Blog: College Affordability
College Costs Are High — But Here’s the Progress We’re Seeing
College is expensive — there’s no denying that. And if you’ve followed conversations about college affordability, you’ve probably heard a lot about how discouragingly high the cost of attending college can be. I don’t disagree, and the data we analyzed definitely backed that up.
But here’s the thing: as I dug into the numbers, I didn’t just feel the usual frustration over rising costs — I actually felt a bit hopeful. Surprising, right? So, what stood out to me?
Who Could Really Use Academic Common Market?
Insights from SREB's Student Demographic Analysis
A high school student wants to earn a college degree in a specialized field, but there isn’t a university in their home state that offers that degree. This student is also facing other challenges, including financial hardship, that prevent attending an out-of-state school. What options are available to make this degree more attainable?
Belonging From a Distance
Protecting the mental health of America’s “loneliest generation”
Things are tough for college
students right now. The COVID-19 crisis, which has disrupted life
everywhere, is “quite possibly the single most disruptive event
in American higher education in at least a half century,”
according to
the Atlantic, one that has “left students scrambling
to wrangle flights home and pack up their dorm room.”
Part-Time Students = 38% of Undergrads
Affordability Commission focuses on needs of adult and part-time students
Part-time college students made up 38 percent of undergraduates
in SREB states by 2013. Many part-time students work to pay their
living expenses as well as tuition, and the more hours they work,
the longer it takes them to finish, on average. Part-timers are
eligible for less financial aid, and they tend to file later,
missing early deadlines.
Promising Affordability Practices in Oklahoma, Tennessee
What the research tells us
SREB’s Commission on College Affordability in the South convened in New Orleans in December 2014 for its second meeting to focus state policies on increasing the students’ ability to pay for and complete college. Members learned what the research tells us about affordability’s effects on enrollment and completion and heard about promising practices in two states, Oklahoma and Tennessee.
