Here are just three sites to get you started:

1. Free Money Finance

This free site aggregates post relating to everything “money” – here are just some of the categories:

http://www.freemoneyfinance.com/budgeting/index.html

2. Make Love Not Debt

Make Love Not Debt is a site that describes itself as a “relationship finance blog” and I have to say, I really love this idea.  Not only does this site cover a plethora of debt and money-related topics, but it does so in the context of being in a relationship, whether that’s your P.O.S.S.L.Q. (person of the same sex sharing the same living quarters), your spouse, or your whole family.  Great idea. Someone should teach “relationship finance” in high school along with home economics; I think the divorce rate would plummet.

Budgeting: Or How We Learned Not to Kill Each Other

3. My Dollar Plan

Whether you’re a college student new to budgeting or trying to get all your “dollar ducks” in a row, Financial Literacy month is a great time to commit to understanding and de-mystifying your personal finances.  The combination of “math and money” often intimidates both the college-bound and their parents, but with so many tools online to assist you, you can breathe a sigh of relief. You’re not alone in trying to figure it out and there’s a very supportive online community to help you get a leg up on your financial understanding and to keep you on top of things.

For students and their families, one of the most overwhelming parts of figuring out financial aid is figuring out the actual cost of attendance.  To get a realistic grip on how much you’ll spend that first year, factor in all the incidentals, not just tuition, room and board.

Students must consider the direct costs associated with a college education, such as tuition, fees, room, and board as well as the indirect costs of an education. These indirect costs can include books and supplies, living expenses (if living off-campus), telephone, transportation, clothing, entertainment, medical, and other necessary personal expenses. To calculate your direct and indirect college costs, use our online calculator and budget worksheet.

Now, don’t forget to go to http://financialliteracymonth.com and check out the rest of the tips. There’s even a place where you can print out a pledge to approach your finances consciously and responsibly –

Attention students, families, guidance and financial aid professionals!

Are you worried about the future of FFELP under President Obama’s new budget plan? Students, schools (high schools and colleges) have reason for concern.

The local and personalized services The Connecticut Student Loan Foundation provides to students, families, and schools are in danger with the plan to make federal student loans only available through the Direct Lending program.  With the elimination of FFELP, thousands of jobs around the country at organizations like ours will be lost. 

What can you do?  TAKE ACTION! If you would like to make your voice heard in the fight to save FFELP, participate in “Virtual Hill Day” on Wednesday April 22, 2009. Virtual Hill Day is an effort for FFELP users (students and parents) and supporters to have their voices heard by calling their representatives in Congress to tell them our concerns with this plan.

Be sure to call on April 22, 2009 between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm so our combined efforts will have the greatest impact!

Choose which talking points  you would like to emphasize.  We suggest including the loss of personal, local services to the community and the loss of jobs.

• I am calling from [Your town/city], Connecticut.

• I am calling to express my concern with the “reconciliation” provision for student loans included in the House budget resolution.

• If included in the House-Senate conference budget resolution, this provision would expedite legislation that eliminates the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) – the private-sector based student loan program – and mandates that all students and schools borrow through the Government-controlled Direct Loan program.

• Students should have choice and should continue to receive the outreach and other personalized services provided by organizations like the Connecticut Student Loan Foundation.

• Having the Department of Education as the single source of Federal student loans would deprive students of the specialized outreach services CSLF provides in Connecticut.  Direct Government financing of all student loans would also significantly increase national debt.

• Thank you for your time, and please DO NOT support a conference budget resolution that includes a reconciliation instruction for student loans, which could eliminate the vital role of organizations such as the Connecticut Student Loan Foundation.

If you would like to add specific details as to the services we provide to Connecticut families when you speak to a staffer, feel free to include them in your call.

Please note, as this effort proceeds throughout the day, the staffers at the congressional offices will have taken many calls on this matter.   Callers later in the day may want to be brief but stress their support for FFELP services and opposition to the conference budget resolution that includes a reconciliation instruction for student loans.

