College presidents are sometimes leading billion-dollar enterprises, with budgets equal to some of America’s largest corporations, so certainly an argument can be made that their pay might be commensurate with private-sector peers who have significant profit and loss responsibility.  College Parents of America James A. Boyle doesn’t believe that college presidents should take a vow of poverty, but neither should they take a vow of silence.  He encourages all college presidents, public and private, to make their salaries and the entire budget of their universities open for all to see.  He believes that since this transparency is expected of corporate America, it should also be expected of higher education in America.  Please leave a comment below and share your views on the pay of college presidents.

The front page of today’s edition of The Washington Post includes a story headlined “New Study Gives Hovering College Parents Extra Credit.” I encourage you to read the story, which reports on newly released data from the highly respected National Survey of Student Engagement, conducted out of Indiana University. I also encourage you to Share Your Views on College Parent Involvement. Please share what has worked - and what hasn’t - for you as a college parent. Since the study shows that students with very-involved parents had lower grades than those whose parents were not so involved, please address this chicken-egg question. Do you get more involved because your child has experienced grade problems, or do you feel that your involvement may, in fact, be hindering his or her academic achivement? If your child is doing well in school, do you tend to back off or to concentrate on other issues, such as finances and health or safety concerns? At College Parents of America, we are a firm believer that parents can learn from each other, so please share your views below and help your fellow parents. Thank you.

Before shutting down its work for the holidays, the U.S. Congress finally approved one of College Parents of America’s priority items - the reinstatement of what was an expired ability for families to deduct at least a portion of their higher-education-related expenses. Unfortunately, rather than make this provision a permanent part of the tax code, the Congress only extended it through the end of 2007. Nevertheless, current and future college parents should be thankful that members of the U.S. House and Senate recognized the importance of tuition tax deductibility as one of the three legs of the stool through which families are struggling to meet ever-increasing college costs. Please click here to write a thank-you note to Congress that will reside in the College Costs section of this blog. As part of your message, be sure to include your college cost priorities for the new Congress. Let your voice be heard in the Nation’s Capital and read by your fellow parents across the country.