Shutting Low-Income Students Out of Public Four-Year Higher Education

Posted by National College Access Network on May 28, 2018

Monday, June 11
2:00 PM to 3:00 PM Eastern

Register here
https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5586615673089469698

College affordability is a perennial topic around kitchen tables, in the media, and for stakeholders with interest in seeing more students access and complete a postsecondary education. Low- and middle-income students and families wring their hands over the tuition bill that will come due before even setting foot on campus, as they worry about whether they can afford this investment in their futures. The National College Access Network’s new analysis shows that, unfortunately, that worry is justified far too often, at least when considering four-year public institutions.

The white paper considers the affordability of four-year public institutions for an average Pell Grant recipient who receives the average amount of grant aid, takes out the average amount of federal loans, and collects reasonable work wages to contribute to their education. An astounding 75 percent of residential four-year institutions – including 90 percent of flagship institutions – failed our affordability test. The average Pell Grant recipient in our model would be able to afford just 139 of 551 residential four-year public institutions across the United States.

During this webinar, we will walk through the white paper’s findings, dive into questions of postsecondary affordability, and take questions from the audience on NCAN’s affordability.