| Author(s): | Orozco, V. |
| Title: | Keeping students enrolled: How community colleges are boosting financial resources for their students |
| Source: | http://www.demos.org/pubs/KeepingStudentsEnroll... |
| Date: | 2011 |
| Organization: | Demos |
| Short Description: | To finance their educations, many community college students enroll in school only part time and/or work more than 20 hours per week. Although these strategies temporarily ease students’ financial burdens, they also increase the likelihood of leaving school without a degree.
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| Annotation: | Just as a postsecondary education has become essential for getting a decent job and entering the middle class, it has become financially out of reach for many Americans. The cost of going to school has risen exponentially, while financial aid policies have increasingly abandoned students with the greatest financial need. In their search for an affordable education, growing numbers of college students are turning to community colleges. But only about one third of community college students complete a degree of any kind within six years of starting their studies. Although they face multiple obstacles to staying in school, financial constraints are a key barrier to their success.
Even though tuition costs less at a community college, students must pay for books and other educational expenses in addition to their basic living expenses—rent, utilities, food, health care and transportation. Yet available financial aid covers only a fraction of the costs incurred by students. And community college students with the least financial means on average receive less grant aid than had they attended a public four-year university. To finance their educations, many community college students enroll in school only part time and/or work more than 20 hours per week. Although these strategies temporarily ease students’ financial burdens, they also increase the likelihood of leaving school without a degree.
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