Triangle’s postsecondary leaders assess affordability

Triangle’s postsecondary leaders assess affordability

2022-08-24T15:45:49-04:00August 24th, 2022|Economy, Education, Government, Raleigh-Durham|

Writer: Liz Palmer

2 min read August 2022 — As the education sector digests President Joe Biden’s decision to move forward with federal student loan forgiveness, a handful of other opportunities for affordability are also under discussion. Between federal Pell Grants, capital campaigns and statewide policies, the Triangle’s leaders in the postsecondary space spoke with Invest: about how to address accessibility to higher education.

“On the federal level, there is a lot of talk about debt,” said Scott Ralls, president of Wake Technical Community College. “Wake Tech and many community colleges allow people to get an education without a lot of debt. Here, students can get a significant return on investment.” Ralls cited Wake Tech’s high national ranking in student return on investment (ROI), creditting this in part to the college’s commitment to keeping tuition and fees low and quality of programs high.

Short-term or “workforce” Pell Grants are also on Ralls’ radar as they are with other community colleges. Ralls is an advocate for broadening financial aid outside the confines of a traditional four-year degree, especially for entry-level certifications and technology. “We will be offering around 40 programs that lead to short-term certifications free of charge so people can get better jobs and carry credit into degree programs to keep their career mobility on an upward trajectory,” he said.

Durham Technical Community College President J.B. Buxton agrees and wants to see more support for workforce Pell Grants. “That’s the next frontier of affordability, getting the federal government to think about the Pell Grant supporting workforce credentials and not just traditional degree-granting programs,” he said. “As the economy shifts, that’s where prospective employers and employees are interested. The short-term credentials are where we need to pay greater attention.”

Lisa Chapman broke down the significance of the state’s legislature offering support when it comes to educational affordability through a different avenue – dual enrollment – permitting high-school students to earn college credit for free through the Central Carolina Promise program. “If you successfully complete the prescribed amount of dual enrollment and you come to the college within a two-year period, your tuition is covered. Our students have debt-free access to advanced education and training,” said the president of Central Carolina Community College. “Education should be affordable to successfully foster economic mobility. We can do that through our colleges, community colleges in particular, especially in communities that have a Promise program like we have at Central Carolina.”

Others in the community would like to see further expansions to the Pell Grant as it stands today, which is seeing an increase of $400 for the 2022-23 school year, broadening the maximum award from $6,495 to $6,895. However, the Double Pell movement asks for a maximum award of $13,000 to better accommodate the exponential increase in the cost of higher education in recent years. “The #DoublePell initiative is something we 100% support,” Brian Ralph, president of William Peace University, told Invest:. “Expanding the Pell Grant will allow students to choose the best-fit institution for them and not necessarily the least expensive. In general, we know that students that complete a bachelor’s degree earn $1 million more (over their careers) than those who don’t, so access to higher education is critically important.”

This summer, President Connie Ledoux Book of Elon University reflected on the 50th anniversary of the Pell Grant and a significant amount of her time being spent on raising funds for student scholarships. “We are private, so we are completely self-sustaining,” she said. “I am really proud of the first-generation students we were able to support with that combination of the institutional aid, Pell Grant and North Carolina need-based aid.” Meredith College has also been focusing on keeping costs low through scholarships and had its lowest tuition increase in over 30 years, according to President Jo Allen. “We’ve been very successful with a $75 million campaign that we closed in 2018 after raising $90 million for scholarships, facilities and other needs of the College. Key is that we provide gap scholarships for students who start to struggle financially to complete their degree,” said Book.

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