The top public university in each state is granting more
financial aid to students from high-income families than to
low-income students, a new report from The Education Trust
said.
According to the report, the most prestigious public
universities of each state, called flagship universities, are
reallocating financial aid funds away from low-income students to
higher-income students. In addition, the racial makeup of these
universities are less reflective of their respective states’
populations.
The study was released by the Education Trust, a nonprofit
research and advocacy group for pre-kindergarten through college
education.
UC Berkeley represented California public universities, so the
report did not specifically study UCLA.
In 2003, flagship institutions and other similar public research
universities spent $257 million on financial aid for students from
high-income families, a 406 percent increase from 1995 figures,
according to the report. High-income families are classified as
families that make more than $100,000 per year.
The report found that the same schools spent $171 million on
low-income families, a 13 percent decrease from 1995. Low-income
families are those that make less than $20,000 per year, according
to the study.
“At a time when more and more low-income and minority
students are preparing for college, it is disturbing that many of
our most prestigious colleges and universities are turning away
from them,” said Kati Haycock, director of the Education
Trust and a co-author of the report.
The study attributed the change in financial aid allocation to a
“short-sighted but relentless pursuit of higher selectivity
ratings,” as well as to attempts to “pursue greater
prestige,” Haycock said in a statement.
In the case of UCLA and the University of California system, the
amount of university aid given to students is calculated by the
Education Financing Model, which is applied in all UC campuses for
students of all income levels, said Nick Valdivia, associate
director of the UCLA Financial Aid Office.
For each student, regardless of family income, parent
contribution and self-help amounts are estimated by the Free
Application for Federal Student Aid and deducted from total cost
for the year, and UCLA provides an aid package for the remaining
costs.
“There is not less money, there is more money (being given
each year to low-income students),” Valdivia said, but he
added that the percentage of financial aid given to low-income
students may be smaller at UCLA.
According to the report, the racial makeup of top public
universities throughout the nation is becoming less representative
of overall state demographics.
Since 1992, the percentage of underrepresented minorities
““ which includes blacks, Latinos and Native Americans ““
enrolled at Berkeley has fallen by 53.6 percent to 13.9 percent for
2004.
Overall, 27 flagship institutions received a grade of
“F,” with only five receiving a grade of
“A.” A grade of “A” shows that the
proportion of underrepresented minorities enrolled in the
institution is similar to the proportion of those minorities in the
state.
Like Berkeley, UCLA’s underrepresented minority enrollment
has decreased significantly over the last 12 years. As of fall
2005, underrepresented minorities make up less than 19 percent of
the student population, according to the UCLA Office of Analysis
and Information Management.
The results of the report reinforce what has been observed at
UCLA and the UC system, said Tina Park, external vice president of
the Undergraduate Students Association Council.
Park added that UCLA is trying to follow Berkeley’s
holistic admission process, which has increased minority
enrollment, but Berkeley did not do very well in the report.
Underrepresented minority students in flagship institutions also
face gaps in graduation rates compared to the white student
population, which the report attributes partly to the decreased
financial aid.
In all but one of the universities, the six-year graduation rate
of underrepresented minorities is less than that of the white
student population.
For Berkeley in 2004, 86.6 percent of white students graduated
within six years, but only 74.4 percent of underrepresented
minorities graduated within six years ““ a gap of 12.2
percentage points. However, even with a gap of 12.2 points,
Berkeley was given a grade of “B” in the area of
minority success.
UCLA has a slightly smaller gap in graduation rates. According
to The Education Trust figures for UCLA, the six-year graduation
gap between white and underrepresented minorities was 11.9
percentage points in 2004.