Find your representative here:

http://www.house.gov/Welcome.shtml

Connecticut Senators:

Christopher Dodd (202)224-2823

To email from the web:

http://dodd.senate.gov/index.php?q=node/3128

Joseph Lieberman (202)224-4041

To email from the web:

http://lieberman.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm?regarding=issue

The following fantastic YouTube Video was produced by the folks at The Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority, affectionately known by Utahns across the state as UHEAA (You HEE Uh). They are all about helping Utahns understand the benefits of education beyond high school and then helping them make their educational dreams a reality.  Sound familiar, Connecticut?  Great job, guys! We stand with you and all students.

Please don’t forget to visit the UHEAA-powered website – for more on why we shouldn’t nationalize the student loan program:

http://www.keepstudentloanslocal.org/

Enjoy the video!

We believe a local agency helping local students is better than a bureaucratic, one-size-fits-all Washington program run by a low-bid government contractor. If the federal government nationalizes student loans, YOU LOSE.

What else you can do:

Use your social networks and word of mouth to spread the word to other supporters of our services and the FFELP program, and have them contact their Representatives and Senators to voice their support!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

CSLF on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rocky-Hill-CT/Connecticut-Student-Loan-Foundation-CSLFSusie-Mae/7001899781

CSLF on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/first_rate

Brad J. Ward of http://squaredpeg.com refers in January to a broad study done by the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth about Social Media within college admissions offices (http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesresearch/mediaandadmissions.cfm) and not surprisingly, social media usage trends universally up, in some cases remarkably so, even over last year.

The Center for Marketing Research at UMass compares adoption of social media by admissions offices in 2007 and 2008 across “… all of the accredited four-year institutions in the United States.”  All.  Of note is that though the evidence points to broader application of such tools as blogs, facebook, twitter and YouTube, that schools have yet to fully utilize the potential of social media.

While the strategies and commitment of institutions in higher ed using social media may seem as of yet tentative or lacking depth, the study points out that higher ed seems to be more hip to social media than most Fortune 500 companies. As pointed out astutely in the comments on Mr. Ward’s blog, this isn’t much of an epiphany: the deeper pockets and bigger budgets of the high flying corporate marketing department still feels free to only dabble in social media and still doubts the return on investment that community engagement brings. Colleges and universities (many of whom have seen their endowments shrink this year as the stock market took a down-turn) are taking their cues from smaller, local and non-profit companies, leveraging the connection and loyalty that social media can bring.

A new Fortune 500 Business Blogging Wiki shows a mere 13% percent of major corporations investing in social media, while UMass Dartmouth’s longitudinal study indicates a whopping 41% of admissions offices at colleges and universities diving into social media.

Not too surprisingly, the private schools still have deeper pockets and outpace public colleges and universities in their use of social media, with 72% of private schools utilizing new technology to reach out to potential students, versus the 28% of public institutions. Since public institutions rely heavily on in-state students’ near automatic application to their admissions’ offices, these statistics would reveal the smaller budgets and less pressing need to recruit students. As the economy continues to shift and families choose even less expensive community colleges over state schools, I predict we’ll see another shift in one to two years.  State colleges and universities will see the ROI inherent in local and national engagement of prospective students.

According to the study, a full 85% of schools are using at least one form of social media.  Will the social media programs in higher education flow to where the technology will be in one to two years?  If they’re savvy, they’ll listen to their built-in experts: their students. They’ll already be using whatever the “new” new media will be.

For more information on Web 2.0 for Higher Education, please see our comprehensive primer on social media: http://cslf.wordpress.com/2008/09/09/what-is-web-20-for-higher-education/

To interact on Twitter, please follow http://twitter.com/Mariana_66

To interact on Facebook, become a fan at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Rocky-Hill-CT/Connecticut-Student-Loan-Foundation-CSLFSusie-Mae/7001899781

Don’t forget to friend us on MySpace! Many blogs and podcasts are available – no mP3 hardware needed except the one you’re already using – your computer! Go to http://www.myspace.com/first_rate.

For a rich array of information on student loans, college access and planning and much more, go to http://www.cslf.com.

Governor Rell requests lawmakers review proposed budget before raising tuition

Associated Press

February 10, 2009

STORRS, Conn. – University of Connecticut officials have put off a debate on whether to increase tuition and room and board fees at the request of Gov. M. Jodi Rell, who says it’s a bad time to raise prices.

The school’s Board of Trustees was to discuss the proposed increases Tuesday afternoon, but delayed the discussion to March 10. Plans call for boosting tuition and fees in the next academic year by 7 percent for in-state students and 8 percent for out-of-state students.

