Education Now: Making College Attainable

Student loan forgiveness, debt, rising merit aid, and other college-affordability issues have received a lot of recent attention, but what does it all mean for broadening access to higher education — and ensuring successful outcomes for students once they get there? We look at what higher-ed institutions and policymakers can do to open the doors and put more students on the path to college and a degree.

Guests:

• Susan Dynarski, Patricia Albjerg Graham Professor of Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education
• Yolanda Watson Spiva, president, Complete College America
• Quentin Jenkins, senior at Pitzer College and a Chicago Scholars ambassador

Host:

Francesca Purcell
Senior Lecturer on Education, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Key takeaways:

• Universities​ should give prospective students an upfront guarantee of financial aid to maximize its impact on schooling choices.
• Students ​need to know from day one that they are supported and on a pathway to graduation.
• Colleges should actively engage with their students and listen to them to find out about the supports they really need.

Resources:

• The Privileged Poor: How Elite Colleges Are Failing Disadvantaged Students by Assistant Professor Anthony Jack
• Navigating the College Maze
• Complete College America
• Dynarski Testifies Before House Committee on Expanding Access to Higher Education
• Susan Dynarski in the New York Times: "Why I Changed My Mind on Student Debt Forgiveness"