Rising costs, raising profiles

Black Issues in Higher Education, May 5, 2005 by Hilary Hurd Anyaso

You know things are bad when certain colleges are considered a "best value" with a $40,000-a-year price tag, as was written about a small New England college recently. Who can afford college at that price? Very few. It's hard to imagine college tuition and fees exceeding $40,000 a year, but with daily reports of schools raising tuition by 5 percent, 6 percent and more, one wonders if there is relief anywhere in sight.

Unfortunately, rising costs will inevitably change the college plans of some students who simply cannot afford it and are uncomfortable taking out a substantial amount in loans. Thirty years ago, the federal Pell Grant covered more than 80 percent of the cost of tuition at most public four-year colleges, it now covers about 40 percent. Most students today expect to take out some loans to cover their tuition. As a result, young people are carrying increasing amounts of debt upon college graduation. Before they even get handed their diploma, they have logged countless hours at a work-study or off-campus job to make ends meet.

Ernest Holsendolph, in "The Costly College Game," looks at whether low-income students will be able to afford college as the customary sources of financial aid remain relatively stagnant. He also reports on the growing trend among some of the more highly selective institutions, all with large endowments, to provide more grants than loans to low-income students. Some schools, such as Yale, have announced that students coming from families with annual incomes of less than $45,000 will not have to contribute financially to their child's education. But as an official from the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators observes, most schools do not have the resources to essentially waive tuition for needy students.

Kendra Hamilton uncovers fascinating cultural ground in "From Footnote to Front Page," highlighting Gullah/Geechee culture in the American South. It is heartening to learn, as Hamilton reports, that federal legislation may establish a Gullah/Geechee Heritage Corridor at a time when researchers are uncovering a scope of influence of the Gullah/Geechee culture much wider than previously thought. Such a corridor, backed with federal funds, should help stimulate considerable research that can establish with greater accuracy the extent of Gullah/Geechee culture's influence on the South and the nation.

It turns out that the subject of our newest feature "Catching Up With ..." happens to grace the cover of this edition. Ronald Roach's profile of Dr. Joyce Ladner proved quite a compelling human-interest story, given her newfound life as a painter and her straggle with a disability. Few scholars have had the fortune to witness and participate in the momentous events that Ladner has experienced since the early 1960s. Civil rights protesting in Mississippi, investigating the lives of Black women, leading the largest Black university in the nation and helping restore stability to the Washington, D.C., city government in the 1990s are just some of the highlights of Ladner's accomplished career.

There are so many people we have covered in Black Issues over the past 21 years now, so we thought our readers would be interested in reading an occasional profile of prominent people in higher education with whom we have lost touch. If you have ever wondered what happened to a certain someone in the higher-education community and would like to know what they're up to, please send us an e-mail at Editor@cmapublishing.com, and we'll see what we can find out.

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