Rell says it’s premature to discuss raising the tuition because lawmakers have just started reviewing her proposed budget. It remains unclear how much money the state would get from the federal stimulus package.

The governor says it’s the worst time to raise college costs because of the troubled economy.

AP-ES-02-10-09 1244 EST

How to get Financial Aid in Connecticut:

• Get free help completing the FAFSA! Make your appointment today:     http://www.cslf.com/investinyourfuture/fafsablitz.htm
• Learn how to pay for college: http://www.cslf.com/investinyourfuture/payingforcollege/index.htm
• Find out about different kinds of financial aid:  http://www.cslf.com/investinyourfuture/payingforcollege/typesoffinaid.htm

Scholarships:

http://www.cslf.com/investinyourfuture/pdf/tipScholarshipSearch.pdf

Ask questions about financial aid and getting into college:

Find us on Facebook! Just search for our page under Connecticut Student Loan Foundation, and be sure to friend Mariana Evica, who is also taking financial and college planning questions on Twitter at http://twitter.com/mariana_66!

Find us on MySpace! Come read the blogs and listen to the podcasts on your most frequently asked financial aid questions!  Become a friend of The Loan Geek and CSLF at http://www.myspace.com/first_rate.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in an effort to advance understanding of political, economic, and higher education-related issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml.

By Mariana Evica

September 4, 2008

The internet has permanently changed and accelerated the way we communicate: as individuals, Financial Aid and allied professionals, and as institutions.  Web 2.0, or Social Networking, is the next phase in the evolution of communication on the internet.  Here’s information pertaining to who is using it, how it can support higher education and why you need to become involved.

What is Web 2.0 and Social Networking?

To understand the term “Web 2.0″ is to grasp a little bit of tech-savvy slang.  Web 2.0 as a descriptor is intended to imply, that like a new software upgrade, that this version of the Web is “New!” and “Improved!”  Or course, it’s the same old internet, technically, but what has changed and why is it an improvement?

Very simply, the “old” internet was about presentation – one way communication. Web pages were static sites that people would visit, look at, and often not return to if the site lacked additional value.  That version of the web was like traditional publishing and didn’t offer a lot of interaction.

Gradually, as access to creation and maintenance of web content became easier and less expensive, media-rich ways of two-way communication such as blogs and social networks emerged.  The internet-using public discovered it had a lot to say, create, distribute and discuss.

The Pew Internet & American Life Project defines a social networking site as:

“…an online place where a user can create a profile and build a personal network that connects him or her to other users.”

In other words, a social network is an online community for social interaction, connection and sharing. They range from age-specific spaces for children to professional career networking sites.  Any given social network may use any or all of the current methods for communication and sharing common to Web 2.0.

How are people collaborating and using Web 2.0 and Social Networking now?

• Blog – short for Web Log, like an online column or diary, often about a single topic or theme, blogs fall along a spectrum from personal to professional.  A blog can be individually or collaboratively written, and invites comments and further discussion.
• Wiki – collaborative reference sources, where authorized contributors add to the knowledge base. Ex: Wikipedia. Can be used on smaller, more specialized and controlled scale as well
• Social Networking Platform – membership-based online “spaces” with user-friendly interfaces designed for members to interact with each other. Ex.: MySpace, Facebook, LinkedIn, Ning
• Forums – message board or thread-based online discussions where users can post initial messages to spark discussions on a topic or solicit feedback
• Media Sharing – Users share media content (pictures, video, and audio) via many methods of distribution: email, posting on one another’s social media profiles, subscribing to friends’ channels, etc. Example: YouTube and Flickr.

Who uses Social Networking?

“In the past five years, such sites have rocketed from a niche activity into a phenomenon that engages tens of millions of internet users. More than half (55%) of all online American youths ages 12-17 use online social networking sites….”

~ Pew Internet & American Life Project national survey of teenagers 1/3/07

http://www.pewinternet.org/pdfs/PIP_SNS_Data_Memo_Jan_2007.pdf

How can the higher education community use this and why?

Members of the Higher Education community have a common need to share information and resources with each other as well as to reach students, families, and members of the academic community. The flexibility of the platforms, coupled by the fact that students enthusiastically embraced the methods and technology first make this an ideal match.

