Enrolling lower-income college students: why it matters
Callie Nguyen will graduate this spring from Concordia College in Moorhead with a double major in chemistry and biology and has plans to attend medical school. She’s fulfilling a dream that at one time seemed unattainable. With her family’s limited income she wasn’t sure she would be able to afford college at all. But thanks to numerous grants and scholarships she is thriving. Nguyen benefits — as does her campus community and our state.
Approximately 19 percent of undergraduates at Minnesota Private College Council (MPCC) member institutions come from families with incomes less than $40,000 and receive a Federal Pell Grant. This proportion increases to 23 percent representing students from families with incomes less than $70,000 and receiving a Minnesota State Grant. These percentages are slightly higher than for undergraduates enrolled at both the Minnesota State Universities and the University of Minnesota.
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However, State Grant aid is not reaching needy families as it did in previous years. Just 10 years ago, 33 percent of MPCC undergraduates were State Grant recipients. Since 1995, this number has decreased by more than 2,500 due to increasing family incomes coupled with unchanged income requirements for receiving need-based aid. But enrollment of the lowest-income students (Pell grant recipients) has remained stable at approximately 8,000 students. And our colleges’ commitment to providing an education to lower-income students has not diminished.
Social justice issues
This commitment is partly about social justice. MPCC members have long-standing commitments of service to their communities and the world which are often tied to the institutions’ faith traditions. It is part of their missions and core values to provide access to students — including those who are less financially fortunate.
Barriers to lower-income students enrolling in college often parallel those related to race and ethnicity. Minnesotans of color are three times more likely to be among the lowest-income. In 2005, 37 percent of African Americans in Minnesota earned incomes less than $28,000 as compared to 12 percent of whites, according to the State Demographic Center. Thus, less economic diversity will correspond to less racial diversity on campus.
Studies show that lower-income students in Minnesota are becoming less likely to make it to college. In 1993, Minnesota ranked first with 48 percent of lower-income students enrolling in college; in 2003-04 the ranking fell to 11th with 33 percent enrolling. Even among the highest-ability students, fewer than one in three lower-income students will complete a bachelor’s degree, according to the College Board.
Campus and student experience
Research on racial and ethnic diversity in higher education shows that campus diversity initiatives have positive effects on both minority and majority students. Diverse institutions help improve students’ relationships on campus and positively influence their satisfaction and involvement with their institution as well as their academic growth. The same can be said for economic diversity.
Encountering students from diverse incomes as well as different racial and ethnic groups enables students to get to know one another and to deepen their own thinking about themselves and about others. For many students, college is the first sustained exposure to an environment other than their home communities.
Needs of our economy
The number of currently working college graduates who will be retiring from the Minnesota workforce will grow from 9,000 per year in 2007 to 25,000 per year in 2019. Further, the forecast is that Minnesota will have an annual shortage of approximately 12,900 college-educated workers. At the same time, total Minnesota high school graduates will decrease while the proportion representing students of color will increase.
As Minnesota’s population becomes more racially and ethnically diverse, our best bet for increasing the number of skilled workers is to increase the participation and completion rates of all students — including lower-income students.
A 2004 study by the Minnesota Private College Research Foundation clearly documented the social and economic transformation of students from the lowest-income quartile as a result of their graduation from one of our colleges. Outcomes for lower-income students were similar to their upper-income peers for educational satisfaction, time to degree completion, average personal income, employment levels and pursuit of advanced degrees.
Minnesota’s private colleges and universities have a history of successfully educating students like Callie Nguyen. Recruitment and enrollment of lower-income students is a wise investment in them, our campuses and state.