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The Voice of Business,
Industry & the Professions Since 1942
North Carolina's largest
business group proudly serves as the state chamber of commerce
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December
2004 Executive Voices
The
Diploma Dilemma
Private
colleges and universities are an important part of the solution
By Dr. A. Hope Williams
North
Carolina will face a major challenge over the next decade: how to make a
college education accessible and affordable while the number of high
school graduates continues to increase dramatically. Projections call
for high schools in the state to graduate almost a third more students
in 2018 than they did in 2002. The amount of growth will exceed 20,000
students each year, equal to the combined undergraduate populations of
the four largest private colleges and universities in the state:
Campbell University, Duke University, Elon University, and Wake Forest
University.
Of course, not all of the additional high school graduates will enter a
college or university; but the state college-going rate is now more than
65 percent and growing. North Carolina families want and expect their
children to have the opportunity to stay here to attend college. At just
over eight percent, North Carolina ranks fourth lowest in the country in
the percentage of residents who leave the state to attend college.
It is important to the future of North Carolina to keep our college
graduates in the state. They are significant contributors to the
economy; in fact, the U.S. Census Bureau estimates that individuals with
a bachelor’s degree will earn a million dollars more in their
lifetimes than students with only a high school education.
College graduates also participate at a higher rate in the civic
engagement process. In past presidential elections, 77 percent of
college graduates voted, compared to 54 percent of high school graduates
and 38 percent of those with less than a high school diploma.
The primary reason most students remain in North Carolina to attend
college is that the state has three world-renowned sectors of higher
education. With the diversity of choices among the state’s private
colleges and universities, community colleges, and public universities,
students can choose among a variety of characteristics to find the
college or university in the state that is the best match for them.
One way to ensure college choice and opportunity for the increasing
number of high school graduates is to expand the current partnership
between the state and the 36 independent private colleges and
universities. Today, independent colleges and universities educate more
than 22 percent of all North Carolina undergraduate students for about
3.5 percent of the state’s higher education budget. Students receive
more than $306 million in federal financial aid, almost $250 million a
year in institutional financial aid and $87.5 million in state student
grants. More than 30 percent of students qualify for Pell Grants, the
federal aid program for low-income students with significant financial
need; and on some campuses as many as 98 percent of students qualify for
need-based aid.
Unfortunately, even with grants, loans, and part-time jobs, countless
students and their families cannot afford to pay for college.
North Carolina residents who are full-time students at one of the
state’s private, non-profit colleges or universities are funded by the
North Carolina General Assembly at an average of $2,900 in the form of
student grants that are deducted directly from tuition and fees. The
state funds North Carolina students who attend a public university at an
average cost of about $9,500 per student, not including costs for
facilities.
The impact on the state budget is that each time an in-state student
chooses to attend a private college or university in North Carolina,
taxpayers save about $6,600 in operating costs alone. To meet the demand
of continued growth in college enrollment, the state will need to use
the resources of all three sectors of higher education.
North Carolina students in all sectors of education have benefited
greatly from the strong support of the General Assembly in providing
enrollment growth funding during tough economic times, although the
amount of individual state grants has not increased in four years.
Encouraging more students to attend private colleges makes sense on
several fronts. Private colleges and universities in the state award
one-third of the undergraduate degrees, over 60 percent of the law
degrees, half of the medical degrees, and a fourth of the degrees for
students who are certified to teach in the state.
Independent colleges and universities also offer educational and
cultural activities and are strategic economic partners with the state,
providing a total economic impact of $6.7 billion. They spend $1.3
billion a year on goods and services and another $500 million on
construction related expenses. They directly employ 33,000 people, with
total payroll of over $3.5 billion annually and sponsor more than 6,000
campus events each year, attracting over 4.5 million visitors. These
colleges and universities make communities better places to live, to
raise families, to do business.
The General Assembly and higher education should explore a variety of
options to encourage continued growth in the number of college students.
Options include developing more partnerships among the private colleges
and universities, community colleges and public universities; expanding
distance learning opportunities; and entering into collaborative
programs to help streamline costs.
But one sure way to help the state meet the challenges of increased need
and demand for higher education at a significant savings is to make it
possible for additional students to be able to choose to attend an
independent college or university.
This strategy would strengthen the historic partnership between the
State of North Carolina and the private colleges and universities in the
state: a winning solution for students, the state, higher education, and
North Carolina families.
Dr. A. Hope Williams is
president of North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities.
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