Higher Education Today Increasing stratification, separate and unequal tiers In many ways...
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Transcript of Higher Education Today Increasing stratification, separate and unequal tiers In many ways...
Higher Education Today
• Increasing stratification, separate and unequal tiers
• In many ways reinforcing, and in some ways widening, inequality
Political failure
No Longer the International Leader
Inequality in College Degrees
Source: Thomas G. Mortenson, “Family Income and Unequal Educational Opportunity, 1970-2011,” Postsecondary Education Opportunity, 245 (2012), www.postsecondary.org
Bottom 2nd 3rd Top0
102030405060708090
100
611 15
40
10 15
30
71
Estimated Percentage of U.S. Population with 4-yr. College Degree by Age 24, by Family Income
Quartile, 1970-2011
19702011
Stratification of Colleges(Sources: College Board)
PublishedTuition &
Fees (“Sticker Prices”)
2012-2013
Percentage of First-Time
Full-time Students
Seeking BA who earn it
within 6 years
Percentage of Students
With Federal Loans, 2007-
2008
Median Student
Debt (among 2007-08
graduates)
Default Rates
Among Borrowers,
after 3 years (2009)
For-Profits $15,172 22% 94% (BA)97% (AS)
$32,700 (BA)$18,800 (AS)
23%
Private Nonprofits
$29,056 65% 69% $17,700 7%
Publics $8,655 (4 yr)$3,131 (2 yr)
(in-state)
55% 58% (BA)33% (AS)
$22,400(BA)$7,100(AS)
8% (BA)18% (AS)
It’s Not All About Tuition• Can’t just blame the colleges/universities• History of government support for higher
education
It’s Not All About Aptitude
Low income Middle income High income0
1020304050607080
38
29
7
21
47
30
51
74
Percentage of Students Who Received 4 Year College Degree or More, by Test Scores and Income, 2000
Low scoreMiddle scoreHigh score
Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS: 88/2000), "Fourth Follow-up," unpublished data.
Research Methods
• Analysis of government documents, historical record
• Interviews with policymakers• Statistical analysis of historical data on state
spending and revenues
What Explains It?• POLICYSCAPE– A political terrain that is
densely cluttered with policies created at earlier points in time
– Requires maintenance & updating
• If left untended, problems ensue:
• Policy design effects• Unintended
consequences• Lateral effects
Policy Upkeep Depends on Politics
• To what extent do policymakers manage existing programs?
Contemporary Obstacles:• Polarization• Plutocracy
I. Diminishing Opportunity in Federal Student Aid
Pell Grants Fall Behind and Student Borrowing Soars as Tuition Rises at 4-Yr Public Universities (2010 Dollars)
Sources: U.S. Department of Education; Digest of Educational Statistics; FinAid.org
1973
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2010
$0
$1,000
$2,000
$3,000
$4,000
$5,000
$6,000
$7,000
$8,000
$0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
Tuition, 4 Yr Publics, 2010 Dollars Average Pell Grant, 2010 Dollars Avg. Student Loan Debt at Graduation, 2010 $
Aver
age
Pell
Gran
t, Pu
blic
Tuiti
on (2
010
dolla
rs)
Aver
age
Stud
ent L
oan
Debt
(201
0 do
llars
)
Rising Polarization in Congress Demise of Effective Lawmaking for Federal Student Aid
Sources: Voteview.com; authors’ analysis of roll call votes
1941
1943
1945
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1951
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1971
1973
1975
1977
1979
1981
1983
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1987
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1995
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1999
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2005
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2009
2009
0
0.2
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1
1.2
0
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6
8
10
12
House, degree of overall partisan polarization (DW-Nominate) Senate, degree of overall partisan polarization (DW-Nominate)
Ideo
logi
cal G
ap B
etw
een
the
Parti
es (D
W-N
omin
ate
Scor
es)
Bars
indi
cate
deg
ree
of p
artis
an p
olar
izatio
n on
spec
ific ’
on
High
er E
d Bi
lls
GI Bill (1944)
NDEA (1958)
HEA (1965)
Pells(1972)
Growing Partisan Gaps in Support for Amendments to Higher Education Laws, 1971-
2008
Source: Author’s analysis of roll call votes on amendments. N=65 in House, 26 in Senate
1971- 1980 1981-94 1995 -20080
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
29 31
60
13
37
51
HouseSenate
Tuition Relief Through the Tax System: Costly Alternatives…With Less Impact• Hope, Lifetime Learning
Tax Credits, 1997
• American Opportunity Tax Credit, 2009– Largest share goes to
families with household incomes between $100,000-$180,000
*Such policies fail to expand access to college. *As of 2013, they cost the U.S. $16.7 billion—44% of the cost of Pell Grants ($38.2 billion).
II. Sinking Support for Public Universities and Colleges
• 73% of American college students attend
• State spending per student declined 26% (real),1990 to 2010
• Tuition rose by 113% (real), 1990 to 2010
• Declining graduation rates
The Unequal Impact of Rising Tuition Costs
Bottom Second Middle Fourth Highest0
20
40
60
80
100
120
42
19 13 10 6
114.258604894647
46.4932367664288
28.609581858697118.7285481379784
8.82171654911788
Fig. 4.1 Percentage of Family Income Required to Pay Cost of Attending Public Four-Year Institutions, by Income Quintile,
1971 and 2011
19712011
Source: Donald E. Heller, "Trends in the Affordabilityof Public Colleges and Universities,"in Donald E. Heller, ed., The States and Public Higher Education, (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press: , 2011), p. 22. Updated with College Board . 2012. "Trends in College Pricing" http://trends.collegeboard.org/college-pricing. U.S. Census Bureau "Table F-3 Mean Income Received by Each Fifth and Top 5 Percent of Families" http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/income/data/historical/families/.
Higher Education Squeezed Out As Mandatory Costs Take a Larger Share of State Budgets
Sources: Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; Center for the Study of Education Policy; State and Local Gov’t Finance Data Query System; Urban-Institute Brookings Tax Policy Center; U.S. Census Bureau; Kaiser Family Foundation
1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
Tax Revenues
K-12
Medicaid
Higher Ed
Prison
III. Rise of the For-Profit Colleges
For-Profit Colleges: Promoting Opportunity?
• Low graduation rates: 22%• 94% of students borrow for BA degree, and
borrow highest median rates of any sector ($33,000)
• Account for 47 percent of student loan defaults; 23% default within 3 years
Total Enrollment in Degree-granting Postsecondary Institutions by Race and Institution Type, 2012(Source: Digest of Education Statistics)
Private Non-profit Public 4-yr Public 2-yr For-Profit0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
63%61%
54%
47%
12% 11%
15%
29%
8%
12%
20%
15%16% 15%
11%9%
WhiteBlackHispanicOther
Private Sector?Each permitted by law to received up to 90 percent of revenues from Higher Education Act’s Title IV; on average, receive 86 percent.
Attended by 10 percent of students; use $1 in $4 of Higher Education Act’s Title IV, 37% of Post 9/11 GI Bill, and 50% of DOD ed programs.
From Bipartisan Efforts for Reform…(1950s – 1992)
…to Bipartisan Protection of the Industry (1995-present)
• Deregulation:– 85/15 90/10– End of 50% on campus
requirement
• Watering down gainful employment rules
Restoring the Public Purposes of Higher Education