College students’ rising costs are schools’ problem, too. Let’s find new solutions | Opinion
The high cost of higher education is an issue that can no longer be ignored. Colleges and universities must do more than sympathize with hard-pressed students and their families. Affordability has to be treated as a high-priority aspect of the overall mission, especially by publicly funded institutions.
Lowering overall tuition rates may sound like an easy solution, but it’s simply not feasible given the costs colleges must bear. The key is to develop creative solutions that ease the burden based on a student and family’s ability to pay.
The federal government, through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid program, offers the best currently available means of estimating that vital ability-to-pay metric. Eligibility for Pell grants is determined from FAFSA information, and can be a tool to evaluate affordability. In these times, though, almost all families could use at least some help.
Supplementing Pell grant awards with additional school-based financial aid can make a huge difference for many students and families. Some schools offer “gap” scholarships — need-based awards that cover the gap between a student’s gift aid (scholarships and grants) and their remaining tuition and fee costs. With these programs, students essentially can attend college for free, accumulating no student loan debt.
Tuition assistance is the biggest difference maker, but schools also must confront the reality that tuition assistance alone does not guarantee affordability. Access to technology is a must for modern education — and too often has been a barrier to student success. It is heartbreaking to hear from students who say they are dropping out because they needed to buy a new computer, and therefore could not afford tuition. Even if tuition is covered, expenses such as housing, transportation and child care can become insurmountable barriers.
To deal with these situations, our latest initiative at the University of Missouri-Kansas City is Roo Wireless, a program providing free computer tablets and mobile hot spots to qualifying students in need. Once approved, the student’s tablet is shipped within 48 hours, and it’s theirs to keep. To participate, students must be Pell-eligible, meet eligibility criteria for a participating provider’s low-income internet program or receive a form of assistance, such as SNAP, SSI, Medicaid or veteran benefits. Other colleges including Ohio State and Florida State universities offer similar free technology programs.
Schools also must recognize the tremendous sacrifices many students make to stay enrolled, persevering through food, housing and overall financial insecurity. Many universities now have food banks to address student food insecurity. A few have taken the concept a step further, combining a food pantry with counseling services specifically related to housing and financial insecurity.
Finally, higher education institutions can’t sit back and wait for students and families to discover the help that’s available. Partnerships with local school districts and community-based organizations provide invaluable opportunities for connection and communication. Many high schools already offer classes that confer higher education credits in partnership with colleges, which reduces the credit requirements that must be paid with college tuition. One approach gaining traction is expanding these partnerships to include need-based scholarships and college transition programming to help young people prepare for the demands of higher education.
No question, affordability remains too big an issue for too many potential students. Still, we are making progress. And we’re not done yet.
Elora Thomas is director of admissions at the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
