these institutions are people of color. In addition, 47 percent receive financial aid, and COFHE reports that the average award for those on financial aid is more than $20,000 a year. Furthermore, 42 percent of the students at these institutions are involved in community service, and thousands of graduates of these institutions make contributions to society through their vocations and community involvement.

            According to COFHE,  half of all COFHE students receive at least some grant aid. Grants awarded to COFHE first-year students average more than $25,000. For families with incomes below $60,000 grants average $34,100. Aided students are also eligible for subsidized loans and campus work to help meet their portion of college costs. Subsidized loans are repaid over a 10 year period after a student completes his or her education.

            More information about this 106 page report may be obtained from its main office in Cambridge, Massachusetts, but it also maintains an office in Washington, DC which primarily exists to track the legislative issues pertaining to financial aid, tax policy, and other topics affecting college attendance and the cost of college.

Reference

“Take a closer look.”  COFHE (2011).  Retrieved October 22, 2011 from http://web.mit.edu/cofhe/