College Affordability for Low-Income Adults

College Affordability for Low-Income Adults PDF Author: Barbara Gault
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 48

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Book Description
This report examines how efforts to understand and improve college affordability can be informed by the experiences and circumstances of low-income adults, students of color, and students with dependent children. The report discusses how the time and financial demands associated with financial independence, parenthood, and work affect a student's ability to invest in college, and how segregation in college majors diminishes returns on investment for low-income students. The following recommendations for improving affordability and returns on investment are included in this report: (1) Create systems and tools to help women and students of color select majors that prepare them for high-paying careers; (2) Shift federal and state systems of financial aid to more accurately and completely account for student financial need--to help apportion more aid to students who need it the most; (3) Develop more student and campus supports that acknowledge the multiple demands in students' lives, which often include substantial work and care-giving obligations; (4) Expand efforts to help students access publicly provided benefits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), TANF, WIC, and child care subsidies; and (5) Develop more targeted scholarships and campus supports for the many students with dependent care obligations, such as inclusive campus policies, programs to increase social connectedness and reduce isolation, health supports, and single-parent housing, in addition to child care support. Ideally, any interventions to shift institutional and consumer knowledge and incentives should be examined from the perspectives of how they will affect women and communities of color, populations that have disproportionate time constraints, dependent care obligations, and poorer labor market outcomes at all educational levels.

College Affordability for Low-Income Adults

College Affordability for Low-Income Adults PDF Author: Barbara Gault
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 48

Get Book Here

Book Description
This report examines how efforts to understand and improve college affordability can be informed by the experiences and circumstances of low-income adults, students of color, and students with dependent children. The report discusses how the time and financial demands associated with financial independence, parenthood, and work affect a student's ability to invest in college, and how segregation in college majors diminishes returns on investment for low-income students. The following recommendations for improving affordability and returns on investment are included in this report: (1) Create systems and tools to help women and students of color select majors that prepare them for high-paying careers; (2) Shift federal and state systems of financial aid to more accurately and completely account for student financial need--to help apportion more aid to students who need it the most; (3) Develop more student and campus supports that acknowledge the multiple demands in students' lives, which often include substantial work and care-giving obligations; (4) Expand efforts to help students access publicly provided benefits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), TANF, WIC, and child care subsidies; and (5) Develop more targeted scholarships and campus supports for the many students with dependent care obligations, such as inclusive campus policies, programs to increase social connectedness and reduce isolation, health supports, and single-parent housing, in addition to child care support. Ideally, any interventions to shift institutional and consumer knowledge and incentives should be examined from the perspectives of how they will affect women and communities of color, populations that have disproportionate time constraints, dependent care obligations, and poorer labor market outcomes at all educational levels.

Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation

Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation PDF Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309159687
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 229

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Book Description
In order for the United States to maintain the global leadership and competitiveness in science and technology that are critical to achieving national goals, we must invest in research, encourage innovation, and grow a strong and talented science and technology workforce. Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation explores the role of diversity in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce and its value in keeping America innovative and competitive. According to the book, the U.S. labor market is projected to grow faster in science and engineering than in any other sector in the coming years, making minority participation in STEM education at all levels a national priority. Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation analyzes the rate of change and the challenges the nation currently faces in developing a strong and diverse workforce. Although minorities are the fastest growing segment of the population, they are underrepresented in the fields of science and engineering. Historically, there has been a strong connection between increasing educational attainment in the United States and the growth in and global leadership of the economy. Expanding Underrepresented Minority Participation suggests that the federal government, industry, and post-secondary institutions work collaboratively with K-12 schools and school systems to increase minority access to and demand for post-secondary STEM education and technical training. The book also identifies best practices and offers a comprehensive road map for increasing involvement of underrepresented minorities and improving the quality of their education. It offers recommendations that focus on academic and social support, institutional roles, teacher preparation, affordability and program development.

