The U.S. Congress overwhelmingly approved a complete overhaul of the country's higher education law last week, which added dozens of provisions and programs to help combat skyrocketing college costs.

The bill requires colleges and universities to report more information about their costs and prices (to be released by the Dept. of Education in user-friendly lists). Those schools with the largest percentage of tuition increases will have to disclose why they were needed and what will be done to keep costs down.

It also simplifies federal financial-aid forms (creating a two-page FAFSA-EZ form) and makes Pell grants for low-income students available year-round, rather than during the academic year. Colleges are now required to disclose all relationships with student lenders and bans all gifts and revenue-sharing agreements between insitutions and lenders who offer federal and private loans.

The President is widely expected to sign the new legislation.

Summer is a popular time for visiting college and university campuses, even though it isn't the best time of year to go. You'll get a better idea of what a school and its student life are like if you visit in the fall or spring, when classes are in session and more students are on campus. But for many applicants and their families, summer is the only time that's convenient for campus visits, especially to schools that are more than a few hours' drive away from home. Given a choice between a summer visit and no visit at all, it's definitely wiser to go with the summer visit.

A lawsuit was filed yesterday by several students whose scores were cancelled after ten students admitted they cheated on an Advanced Placement. Additionally, some of the proctors were seen reading, sleeping and leaving the room; many permitted the students to talk, look at notes and send text messages.

The ETS cancelled all of the students' scores who were taking the test. The lawsuit contends that the ETS is not required to prove that test-takers cheated as a prequisite to canceling scores. Several students and parents have protested the decision.

The students will have the opportunity to retake the test in August.

The University of California Board of Regents discussed a proposal to make some drastic changes in the current requirements for freshmen entrance eligibility. Among the proposed changes - which would go into effect during the fall admissions season in 2012 - is the elimination of the SAT requirement.

The proposal would also reduce the number of freshmen eligible for UC's policy of guaranteed admission for the top ten percent of all high school students. Measures would be implemented to make more prospective students eligible based on class rankings, rather than test scores or essay performance.

The primary aim of all the proposed changes is to encourage a broader pool of applicants to UC. This does not mean, however, a quantitative increase of the actual number of students admitted. The proposal is still being debated among the Regents, as the current board is split across many of the proposed changes.

High schools do a lot to support their students' college applications. Teachers write recommendation letters and counselors provide transcripts and mid-year reports. But there's one thing that a growing number of schools no longer do that may complicate college admissions: more and more high schools decline to provide class ranks for their graduates.

According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, fewer than 20 per cent of private U.S. high schools still provide class ranks. A significant minority (15 per cent) of public high schools have also chosen to stop ranking their graduates.