Colleges Serving the Most Students of Color Receive the Least Funding
TICAS Calls on Congress, Presidential Candidates to Consider Finance Equity in College Affordability Plans
Oakland, CA – Race remains a dividing line in college opportunity. More than half of young white adults hold at least a two-year college degree, but only about a third of young Black and Latino adults do. Stark racial disparities in college completion result in part from the fact that public colleges that disproportionately enroll underrepresented students of color receive less funding and have lower graduation rates.
Inequitable Funding, Inequitable Results: Racial Disparities at Public Colleges, an issue brief released today by The Institute for College Access & Success (TICAS), found community colleges and regional universities – which enroll more diverse student bodies – both receive less state funding and charge lower tuition. The result: public colleges with the fewest resources serve the most vulnerable students, which drives persistent gaps in educational attainment by race and income.
“Students of color disproportionately attend underfunded colleges where they are less likely to graduate,” notes TICAS president James Kvaal. “These days, there are too many free college plans to count. Presidential candidates and members of Congress need to make sure that their plans address the inequalities in college finance that drive the inequalities in college completion.”
The issue brief includes policy recommendations to promote equity in higher education, calling for enhanced tracking of inequities in college resources and student outcomes, more state funding for the colleges that enroll disadvantaged students, and a new federal-state partnerships to increase affordability, attainment, and equity.
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