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Letter to the New York Times

March 28, 2002

Letters to the Editor
The New York Times
229 W. 43rd St.
New York, NY 10036

To the Editor:

It is fundamental to America’s economic and national security that all qualified students, regardless of their family background, have the opportunity to earn a college degree (“Pricing the Poor Out of College,” March 27). In the next 10 years, undergraduate enrollment will increase by more than 14 percent. Eighty percent of these new students will come from minority backgrounds, and 20 percent will be from families living below the poverty level. This is no time for the Bush administration’s FY 2003 budget to axe the entire budget of one of the most important financial aid programs for needy students (Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnerships), and freeze funding increases for other key student aid programs, including Pell Grants, Perkins Loans, and Federal Work-Study.

Despite a 76 percent increase in the maximum Pell Grant since 1995, federal policymakers need to do more to ensure that our neediest students can realize the dream of a college degree. Private colleges and universities now provide more than four times as much in grant aid to their students than is provided by the federal government--a far cry from two decades ago, when the amounts were almost equal.

Private institutions believe in access and affordability, and they act on it. Our colleges have made significant advances in opening the doors of higher education to students from all backgrounds. Twenty-four percent of students at private colleges and universities are racial and ethnic minorities, and 28 percent are the first in their family to attend college. Today, because of their commitment to need-based aid and individualized attention, private institutions enroll virtually the same percentage of minority students as their public sector counterparts (24 percent vs. 25 percent, respectively), and almost the same percentage of undergraduates with family incomes below $25,000 (27 percent vs. 31 percent, respectively). Private colleges also graduate these students at nearly twice the rate as public colleges do.

We will continue to be steadfast in our commitment to equal educational opportunity for all students. However, without a significant new investment in student aid by federal and state policymakers, the ability of private and public college leaders to provide a quality education that is accessible and affordable to the nation’s neediest students will be severely tested.

Sincerely,

David L. Warren
President
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities