The study also includes a report card that grades each university’s commitment to access for low-income and minority students. Both the University of Alabama and University of Georgia received ‘F’ grades, while West Virginia University and the University of Vermont received grades of ‘A.’
Though minority students comprise more than 35 percent of Georgia’s high school graduates, they represented less than 7 percent of the entering 2004 freshmen class at the University of Georgia.
“The shifting of financial aid resources away from students who genuinely need more support shows that these schools are not merely victims of bad choices by policymakers or bad preparation in K-12. The data make it very clear that these universities are independent actors in shrinking educational opportunity in their states,” Haycock says.
“Even most HBCUs are not competing for the top Black kids,” she told a group of higher education reporters at a meeting held earlier by the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media in Phoenix.
The report recommends that the flagship institution’s examine graduation rate gaps between different groups of students. It also suggests reallocating funds so the bulk of tuition assistance goes to students who wouldn’t be able to afford college without it.
“The flagships occupy a special place in cultivating the next generation of leaders in their states. With their special status comes a special responsibility to combine excellence with equity,” Haycock says. “The flagships need to reaffirm their historic commitment to opportunity and set a new course.”
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
