College Affordability Challenges Persist for Students from Low-income Backgrounds
Tuesday, October 25, 2022
By Raymond AlQaisi, Senior Manager of Policy and Advocacy
Reading time: Two minutes
Students from low-income backgrounds are experiencing a shrinking pool of truly affordable public postsecondary options and rising unmet need in their pursuit of a degree.
Less than a quarter (24%) of public four-year institutions and
less than half (40%) of public community colleges were affordable for a student receiving an average-sized Pell Grant in academic year (AY) 2019-20.
Nationally, the average “affordability gap” (amount of unmet financial need)
for the average Pell recipient was $2,627 at public four-year institutions and $907 at public community colleges in AY 2019-20.
These are the key findings from the National College Attainment Network’s (NCAN) new research, “The Growing Gap: Public Higher Education’s Declining Affordability for Pell Grant Recipients.” This study of the affordability landscape finds that students from low-income backgrounds are increasingly being shut out of public
higher education.
NCAN’s research uses the most recent data available (AY 2019-20), which reflects a sad state of college affordability before the COVID-19 pandemic. NCAN’s members, students, and a majority of Americans are all too aware of these financial challenges. A reduction in college access, as seen in declining enrollment, and affordability spells disaster for improving equity in higher education outcomes like college
completion rates.
The Pell Grant Does Not Open as Many Doors as it Once Did
The need-based Pell Grant program is the cornerstone of federal investment in higher education and provides crucial financial
support for roughly seven million students each year—the majority of whom have family incomes of $40,000 or less.
But over time, the Pell Grant has lost significant value towards a college degree. In 44 states, students receiving
Pell Grants at public four-year institutions faced an average of $3,212 in unmet financial need (AY 2019-20).
NCAN’s research focuses on public colleges and universities, as these institutions are generally more accessible. Through
public investment, these institutions help realize the individual and societal benefits that result from greater educational opportunity. Research also shows that public institutions are engines of economic mobility for students from lower-income backgrounds.
But NCAN’s research documents that, over a five-year period, 21 states saw decreases in the number of affordable public four-year institutions.
In 10 states, there were no affordable four-year institutions in all five academic years examined.
To address the problem of college affordability, NCAN recommends strengthening the Pell Grant program, which has dramatically fallen in purchasing power, and increasing state investment in higher education. On average, many states still spend less than they did in 2008 on higher education.
Please see NCAN’s report in full
here, an interactive data dashboard
here (to view trends at the state and institutional levels), and individual state data one-pagers
here.
Questions about the research can be directed to Raymond AlQaisi, NCAN’s Senior Manager of Policy and Advocacy: raymond@ncan.org.
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