College Access

The term ?college access? today suggests not only entry into postsecondary education but also the myriad challenges it poses for many students, particularly minority and low-income students. Researchers contend that tuition costs, racial discrimination, social disadvantages, and lack of adequate academic preparedness have contributed to the vast under-representation of these groups of students on college and university campuses.

"Shoring Up the Academic Pipeline," Commentary, March 24, 2004.
"New Vendor Gains Entry to College Board Line," March 17, 2004.

"Congress Notes Shifting Trends in Higher Education," March 17, 2004.

"Budget Problems May Alter Calif. Higher Ed. Admissions," News in Brief, March 17, 2004.

"Harvard Reduces Financial Burden for Needy Families," March 10, 2004.

"College-Admissions Ruling OKs Illegal-Immigrant Ban," News in Brief, March 3, 2004.

"Colleges Get Help on Admissions Rulings," Feb. 11, 2004.

"Barriers to College: Lack of Preparation Vs. Financial Need," Jan. 21, 2004.

"Democrats Tout Their Plans for Higher Education," Jan. 21, 2004.

"'Disconnect' Between K-12, College Targeted," Nov. 5, 2003.

"Tuition Keeps Rising, but Some Students Pay Less," Oct. 29, 2003.

"Rising College Costs Spark Responses," Oct. 23, 2003.

"Tax Credit Fails to Help Needy Reach College, Report Says," Oct. 23, 2003.

"Georgia Eyes HOPE Scholarship Changes," Oct. 15, 2003.

"U.S. Risks Falling Behind in College-Participation Rate," Oct. 8, 2003.

"Aspirations, Achievement, Admissions," Commentary, Sept. 24, 2003.

"Home School Students Adjust to New Homes on College Campuses," Sept. 10, 2003.

"Court Case Prompts New Admissions Policies," Sept. 10, 2003.

"More Take College-Entrance Exams; Academic Readiness is Questioned," Sept. 3, 2003.

"Justices Give K-12 Go-Ahead to Promote Diversity," and "Affirmative Action Rulings Seen Yielding Refinements in College-Entrance Plans," July 9, 2003.

"State Budgets Push Community Colleges to Rebuff Students," June 4, 2003.

"Ohio Program Honored for Increasing Access to College," May 21, 2003.

"GOP Lawmakers Warn of Enhanced Higher Ed. Role," May 21, 2003.

"Texas Legislature Eyes No-Interest College Loans," News in Brief, May 21, 2003.

"Survey: Instructor Views Differ on Import of Grammar," April 16, 2003.

"College Conversion Could Lure Maine Grads," April 16, 2003.

"States Debate In-State Tuition for Undocumented Students," April 16, 2003.

"Affirmative Action Now Awaits Verdict," April 9, 2003.

"Ed. Dept. Report Lists Alternatives to Race Use in College Admissions," April 9, 2003.

"Court Deluged With Advice on Mich. Case," April 2, 2003.

"Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Key Affirmative Action Case," Web-only, April 1, 2003.

"Intervention Found to Help College-Going," April 2, 2003.

"Community College Strategies," April 2, 2003.

"Court Deluged With Advice on Mich. Case," April 2, 2003.

"Study: Teens' Unfamiliarity With College Demands Is Seed of Failure", March 12, 2003.

"Oregon Study Outlines Standards for College Preparedness," March 5, 2003.

For many middle- and lower-income families, the largest barrier to postsecondary education is cost. The average tuition and fees at public four-year institutions recently increased by 14 percent, from $4,115 in 2002-03 to $4,694 in 2003-04 (College Board, 2003). To help offset these rising costs, the U.S. Department of Education provides over $40 billion a year in grants, loans, and work-study assistance to students pursuing a college education. Federal aid represents the largest source of student aid in the nation and over 40 percent of all undergraduates benefited from it in the 1999-2000 school year (U.S. Department of Education, Digest of Education Statistics, 2002).

