College and university enrollments might be up this fall, but how much students and families spend on back to school supplies has yet to be seen. This is the world of iPads, laptops, netbooks and webcams, a world where textbooks can cost $200 and more a pop. With many students enrolling in online courses as well, products such as these might also be more a part of back to school shopping than they have in the past.

While families in a Fannie Mae public poll voiced in as having to work longer hours and rely on more money from scholarships, grants and other financial monies to pay for college, new technologies are becoming more the standard on 21st century college and university campuses. Likewise, many college and university students are participating in distance learning, by taking courses entirely online or combining online courses with time in the classroom. With distance learning, products such as webcams, mobile devices such as smartphones, iPads and other e-readers might more often be part of instruction.

How much do families intend to spend on back to school shopping? About $55.12 billion, which includes spending on the part of families of students at the K-12 levels, a National Retail Federation survey reports. The National Retail Federation Back to School/College survey was released in about mid-August, by which time families had reported completing about 43 percent of their back to school shopping. Parents of college age children, however, were waiting it out.

Newspapers and magazines have been focusing on ways to save on the back to school needs for college and university students. An article in the Louisville Journal-Courier even recommended products and pointed students and families toward stores where they can be purchased. The article includes everything from USBs to netbooks, with prices ranging up to $350. E-readers, such as the Kindle, Nook and iPad, might be priced higher. Where the latest Kindle could go for around $380, the Apple iPad website shows that iPads start at $499.

In Oklahoma, a university noted that it plans to test e-readers on campus, according to an article in USA Today. Several other institutions have also employed the use of e-readers. The devices allow students the ability to download textbooks, and digital textbooks on sites such as CourseSmart, CafeScribe and Wikibooks can be found at prices such as $45.75. This particular offering, a kinesiology textbook from CourseSmart, saves students $68.31, the site notes. Students can also purchased used textbooks for as low as $1.30 on sites such as Valore.com, CampusBookRentals.com and chegg.com, or rent them for about $50, give or take.

Many parents of college students say they plan to shop at department stores, online and at electronics stores, according to the National Retail Federation survey announcement. Parents might also be more involved in back to school shopping for college students than they have in the past. Men and women younger than 21 can no longer obtain a credit card without a co-signer or proof that they earn enough to make the required payments, Market Watch recently reported. The Market Watch report referred to new regulations that are part of a Credit Card Act of 2009.

That might be good news for parents in that they have more of a say in back to school shopping for college students. Many parents might also be heading back to school themselves, since out of work adults in this recession, as well as those who want to brush up on skills and acquire new skills, are contributing to enrollment increases at colleges and universities. Parents of K-12 students have also reported taking online courses, in many instances for personal fulfillment purposes.

With video and web conferencing and podcasts more often a part of traditional and online degree programs,, adults might enhance their technology skills simply by participating in higher education. They might even look at grants to go back to school materials and purchases as an investment in technologies they might be required to utilize in the workplace. Back to school shopping, some might find, can be as much of an investment as back to school at the college level itself.

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From colleges to technical schools, campus-based and distance learning programs in nursing are being added, many with flexible schedules and accelerated formats that make it quicker and more convenient to earn a nursing degree. The offerings come at a time when the Bureau of Labor Statistics expects fast employment growth for registered nurses – and reports that registered nurses with bachelor’s degrees might expect better job prospects than others and those with advanced practice specialties, such as nurse practitioners, nurse anesthesiologists, clinical nurse specialists and nurse-midwives are to be in high demand. Registered nurses have also been encouraged by the Tri-Council for nursing to advance their education and their careers.

The costs for attending college, even for participating in a technical school, are rising.  Over the past 20 years, four-year institutions have shown a tuition rise at 91 percent beyond inflation rates, according to a recent edition of Forbes magazine. Families are relying on more money from sources such as scholarships to pay for tuition, a recent Fannie Mae report suggested. At the same time, there are students who have been earning scholarships in the range of six figures.

To come up with lists of “best buy” and “best value” colleges and universities, Forbes and US News & World Report start with published tuition rates and deduct financial aid such as scholarships. To decide on a college or university, students and families are often advised to do the same: To first select quality institutions most suited to their needs and goals and then to compare costs after financial aid is considered. The students who obtained the $100,000 and more in scholarships in some instances found them through Internet searches.

Scholarship search engines make the process easier. In addition to scholarships that colleges and universities provide, the search engines point students toward scholarships from non-profit foundations, large corporations and others. Government agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, also offer scholarships. Nursing students who receive Department of Health and Human Services scholarships specifically this year also received monthly stipends of more than $1,300 recipients. In exchange for the assistance, scholarship recipients work for at least two years in healthcare facilities that need them, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website shows.

For the 2010-2011 academic year, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing in June announced that its New Careers in Nursing Scholarships Program was helping over 500 candidates entering nursing programs that are considered accelerated.  The scholarships, at $10,000 each, were to be provided through individual institutions, such as Quinnipiac University in Connecticut, where an accelerated nursing program allows students with bachelor’s degrees in other disciplines to earn a bachelor of science in nursing in a year. New nursing scholarship programs this year included one from Campus, which awarded six $2,500 scholarships to students in six regions where it launched state editions of its website.

