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Indigenous Peoples’ Recognition Day 11/23/06
From Diverse Online
Current News
Flagship Institutions Server
Whiter, Richer Student Body, Study Says
By Shilpa Banerji
Nov 21, 2006, 07:13
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obligation has been replaced by the relentless pursuit of increased selectivity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
Though minority students comprise more than 35 percent of
“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.”
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