The state of Oregon has settled its lawsuit against the Oppenheimer Mutual Fund family for misrepresentating the risk of its Core Bond Fund, which had been marketed as a conservative investment option. The fund dropped roughly 35% in 2008, while similar funds dropped an average of 5%.

As part of the settlement, Oppenheimer will pay $20 million to the state of Oregon. The settlement from the Oppenheimer lawsuit will be distributed to roughly 45,000 account holders based on how much they had invested in the fund. More information is expected on the actual distribution in the first quarter of 2010.

To read the official press release, visit the Oregon 529 Network website.

Students enraged by a 32% increase in undgrad tuition at UCLA came together to make their concerns known. Unfortunately, this UCLA tuition protest almost turned violent, with numerous students arrested and a whole lot of posturing on both sides.

While I totally understand their frustration, I cannot help but wonder if those whose parents had adequately saved for college were part of the UCLA tuition protest, or if they were taking the hikes in stride.

If your college planning strategy is simply to protest tuition hikes, you may want to spend some time learning about Section 529 plans and savings strategies!

To see video from the protest, check out this link from CNN.com.

The National Cattlemen's Association offers three major scholarships to students interested in beef. To qualify though, you've got to be more than just a fan of a good burger. You've got to planning on a career in the beef industry.

If a home on the range is in your future, check out these meaty scholarships:

• Cattlemen's W.D. Farr Scholarship - $12,000 annually
• Cattlemen's Veterinary Scholarship - $5,000 annually
• Cattlemen's Beef Scholarship - $1,500 annually

All these scholarships are given to multiple recipients annually, so you should consider giving them a shot if you qualify.

In a move bound to alienate virtually every young voter in town, Mayor Luke Ravenstahl has proposed a 1% tuition tax on tuition paid to colleges within Pittsburgh city limits.

While some might argue that the tax is insignificant ($100 per $10,000 in tuition), others see the start of a dangerous trend among cash-strapped cities. For the city of Pittsburgh, the proposed tuition tax is expected to collect nearly $16 million dollars in the coming year!

Naturally, with a tax that has been called everything from "idiotic" to "unconstitutional," a major fight looms in the wings.

We'd like to hear your opinion in our College Savings Forum...

Is Mayor Ravenstahl off his rocker, or is this a great idea?

The highly-rated Michigan 529 plan, which has only been available directly from the investment manager, will now be available through select financial advisors.

This is an identical plan to what is currently available through direct purchase, with the only difference being an advisor's commission. For parents who are confident in their ability to invest their funds on their own, there is no real reason to consider beginning to use an advisor going forward.

For more information, visit the official Michigan 529 website at www.MISaves.com.

According to the CollegeInvest website, the Colorado 529 plan has added a FDIC-insured savings option. Simply put, this option offered through FirstBank is guaranteed against loss by the U.S. government.

The CollegeInvest Smart Choice option has no account fees, no minimum initial investment, and no minimum balance requirement. Parents and other Colorado residents contirbuting on behalf a child may receive a tax deduction for using the Smart Choice plan.

Rates in the plan vary depending on whether or not parents choose the money market or the 1-year timed deposit option. Current interest rates can be found on the CollegeInvest website.

Jan Kim at the Wall Street Journal wrote an article this week about Section 529 plans falling out of favor with parents. Much of the reason cited in the article is investor dismay over poor (negative) returns during that last couple of years.

As a long time financial planner, this retreat from 529 plan participation doesn't surprise me in the slightest. Not because Section 529 plans are a bad deal, but because investor behavior never really changes.

Many (not all) investors hop from investment to investment chasing both returns and hype, perpetually fleeing from previous choices that failed to live up to unrealistic standards.

Of course, this mini-rant of mine does not come without some practical advice. If you're a parent in a Section 529 plan, especially if you've got more than 3-5 years until college begins, you need to do some homework.

First, you need to see if your Section 529 plan has performed reasonably similar to the benchmark for its asset class (for example, don't compare a bond portfolio against the S&P 500). Second, double-check your Section 529 plan's fees to see if they are reasonable compared to other Section 529 plans from your state and similar mutual funds offered outside a Section 529 plan.

If both these ducks are in a row, I'd suggest you stay put and not over-think your investment. Chances are, it'll turn a corner as soon as you sell it and dump your money into the hot investment du jour.

Thanks to a widespread parent uproar, the Texas Prepaid Tuition Plan has backed off their new and controversial refund policy. Under the policy, refunds tied to a voluntary cancellation of the plan would not be credited the annual return (increases in tuition) accrued under the plan.

Of course, for many parents who opted for the Texas Prepaid Tuition Plan over other Section 529 savings plans, a denial of access to their earnings is beyond absurd.

To learn more, visit the Texas Prepaid tuition plan website, where they provide explanations of both the old policy and the new (rejected) policy.

The Oregon Student Assistance  Commission (OSAC) is offering a uniform application that allows students to apply for over 400 different Oregon scholaships in one shot.

The Oregon Student Assistance Commission offers two separate deadlines for submitting the application, including one for early birds:

• Early Bird Deadline - February 16, 2010
• Final Deadline - March 1, 2010

In short, every student interested in Oregon scholarhips should fill out the application, since it'll kill 400 birds with one stone.

The OSAC Oregon Scholarship Application

The OSAC Directory of Oregon Scholarships

The Academic Registries of World Universities just published their list of the best colleges in the world for 2009. While America dominated with 17 out of the top 20, I was a little taken back by some of the choices.

I'll admit that this is my first year taking a look at the list, but the following choices left me guessing when they outranked other Ivy League schools like Brown:

14. UC San Diego
16. University of Washington
17. University of Wisconsin-Madison

Check out the entire list of the best colleges in the world at http://www.arwu.org/ARWU2009.jsp.