Universities Can Do More to Enroll Low-Income Undergraduates
Published Aug 27, 2015
Each year, Washington Monthly magazine releases a College Guide, complete with college and university rankings and an exploration of pressing issues in higher education.
This year, IHEP is prominently featured in the well-read guide with a compelling, new analysis about equity in higher education.
Our piece, written by Mamie Voight, IHEP's director of policy research, and Colleen Campbell, senior policy analyst at the Association of Community College Trustees, identifies an area ripe for improvement in higher education: Many universities are not proactively doing all they can to enroll low-income undergraduates. As a result, tens of thousands of young people are missing the first, critical step toward opportunity.
"If more colleges with Pell enrollment deficits opened their doors to qualified, low-income students, far more low-income students would stand a fighting chance of earning the college credentials they need," Voight says. "Many colleges, including selective ones, are proving that through deliberate recruitment and strong leadership, it's possible to increase the number of low-income students enrolled, and help them succeed."
The piece identifies the 10 large universities with the greatest potential to graduate more lower-income students receiving Pell grants and the 10 institutions that exceed expectations.
IHEP will be releasing a longer, more in-depth analysis of this topic in the fall.
Read the Washington Monthly article here.
