Most state flagship universities are not affordable for students from low- and middle-income backgrounds. That’s according to a new report issued this week by the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP).
America’s public flagship institutions have long been depicted as providing an affordable pathway for low- and middle-income students to pursue higher education and with that economic mobility. IHEP’s report, “Opportunity Lost: Net Price and Equity at Public Flagship Institutions,” presents an analysis that indicates such is not the case. A key finding is that most public flagship institutions are no longer affordable to low-income students.
“We undertook this study to examine how affordable each of the 50 state flagship universities are for a variety of different college students today,” said Mamie Voight, IHEP vice president of policy research and one of the authors of the report.
IHEP’s mission is to promote college access, success and affordability, especially for historically underserved populations.
Based on national data from sources such as the National Post-Secondary Student Aid Study, the report presents five hypothetical college students each representing an economic background and standardized test scores. There is an analysis of how affordable each state’s flagship university would be for that student. Only six out of 50 flagship institutions met an affordability benchmark for low-income students.
In addition to tuition, the report takes into account the full cost of college and available grants and scholarships a student could get and how that factors into a student’s ability to pay. The study utilizes the “rule of 10,” which notes that a student can afford to attend a college if they can pay the full cost using 10 percent of their family’s discretionary income saved over 10 years prior to college plus the student working 10 hours a week while in college.
“The low-income students—whether they’re dependent on their parents or independent older adult students—as well as the middle-income students in our analysis are not able to afford today’s college prices at these 50 flagships,” said Voight. “Low-income students are facing the greatest affordability hurdles.”
