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An occasional series

TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT Hundreds of leaders in higher education, philanthropy, and business are focusing on how to recruit and retain more low-income students. We asked some of them to weigh in. (Illustration by Dave Plunkert) Ronald G. Ehrenberg Michael Dannenberg Robert Gordon, Thomas J. Kane, and Douglas O. Staiger Susan M. Dynarski and Judith E. Scott-Clayton Background materials

November 3, 2006

Rural areas and city centers lag behind the rest of the nation in terms of educational attainment and economic prosperity, and the gaps are difficult to bridge.

• AN UPHILL BATTLE: In urban Compton, Calif., where only one-third of adults are high-school graduates, a two-year college struggles to provide basic-skills education.
• A DIFFICULT HARVEST: In rural central Washington, where migrant workers are many, a community college goes out of its way to enroll students in programs that can lift them out of poverty.

September 22, 2006

In his new book, the literary scholar Walter Benn Michaels argues that America's fascination with race and gender blocks progress toward economic equality.

September 8, 2006

Raising private money is more of a struggle for regional state universities than it is for flagship institutions.

• NEW DIRECTIONS: Regional universities begin tapping into corporate and foundation money.

July 21, 2006

A National Science Foundation program of special grants to states that get relatively little of its money has yielded some successes, but has not ended the geographic inequality of federal awards.

• HIGH-TECH DREAMS: As Oklahoma looks to research for its future economic development, its universities look to the state's lawmakers for money.

July 7, 2006

John Edwards, the former Democratic presidential candidate, explains to The Chronicle why more needs to be done to help poor students afford college.

• A PROMISE KEPT: A college-access plan that Mr. Edwards pitched during his 2004 campaign will start as a pilot program this fall.

June 9, 2006

Earning money for college can hurt working-class students when it comes to qualifying for federal aid.

• FIXING THE FORMULA: Student-aid experts propose changes that could help the federal aid system meet the needs of working-class students.
• DEAD END? Many of those students who start out at community colleges never earn four-year degrees.

May 12, 2006

Wealthy institutions are increasing financial aid to low-income students, but the proportions of such students on many of those campuses remain small.

• SUCCESS STORIES: Some colleges enroll plenty of low-income students, even without the big bucks to spend on recruiting them.

The University of Virginia struggles to balance access and prestige.

Smith College has made serving needy students part of its mission.

A nonprofit group matches high-achieving students from low-income families with elite colleges that give them full scholarships.

Do elite colleges have a responsibility to increase their numbers of needy students? Read the transcript of a live discussion.

April 7, 2006

Rich colleges pull further ahead of have-nots in endowment dollars and instructional spending. And wealthy families enjoy heftier financial-aid packages than ever before.
Photo gallery: See photos from the Clarke and Grinnell campuses

Three higher-education experts speak on narrowing the divide between wealthy and less-wealthy private colleges.

Grinnell College, with the most endowment assets per student of any liberal-arts college, tries to bring more financially needy students to its campus.

At Clarke College, in Iowa, every student matters, especially to the bottom line.

Join a forum on how the "haves" in higher education are widening their distance from the "have-nots."