• Vertical information sharing to connect with students and families
• Horizontally to share information and resources within the higher ed community
• Because social media promotes not just two-way, but many-way  community-style sharing, resources are shared efficiently
• Knowledge is accessible to many and many get to contribute and be heard

Chronicle of Higher Education

The Chronicle of Higher Education has been the standard bearer for information and communication for the post-secondary education community for many years. Its online version supports 1 million unique visits and 12 million page visits per month.  Now The Chronicle has embraced social networking and Web 2.0 for all it has to offer.  Users can communicate, interact and share information globally with media, opinion and shared resources:

• The Chronicle of Higher Education has eight different blogs available on their website, aimed at a variety of topics and users, from Post-Secondary Education news, fund-raising, the impact of the 2008 election on higher ed, the impact of culture and the arts, and others: http://chronicle.com/blogs/
• The Chronicle also has a very rich Facebook page, with nearly 700 members, news feeds, audio broadcasts, and video: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Chronicle-of-Higher-Education/12692955711

Classroom/learning uses

• Classrooms go digital: course info, lesson plans, supplementary materials, etc., are posted and allow for questions, comments and discussions by students
• Example: http://blog.lib.umn.edu/raim0007/wost3307/ – the public blog for the University of Minnesota course GWSS 3307 – Feminist Film Studies: On Media, Representation, and Women Who Make Movies
• Example: http://uchicagolaw.typepad.com/ – The University of Chicago School of Law has this faculty blog with podcasts to discuss curriculum, lectures and current events that impact teaching at the school

Distribution of School/Community Information

• Blogs and social networks announce community events
• Many schools now using blogs and mobile phone alerts for crisis communication. If comments are allowed, students and families can provide valuable personal assistance to one another. Example:  Tulane University’s recent blog for Hurricane Gustav on their emergency notice page: http://emergency.tulane.edu/
• Libraries connect with students, faculty and other libraries: Temple Univ Library http://blog.library.temple.edu/liblog/
• School blogs range from informal to official, numbering in the thousands, many substituting for or enhancing PR communications
• Example: Stanford Univ Press blog http://stanfordpress.typepad.com/
• Example: Dickinson College http://blog.dickinson.edu/

Recruiting/Marketing/Admissions

• A Google search for “admissions blogs” returns over 1 million results
• Schools now routinely use blogs as a tool for recruiting students, affording them an insight into the school and an opportunity to interact: asking questions about the admissions process, the school and its community, and other questions. Questions regarding other areas, such as Financial Aid, can be effectively redirected to the appropriate people.
• Example:  A recent entry on MIT’s Admissions blog that addresses admissions statistics at MIT: http://www.mitadmissions.org/topics/apply/admissions_statistics/mit_admissions_statistics_2008_1.shtml
• Example: Oregon State University’s admissions blog that provides a context for how OSU relates to the world: http://oregonstate.edu/admissions/blog/

Best Practices for Higher Ed and Non-Profits in the Web 2.0 Environment

• Previously uncharted waters are now gaining more defined boundaries as Social Media professionals like Heather Mansfield of Diosa Communications ( http://www.diosacommunications.com ) aggregate and share information:
• For example, institutional users of MySpace and Facebook are encouraged to maximize all social networking platforms by using their profiles and pages to drive traffic not just to their primary domain, but also to presences on YouTube, Flickr, or other social networking sites in order to broaden the opportunity for visitors to get to know the organization.  Heather also encourages users to funnel an organization’s social network visitors to join their organization’s email marketing/newsletter campaigns, to use every opportunity to bolster connections from prospective students through alumni.

Reaching Teens and Post-Secondary Students Where They Are

• The Pew Internet & American Life Project also cites that 48% of teens visit social networking websites daily or more often; 26% visit once a day, 22% visit several times a day
• Also cited: statistics suggest that demographics do not drive teen social networking usage over all: by household income (greater than and lesser than $50,000) 55 and 56% respectively are active users and by ethnicity (White, non-Hispanic versus Non-White) 53 and 58% respectively are users. With a +/- 5% margin of error, this indicates the statistical differences are insignificant
• Data from 2007 from MySpace itself indicated over 65 million users. More recent stats cite more than 110 million monthly active users
• Recent research by Jeremiah Owyang of Forrester Research (http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/01/09/social-network-stats-facebook-myspace-reunion-jan-2008/) indicates a huge surge in Facebook use, however, with growth soon to approach use on MySpace:

