A study released Dec. 3 by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education shows that higher education in the commonwealth of Virginia, as well as in the United States as a whole, needs to improve efforts to provide affordable education to remain competitive internationally.
Stacey Zis, research associate with the National Center for Higher Education Management Systems and co-author of the study, said the study, “Measuring Up 2008,” is intended to be a national report card for higher education.
The center releases a report on higher education in the United States as a whole, Zis said, as well as a report for each individual state. The states were graded on criteria such as how well they prepare students for college, opportunity for college enrollment for 18- to 24-year-olds, college affordability, degree and certificate completion, and the economic and societal benefits a state receives as the result of having well-educated residents, she said.
The study was completed using current data from “reliable national sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Department of Education,” according to the report.
“We’ve made small gains in college preparation,” she said of the findings, “but these are being offset by declines in high school graduation.” She added that gains made in the enrollment of young adults in higher education are offset by declines in the enrollment of older adults.
Despite increases in young adult enrollment in higher education, the United States still lags behind countries such as South Korea, Greece, Poland, Ireland, Belgium and Hungary, she said.
The commonwealth of Virginia performed slightly better than the United States as a whole in terms of the percentage of 18- to 24-year-old adults enrolled in college and about the same in terms of the percentage of 25- to 49-year-old adults enrolled in college, the study states. Virginia performed slightly worse than the country as a whole in completion, or the number of certificates and degrees awarded per 100 students enrolled.
The category in which Virginia performed the best was in benefits, the main measure of which is the percentage of residents with bachelor’s degrees; the commonwealth received an A in this category.
“A very large proportion of residents have a bachelor’s degree,” the study states, “and this substantially strengthens the state economy. Virginia is a top performer on the economic benefits measure.”
The category in which Virginia performed the worst was college affordability; the commonwealth received an F.
“Families in Virginia devote a large share of family income, even after financial aid, to attend public two-year colleges,” according to the report, “and they devote a very large share of family income to attend public four-year colleges and universities.”
Furthermore, the report shows that Virginia’s investment in need-based financial aid is very low when compared to the top-performing states.
Though the commonwealth scored poorly in affordability, the University remains a leader in recognizing the importance of making higher education affordable, University Financial Aid Director Yvonne Hubbard said.
“Financial aid has always been need-based at U.Va.,” Hubbard said. “We have very little merit-based aid because of the affordability issue.”
The University administration works hard to ensure that finances do not play a role in a student’s decision of whether to attend the University, Hubbard said, by offering loan-free packages for low-income students and limiting the amount of need-based loans that other students will need to fund their educations.
Hubbard said one problem she sees with studies such as the one recently released by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education is that they might scare off potential students.
“What concerns me ... is that students start to believe they can’t go anywhere,” Hubbard said. “If students believe [financial aid] is not available, they don’t attempt to go anywhere. There are so many options and so many ways of making it happen.”
The University is looking into expanding the AccessUVa program, University spokesperson Carol Wood said, and in the coming year the University has committed $62 million to the program, an increase from the $37 million set aside for the program five years ago.
Wood added that the University hopes to continue to be considered one of the nation’s “best buy colleges” and the Board of Visitors will consider that goal when setting the University’s tuition in April. Wood noted, however, that tuition is a main source of funding for AccessUVa, faculty salaries and operating costs at the University.
At this point it is important for people who work in higher education to continue considering need in hard financial times, Hubbard said.
“I wouldn’t mind seeing a lot more federal aid going into grants and making sure the student loan system is strong,” she said.
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