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Political Influence on the Cost of College

Across the United States about 11.4% of people were found to be living in poverty, while

only 17% of those people graduate with a college diploma (Census Bureau, Opportunity Atlas). How

can policymakers lowering the cost of college impact the cycle of generational poverty in the United

States? Impoverished communities are graduating college at about 28% less than high-income

communities (Opportunity Atlas). Meaning people from low-income communities are more likely to

be stuck in the cycle of poverty because college degrees have a direct correlation to higher-income

jobs. Minorities in low-income communities are the most affected by the high costs of college. The

political system affects the opportunities for families and students from low income communities to

attend college through financial aid, policymaking, and free tuition programs.

Tuition costs have inflated drastically over the years and financial aid isn’t helping

students much. “Annual tuition at a prestigious, private East Coast university remained constant

over two decades at about $120 to $150 per year (indexing for inflation, this would be the

equivalent of a tuition charge of about $3000 today)” stated John Thelin, a research professor at

University of Kentucky (Thelin 586). Affordable tuition costs would've opened many

opportunities to students coming from low income families. Only six state programs gave $3000

per person whereas 17 other programs gave $1000 or less to each person (qtd. In Lowry 53).

Robert C. Lowry, a professor of political science at UT Dallas, exclaimed that state spending on

financial aid per person is significantly low and doesn't support much of their college cost.

Robert C. Lowry quoted Mettler from another article saying, the federal government’s

involvement with financial aid for college students takes the form of loans and results in student

loan debt (qtd. in Mettler 2014). Student debt is a key reason people from low income

communities avoid college. The extended costs after college are extremely expensive and
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difficult for families who can afford college tuition prices, let alone families that don’t have

money to send their children to college. Primarily financial aid is funded by state and federal

governments.

There have been many attempts that have affected lower-income students and their

college opportunities. Politics control the availability for tuition free colleges and how

universities allocate financial aid and scholarships. Elizabeth Bell, assistant professor at

University of Miami Ohio, goes in depth of how advantage groups receiving the most

benefits is detrimental to students from low income families. There are three groups that

policymakers categorize people in for the allocation of financial aid (qtd. in Bell 893).

Advantage groups receive more financial aid benefits (businessmen), hide benefits for

contenders (Wall Street), and virtually don't allow benefits for dependents (children,

mothers, students etc.) (qtd. in Bell 893). Children, parents, and students rarely get any

financial aid making the struggle to receive a higher education even greater, especially

families living in poverty. Due to the grouping done by the state governments, William R.

Doyle, professor of higher education at Vanderbilt University, exhibits how financially

sturdy families receive benefits they don’t need, state governors and legislators set a net

price on the cost of education for students (qtd. in Doyle 619). State governments set a cap

on the amount of money they can spend on financial aid policies. Many families receive

exceedingly small scholarships and financial aid that can only help so much. With the

limited amount of money spent on grants, scholarships, and financial aid families are getting

sustainable benefits to send their children to college. Electing more trustees through either

government or direct election will improve the implementation of state policymakers goals

(qtd. in Doyle 622). State policymakers believe in the reduction of the tuition costs of
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college. Therefore, the more officials brought into the governments at either level will result

in state policymaker's goals being approved. Politics control the federal aid grants and how

state governments administer them.

Multiple states are starting to catch on to free tuition programs and how they are

benefiting families and students from low income communities. Dr. Bennett G. Boggs,

Education Professional Standards Board, and Lesley Kennedy, Group Director for the

National Conference of State Legislatures and Freelance Writer and Editor, concluded the

effects of the Tennessee Promise “Sandra Timberlake, the single mom, go on and finish her

degree. Building on Tennessee Promise, the Reconnect initiative offers an online network to

enter transcript information and explore options and institutions for obtaining a credential or

degree” (Boggs and Kennedy). She got her degree, got hired for a job in her field, and now

she has a good income and was able to break her cycle of generational poverty. Allowing for

a person to go back to college and receive a higher education to provide for their family is

key. This is evidence that free tuition programs work, and benefited a family in poverty. Dr.