Yet in spite of these programs, low-income families are still 32 percent less likely to send their children to college than families with higher incomes. And students from low-income families attend public four-year institutions at about half the rate of equally qualified students from high-income families (U.S. Education Department's Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, 2001). A major reason for this is that the unmet need, or the difference between the cost of one year of education and the amount of aid and family contributions paid toward that cost, is much higher for low-income families than for high-income families. The average unmet need to attend a public four-year university is $3,800 for low-income students compared to $400 for high-income students (U.S. Education Department's Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, 2001).

Some experts claim that recent shifts in federal financial aid programs and the emergence of merit-based scholarship programs have exacerbated the postsecondary participation gap (McKeown-Moak, 2001; U.S. Education Department's Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, 2001). For example, some contend that the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 benefited students from middle and upper class families over students from more needy families since the tax credits it provided were not need based.

Many states have developed merit-based scholarship programs like the Georgia HOPE Scholarship program, which grants students who maintain a B average in high school a full-tuition scholarship to any college or university in the state. In addition to Georgia, 11 other states have put such programs in place (Jacobson, 2003). The programs have found favor in state legislatures but are unpopular with higher education analysts since they award college scholarships based on students? academic records and not their demonstrated financial need (McKeown-Moak, 2001).

College completion rates for minority students are also a concern. In the fall of 1999, 68 percent of undergraduates enrolled in postsecondary institutions were white, 13 percent were black and 12 percent were Hispanic (U.S. Department of Education, Condition of Education, 2002). College completion statistics, however, show lower completion rates for minority students. While 75 percent of the bachelor?s degrees conferred by degree-granting institutions in 2000-01 went to white students, only nine percent went to black students and six to Hispanic students (U.S. Department of Education, Digest of Education Statistics, 2002). Overall, in 2000, 31 percent of African-Americans and 37 percent of Hispanics had not received any postsecondary education, compared to 25 percent of whites (Adelman, 2004).

Colleges and universities have employed various strategies to bolster enrollment of underrepresented groups of students, such as the development of pre-college outreach programs in minority areas and schools. According to the National Association for College Admission Counseling, 74 percent of colleges and universities use recruitment strategies targeted to minority students `(National Association for College Admission Counseling, 2003). However, a form of minority student recruitment popular with many colleges and universities, race-based admissions, has faced legal scrutiny in recent years.

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case Gratz v. Bollinger that the University of Michigan?s practice of assigned ?bonus points? to minority applicants in order to increase their chances of undergraduate admission was unconstitutional since it did not provide all candidates with ?individualized consideration? (Alger, 2003). On the other hand, the Court supported the University?s use of race as a factor in bringing a ?critical mass? of minority students to the law school. Therefore, even though the Court did not approve of diversifying college campuses through a racially driven point-based admission system, it did allow more comprehensive race-based admission practices to continue (Cavanagh, 2003).

Although targeted recruitment campaigns and considering race as part of admission policies could encourage more minority candidates to apply to college, some researchers worry that increased enrollment rates will not necessarily lead to increased graduation rates. For example, while almost three-fourths of higher education institutions have recruitment programs specifically for minority students, only 42 percent have retention programs designed to support minority students once they matriculate (National Association for College Admission Counseling, 2003).

Some researchers believe higher education enrollment and completion gaps between white and minority students and wealthier and disadvantaged students have less to do with poor recruitment/retention strategies or the high cost of tuition and more to do with inadequate academic preparation leading up to college.

According to a recent report from the Manhattan Institute, only nine percent of all college-ready graduates are black and nine percent are Hispanic. The authors of the study developed their definition of college readiness based on such statistics as high school completion, student transcripts and courses taken, and basic reading skills. Freshman enrollment rates for black and Hispanic students are similar to college-readiness rates (11 percent and seven percent, respectively). As a result, the report concludes that it is not so much financial barriers or affirmative action policies that are keeping minority and low-income students out of college. It is that these students are not gaining the college-ready skills they need to continue with their education in the first place (Greene and Forster, 2003).

