Study: At Public Universities, Aid Goes to Relatively Wealthy
This is one of our editors' picks from our ongoing roundup of Investigations Elsewhere.
The Washington Post reports today on a study from the nonprofit Education Trust that found many public universities are giving aid to students from relatively wealthy families instead of poorer students, leading to campuses with less economic and racial diversity.
Among the study's key findings: at public research universities between 2003 and 2007, families with $115,000 or more in income saw their aid increase 28 percent, while families making $54,000 or less routinely received the same aid packages as families making $80,000 or more. At the same time, a federal Pell Grant that would have covered most of a four-year university education in 1980 now covers roughly one-third of the costs.
Kati Haycock, president of the Education Trust, told the Post that public institutions do not reflect the demographics of their respective states, adding that “these institutions continue today to enroll students who are far richer and far whiter.”
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1 comments
Chris Knapik
Jan. 17, 2010, 4:03 p.m.
There is a conflict in this report. The Washington Post owns Kaplan University. Kaplan is one of the for profit schools that may be having recruitment practice problems similar to Sharona Courtts coverage of Phoenix University. It is convenient for the Washington Post to report on aid going to the rich while their corporation is stealing from the poor.
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