WASHINGTON — During a research and policy forum organized Thursday by the National Action Council for Minorities in Engineering (NACME) group, officials convened panel discussions to explore college affordability. Members of Congress attending the annual forum pledged their support for the STEM education funding as well as for the longtime minority engineering student scholarship and support organization.
“My colleagues and I have been working on a bill that I’ve just introduced last week that addresses the critical disparities in student achievement in math and science especially at the middle and high school level,” said U.S. Rep. Marcia L. Fudge (D-Ohio).
In addition to Fudge, U.S. Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.), U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Md.), U.S. Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fl.), U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Pa.), and U.S. Rep. G.K. Butterfield (D-N.C.) spoke at the Annual NACME Research and Policy Forum. Held at the Rayburn Office Building on Capitol Hill, the forum was entitled “Confronting the New American Dilemma: Research, to Policy, To Action.”
“We have assembled a group of scholars, advocates, corporate executives, and elected officials to help us unravel the conundrum of college affordability and offer actionable policy recommendations for moving forward,” said Dr. Irving McPhail, the NACME president and CEO.
“The escalating cost of a college education serves as a barrier to postsecondary degree completion and is most acute for low-income and families of color,” he noted.
The forum also highlighted release of the 2011-12 NACME Scholars Report, which surveys minority engineering students in their first and final years of undergraduate education. The report includes findings on why minorities pursue STEM education pathways and post-graduate education.
McPhail told Diverse that NACME had prepared its policy brief to examine college affordability, raise concerns, and recommend action items “to ease the burden on young people and parents attempting to complete a college education.”
