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Provo, UT (Vocus/PRWEB) December 21, 2010

On Dec. 18, 2010, Congress blocked the DREAM Act, which would have made it possible for illegal immigrants who were brought to the country as children to become United States citizens by attending college or serving in the military. My Colleges and Careers supports the goal on the White House Blog of having the “highest proportion of college graduates in the world by 2020.” The site encourages this by helping students everywhere find education opportunities that meet their needs.

The controversial DREAM Act was passed by the House of Representatives but was voted down by the Senate with a final vote of 55-41. It is estimated that about 934,000 undocumented elementary and secondary school students would have been effected by the act.

Those who support the DREAM Act believe it is a good way for students or members of the military who prove themselves productive members of the community to gain legal status. Others oppose the act, claiming it is a way to grant amnesty and will encourage more illegal immigration.

Some who oppose the DREAM Act are glad it was blocked in Congress, believing it isn’t fair for state colleges that are funded by taxpayers to give enrollment spots to undocumented students.

However, some supporters of the bill still think action needs to be taken for children of illegal immigrants. State Assemblywoman Grace Meng (D-Flushing) encouraged U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services New York District Office Director Andrea J. Quarantillo to grant “deferred action” status to undocumented youth in New York.

This “deferred action” status would make it possible for children of illegal immigrants to get identification, work in the U.S. and even attend college without the risk of being deported.

Students can rely on My Colleges and Careers to provide the latest news about laws and government regulations that may affect their traditional or online college education. The site can help students understand the education investment and how they can start the career of their choice. It can also help professionals learn how to change career paths.

Recently, government regulations have been proposed for for-profit schools that would require them to meet strict requirements. Some for-profit schools are being investigated after it was found that a large number of their graduates default on their student loans.

Investigations are being conducted to determine whether these schools use unfair recruiting tactics and fail to prepare their students well enough to get a post-graduation job that is lucrative enough to pay back student loans.

For-profit schools have grown extremely quickly. In the last 10 years the enrollment at these schools has increased by 300 percent. Also in the last 10 years, the schools’ revenue has increased from $ 9 billion to $ 29.2 billion; a large amount of which comes from taxpayers.

Most of the revenue for-profit schools garner comes from the government in the form of federal student aid and from the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs and various state programs. The University of Phoenix (part of the Apollo group), a popular choice for online courses, receives 90 percent of its revenue from federal loans and grants.

Even though new laws and acts may be enacted and new regulations may be imposed, My Colleges and Careers continues to provide students with the information they need to decide what kinds of courses, traditional or online courses, are right for them and make informed decisions about education. The site helps students compare online schools so they can find the one that works for them.

The site helps students find careers that interest them and shows them what it takes to land their dream job. Students can find the right school, program and even online course for them that is tailored to their interests and needs so they can get on the right path to starting a rewarding and lucrative career.

Information about careers can help students understand what kind of investment they are making when they enroll in a traditional or online school. It can also help them make wise financial decisions so they can be prepared to repay student loans when they graduate.

http://www.mycollegesandcareers.com is committed to helping students find the best school for them so they can earn their college degree and embark on a rewarding career. A powerful resource for individuals who have full-time jobs and family responsibilities, My Colleges and Careers connects people with the programs that help them earn their degree online.

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Sacramento, CA (Vocus) December 23, 2010

The California Dental Association is the recipient of a 2011 William J. Gies Award for exemplifying dedication to the highest standards in support of oral health and oral health education. The Gies “Vision Award” honors CDA and the CDA Foundation for extensive work in support of dental education, member practices, service to the public and promotion of good oral health practices.

“We are honored to receive such a prestigious award from the William J. Gies Foundation,” said Andrew Soderstrom, DDS, CDA president. “Our policies, services and programs have enabled CDA not only to support our members in their practices, but also to move dental education forward and allow us to make a difference in the lives of many Californians by promoting the importance of good oral health.”

The Gies Award cites CDA for its advocacy efforts in working with the Dental Board of California to create the first portfolio licensure process in the nation as well as earlier sponsored legislation that requires all children entering the public school system for the first time to receive a dental checkup, with the goal of improving children’s oral health and establishing a regular source of dental care. CDA’s comprehensive research efforts during the past three years to learn more about ways to overcome barriers to care were also praised by the Gies Foundation.

CDA received honors for programs and services that support members in their practices — including the online Practice Support Center, leadership conferences and CDA Presents The Art and Science of Dentistry — and provide vast opportunities for dentists to remain current on technical and scientific advances in their profession.

