U of M and the Poor
I've always thought poverty is an under-discussed aspect of the affirmative action debate. The University of Michigan, of course, has gone to great lengths to bring minority students to campus, and it does so pretty regularly at a great cost to better-suited white students.
Meanwhile, I've often theorized that truly underprivileged white kids from rural backgrounds get nothing, while privileged kids from Oakland County who just so happen to be black get welcomed into school and the life of opportunity that comes with a U of M degree. It seemed U of M and the other affirmative action defenders were ignoring the socioeconomic status of those being helped and those being hurt.
Now there is some suggestion this is more than a hunch. From today's Ann Arbor News.
"The University of Michigan is becoming less accessible to students from low-income families, according to a new report from The Education Trust, a national organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap that separates low-income and minority students from other students.
The nonpartisan foundation released a study today that graded the nation's top 50 public universities on their enrollment of underrepresented minority and low-income students.
In its report card, the foundation gave U-M an "F'' for access to low-income students. Twenty-five other schools also were given a failing grade. Seven received an "A,'' including the University of California-Berkeley.
The Education Trust looked at the percentage of students who received a Pell Grant, the federal school aid for low-income students. In 2004, the average family income for all Pell Grant recipients was $19,299.
At U-M, 13.5 percent of students in 2004 received a Pell Grant, down from 28 percent in 1992, according to the study. Meanwhile, 33.9 percent of all students going to a college or university in Michigan received a Pell Grant in 2004, up from 30.6 percent in 1992.
U-M did much better on access to minority students, receiving a "B'' on the foundation's report card, while 27 schools received an "F.'' The foundation considered the percentage of black, Latino and Native American freshmen at U-M in 2004 and compared it to the percentage of those students among the 2004 high school graduates in Michigan."
Meanwhile, I've often theorized that truly underprivileged white kids from rural backgrounds get nothing, while privileged kids from Oakland County who just so happen to be black get welcomed into school and the life of opportunity that comes with a U of M degree. It seemed U of M and the other affirmative action defenders were ignoring the socioeconomic status of those being helped and those being hurt.
Now there is some suggestion this is more than a hunch. From today's Ann Arbor News.
"The University of Michigan is becoming less accessible to students from low-income families, according to a new report from The Education Trust, a national organization dedicated to closing the achievement gap that separates low-income and minority students from other students.
The nonpartisan foundation released a study today that graded the nation's top 50 public universities on their enrollment of underrepresented minority and low-income students.
In its report card, the foundation gave U-M an "F'' for access to low-income students. Twenty-five other schools also were given a failing grade. Seven received an "A,'' including the University of California-Berkeley.
The Education Trust looked at the percentage of students who received a Pell Grant, the federal school aid for low-income students. In 2004, the average family income for all Pell Grant recipients was $19,299.
At U-M, 13.5 percent of students in 2004 received a Pell Grant, down from 28 percent in 1992, according to the study. Meanwhile, 33.9 percent of all students going to a college or university in Michigan received a Pell Grant in 2004, up from 30.6 percent in 1992.
U-M did much better on access to minority students, receiving a "B'' on the foundation's report card, while 27 schools received an "F.'' The foundation considered the percentage of black, Latino and Native American freshmen at U-M in 2004 and compared it to the percentage of those students among the 2004 high school graduates in Michigan."
posted by Mookie at
3:07 PM
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