Page 344 - Crisis in Higher Education

314 • Crisis in Higher Education

2. Quality concerns: Universities in the United States are perform-
ing well, but other countries are closing the gap. The Universitas
21 study, which is the only international ranking of university sys-
tems as opposed to individual institutions, has the U.S. system first
overall, but it is a different story when the rankings are adjusted
for the stage of economic development. When this is done, the
U.S. system ranks 16th behind Serbia, China, Finland, and India,
among others. 3
3. Limited access: Data indicate that in the 1980s, financial constraints
did not determine who attends universities, but today family income
4
and parental wealth do matter. About 78% of high school gradu-
ates from high-income families enroll in college and 53% gradu-
ate, but the numbers for middle-income families are only 64% and
25%, respectively. Many low- and some middle-income families
routinely eliminate a university education as an option because of
5
high costs. See Figure 15.3. On top of financial constraints, many
students are simply not prepared or worse yet drop out of primary
or secondary schools. The average graduation rate for urban high
schools is only about 50%, and it is lower for African American
males. 6

25%
Moderate income families
64%

53%
High income families
78%

0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Graduate Attend college
FIGURE 15.3
Percent of high school graduates from moderate- and high-income families attending
and graduating from college. (From Middle Class Task Force: The Vice President of the
United States. White House Task Force on Middle Class Families STAFF REPORT: Barriers
to Higher Education, 2010. https://www.whitehouse.gov/assets/documents/MCTF_staff_
report_barriers_to_ college_FINAL.pdf)