Numerous policymakers, researchers, educators, and education organizations have tried to tackle the problem of how to better prepare high school students for postsecondary success. For example, the Alliance for Excellent Education has developed a framework they believe will help guide improvements in middle schools and high schools. The framework addresses such issues as child literacy, teacher and principal quality, and working with students at the beginning of their high school experiences to lay out a roadmap to college (Joftus, 2002).

But many scholars believe the real key to increasing college enrollment and graduation rates is the creation of stronger connections between higher education institutions and the K-12 system, a link many states are still struggling to make. In 2002, only four states had fully aligned their high school graduation and college admission requirements in reading and only one state had done so in mathematics or science (Somerville and Yi, 2002). In addition, a study conducted at the Center for Educational Policy Research at the University of Oregon found that many states? exit exams, end-of-course assessments, and other state tests do not effectively gauge students? readiness of college-level work and therefore are poor indicators of postsecondary success (Conley, 2003). The number of students who are forced to take remedial coursework in their first years at college attest to this disconnect; statistics indicate that almost 50 percent of students at four-year colleges have to take some remedial coursework (Adelman, 1999). Further, the report notes, more than one-quarter of freshman at four-year colleges and nearly half of those at two-year colleges do not make it to their sophomore year.

Several organizations have made a commitment to further developing the K-16 connection in order to improve college attendance and graduation rates. The Education Trust, a Washington, DC-based non-profit organization, believes that all students need some postsecondary education in order to be successful and gain ?solid footing in the economy of the 21st century? but that success in college depends heavily on exposure to rigorous coursework in high school. The organization stresses the importance of developing K-16 oriented education systems typified by clear postsecondary education goals for students, challenging coursework, strong teacher subject-matter competence, and small learning environments (Education Trust, 2001).

In another effort to improve students? chances at postsecondary success, the Education Trust recently partnered with Achieve, Inc., a non-profit education organization that grew out of a partnership between state governors and corporate leaders, and the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation to develop the American Diploma Project. The purpose of the project is to identify the reading and mathematics skills high school students need to excel in college and then to help states integrate these skills into their standards and assessment systems. The project recently released its first set of reading and math standards (American Diploma Project, 2004).

Adelman, C., ?Answers in the Tool Box: Academic Intensity, Attendance Patterns, and Bachelor?s Degree Attainment,? U.S. Department of Education, 1999.

Adelman, C., ?Principal Indicators of Student Academic Histories in Postsecondary Education, 1972-2000,? Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 2004.

Alger, J., ?Summary of Supreme Court Decisions in Admissions Cases,? University of Michigan, 2003.

American Diploma Project, ?Ready or Not: Creating a High School Diploma That Counts,? The Education Trust, Achieve, Inc., and Thomas B. Fordham Foundation, 2004.

The College Board, ?Trends in College Pricing,? 2003.

Conley, D., ?Mixed Messages: What State High School Tests Communicate About Student Readiness for College,? University of Oregon, Center for Educational Policy Research/Standards for Success, 2003.

Education Trust, ?Youth at the Crossroads: Facing High School and Beyond,? Thinking K-16, 2001.

Gladieux, L., ?Low-income Students and the Affordability of Higher Education,? in America?s Untapped Resource: Low-Income Students in Higher Education, Richard D. Kahlenberg, editor, The Century Foundation, 2004.

Greene, J.P. and Forster, G., ?Public High School Graduation and College Readiness Rates in the United States,? Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, 2003.

Jacobson, L., ?Georgia Eyes HOPE Scholarship Changes", Education Week, October 15, 2003.

Joftus, S., ?Every Child a Graduate: A Framework for an Excellent Education for all Middle and High School Students,? Alliance for Excellent Education, 2002.

McKeown-Moak, M. P., ?Financing Higher Education in the New Century: The Third Annual Report from the States,? State Higher Education Executive Officers and MGT of America, Inc., 2001.

National Association for College Admission Counseling, ?Diversity in College Admission in 2003: A Survey Report?, 2003.

National Association for College Admission Counseling, ?State of College Admission Report: 2002-03,", 2003.

