Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

GU Earns Financially Responsible Rating

Georgetown received a label of “financially responsible” for its performance in fiscal year 2010, according to a report released by the U.S. Department of Education on Oct. 12.

One of over 3,000 schools evaluated, the university was issued a composite score of 2.1 out of 3.0 for its fiscal performance between July 2009 and June 2010.

Universities were issued scores between 3.0 and -1.0 by the Department of Education, which compiles these scores annually to evaluate which institutions are capable of participation in Title IV government programs. All federal student aid programs, including Pell grants, direct loans and work study funds, are categorized under this Title IV heading.

After the Department of Education calculated each school’s score according to its primary reserve ratio, equity ratio and net income ratio, it applied a scale of “financial responsibility” to the figures.

Institutions listed at 1.5 or higher were classified as financially responsible, while those which received lower rankings were deemed financially irresponsible with funding for federal student aid programs. Those with scores between 1.0 and 1.5 were deemed “financially responsible but requiring additional oversight,” while the 150 private non-profit colleges that were issued scores below 1.0 are now considered “not financially responsible” and must submit to cash monitoring requirements from the Department of Education.

Georgetown’s performance in this category has been consistently above the mark through the years while varying widely, as the school posted rankings of 2.6 in 2007, 2.2 in 2008 and 1.6 in 2009.

The figure put the university’s performance in 2010 on a similar level with its academic competitors.

New York University received the same ranking as the Hilltop, while Yale University posted a score of 2.2. Boston College, the University of Notre Dame and Duke University all received the highest ranking of a 3.0.

According to the Department of Education’s website, these financial responsibility scores bear no relation to the quality of education that the school offers.

University spokeswoman Stacy Kerr said that, though Georgetown did not specifically provide these compilations to the Department of Education, it remains committed to maintaining its financial integrity in regards to Title IV.

“As a university that meets the full financial need of admitted students, reaffirming our financial strength and confirming our ability to utilize federal funds is very important to us,” she said. “Federal student aid programs help us to meet the needs of our students, so financial responsibility is a core value at Georgetown.”

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