Tips for parents on paying for college, as well as a discussion on why postsecondary education is so vital to career success will be the focus of the March edition of the U.S. Department of Education's TV show, "Education News Parents Can Use."

The program will be carried from 8 to 9 p.m. EDT tonight on the Dish Network, dozens of PBS stations and numerous cable outlets. Others, including The Learning Channel, will broadcast the show on a tape-delayed basis. A complete listing of viewing options is available at www.ed.gov/news/av/video/edtv/index.html. In addition, the program will be webcast live and archived at www.connectlive.com/events/ednews/.

Tonight's program, entitled, "Transforming Higher Education: Access and Affordability for All Students," will examine:

• Why is a college education more important than ever? What federal, state and local strategies are helping us to meet this demand?

• How accessible is higher education? And how can we make it more affordable?

• How can we help students, especially minority youth, prepare for and succeed in college?

• How will the Commission on the Future of Higher Education's final report and U.S. Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings' Action Plan improve the accessibility, affordability and accountability of U.S. colleges and universities?

• When should parents and students start thinking about saving for college, and what programs and resources are available to help?

Among the guests will be U.S. Under Secretary of Education Sara Martinez Tucker, who until joining the Education Department recently served as president of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. The organization generates funds for $195 million in scholarships to more than 78,000 students and helps organize community outreach programs to raise college expectations in Latino families and communities.

Also appearing will be Derek Canty, co-founder and vice president at College Summit, a nonprofit organization dedicated to raising college enrollment rates nationwide, as well as Beverely J. Elliott, a school counselor in Tucson, Ariz., and the 2006 Secondary School Counselor of the Year.

The "Education News Parents Can Use" TV series airs monthly during the school year.

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