Lynn Fogarty's List: Higher Ed

• Amid economic uncertainty, Mr. Russo said, it is risky for a college to create expectations among students that it may not be able to sustain.
• He also encouraged his colleagues to avoid giving new aid to freshmen at the expense of upperclassmen and to focus more on retention. "If you're down 50 sophomores, isn't it as much a problem as if you're down 50 freshmen?" he asked.
• Financial-aid officers can use this time to refocus on their public roles: working for early awareness, encouraging families to save for college, influencing public policy, and advocating for students, said Georgette R. DeVeres, associate vice president of admission and financial aid at Claremont McKenna College.
• They can also use the recession as a springboard for internal changes. Mr. Russo said it is a good time for college to review their tuition-payment policies, how they package financial aid, and how they make institutional loans to their students.

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