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Research Examines Barriers to College Access, Success

By Brittany Hackett, Communications Staff

Socioeconomic gaps in college enrollment and attainment have increased over time, despite policy efforts to improve access and rising returns on a college education, according to a recent paper in the Economics of Education Review.

The paper—co-authored by Lindsay C. Page of the University of Pittsburgh and Judith Scott-Clayton of Teachers College at Columbia University—examines current academic literature on policies to boost access to college, and the impact those policies have on four barriers to college:

  • Financial aid policy;
  • The complexity of the college-going process;
  • Academic barriers; and
  • “Top X percent” admissions plans and affirmative action.

According to the authors, the “efficiency and equity of the American high-tuition, high-aid model of college financing rests heavily on the effectiveness of financial aid programs.” The current financial aid process poses several challenges to students, including increasing financial barriers to college access due to state disinvestment and rising tuition prices, as well as misperceptions about college costs and how to access financial aid. The other three barriers include complications like identifying and applying to college; selecting the college that best aligns with a student’s goals, finances, and academic credentials; academic unpreparedness upon entering college and the need for remedial education; and the impact affirmative action can have on the enrollment of minority, low-income, and first-generation college students.

Because policies for college access tend to focus only on one of the four barriers they “may not be the most effective use of resources if other challenges still stand in students’ way,” the authors write. “[T]he most effective solutions may be ones that seek to address multiple barriers to college access together, rather than in isolation.”

However, policies that aim to support both access and completion present their own complications due to limited resources, which in turn presents institutions with a choice – “serve more students with lower quality, or fewer students with higher quality academic opportunities and other services,” according to the authors. This tension between the quantity of students served and the quality of their education “is likely only to increase in the coming years,” as higher education resources continue to be limited and socioeconomic gaps in college access continue to persist, the authors conclude.

 

Publication Date: 6/16/2016


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