Students seeking nursing scholarships might also consider their own situations and backgrounds. Single mothers, for example, are provided scholarship opportunities through the Jeannette Rankin Foundation Scholarship Program.  The Patsy Takeout Mink Education Foundation scholarships are another source, as is the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund.  Not to be forgotten are the R.O.S.E. and W.I.S.P. Change your World scholarships. Minorities, who tend to be represented in smaller numbers in nursing, might apply for scholarships available through Minority Nurse Magazine.  Like so many resources for groups with fewer numbers in a field, the National Association of Hispanic Nurses, the National Alaska Native American Indian Nurses Association, the National Black Nurses Association and Aetna/NCEMNA (the National Coalition of Ethnic Minority Nurses Association) are stepping up to close this gap.  Likewise, the American Assembly for Men in Nursing provides male nursing students assistance through iStudySmart.com and Judah Marsalis-Moore Student Nurse Essay Contest scholarship programs.

Still other scholarships might be provided to nursing students who want to specialize in certain fields, such as pediatrics or oncology. Nursing students can also apply for general scholarships and, if awarded them, apply the scholarship money to nursing degree courses. Erica Coomes, one of several high achieving high school graduate recipients of a W.R. Grace & Co., scholarship, plans to apply the $2,000 scholarship money she received to a nursing program at the undergraduate level, a W.R. Grace & Co., announcement noted.

Scholarships for nursing programs can often be applied to online course programs, as well as those provided in a traditional campus setting, so long as institutions are accredited by nationally recognized agencies. This pertains also to school scholarships used for traditional and online college program applications. When a school is accredited, it’s more likely that students can transfer credits, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

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Students interested in pursuing higher education might consider the advantages of private colleges and universities. These institutions often are associated with small classrooms sizes and providing students with individualized attention. While some contend that private colleges and universities boast abundant opportunities to get involved and that they maintain higher retention and graduation rates, they also tend to be perceived as pricey.

The financial aid offerings at private institutions, however, are increasing and accelerating, according to a recent Bloomberg Businesweek article. The article comes after a June report from the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities noting that scholarships, grants and other forms of financial aid at private colleges and universities are up 6.8 percent for the fall 2010 semester as compared with last year. Tuition and fees for fall 2010, on the other hand, are 4.5 percent higher than they were for fall 2009, the report shows.

Students returning to some private colleges and universities this fall, in fact, are to find that tuition and fees haven’t changed at all since 2009, National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities President David L. Warren suggested in a news release. While some institutions have “frozen” tuition, others are introducing three-year degree programs, he noted. “The bottom line for consumers is that they should not rule out a private college just because of the price tag.”

The average published tuition and fee at private colleges and universities throughout the country is about $26,273, an amount that after financial aid and federal tax benefits came to $11,870, information from the College Board shows. Even for the 2008-2009 academic year, the average net tuition charge for private college and university students in Wisconsin, after financial aid including loans was considered, was $4,737, a web site for the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities shows. Student loans do have to be repaid, but 71 percent of the $18,478 average freshman financial aid package came in the form of grants that do not, the Wisconsin association reported.

Students and families can check the website for the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities for a list of private institutions that have kept their tuition rates the same as last year. These colleges include the AIB College of Business in Iowa, Culver-Stockton College in Missouri, Fresno Pacific University in California and The Sage Colleges in New York State, according to the site. In Ohio, Ursuline College and the University of Akron have launched three-year bachelor’s degree programs, the national association site shows.

Another way students can save money is by enrolling in online learning programs and courses and avoiding commuting and meal plan costs. Online learning, also called distance learning, programs are growing among private institutions and some, such as Grand Canyon, Indiana Wesleyan University, Mid-America Christian University and Liberty University, have seen substantial enrollment increases as a result. Christian institutions particularly have an advantage in a crowded distance learning market, because many Americans have religious ties, an Eduventures consulting group analyst told the USA Today reporter.

With distance learning, students can more easily tend to family and workplace responsibilities without interruption. They might opt for private college and university degree programs where courses are entirely online, or they might spend some time online and some time on campus. Students seeking scholarships for a campus-based or distance learning program at a private college or university might find them in instances where they have financial needs or have demonstrated academic success, community involvement, leadership abilities and more.

In the Midwest, scholarships for 17 institutions are administered by a Minnesota Private College Fund based on a variety of factors. These factors include academic success, community involvement, overcoming educational barriers and pursuing studies in specific subject areas. Students and families in Minnesota, as well as Wisconsin, can learn more about private colleges and universities during Private College Week events hosted by the Wisconsin Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and the Minnesota Private College Fund.

Students are typically advised to select colleges and universities first according to their individual interests, needs and goals and then to compare the costs, after tuition assistance such as education scholarships and grants are considered. Students seeking scholarships and grants online for campus and online college programs at private institutions might look toward large corporations, non-profit associations and community and civic groups as well. It’s important also to consider that the funding options are typically provided in instances where colleges, universities and technical schools are accredited by nationally recognized agencies. This applies to both traditional and online education. The US Department of Education maintains a list of accredited institutions and programs on its website.

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