CDA’s excellent relationship with California’s six dental schools was also noted for services provided to students who are about to begin their professional careers. Dental students are invited to play active roles in many aspects of CDA, including leadership and educational conferences that help them successfully transition into their new careers.

The Gies Award additionally commended the Foundation’s accomplishments for improving the oral health of Californians, particularly underserved and vulnerable populations. The Foundation’s significant achievements include its work in water community fluoridation, caries management by risk assessment, the development of Perinatal Oral Health Guidelines and the Student Loan Repayment Program that awards grants to new dentists to help repay their student loans in exchange for a commitment to provide care to underserved individuals.

“We accept this special recognition on behalf of our members who work hard to

serve their patients, provide oral health education and offer care to those in need,” Soderstrom said. “Dentistry is a profession based on the principle of helping others, and CDA and the CDA Foundation are outstanding examples of how a collective effort can make a difference in communities across California.”

The Gies Awards are presented by the ADEAGies Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the American Dental Education Association. For more than 50 years, the ADEAGies Foundation has enhanced the oral health of the public through programs that support dental education, research, leadership and recognition.

About the California Dental Association

The California Dental Association is the nonprofit organization representing organized dentistry in California. Founded in 1870, CDA supports its members in their practices and service to the public through innovation in education, advocacy and related programs. CDA also contributes to the oral health of Californians through various comprehensive programs and advocacy. CDA’s membership consists of more than 24,000 dentists, making it the largest constituent of the American Dental Association. For more information, visit http://www.cda.org.

About the California Dental Association Foundation

The CDA Foundation was formed as the philanthropic affiliate of the California Dental Association in 2001 with the mission to improve the oral health of Californians by supporting the dental health profession and its efforts to increase access to care for the state’s most vulnerable people. The CDA Foundation works with experts in the dental profession, private business, academic institutions and government to produce programs that increase access to care; promote prevention, education and intervention; advance health policy research; and build a sustainable oral health workforce. http://www.cdafoundation.org.

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Hillsborough, NJ (PRWEB) January 3, 2011

James Kinney, a Certified Financial Planner and owner of Bridgewater, NJ based Financial Pathways LLC will be sponsoring a seminar and workshop for parents entitled “Raising Financially Literate Children”. The two hour seminar will be held on Saturday, February 5 at 7:30 at the Hillsborough Presbyterian Church, located at the corner of Homestead Road and Route 206 in Hillsborough New Jersey.

The seminar is intended to help teach parents strategies designed to increase their children’s financial skills and awareness. The material is suitable for parents of young children, as well as parents of teens and young adults. Mr. Kinney explains that the workshop is about combining two passions. “In addition to my professional interest in personal financial planning, I am a father of four children and have long been an active youth volunteer through church and scouts. It is through that exposure to youth and parents of youth that I became aware of the need for this kind of seminar.”

“The need for financial skills in a world where 17 year old children are tasked with making decisions about careers, colleges, and taking on huge levels of student loan debt should be clear,” explains Mr. Kinney. “What might be less obvious is how learning about money skills helps children make better decisions in other areas of their life. Learning to effectively managing money teaches children to consider consequences of their actions,to reflect before making decisions. This ability to reflect on consequences of ones choices is crucial not only for financial survival in a spend-now-worry-about-it-later society, but is also important in the development of healthy relationships and career success.”

The state of New Jersey has recognized the importance of financial education and has recently mandated a financial and economic literacy curriculum for high school students. However, according to Mr. Kinney, classroom instruction alone is not sufficient for developing real world money skills. Parental guidance is essential.

“You can’t learn to drive a golf ball 200 yards by sitting behind a desk,” explains Mr. Kinney. “It takes a combination of instruction and practice. Likewise, teaching kids about economics and financial skills in school is important, but it is only half the battle. Parents need to learn how to create a family environment where kids can learn about and practice money skills as part of their daily lives.”

Many parents report they would feel more comfortable teaching about the birds and the bees than talking about money. Some may feel they are lacking skills themselves, others may have the skills, but are unsure how to best pass those skills along to their kids.

“This course isn’t intended to teach financial skills to parents. It is about how to best take skills you already have and effectively teach those skills to your kids. If you feel your own financial knowledge is inadequate, don’t worry. You don’t need to be a financial whiz to teach your kids the basic money skills they need,” says Mr. Kinney. “In fact, if you own financial knowledge could use a refresher, there’s nothing wrong with learning together with your kids!”

