Editorial Columns

Penn State's Ambitious Financial Aid Plan

The affordability of a college education is a topic of considerable concern for many families across Pennsylvania and throughout the nation. Caught between rapidly increasing costs -- for everything from employee health insurance to library materials to increases in security and insurance -- and reductions in state support, institutions such as Penn State have been forced to raise tuition higher than anyone would like. This has caused many people to wonder if a college education is still possible for those without great means.

As Pennsylvania's largest public university, Penn State has a long-standing and deeply felt commitment to keep the doors of opportunity open wide. Despite recent tuition increases, that commitment is unchanged. My own belief is that no student in America should be prevented from receiving a college education because of a lack of funds; however, I know that the availability of money for college is an issue for many students and their families.

A college degree continues to be the single greatest contributor to social advancement in our nation. And college graduates certainly earn more.

Recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau show that each level of advancement through higher education contributes significantly to personal income. Those with a high school degree can expect to earn $1.2 million in their lifetime. A bachelor's degree nearly doubles that to $2.1 million. Those with a master's degree can expect to make $2.5 million. Those with doctoral degrees see an increase to $3.4 million. And those with advanced professional degrees will average $4.4. million over their careers.

Clearly, the investment in higher education is returned many times over in career earnings, job stability, and contributions to the tax base. But how can we ensure that everyone -- regardless of their family's wealth -- has access to the great engine of social change and advancement that is represented by a college degree?

It was Franklin Roosevelt who once observed that "the test of our progress...is whether we provide enough for those who have too little." At Penn State we've always tried to keep our tuition as low as possible while also providing access to financial aid. With the recent increases in tuition, we have taken an ambitious step to provide additional aid for students in need.

Approximately 3/4 of Penn State students receive some sort of financial aid. In total, Penn State students collectively receive about $500 million in student aid. Although the majority of that was in low-interest student loans, nearly $210 million was in scholarships and grants. Now the University is undertaking its most ambitious effort ever to increase scholarship funding and ensure an adequate level of need-based aid for future students.

At its July meeting, the Penn State Board of Trustees endorsed a five-year effort to raise at least $100 million in private support for scholarships that will be targeted to those students who are most in need. In addition to the private funds that the University will raise, Penn State will also contribute funds from its operating budget to match the endowment payout from the private gifts, doubling the impact of the $100 million endowment after five years, to be used strictly for need-based aid. When combined with state aid, federal grants and scholarships, our current privately supported scholarships, and low-interest loans, we hope that no student will be denied access to a Penn State education.

Access to a college education is critical to individual success, but I would argue that a highly educated citizenry is also a public good. It is certainly critical to the future success of the Commonwealth.

Without a well trained, technologically literate work force, Pennsylvania will never be able to attract and retain the economic base that will shape our future for the better. It is hard to imagine an investment with a greater return than education.

It is critical that the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania not lose sight of the extraordinary societal good that results from the investment in public higher education. We all gain when we have a broadly educated populace at the highest level possible.

As he was pondering the future of the British Empire following World War II, Winston Churchill wrote, "The empires of the future are the empires of the mind." If we are to succeed in the future, we must invest in the minds of our young people. Penn State is doing its part to be sure that no one is left behind, and that the chance for young minds to grow and flourish will continue to be available to all our residents.