Colleges pledge support for low-income students

Nineteen state public university systems aim to boost access and graduation rates, address cost.

from the November 1, 2007 edition

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Redirecting financial aid toward those who need it most is high on the Access to Success agenda. Participants have also formed a working group to try to bring college costs under control.

Because public universities alone can't reform education, many of them plan to form deeper connections with K-12 systems as well. Some are working to boost teacher development so that fewer students will be taught by those who lack expertise in their subjects.

Public colleges are finding that open access isn't enough, says Professor Doyle: Students are often admitted based on minimum standards, but then face "really tough standards ... when they take the placement exams." If they have to take remedial courses, or if they don't do well in "gatekeeper" courses, many drop out. Now, many are considering revamping introductory courses and improving advising.

As president of the University of Louisiana System (one of the 19 participants), Sally Clausen wants to leave a legacy of a changed culture in education. The Katrina disaster, in which she observed that many poor and undereducated people had trouble accessing support systems, "was a turning point for all of us [in education]," she says. Instead of perhaps believing that when students drop out of college, it's their own problem, "now we're taking the attitude that ... it is our obligation to ensure that barriers are removed, that advising is real and personal, that courses are available, that tutors are available."

Ms. Clausen cites a 2006 report that estimated that if racial minorities had the same educational attainment and earnings as whites, personal income in Louisiana would be $4.6 billion higher. "But it's more than that," she says. "We have a democracy in this country that purports to provide for all, and we are just not doing that as well for our underrepresented students."

Currently only about 40 percent of students in her system graduate within six years. But in 2004, her universities set a goal to surpass the national graduation rate by 2012. "We're treating all of our students as we have treated honors students and athletes – we want to track them and understand what their needs are," Clausen says.

Future downturns in higher-ed funding are a potential roadblock, says Mr. Meredith of NASH. But he is hopeful that the commitment will hold because so many state systems have joined together on it. The 19 systems enroll more than 2 million undergrads, including about one-third of the low-income and minority students at four-year public institutions, according to Education Trust.

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