Attendance will be limited to the first 30 registrants. To register for the free course, or for more information, email James Kinney at jkinney(at)financialpathways(dot)net, or call Financial Pathways at 908-203-4664.

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Houston, TX (PRWEB) January 3, 2011

Now community college students can earn weekly income (between classes) to pay off crushing student loan and credit card debt, and rising college tuition fees. How? By simply raising money for their community college’s fund-raising program.

Income For Volunteers, a Houston, Texas-based marketing consultancy, has partnered with an Inc Magazine top 500 international corporation in order to attack two problems that are weakening the foundation of the American community college system. The devastating effect of student loan debt on the present and future lifestyles of community college students. The reduction in government funds and grants available to community colleges.

This extreme fund-raising system is a 21st century hybrid of traditional cause marketing and the proven AARP subscription model: With an income generator for volunteers. Before detailing the system here’s a little background on traditional cause marketing from Wikipedia.org:

Cause marketing or cause-related marketing refers to a type of marketing involving the cooperative efforts of a “for profit” business and a non-profit organization for mutual benefit…

An excellent case study of traditional cause marketing that highlights the urgent need for an updated fund-raising system for today’s economy is The Cause Marketing Forum’s 2010 Halo Awards. And we quote from Advertising Age 06.02.10:

“As the business winner this year, Macy’s is being recognized for expanding its cause efforts despite the recession and supporting them with substantial promotional budgets. Its partnerships with the American Heart Association, Feeding America, Make-a-Wish Foundation, National Park Foundation and Reading Is Fundamental, among others, raised more than $ 36 million in 2009, up from $ 32 million in 2008.”

Notice that Macy’s and the 5 non-profits received increased income, “despite the recession.” My question is why weren’t the volunteers for those 5 non-profit organizations compensated by Macy’s, “because of the recession?” Look at this way. If Macy’s had allocated 10% of the funds raised in 2008 ($ 3.2 Mil) to pay the volunteers for their 2009 fund-raising efforts, that would have equated to $ 3.2 million going back into the economy and may have increased the 2009 fund-raising amount even more. The unemployed may have stormed those non-profits to ‘volunteer.’

In case you think that $ 3.2 Million is not such a big deal, The 2010 Halo Awards had 22 categories of recipients. All major corporations with budgeted fund-raising dollars and non-profits with unpaid volunteers. Not one fund-raising award for a community college and major corporation combo. Note: General Mills received an award for Box Tops For Education-The Power of One.

No income offered to non-profit volunteers? Why? One possibility is: Its always been done this way. Review the anti-creativity checklist link at http://incomeforvolunteers.ws/abundantliving (blog post #2) for more possibilities.

That is, until now. Community Colleges and their students can now earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in weekly and monthly cash flow: Based on the sheer numbers of colleges and students who are sick and tired of struggling financially and the availability of funds from this corporation: Despite the recession.

No guarantees, of course, of how much you will earn. Too many factors beyond our control. Complete details at: http://incomeforvolunteers.ws

If you are in need of the influx of more cash flow from your fund-raising campaigns, please visit http://incomeforvolunteers.ws (The only firm in America that advocates for paid non-profit volunteers)

Do It NOW, while it’s fresh in your mind. Also you can email roebucksears(at)yahoo(dot)com with your questions.

Community College fund-raising coordinators can text or call Sears Roebuck at 832-880-6214.

Sears Roebuck is a retired sales and marketing professional. Who says the real education took place during his 40 year curriculum in the school of hard-knocks.

Now he is supporting the idea of paid non-profit community college volunteers because, “Without debt free, educated, positive-minded, and ethically oriented young people to run our country in the future, America will no longer exist as we know her.”

Join us today in this historic effort to unshackle our young people from the chains of debt at http://incomeforvolunteers.ws

Disclosure: The word “program” has replaced the name of the corporation in the attached testimonials. More than 1500 additional testimonials are available for viewing on the corporate web site.

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Las Vegas, NV (Vocus/PRWEB) January 05, 2011

BPONG.COM today announced that Dan Range from Columbia, Ill., and Nick Syrigos, from St. Charles, Mo., playing under team name “Standing Ovation,” have earned the title of World Series of Beer Pong VI™ (WSOBP VI) champions. The $ 50,000 grand prize check was presented by internationally acclaimed announcer Bruce Buffer and the BPONG.COM founders during Tuesday night’s finale at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. The World Series of Beer Pong is the largest, longest-running beer pong tournament in the world.

