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From Diverse Online

Current News
Flagship Institutions Server Whiter, Richer Student Body, Study Says
By Shilpa Banerji
Nov 21, 2006, 07:13

WASHINGTON, D.C.

The leading public flagship universities are disproportionately serving
a Whiter and wealthier student body than in the past, according to a new
report by the Education Trust.  

 

The report, "Engines of Inequality: Diminishing Equity in the Nation's
Premier Public Universities," shows how students in entering and
graduating classes at institutions such as Pennsylvania State University
or the University of South Carolina look less and less like the state
populations those universities were created to serve.

 

The report also looks at financial aid practices at these institutions,
and shows how financial aid resources are allocated away from low-income
students, mostly to compete for high-income students who would enroll in
college regardless of the amount of aid they receive.

 

"At a time when more and more low-income and minority students are
preparing for college, it is disturbing that many of our most
prestigious colleges and universities are turning away from them," says
Kati Haycock, director of the Education Trust and a co-author of the
report. 

 

According to the report, between 1995 and 2003, flagship and other
public research universities decreased grant aid by 13 percent for
students from families with an annual income of $20,000 or less.
Meanwhile, aid to students from families who make more than $100,000
skyrocketed 406 percent. The report adds that presidents of colleges
often point to the poor quality of many of the nation's urban public
high schools, which serve a large number of low-income and minority
students.

 

"Given their special role in developing their states' future business,
academic and political leadership, leaders of flagship universities
should feel a special obligation to provide opportunities for talented
state residents of all races and economic groups," says Danette Gerald,
the report's co-author. "But over time, that obligation has been
replaced by the relentless pursuit of increased selectivity and
ever-higher rankings."

 

The study also includes a report card that grades each university's
commitment to access for low-income and minority students. Both the
University of Alabama and University of Georgia received 'F' grades,
while West Virginia University and the University of Vermont received
grades of 'A.'

 

Though minority students comprise more than 35 percent of Georgia's high
school graduates, they represented less than 7 percent of the entering
2004 freshmen class at the University of Georgia.  

 

"The shifting of financial aid resources away from students who
genuinely need more support shows that these schools are not merely
victims of bad choices by policymakers or bad preparation in K-12. The
data make it very clear that these universities are independent actors
in shrinking educational opportunity in their states," Haycock says.

 

"Even most HBCUs are not competing for the top Black kids," she adds.

 

The report recommends that the flagship institution's examine graduation
rate gaps between different groups of students. It also suggests
reallocating funds so the bulk of tuition assistance goes to students
who wouldn't be able to afford college without it.

 

"The flagships occupy a special place in cultivating the next generation
of leaders in their states. With their special status comes a special
responsibility to combine excellence with equity," Haycock said. "The
flagships need to reaffirm their historic commitment to opportunity and
set a new course."



(c) Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com

 

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