Making College Work

Making College Work PDF Author: Harry J. Holzer
Publisher: Brookings Institution Press
ISBN: 0815730225
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 163

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Book Description
Practical solutions for improving higher education opportunities for disadvantaged students Too many disadvantaged college students in America do not complete their coursework or receive any college credential, while others earn degrees or certificates with little labor market value. Large numbers of these students also struggle to pay for college, and some incur debts that they have difficulty repaying. The authors provide a new review of the causes of these problems and offer promising policy solutions. The circumstances affecting disadvantaged students stem both from issues on the individual side, such as weak academic preparation and financial pressures, and from institutional failures. Low-income students disproportionately attend schools that are underfunded and have weak performance incentives, contributing to unsatisfactory outcomes for many students. Some solutions, including better financial aid or academic supports, target individual students. Other solutions, such as stronger linkages between coursework and the labor market and more structured paths through the curriculum, are aimed at institutional reforms. All students, and particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, also need better and varied pathways both to college and directly to the job market, beginning in high school. We can improve college outcomes, but must also acknowledge that we must make hard choices and face difficult tradeoffs in the process. While no single policy is guaranteed to greatly improve college and career outcomes, implementing a number of evidence-based policies and programs together has the potential to improve these outcomes substantially.

Paying the Price

Paying the Price PDF Author: Sara Goldrick-Rab
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 022640448X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 382

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Book Description
A “bracing and well-argued” study of America’s college debt crisis—“necessary reading for anyone concerned about the fate of American higher education” (Kirkus). College is far too expensive for many people today, and the confusing mix of federal, state, institutional, and private financial aid leaves countless students without the resources they need to pay for it. In Paying the Price, education scholar Sara Goldrick-Rab reveals the devastating effect of these shortfalls. Goldrick-Rab examines a study of 3,000 students who used the support of federal aid and Pell Grants to enroll in public colleges and universities in Wisconsin in 2008. Half the students in the study left college without a degree, while less than 20 percent finished within five years. The cause of their problems, time and again, was lack of money. Unable to afford tuition, books, and living expenses, they worked too many hours at outside jobs, dropped classes, took time off to save money, and even went without adequate food or housing. In many heartbreaking cases, they simply left school—not with a degree, but with crippling debt. Goldrick-Rab combines that data with devastating stories of six individual students, whose struggles make clear the human and financial costs of our convoluted financial aid policies. In the final section of the book, Goldrick-Rab offers a range of possible solutions, from technical improvements to the financial aid application process, to a bold, public sector–focused “first degree free” program. "Honestly one of the most exciting books I've read, because [Goldrick-Rab has] solutions. It's a manual that I'd recommend to anyone out there, if you're a parent, if you're a teacher, if you're a student."—Trevor Noah, The Daily Show

The Privileged Poor

The Privileged Poor PDF Author: Anthony Abraham Jack
Publisher: Harvard University Press
ISBN: 0674239660
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 289

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Book Description
An NPR Favorite Book of the Year “Breaks new ground on social and educational questions of great import.” —Washington Post “An essential work, humane and candid, that challenges and expands our understanding of the lives of contemporary college students.” —Paul Tough, author of Helping Children Succeed “Eye-opening...Brings home the pain and reality of on-campus poverty and puts the blame squarely on elite institutions.” —Washington Post “Jack’s investigation redirects attention from the matter of access to the matter of inclusion...His book challenges universities to support the diversity they indulge in advertising.” —New Yorker The Ivy League looks different than it used to. College presidents and deans of admission have opened their doors—and their coffers—to support a more diverse student body. But is it enough just to admit these students? In this bracing exposé, Anthony Jack shows that many students’ struggles continue long after they’ve settled in their dorms. Admission, they quickly learn, is not the same as acceptance. This powerfully argued book documents how university policies and campus culture can exacerbate preexisting inequalities and reveals why some students are harder hit than others.

Doing Away with Debt

Doing Away with Debt PDF Author: Education Trust
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1

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Book Description
America's financial-aid system has become almost impossible to navigate and burdensome for those who need it most. Tuition and fees are skyrocketing, forcing almost half of college-going students to borrow. Low and middle-income students are taking on frightening levels of debt. Bachelor's degree recipients leave school with an average of $26,600 in debt, and over 100,000 students are shut out of college each year, with cost concerns acting as a major limiting factor. We must and can do better for students willing to work hard to learn their way into the middle class. The Education Trust proposes a college-aid redesign--a new system that shares responsibility among the federal government, states, institutions of higher education, and students to help low-income students attend and complete college with no loans and middle and upper-middle income students to do the same with no-interest loans. [For the full report, see ED543214.].