With the crowd chanting, “USA, USA!” team “Standing Ovation” took on “Unstoppable Since Inception,” whose duo was undefeated going into the finals and included a player representing Canada. The finals match featured a best-of-three format, but team “Standing Ovation” came back from two early deficits to win the first two games. Mike “Pop” Popielarski from team “SmashingTime,” who had won the WSOBP the past two years in a row, congratulated the duo by giving them the last cup, the balls from the winning game and a pitcher of beer.

25-year-old Range and Syrigos, 30, are each $ 25,000 richer after making it through 21 games and some seriously tough competition. The team has only been playing together for about six months, and Syrigos played his first game of beer pong just two short years ago. When asked what they plan to do with the winnings, Range said he wants to buy a new set of golf clubs and then an engagement ring for his longtime girlfriend. Syrigos plans to pay off student loans and also buy a ring for his girlfriend for a possible joint wedding.

“This year’s event was bigger and better than we could have ever hoped, with a growing number of female and international teams, as well as a much larger and more diverse group of spectators than ever before,” said Duncan Caroll, WSOBP co-founder. “We plan to use this year’s success to springboard into 2011 with event, product and sponsorship growth. We also have plans to bring the sport of beer pong to the masses with enhanced technology and social marketing.”

This year’s event – the largest in WSOBP history – drew 507 teams from 48 U.S. states, six Canadian provinces and nine countries, as well as more than a thousand spectators. Some players were skilled winners of the more than 200 Satellite™ Tournaments; others simply paid the entry fee, and played for the fun and camaraderie. All had a chance at the prize money with a guaranteed 12 games over two days and the chance to advance to the finals on day three. In addition to the main competition, several side events were held at The Flamingo and O’Sheas Casino, including East vs. West, Singles, Ladies, International and Co-Ed tournaments, with prize money totaling $ 65,000.

Kenbridge, VA (Vocus/PRWEB) January 12, 2011

Benchmark Community Bank announced today that it has partnered with CampusDoor to offer the CB Student HELP Smart Option Student Loan made by Sallie Mae to help their customers meet the rising cost of college while helping them graduate with less debt and pay it off faster after graduation.

“With the recent regulatory changes restricting the ability of banks to make traditional student loans, this product will fill the void for many of the college bound students and their families in Southside Virginia. Benchmark is very pleased to offer this new product,” remarked Benchmark’s Senior Vice President of Retail Operations, Jay Stafford.

Unlike other longer-term private loan alternatives in which no payments are made until after graduation, with the Benchmark Community Bank Smart Option Student Loan, students make payments while in school and graduate with less debt, compared to other longer-term private loan alternatives in which no payments are made until after graduation. With the loan’s shorter repayment period, a customer can pay off the loan five to eight years faster after graduation, compared to a standard 15-year interest deferred private student loan. The customer may select either a fixed monthly in-school payment plan or opt to pay interest-only payments while in school. A typical freshman can save 30 to 50 percent on finance charges over the life of the loan. Designed to supplement a student’s federal student loans and other financial aid, the Benchmark Community Bank Smart Option Student Loan can help students cover up to 100 percent of their education expenses. The Smart Option Student Loan features market-leading interest rates that reward responsible borrowers as they pursue their graduate or undergraduate degrees. Also available are benefits such as an on-time payment reward and interest rate discounts for enrolling to make automatic payments. Benchmark Community Bank recommends private student loans to help bridge the college financing gap after exploring scholarships, grants and federal student loans. By offering the Smart Option Student Loan, Benchmark Community Bank can help its customers pay for necessary college expenses including tuition, room and board, books, and even a computer while building a credit history.

As part of the CB Student HELP program, CampusDoor will assist with the development and implementation of the loan program and provide specialized call center support to Benchmark Community Bank customers. To offer the Smart Option Student Loan to banks nationwide, CampusDoor created the CB Student HELP program and partnered with Sallie Mae, the nation’s leading saving, planning, and paying for college company. Since its founding nearly 40 years ago, Sallie Mae has helped more than 31 million people make the investment in a higher education. “Sallie Mae is delighted to partner with Benchmark Community Bank and CampusDoor to assist families seeking responsible solutions to make the investment in a college education,” commented Jerry Maher, senior vice president, Sallie Mae.

About Benchmark Community Bank

Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Kenbridge, Benchmark Community Bank is a $ 417 million locally owned and operated full service bank serving Southside Virginia. Branch offices are located in Kenbridge, Victoria, Farmville, South Hill, Crewe, Lawrenceville, Clarksville, Chase City, Blackstone, South Boston, and Halifax. It has been named one of the top 200 community banks in the nation by U.S. Banker magazine for 3 years running. Additional information about Benchmark, including how to access the Smart Option Student Loan application, can be found at http://www.BCBonline.com.

