Page 74 - Crisis in Higher Education

48 • Crisis in Higher Education

Limited access to higher education is a problem that has been only par-
tially addressed. For decades, access was limited by four factors. Some
people were

1. Unaware of higher education and its value
2. Shut out because they lacked the financial resources to attend
3. Poorly prepared or did not graduate from high school making higher
education impossible without substantial remedial education
4. Victims of discrimination based on race and other irrelevant factors.

Over time, communication systems improved, including newspapers,
telephones, radio, television, and the Internet, so more people became
aware of higher education and it value. The barrier created by racial
discrimination changed with affirmative action, which is a set of laws,
policies, and guidelines that are intended to correct the long-term effects
of discrimination. Although the idea of affirmative action has been dis-
cussed and debated in the United States for more than 150 years, the
concept gained legislative backing and took flight with the passage of the
2,3
Civil Rights Act of 1964. Regardless of a person’s view of affirmative
action, the plight of minority students improved because race is now used
in a positive manner when colleges and universities make admission deci-
sions. Unfortunately, rapidly increasing costs and declining quality in
primary and secondary schools, especially in large cities, are combining
to increase barriers to higher education. Middle-income families are also
feeling the pinch from high prices.
Too often, applicants who are well prepared, have resources, and gain
admission do not graduate. The National Center for Education Statistics
reports a six-year graduation rate of only 59% for first-time, full-time
students who began pursuing a bachelor’s degree at a four-year college or
university in Fall of 2007 and completed it at that institution by Spring
of 2013. Students attending two-year colleges did far worse as only 29.4%
of first-time, full-time students, who began in 2010, completed their
degree at that institution within three years. Students who graduate are
taking longer to complete their studies. At public universities, only about
one out of three students graduate in four years. 4
Another problem is that many students graduate but are unable to find
a job or are unable to find one that pays enough to sustain them and repay
their loans. It is difficult to find precise data to substantiate what is often
anecdotal tales of recent graduates who live with their parents because