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Problem: The costs of college education are increasing rapidly. The availability of financial aid such as Pell grants is decreasing. The results: many who could succeed in college cannot attend at all or must drop out for financial reasons; others emerge from college with excessive debt.

Source: Diana Jean Schemo, "Education Study Finds Hispanics Both Gaining and Lagging," New York Times, September 8, 2002:

"A new report concludes that Hispanic high school graduates enroll in college at a higher rate than non-Hispanic whites, at least by some measures, but are far less likely to earn a four-year degree, which has long been regarded as the single most important key to good jobs and high earnings. The report, released here today by the Pew Hispanic Center, suggests that Latinos are held back by financial and other pressures, not a lack of interest in higher education." Id.

" A report in March by the Higher Education Public Interest Research Group said that on average, students now graduated from college owing roughly $17,000 in student loans and more than $3,000 in credit card debt. Those sums can seem enormous to somebody whose parents may be struggling to pay the rent, said Sarita Brown, director of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, based in Washington." Id.

"The report said that by the end of their 20's, 37 percent of white high school graduates and 21 percent of black graduates had received a four-year degree, as against only 16 percent of Latino graduates." Id.

Source: Diana Jean Schemo, "More Graduates Mired in Debt, Survey Finds," New York Times, March 8, 2002:

"Two out of three students must now borrow money to attend college, and four out of ten face unmanageable debts as they finish college and enter the job market, according to a report released today.

The report, by the lobbying arm of State Public Interest Research Groups, a nonprofit organization that studies social policy, found that debt among students doubled between 1992 and 2000, when the average graduate left college owing nearly $17,000 in educational loans."

"The report, based on data from the United States Census and the Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics, found that the share of students borrowing to finance their education rose substantially, to 59 percent in 1996 from 42 percent in 1992. In that period, federal financing through Pell grants shrank as tuition rose."

"Though Pell grants increased after 1996, the educational debt of graduating seniors jumped to $16,928 in 2000 from $9,188 in 1992. A third of students graduate owing more than $20,000 in education loans, and nearly half of all student borrowers graduate with credit card debts that average $3,176. By 2000, 64 percent of students relied on loans to help finance their education."

Source: Silverstein, "Financial Ills Plague Public Colleges," Los Angeles Times, March 17, 2002, A1, A36:

"Many public colleges and universities around the country are caught in financial squeezes, prompting midyear tuition increases and belt-tightening measures such as enrollment caps and faculty cuts. The financial problems stem from strains on state budgets due to the slow national economy over the last year and a bulge in the number of youths reaching college age." (A1)

"Among the consequences: . . . During recent months, some hard-pressed state schools, including universities in Ohio and Missouri, have taken the unusual tack of imposing midyear tuition increases." (A1)

"Administrators [at Los Angeles Community College District] are considering eliminating scores of classes, hoping to hold enrollment to 130,000. That effectively would mean turning away an estimated 10,000 to 17,000 students." (A36)

"For the current school year, a College Board survey found that tuition at public schools -- which serve more than three-quarters of the nation's estimated 15 million college students -- was up 7.7%. That was the biggest jump since 1993, and a blow to students and families already hurt by the sluggish national economy. But at many campuses even heftier increases are coming for next year." (A36)

"A bill awaiting the signature of Washington Gov. Gary Locke would reduce the state's higher education funding by 5% and would permit tuition for resident undergraduate students to rise by as much as 16%. . . . States such as Oregon, Idaho, Illinois, Missouri, North Carolina, and South Carolina are considering, or already have enacted, higher education spending reductions or tuition increases or both." (A36)

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