About CampusDoor

CampusDoor provides innovative student loan solutions, systems and processing to lenders enabling them to help their customers pay for college. CampusDoor created CB Student Higher Education Loan Program (CB Student HELP) so that banks can offer private student loans to their customers and help them to achieve their higher education dreams. More information is available online at http://www.campusdoor.com and http://www.cbstudenthelp.com.

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Lexington, KY (Vocus/PRWEB) January 18, 2011

According to the infographic posted on the eCampus Blog (also viewable here), tuition is rising at an average rate of 5.5% every year. Students at a public 2 year institution should expect to get the cheapest education, paying on average $ 2,713 for 1 year of classes. Private 4 year colleges come with the highest price tag, averaging around $ 37,000. This totals the cost of a 4 year education at a private college to be approximately $ 148,000.

At such high costs students are racking up student loan debt like never before. Over two thirds of all graduating students have some type of student loan debt. The average student loan debt is now $ 23,186 per student. On a repayment plan at $ 175 each month, students can expect to pay off this amount in 33 years, paying over $ 45,000 in interest along the way. This leads over 7% of all student loan debtors to default within the first year of repayment. “These figures could make your head spin. By publishing statistics like this in an easily digestible manner we would hope that we can help educate our customers to make good financial decisions”, said Matt Montgomery, President and CEO of eCampus.com. “At eCampus.com we strive to provide great deals for our students so that college isn’t so difficult on their future finances. In addition to our already great deals we are now renting textbooks and saving students more money than ever before.”

The infographic also details the difference in earnings a college student might experience depending on their degree and major choice. According to the infographic, engineering students stand to make the most money during their careers, with petroleum engineers making the most at $ 157,000 per year. On average, students who graduate with a bachelors degree will make half a million dollars more per year than people with just a high school diploma, but still $ 1.3 million less than someone with a doctoral degree.

ABOUT eCAMPUS.COM

eCampus.com was established on July 2, 1999. Since then, eCampus.com has grown into a major online retailer providing cheap textbooks for college and high school textbooks. eCampus.com’s mission is to provide the easiest, fastest, cheapest way for college and university students to buy textbooks, rent textbooks and sell textbooks. eCampus.com believes the Internet buying experience should be fun and shopping for textbooks should be as fast and convenient as possible. The company makes a personal commitment to every customer that eCampus.com will be the best source for everything they need.

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New York, NY (PRWEB) January 19, 2011

Fynanz, Inc., the financial technology company that develops customized private student lending solutions and powers the cuStudentLoans.org private student loan marketplace, has announced that Raymond Dury and Kailash Mathur have joined as Chief Information Officer and Senior Vice President of Operations respectively, further expanding the company’s expertise in the financial services and student lending industries.

Raymond Dury, who brings more than 18 years experience in global financial services, including corporate and retail banking, capital markets, merchant processing and brokerage services, is responsible for defining IT strategy, developing products and services, managing technical systems, and leading process improvement and organizational transformations. Most recently, Dury was the EVP and CIO for Fifth Third Bank, where he led application development, IT infrastructure and shared services for the bank. Dury, who is a past recipient of the CIO Forum’s Financial Services Executive award and the Salomon Smith Barney’s CIO of the Year award, is also a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Franklin University.

Kailash Mathur, a seasoned veteran of the student lending industry, brings over 20 years experience to the Fynanz team, including product development, risk pricing, underwriting processes, origination platforms, and third-party agreements and relationships. Mathur, who started his career at the Pennsylvania Higher Education Assistance Agency, was most recently the Chief Operating Officer of Campus Door, where he was instrumental in developing the company from its inception into a successful private student loan origination platform that was subsequently acquired by Lehman Brothers in 2006. Mathur holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Chadwick University.

“Fynanz, with the addition of Raymond Dury and Kailash Mathur, continues its commitment to cutting-edge technology and industry leading expertise in student lending,” said Vince Passione, CEO of Fynanz. “We’re pleased to attract the caliber of talent that these two gentlemen bring to such key positions within our company,” continued Passione.

The addition of Dury and Mathur to Fynanz comes with the departure of two members of the founding team. Chirag Chaman, President and Co-Founder, who was responsible for defining company growth strategy since its early days as a peer-to-peer lending platform, has departed the company to seek new ventures but will remain on the Board of Directors. Hing Loi, Senior Vice President of Finance, has also left the company to pursue other opportunities.

