As a land-grant institution, MSU should do all it can to make itself accessible to students of all economic backgrounds.
A study released last week by the Lumina Foundation for Education said that four-year public colleges in 45 states, Michigan included, are not affordable to low-income students without financial aid.
Even after utilizing all the financial-aid options available, many students still cannot afford to attend college, but one of the founding principles of a land-grant university is to provide education to the everyday man. This is not being fulfilled by MSU, nor the majority of other universities.
Higher education is not only for the elite. If someone works hard enough and has the academic ability, they should be able to go to school. Economics shouldn’t be a factor.
We’re not saying it’s easy. Students need to take advantage of all their resources. Taking the time to get to know a financial-aid officer or fill out scholarship forms is time consuming, but necessary.
The resources are out there. The College Achievement Admissions Program and SUPER - Summer University Program Encouraging Retention - are helpful to low-income students who are trying to find a way to receive their education.
Programs such as these take into account that a heavy workload isn’t the answer to students’ financial problems. Focus should be put on academics, and working is kept to about 15 hours per week.
Many of the students coming into these programs may not have had the benefit of quality academic programs in their past, and therefore struggle even more to succeed at a large university.
Even with these programs, many students find themselves unable to attend college for economic reasons. Others scrape up the money for tuition, and end up coming up short when it is time to buy books.
While we commend the university for taking the initiative to help low-income students be able to attend school, more needs to be done in terms of financial assistance.
Academic stability is a key factor in student retention, but the best grades won’t keep someone who can’t afford to register for classes in school.
Maintaining the high standards of a four-year university is not an easy task. Keeping up the quality of education costs money, but some sort of balance needs to be found.
As a Big Ten university, MSU provides countless services to students, all of which are appreciated. But what good are these services if they are not available to everyone?
We hope that everyone who has the desire and the drive to attend a university is able to. MSU and other major universities should do all they can to accommodate students of all economic backgrounds.