Somerville, J. and Yi, Y., ?Aligning K-12 and Postsecondary Expectations: State Policy in Transition,? The National Association of System Heads, 2002.

U.S. Department of Education, Condition of Education, 2002.

U.S. Department of Education, Digest of Education Statistics, National Center for Education Statistics, 2002.

U.S. Department of Education, ?Descriptive Summary of 1989-90 Beginning Postsecondary Students: Five Years Later,? National Center for Education Statistics, 1996.

U.S. Department of Education, ?Minority Undergraduate Participation in Postsecondary Education,? National Center for Education Statistics, 1995.

U.S. Education Department's Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, ?Access Denied: Restoring the Nation?s Commitment to Equal Educational Opportunity,? A Report of the Advisory Committee on Student Financial Assistance, 2001.

?Closing the College Participation Gap: A National Summary,? a 2003 report by the Education Commission of the States? Center for Community College Policy, discusses ways states can improve college access and boost postsecondary enrollment numbers, especially for underserved and disadvantaged populations. The report also examines the role community colleges play in responding to states? postsecondary needs.

In the fall of 2003, the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Vocational and Adult Education sponsored the ?High School Leadership Summit? that focused on transforming high schools within the framework of the No Child Left Behind Act. One of the papers presented at the summit ?College Transition Programs: Promoting Success Beyond High School,? analyzed the transition from high school to postsecondary education and programs designed to ease the transition for students.

A 2003 reported, ?Ready for Tomorrow: Helping All Students Achieve Secondary and Postsecondary Success, A Guide for Governors,? released by Jobs for the Future and the National Governors Association calls for states and state governors to take the lead in narrowing the college access, participation, and completion gaps between white, high-income students and minority, low-income students as well as students with disabilities. The report calls for states to better align K-12 and postsecondary expectations and incentives and to develop strong K-16 data systems.

"Reauthorizing the Higher Education Act: Issues and Options," March 2003, from the Institute for Higher Education Policy, aims to provide a subject-by-subject guide to the major issues at stake in the reauthorization of the higher education law, which expires Sept. 30, 2004. The report focuses on strategies for providing students with greater access to higher education. (Requires Adobe's Acrobat Reader.)

In "Challenging Times, Clear Choices: An Action Agenda for College Access and Success," January 2003, the College Board recommends that Congress raise Pell Grant funding enough to cover 84 percent of the average cost of a four-year public education. (Requires Adobe's Acrobat Reader.)

"Every Child a Graduate: A Framework for an Excellent Education for all Middle and High School Students," September 2002, from the Alliance for Excellent Education, argues that "Six million students in our nation?s middle schools and high schools are in serious danger of being left behind as the nation begins to implement the No Child Left Behind legislation."

"College Affordability in Jeopardy," Winter 2003, finds that in 2001-2003 "Tuition and mandatory fee charges at four-year public institutions rose in every state, startlingly so in some cases," at the same time as "state spending for public colleges and universities dropped sharply." From the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. See also "Losing Ground," a May 12, 2002, report that "finds that public higher education has become less affordable for all but the wealthiest Americans."

"Raising Our Sights: No High School Senior Left Behind," October 2001, and "The Lost Opportunity of Senior Year: Finding a Better Way," January 2001, from the National Commission on the Senior Year. The reports recommend providing a college preparatory curriculum to all students, especially during the final year of high school. (Both reports require Adobe's Acrobat Reader.)

"Digest of Education Statistics 2002," from the National Center for Education Statistics, provides information on postsecondary school acceptance and attendance in the U.S. (Requires Adobe's Acrobat Reader.)

"The State of College Admission, 2002-2003," February 2003, from the National Association for College Admission Counseling, aims "to provide information to allow students, parents, educators, and policymakers the opportunity to craft their own conclusions about the college admission process." The report focuses on information collected in nine topic areas.

The National College Access Network maintains a list of programs geared to increasing access to college.

The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education maintains resources for students and financial aid professionals.