Unstack the Odds: Help All Kids Access College—and Graduate!
by
by
Joe Rottenborn
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)
Executive Director, Mahoning Valley College Access Program (MVCAP)
8. Obstacles to Access & Success
If the odds seemed stacked against some children when it comes to college access and success, what are hurdles they must confront? Harvard professor Bridget Terry Long and consultant Erin Riley summarized the obstacles such students face:
"Although there are many barriers to college access and success for low-income and minority students, most can be grouped into three major categories. The first set of major barriers [emphases added] relates to cost . . . . A second major set of barriers to college enrollment and persistence is academic preparation . . . . The third major impediment to higher education for many students, particularly those from low-income families, is the complexity of the college admissions process and financial aid systems, as well as a lack of accurate information about higher education costs. College attendance is the culmination of a series of steps and benchmarks, and this current landscape is too complex and difficult for many families to decipher and navigate." (Bridget Terry Long and Erin Riley, “Financial Aid: A Broken Bridge to College Access?” Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 77 No. 1, Spring 2007, pp. 40-42)
"Although there are many barriers to college access and success for low-income and minority students, most can be grouped into three major categories. The first set of major barriers [emphases added] relates to cost . . . . A second major set of barriers to college enrollment and persistence is academic preparation . . . . The third major impediment to higher education for many students, particularly those from low-income families, is the complexity of the college admissions process and financial aid systems, as well as a lack of accurate information about higher education costs. College attendance is the culmination of a series of steps and benchmarks, and this current landscape is too complex and difficult for many families to decipher and navigate." (Bridget Terry Long and Erin Riley, “Financial Aid: A Broken Bridge to College Access?” Harvard Educational Review, Vol. 77 No. 1, Spring 2007, pp. 40-42)
http://www.hepg.org/document/19/ )
Another view of the obstacles students face was expressed in the brief From Access to Success: A Funder’s Guide to Ensuring More Americans Earn Postsecondary Degrees, by Grantmakers for Education. The barriers cited “at the student level” included the following:
Inadequate academic preparation at the K-12 level
Incomplete information about college [and]
Difficulty understanding the costs and accessing adequate financial aid.
(From Access to Success: A Funder’s Guide to Ensuring More Americans Earn Postsecondary Degrees, Grantmakers for Education, 2010, p. 2) http://edfunders.org/downloads/GFEReports/GFE_FromAccessToSuccess_FundersGuide.pdf
Regarding the inadequacy of pre-college academic preparation for some students, a recent article posted by Lisa W. Foderaro illustrated this issue at the City University of New York (CUNY), which must “. . . take every student with a high school diploma or equivalency degree”; as she stated: “About three-quarters of the 17,500 freshmen at the community colleges this year have needed remedial instruction in reading, writing or math, and nearly a quarter of the freshmen have required such instruction in all three subjects. In the past five years, a subset of students deemed “triple low remedial” — with the most severe deficits in all three subjects — has doubled, to 1,000.” (“CUNY Adjusts Amid Tide of Remedial Students,” The New York Times, March 3, 2011.) http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/nyregion/04remedial.html?_r=1&hp
Another view of the obstacles students face was expressed in the brief From Access to Success: A Funder’s Guide to Ensuring More Americans Earn Postsecondary Degrees, by Grantmakers for Education. The barriers cited “at the student level” included the following:
Inadequate academic preparation at the K-12 level
Incomplete information about college [and]
Difficulty understanding the costs and accessing adequate financial aid.
(From Access to Success: A Funder’s Guide to Ensuring More Americans Earn Postsecondary Degrees, Grantmakers for Education, 2010, p. 2) http://edfunders.org/downloads/GFEReports/GFE_FromAccessToSuccess_FundersGuide.pdf
Regarding the inadequacy of pre-college academic preparation for some students, a recent article posted by Lisa W. Foderaro illustrated this issue at the City University of New York (CUNY), which must “. . . take every student with a high school diploma or equivalency degree”; as she stated: “About three-quarters of the 17,500 freshmen at the community colleges this year have needed remedial instruction in reading, writing or math, and nearly a quarter of the freshmen have required such instruction in all three subjects. In the past five years, a subset of students deemed “triple low remedial” — with the most severe deficits in all three subjects — has doubled, to 1,000.” (“CUNY Adjusts Amid Tide of Remedial Students,” The New York Times, March 3, 2011.) http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/nyregion/04remedial.html?_r=1&hp
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