• More than 60 million active Facebook users, an average of 250,000 new Facebook registrations per day since Jan. 2007, an average of 3% weekly growth since Jan. 2007 and active users doubling every 6 months
• Facebook maintains a 85 percent market share of 4-year U.S. universities

• Michael Wesch, a professor of cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University caught a lot of people’s attention with a YouTube video that summarized the impact of Web 2.0 on students and the academic environment.  He helped 200 of his students at KSU collaboratively survey their own media habits. These 200 students came up with the following statistics:
• My average class size is 115
• I will read: 8 books this year, 2300 web pages and 1281 Facebook profiles
• I will write 42 pages for class this semester and over 500 pages of email
• The video and his findings are here on his website: http://mediatedcultures.net/ksudigg/?p=119

Some Examples of Schools Using Social Networking

• Wide variety of school pages, ranging from student/alumni-produced, un-official “fan” and “scoop” pages to more officially/professionally created and administrated pages
• Currently in use at all levels and categories: community colleges, public and private institutions, etc.

MySpace:

• University of Connecticut at Storrs:   http://www.myspace.com/uconnec
• Post University in Waterbury: www.myspace.com/postuniversity
• Unofficial University of New Hampshire: http://www.myspace.com/univofnh

Facebook:

• Southern Connecticut State University: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/New-Haven-CT/Southern-Connecticut-State-University/27523407609
• University of Hartford: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/West-Hartford-CT/University-of-Hartford/22750936843
• Wesleyan University: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Middletown-CT/Wesleyan-University/8643976193
• Housatonic Community College: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Bridgeport-CT/Housatonic-Community-College/14796165514

Lenders:

A very small number of lenders currently have Facebook and/or MySpace Pages:

• Connecticut Student Loan Foundation on Facebook and MySpace: http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Rocky-Hill-CT/Connecticut-Student-Loan-Foundation-CSLFSusie-Mae/7001899781 and http://www.myspace.com/first_rate
• It should be noted that while there is a paucity of lenders on Facebook, there are over 500 student loan discussion groups populated exclusively by Facebook users. There are also Education, College-Planning, Student lending, Admissions Counseling and allied communication professionals represented by their individual profiles on Facebook.
• Edvisors/Student Loan Network: http://www.myspace.com/financialaidpodcast

Lenders who blog on separate platforms:

• NextStudent (industry and company-specific news, both original content and aggregated reporting): http://www.nextstudent.com/student-loan-blog/blogs/sample_weblog/
• Edvisors/Student Loan Network has multiple blogs:  http://www.studentloannetwork.com/student-loan-help/, http://www.financialaidpodcast.com

So What Now?

The time is now to become acquainted with social networks and all the associated media: blogs, video content and their social sharing sites, such as YouTube, Flickr, MySpace, Facebook, and other independent blogs and social sites.

How to begin?

Sign up!  Social networks make it free and easy to start.  Become familiar with privacy controls and functionality at your own pace, deciding how much or how little you wish to present. Then, search for existing contacts among friends, professional contacts, family members and institutions. Search based on your personal and professional interests – discover what is already out there and what is not (yet!)

http://www.myspace.com

http://facebook.com

Join the CT Financial Aid group on Facebook!

After you sign up for Facebook, find us and join the discussion!  You can either search for the group using the search feature or try this link to join (you must be logged in):   http://www.new.facebook.com/group.php?gid=25281497645

Visit CSLF on MySpace and Facebook:

Come and find CSLF and friend us and take advantage of a very rich resource for parents and students on MySpace and Facebook:

http://www.myspace.com/first_rate

http://www.myspace.com/susie_mae_loans

http://www.new.facebook.com/pages/Rocky-Hill-CT/Connecticut-Student-Loan-Foundation-CSLFSusie-Mae/7001899781

For more information on best practices in higher education, visit and explore the website of Heather Mansfield, called Diosa Communications. Heather Mansfield has pioneered best practices in social networking for a variety of Non-Profits and schools on MySpace and Facebook:

http://www.diosacommunications.com

For a list of schools on various social media sites:

http://www.edustyle.net/gallery_other.php