Great Gains, Ongoing Gaps
Published Jan 31, 2023
By Sara Weissman
Mamie Voight, president and CEO of the Institute for Higher Education Policy, said continuing to lift attainment rates, and doing it equitably, should be a “shared responsibility” between the federal government, state governments and colleges and universities. Among other policy solutions, she believes the federal government should invest in resources that help students afford and complete college, such as doubling the Pell Grant. She also believes states should increase their aid to students and maintain strong funding levels for colleges and universities, even during an economic downturn.
She added that steep enrollment declines during the pandemic may have halted the upward trajectory shown in the Lumina data and could cause attainment rates to level off or fall in the future. However, she said that outcome isn’t “inevitable” if state and college leaders take action now.
“If they do the work now to re-engage students, to bring them back to college, to change the institutional policies and practices that may be serving as barriers for students to enroll and complete, then they can change the course of what those numbers will look like down the road,” she said.
Read the full article at Inside Higher Ed.
