Events

Event Description

Join us for a facilitated conversation over dinner on College Affordability by registering here.

By many measures, college is becoming less affordable. Between 2000 and 2021, the overall cost of college rose dramatically – by 57% for public four-year colleges, by 49% for public two-year colleges. In 2019-2020, despite increasing financial aid from many institutions, most college students were forced to take out student loans or work long hours to cover their unmet college costs – that is, the college costs not covered by grants, scholarships, or family resources alone. Unsurprisingly, low-income students and students of color had the greatest unmet need. College affordability has become a hot-button political issue with the Biden Administration promising loan forgiveness and state governments successfully challenging at least one such effort in court, and the public remaining divided over the effectiveness and wisdom of such programs. Meanwhile, other solutions – from state-funded college programs to an emphasis on state schools or technical training to a donor-funded higher educational model – are also being proposed or tested.

What do you think? Should college affordability be a priority issue for the United States? If it is, what is the appropriate role for government, donors, and the colleges themselves? How can we build effective solutions? Join us for this student-focused, student-facilitated Community Conversation over dinner on Monday, November 4, 2024 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. and let’s talk about it!  Dinner will be provided. This is the last Community Conversation for the semester and space is limited, so register soon! (Priority registration will be given to students.)