About Fynanz

Fynanz, Inc. is a leading technology provider of custom private student lending programs and turn-key solutions. Fynanz pioneered innovative technology that easily puts lenders into the private student lending business without the need to purchase or install any software. This end-to-end integrated solution includes complete origination, underwriting, servicing and marketing. Fynanz also powers cuStudentLoans.org, the leading private student lending marketplace, currently serving credit unions across the country. For more information, call (800) 881-8985, or visit http://www.fynanz.com .

Media Contact

Christian Widhalm, Fynanz, Inc.

christian(dot)widhalm(at)fynanz(dot)com

646-626-7414

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Washington D.C. (Vocus/PRWEB) January 24, 2011

The Imagine America Foundation, a career education scholarship provider and research organization, seeks to decrease the student loan default rate by educating students about responsible borrowing. The Foundation has released, in beta, a new interactive tool, “Financial Planning Made Simple,” for career college students.

The easy-to-use interactive tool will allow students to choose between either a male or female avatar that will walk them through a variety of important educational financial decisions. The 18-minute tutorial will discuss aspects such as budgeting, borrowing and repayment.

The avatars are shown calculating their budgets by displaying the amount and location of their spending. The avatars also are shown meeting with a financial aid advisor. Students can follow along and learn about different terms by clicking on words linking them to further information regarding consolidation, forbearance, deferment and default.

IAF President Robert L. Martin said, “We knew in order to get students interested in financial literacy, we needed to create something that would grab their attention and keep it.”

Included is a downloadable Student Financial Planning Tool, which gives students the opportunity to calculate their own budgets. It allows users to visually see exactly where their money is being spent in hopes of helping students to decrease overspending and increase their savings.

“By watching the simulation and using the Student Financial Planning Tool, students can make more informed financial decisions,” said Martin.

Those who participate in the Imagine America scholarship and award programs have a head start. Beginning in March, colleges participating in the Imagine America scholarship and award programs will be required to use it as an online training tool.

For more information, click here for a short FPMS presentation or contact Bob Martin at 202.336.6758 or bobm(at)imagine-america(dot)org.

About the Imagine America Foundation

The Imagine America Foundation (IAF), established in 1982, is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing scholarships for education, research and training support for the career college sector. Since its inception, the Foundation has provided over $ 40 million in scholarship and award support for graduating high school seniors, adult learners and U.S. military personnel attending career colleges nationwide through its award-winning Imagine America

(PRWEB) January 26, 2011

Until today, there wasn’t a simple way for motivated Japanese learners to get quality free language education. Unlike most major colleges and universities, language schools generally don’t offer any kind of grants or scholarships. Students who lacked the resources to pay for regular Japanese lessons were therefore forced to scavenge the internet for free Japanese learning resources which are often of low quality, or difficult to follow.

Today, the online Japanese learning community NihongoUp is proud to announce the launch of its Japanese Scholarship program, intended to help Japanese language self-learners whose financial situation does not allow them to pay for Japanese classes, or acquire quality textbooks and other learning material.

This announcement is especially important considering the adverse impact the 2007–2010 economic crisis had on students’ lives. According to data from the landmark study Arizona Pathways to Life Success in University Students (APLUS), funded by the National Endowment for Financial Education, 95 percent of college students say the economic crisis has impacted their family’s finances and 93 percent have felt an effect on their own financial lives.

The study reports a major loss of financial confidence among students, as well as 169 percent increase in the number of students who report dropping classes and 106 percent increase in those taking a “leave of absence” from school. Researchers also noted an alarming increase in debt among students, as hundreds of education lenders have suspended private student loan programs or participation in federal education loan programs since July 2007.

All NihongoUp Japanese Scholarship applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis and those who meet the eligibility criteria are awarded access to all premium features of the site including the full-fledged Japanese language textbooks and award winning games & applications at no cost. With cuts to education budgets around the world, and in the light of the English university tuition fee increase and calls to scrap student support money, there has never been a better time to support financially contrived learners. This year alone, NihongoUp aims to award over $ 15,000 worth of scholarships to aspiring students all over the world.

Created at the beginning of 2009 as a simple Japanese language educational game, NihongoUp has since won numerous industry accolades, including the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge award, and grew into the best integrated learning solution for a learner of Japanese. Learn Japanese in one easy to use package, online or on the go.

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