College Access and Affordability

College Access and Affordability PDF Author: Susan P. Choy
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : College costs
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description


The College Solution

The College Solution PDF Author: Lynn O'Shaughnessy
Publisher: FT Press
ISBN: 0132703327
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 305

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Book Description
“The College Solution helps readers look beyond over-hyped admission rankings to discover schools that offer a quality education at affordable prices. Taking the guesswork out of saving and finding money for college, this is a practical and insightful must-have guide for every parent!” —Jaye J. Fenderson, Seventeen’s College Columnist and Author, Seventeen’s Guide to Getting into College “This book is a must read in an era of rising tuition and falling admission rates. O’Shaughnessy offers good advice with blessed clarity and brevity.” —Jay Mathews, Washington Post Education Writer and Columnist “I would recommend any parent of a college-bound student read The College Solution.” —Kal Chany, Author, The Princeton Review’s Paying for College Without Going Broke “The College Solution goes beyond other guidebooks in providing an abundance of information about how to afford college, in addition to how to approach the selection process by putting the student first.” —Martha “Marty” O’Connell, Executive Director, Colleges That Change Lives “Lynn O’Shaughnessy always focuses on what’s in the consumer’s best interest, telling families how to save money and avoid making costly mistakes.” —Mark Kantrowitz, Publisher, FinAid.org and Author, FastWeb College Gold “An antidote to the hype and hysteria about getting in and paying for college! O’Shaughnessy has produced an excellent overview that demystifies the college planning process for students and families.” —Barmak Nassirian, American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers For millions of families, the college planning experience has become extremely stressful. And, unless your child is an elite student in the academic top 1%, most books on the subject won’t help you. Now, however, there’s a college guide for everyone. In The College Solution, top personal finance journalist Lynn O’Shaughnessy presents an easy-to-use roadmap to finding the right college program (not just the most hyped) and dramatically reducing the cost of college, too. Forget the rankings! Discover what really matters: the quality and value of the programs your child wants and deserves. O’Shaughnessy uncovers “industry secrets” on how colleges actually parcel out financial aid—and how even “average” students can maximize their share. Learn how to send your kids to expensive private schools for virtually the cost of an in-state public college...and how promising students can pay significantly less than the “sticker price” even at the best state universities. No other book offers this much practical guidance on choosing a college...and no other book will save you as much money! • Secrets your school’s guidance counselor doesn’t know yet The surprising ways colleges have changed how they do business • Get every dime of financial aid that’s out there for you Be a “fly on the wall” inside the college financial aid office • U.S. News & World Report: clueless about your child Beyond one-size-fits-all rankings: finding the right program for your teenager • The best bargains in higher education Overlooked academic choices that just might be perfect for you

Indebted

Indebted PDF Author: Caitlin Zaloom
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069121722X
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
"'Indebted' takes readers into the homes of middle-class families throughout the nation to reveal the hidden consequences of student debt and the ways that financing college has transformed family life"--Amazon

College Affordability

College Affordability PDF Author: Jerry S. Davis
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780965912709
Category : College costs
Languages : en
Pages : 59

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Book Description
This report attempts to define the nature and dimensions of the "college affordability crisis." It covers trends in college costs, student ability to pay, and some of the ways in which affordability problems are being addressed. The report finds that while annual growth in college costs has slowed, cost continues to exceed growth in family income and in the Consumer Price Index, but it notes that high tuition is not universal. It discusses student and family concerns about affordability and debt burdens on students after they leave college.It also notes that institutional reactions to these concerns include an increase in college-supported student aid. In looking at why college costs are rising, it notes that one factor is reduced growth in state funding, but also finds that an increasing number of private four-year colleges discount tuition. The report also discusses changes in federal student aid; looks at other explanations for the growth in tuition, including colleges' financial conditions; reviews policymakers' positions and views on affordability; and gives examples of how the media looks at affordability. Appendix tables provide comparative tuition data vis-a-vis income and enrollment, and grant aid as a percentage of total costs. (Contains 60 references.) (CH)