Boggs and Lesley Kennedy discovered that Kalamazoo's free tuition program boosted the

community and is giving new opportunities to high school students who might have not had

the chance to attend a higher education (Boggs and Kennedy). Many graduates from public

schools in the Kalamazoo area will have their college tuition and other fees paid for all four

years (Boggs and Kennedy). With more students being able to enroll in college with the aid,

more teaching jobs opened up (Boggs and Kennedy). The Kalamazoo promise opened many

doors for not only families, but the community around it. WOODTV, a television station

licensed to Grand Rapids, wrote a story on the new tuition program from Grand Valley State

University “The program, called the Grand Valley Pledge, will no longer be limited only to
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students from six counties. New students from families with income under $50,000 can

qualify" (Associated Press). Around 400 students that applied for the aid enrolled during the

fall term claimed WOODTV (Associated Press). This allows for more students from low

income communities to pursue a college education. Grand Valley State is a local university

in west Michigan, and is offering the opportunity for students, specifically from low income

families, to have a chance to attend college. Many more tuition free programs have been

successful with providing chances for students wanting to attend college. There have been

many more programs than the ones listed and these programs continue to spread across the

country.

Students and families have benefited from free tuition programs and government

funded financial aid packages, but once enrolled at college, many students don’t go onto

graduate. Research collected from the National Center for Education Statistics revealed that

only 35% of students who attend community college continue to earn a degree or certificate

(Boggs and Kennedy). Less than half of enrollees at community colleges don’t graduate

with anything. Dropping out of school results in the start of the loop of poverty all over

again. On the other hand data has shown that tuition free programs have been successful.

The Obama Administration introduced the America’s College Promise' program; the 60

million-dollar grant focused on eliminating expense fees and tuition prices for the first two

year of community college, stated Elizabeth Bell, assistant professor at University of Miami

Ohio, (Bell 890). The program was modeled after the Tennessee Promise. As previously

stated, the Tennessee Promise helped an impoverished single mother earn a degree and

break the cycle of generational poverty she found herself in. Although the proposal

languished in Congress, programs like these are what boost students and families into
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sustainable jobs to properly provide for themselves and their families. Lowering the cost of

college will help reduce the amount of generational poverty in the United States. Doing so

allows families to make a living for themselves and get out of the cycle that is a detriment to

so many people.

Word Count: 1289

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Works Cited

Bell, Elizabeth. "The Politics of Designing Tuition-Free College: How Socially Constructed

Target Populations Influence Policy Support." Journal of Higher Education, vol. 91,

no. 6, Sept. 2020, pp. 888–926. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1080/00221546.2019.1706015.

https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?vid=37&sid=7f8ca32e-87a2-49c9-98

8b-4b70942088e4%40redis&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h

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BOGGS, BENNETT G., and LESLEY KENNEDY. "Unlocking Access: Free Tuition

Programs Are Opening Doors for Some Students--but Are They Making the Grade?

(Cover Story)." State Legislatures, vol. 45, no. 3, May 2019, pp. 6–11. EBSCOhost,

https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=136530074&site

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"Children's Outcomes in Adulthood." Opportunity Atlas, Map Box,

www.opportunityatlas.org/. Accessed 14 Dec. 2021. Map.

Doyle, William R. "The Politics of Public College Tuition and State Financial Aid." Journal

of Higher Education, vol. 83, no. 5, Sept. 2012, pp. 617–647. EBSCOhost,

doi:10.1080/00221546.2012.11777260.https://web.s.ebscohost.com/ehost/command/

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dGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=a9h&AN=78292119

Lowry, Robert C. "The Effects of State Higher Education Policies and Institutions on Access

by Economically Disadvantaged Students." Research in Higher Education, vol. 60,

no. 1, Feb. 2019, pp. 44–63. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1007/s11162-018-9505-3.

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Press, The Associated. "GVSU Extends Free Tuition to Students from Low-Income

Homes." WOODTV.com, WOODTV.com, 18 Jan. 2022,

https://www.woodtv.com/news/ottawa-county/gvsu-extends-free-tuition-to-students-

from-low-income-homes/.