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Michigan AD suggests coach Hoke safe for now

By WTOP Staff

NOAH TRISTER
AP Sports Writer

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan athletic director Dave Brandon said Thursday he prefers to wait until the end of the season before evaluating his coaches, suggesting Brady Hoke is safe for now at the helm of the school’s storied football program.

“We feel strongly at the University of Michigan athletic department that coaches deserve every opportunity to compete through the season that they have prepared for and that their student-athletes are committed to, and then we evaluate coaches at the end of the season,” Brandon said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We do that with every one of our 31 coaches. It’s no different for football.”

Brandon and Hoke have both received criticism for the handling of injured quarterback Shane Morris in last weekend’s loss to Minnesota — and that’s not the only issue facing the athletic director following a rough September. Michigan is 2-3 and showing little progress in Hoke’s fourth season as coach. Attendance at Michigan Stadium has dipped and there was even a student protest this week calling for Brandon to be fired.

Hoke has been criticized for not immediately sitting Morris for the rest of the game after the sophomore took a hard hit in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s 30-14 loss to Minnesota. Hoke said Monday he didn’t see the hit on Morris, and that as far as he knew, that quarterback still hadn’t been diagnosed with a concussion. Brandon released a statement about 12 hours later saying Morris had in fact been diagnosed with a probable concussion — as of Sunday.

On Thursday, Brandon reiterated that communication was a problem — both during the game when Morris was hit, and over the next couple days.

“When Brady went out at whatever time it was on Monday, we were still gathering facts and trying to create a clear depiction of the sequence of events that took place on that bench on Saturday,” Brandon said.

Brandon has made some changes intended to have more staff watching for potential injuries, and the university president has weighed in, saying the athletic department will be transparent in figuring out what went wrong. Brandon said diagnosing injuries isn’t the coach’s responsibility.

“Coaches are supposed to coach, and medical staff are supposed to go over and tell the coach at any given time, ‘There’s a player on the field that shouldn’t be out there. Get him off.’ Or, ‘We’ve just examined a player and they are not able to participate any more. We’ve taken away their helmet,'” Brandon said. “And that’s all coaches need to hear, and that’s their only responsibility in these cases.”

Even if Morris hadn’t been hurt, pressure on Hoke would have been substantial after an embarrassing home loss to open Big Ten play. Brandon called Hoke a “terrific football coach” on Thursday, saying he hopes fans of the program aren’t about to give up on the season.

“Brady and his staff are clearly disappointed, as we all are, that after five games this season, we’re not where we want to be or where we expected to be,” Brandon said. “But what we need to do, those of us who care a lot about Michigan football — and we’re passionate about it — is we need to support our players, support our coaches and recognize that we have seven and hopefully eight more games to play, before this season is over. And until this season is over, these coaches and these players have great opportunities ahead of them.”

Michigan’s mediocre record has been accompanied by a growing sense of malaise among fans. Empty seats in the area where students sit have become common. Brandon acknowledged that the decision to replace assigned seating for students with general admission in 2013 did not go over well.

“We put it in place, and it was just a complete failure,” Brandon said. “And looking back, the mistake that we felt we made is, we didn’t really engage with the student body and get their support and buy-in and clear understanding for what we were doing and why we were doing it.”

Brandon said after that debacle, the athletic department made a point of engaging with student organizations, and the school switched to a modified program for student seating this year.

“We launched this program with great anticipation and excitement, because we now had the endorsement and the participation of the students, and we quickly learned that our season ticket sales for students went from 20,000 to 12,000,” Brandon said. “So I look at that, and I go, ‘Well, that’s strike two.’ That’s another effort that we made that was well intended and we thought was going to help us advance our purpose, that sadly hasn’t worked.”

“My message to our students — and I met with our student newspaper this morning — my message is, we’ve got to get this fixed,” Brandon added. “And everything’s on the table.”

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Don’t Settle for Student Loans to Pay for Online Education

By WTOP Staff
Online college programs are becoming a more popular choice for prospective students, with one study finding that more than 6 million students enrolled in at least one online course in fall 2015. The popularity of these courses can be attributed in part to their flexibility with working adults' schedules, students' ability to progress more quickly through online programs and, oftentimes, cheaper tuition. [See 10 low-cost online bachelor's programs for out-of-state students.]Online degrees can be beneficial to many college students, but some studies have shown online learners complete their programs at lower rates than students at traditional brick-and-mortar campuses. Individuals with student loans but no degree comprise two-thirds of defaulted borrowers. Though these numbers are not encouraging, just like for traditional programs, there are ways to reduce how much you'll need to borrow for an online program to ensure you won't become one of these statistics. Don't just settle on borrowing student loans to cover the whole cost of your program and living expenses. Instead, start thinking about how to cut costs and cover your balance in different ways, such as the following. -- Grants and scholarships: Even though you are taking an online course, you can still apply and receive grants and scholarships. But your first step should be to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, commonly referred to as the FAFSA, which will allow you to receive a Pell Grant if your expected family contribution is low enough. The EFC criteria and award amounts are adjusted annually, but the 2017-2018 academic year awards range from $606 to $5,920, which could significantly lower the amount you borrow annually. Your next step is to apply for scholarships. You can start by checking online scholarship search engines, such as the Salt Scholarship Search, College Board's BigFuture and Peterson's. But don't forget to take advantage of local organizations and your school's financial aid office. Both may offer scholarships that you can't find with a national scholarship search. [Review these 10 sites to kick off your scholarship search.]For instance, organizations like the Elks Club, Knights of Columbus or the Rotary Club typically offer scholarships annually to local students. Just because you're going to school online doesn't mean you're ineligible. Visit your local library for scholarship listings, and ask around town. You might be surprised how many local organizations offer scholarships. While these scholarships typically aren't large, every little bit counts. Each dollar you receive in a scholarship is a dollar you don't have to borrow and pay interest on. -- Work-study: Another option for online students may be work-study awards. Not all students enrolled in online programs are eligible, but students at some schools -- including, for example, SUNY Empire State College and Liberty University -- are. Work-study awards are not given upfront like scholarships and grants. In most cases, they are an offer to earn up to the awarded amount if you secure an eligible work-study job. While there is a misconception that all work-study jobs must be on campus, students can work for off-campus, nonprofit or public employers as long as the work is in the public's interest. You may be able to work for a for-profit employer if the job is relevant to your course of study. No matter who the outside employer is, it will need to have an established agreement with your college for you to receive work-study funds. Remember, to be eligible for federal financial aid, you must be enrolled and pursuing a degree or certificate. If you're not working toward a credential, Pell Grants and work-study won't be option, but you may still be able to take advantage of private scholarships -- just be sure to read the eligibility criteria carefully. [Explore what to know about financial aid in online programs.]-- Pay as you go: One of the great benefits to enrolling online is the flexible schedule, which can allow you to complete your college coursework around your responsibilities. But prospective students often overlook using their part- or full-time job earnings as an option for paying for college. Almost 80 percent of college students in 2015 worked at least part time while attending classes, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. By budgeting and thinking strategically about your college costs, you can likely reduce your dependence on student loans by paying a portion out of pocket. Many -- but not all -- online programs are less expensive than traditional programs and often have shorter payment periods. Six, eight or 10 weeks are common course durations. Because of the frequency of payments in an online setting, you may be well-placed to pay as you go and possibly avoid borrowing altogether. Attending college online and avoiding student loans may be challenging, but if you are willing to put in the effort, you can limit the amount you need to borrow. More from U.S. News Q&A: Understanding Student Loan Discharge Eligibility Student Loan Refinancing Isn't Right for All Borrowers
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