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With help from Benjamin Wermund
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I NEQUALITY PERSISTS AS COSTS INCREASE AT PUBLIC COLLEGES: New research out today paints a grim picture of public higher education as costs continue to climb and economic inequality endures at many four-year universities.
— More than half of the nation’s public four-year colleges expect the neediest freshmen to pay more than a third of their families’ yearly earnings, according to the latest installment of New America’s “Undermining Pell” series.
— T he report found a big increase in the share of public universities charging low-income students more than $10,000 on average in 2015-16 . The first installment of the New America series, which was released in 2013 and based on data from 2010-11, found that about a third of public universities expected students from families making less than $30,000 to pay at least $10,000. Now it’s 52 percent.
— “For years, public universities and state colleges complemented the government’s efforts by providing a low-cost education to students in their home states,” the report says. “In so doing, these schools offered students from low-income and moderate-income families a gateway to the middle class. But those days are fading away.”
— Too many public universities are still “worshipping at the altar of U.S. News,” the closely watched college rankings that have long rewarded exclusivity over inclusivity, said Stephen Burd, the author of the report. U.S. News and World Report announced earlier this year it’s changing the formula for its rankings to try to reverse the trend. The changes are aimed at rewarding schools that enroll and graduate more students from low-income families.
— Also out today: New research from the Institute of Higher Education Policy highlights persistent inequality at six flagship universities in the Great Lakes region. The research includes snapshots of enrollment and completion trends at Indiana University – Bloomington, Ohio State University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, and University of Wisconsin – Madison.
— Low-income students account for just 15 percent of the University of Michigan’s student body, for instance, although they make up 38 percent of students at all of Michigan’s colleges. Just 11 percent of the university’s freshmen are underrepresented minorities, even though 21 percent of the state’s high school graduates are minorities.
— The Michigan snapshot dings the school for not offering enough need-based aid, and for admissions policies that benefit legacy students and those who have “demonstrated interest” by doing such things as visiting campus — something many low-income students can’t afford to do. It applauds the school for not offering early decision, which research shows greatly benefits affluent students who are almost twice as likely as low-income students to apply that way.
— Flashback: POLITICO last year explored Michigan’s struggle to reach low-income students after years of acting like an elite private school, despite its public mission. “It’s ingrained at an early age — ‘You’re not going to go there,’” Benjamin Edmondson, the superintendent of one school district in nearby Ypsilanti, Michigan — where almost every student qualifies for a subsidized lunch — said at the time. “Why? It’s expensive. Why? It’s not attainable.” Revisit it here.
— “These deep inequalities are built into our system of higher education and they overflow into society at large,” said Mamie Voight, vice president of policy research at IHEP. While many of the schools IHEP examined have enrolled more minority students, they haven’t kept pace with demographic changes and racial gaps are actually growing at some universities.
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BIPARTISAN ENDORSEMENTS FROM SCAN IN VERMONT: Save the Children Action Network, a group that advocates for the expansion of high-quality early education, is endorsing Republican Vermont Gov. Phil Scott’s bid for reelection. SCAN cited Scott’s plan to direct revenue from the state’s new online sales tax to boost child care subsidies for low-income families.
— At the same time, SCAN endorsed Vermont House Speaker Mitzi Johnson, a Democrat, for fighting “tirelessly for more child care funding in the legislature.”
— SCAN plans to air a 60-second radio ad supporting Scott. The group also is sending direct mail to voters in Johnson’s district advocating for her reelection. All in all, the group is planning to spend $40,000 in races in Vermont.
AFT AIRS SPANISH AD IN FL-27: The American Federation of Teachers launched a Spanish-language television ad opposing Maria Elvira Salazar, a former Spanish-language broadcast journalist and the Republican candidate for Florida’s 27th Congressional District running against Democrat Donna Shalala. AFT wouldn’t say how much it’s spending on the ad, beyond that it’s a “six-figure” buy.
— “Maria Elvira Salazar is cut from the same cloth as Donald Trump — they are both television stars out of touch with reality,” AFT President Randi Weingarten said. “Donna has dedicated her life to health care, education, and the well-being of people, not enriching the already-rich. That’s why Florida educators proudly support Donna Shalala.”
CHAN ZUCKERBERG INVESTS IN ‘WHOLE CHILD’ APPROACHES: The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, founded by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, Priscilla Chan, pledged $3.3 million to four organizations focusing on helping students develop critical life skills.
— The largest award went to GripTape, a project of education nonprofit America Achieves, which offers high school students grants of up to $500 to pursue their own learning projects. Students can apply for the money to attend conferences, to rent or purchase art or technology equipment and to travel.
— “Because we operate outside of formal learning environments and at the boundary of what people perceive possible, we have the opportunity to pilot transformative ideas and approaches directly with ― and led by ― youth,” said Nathan Simpson, a member of GripTape’s youth board.
— A second grant of $685,000 will go to Roses in Concrete Community School, a charter school in East Oakland, Calif., to train teachers on trauma-informed practices to respond more effectively to the toxic stress, poverty and violence among their students.
— CZI also pledged $750,000 to the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning, which is working to formalize social and emotional learning from preschool through high school. A $700,000 grant will go toward Peer Health Exchange, a group that partners with high schools to supplement or offer health education.
ICYMI — MARYLAND PRESIDENT TO STEP DOWN: University of Maryland President Wallace Loh announced Tuesday that he will retire next year amid the fallout from the June death of 19-year-old university football player Jordan McNair.
— An independent report on McNair’s death concluded the school’s leadership bears some responsibility for the dysfunction of the athletics department, Loh noted in a letter explaining his decision.
— “I accept that responsibility,” Loh wrote, adding, “we must work to create a healthier culture that advances the well-being of our student-athletes.”
— But the University System of Maryland Board of Regents recommended that two key figures — football coach DJ Durkin and athletic director Damon Evans — keep their jobs. “This was despite the investigation concluding that Evans and Loh bear responsibility for the abuse that permeated the football team under Durkin, who has been on administrative leave since August,” according to the Diamondback student newspaper. More from Pro’s Kimberly Hefling.
— Loh’s decision to step down follows the high-profile departures of other university leaders within the last year, including University of North Carolina President Margaret Spellings, Michigan State University President Lou Anna Simon and University of Southern California President C. L. Max Nikias.
— The Center for American Progress is out with a report highlighting the need for high-quality child care options for infants and toddlers, who are often left without slots even in cities where a majority of 3- and 4-year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality program. “While there has been an increased recognition of the importance of preschool and subsequent investment, the same support and investment for infant and toddler care have lagged,” the report reads.
— EdChoice, the school choice advocacy group, released a survey this week of families participating in Florida’s tax-credit scholarship. When asked about the reasons for choosing their child’s school through the program, a majority of parents selected religious instruction and environment, and morals, character and values instruction. Lower down were factors like a safe environment, the school’s academic reputation and small class sizes.
— Ohio State shutters higher education policy center: The Lantern.
— UMass to maintain protections for transgender individuals, regardless of the outcome of a statewide referendum on transgender protections: WWLP.
— Juul offered schools $20,000 to roll out vaping curriculum that encouraged “mindfulness” as an alternative to e-cigarettes: Buzzfeed.
— GOP candidate in Minnesota attorney general race sued school districts over transgender policies: The 74.
— Carranza: NYC will hire 100 new coordinators to serve homeless students: Chalkbeat.