Colleges are seen broadly as engines of opportunity, as economic equalizers. Is that reputation deserved? Read more from an occasional series exploring that question.
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News
Engine of Inequality
College plays a role in reinforcing and even widening the gap between haves and have-nots. Read The Chronicle’s 2016 series exploring how. -
BackgrounderPoor Kids, Limited Horizons
The support they need to overcome barriers to aspirational careers comes too little, too late. -
Inequality
2 Keys to Success for Underprivileged Students: When to Start College, and Where to Go
Those who enroll within a semester of earning a high-school diploma are far more likely to earn a college degree or certificate, a study finds. -
Inequality
On the Path to Graduation, Life Intervenes
Student poverty, homelessness, and hunger didn’t used to be colleges’ problem. Now they are grappling with how much to help. -
On Leadership
Video: Getting Traction in Closing the Inequality Gap
The Education Trust’s president says colleges that are serious about helping low-income students succeed should make it their job from Day 1. -
Students
Should Everyone Go to College?
For poor kids, “college for all” isn’t the mantra it was meant to be. The national push may be doing more harm than good. -
News
When Everyone Goes to College: a Lesson From South Korea
Hearing American officials say the United States should emulate a near-universal college-attendance rate, some higher-ed experts in the East Asian nation scratch their heads. -
Students
When Vocational Education Spurs Students to Strive for College
At a rural high school in Washington State, courses like electronics and exercise science engage rather than divert students. -
News
Public Colleges Backslide on Access, Report Says
With income inequality in the headlines, colleges are playing up their role as engines of opportunity. But a new report says some of those institutions now admit a smaller share of needy students than they did 20 years ago. -
Students
Can a City’s Compassion Remedy Educational Inequity?
Louisville, Ky., wants to be known for sending its kids, all of them, to college. And it has a plan to make that happen. -
Diversity
Why an Ex-Mayor Sees Minority Students as Assets for Globally Competitive Businesses
A former mayor of Minneapolis says “different schools” will help close the achievement gap between white and minority students. -
Student Aid
When $300 Would Keep a Student From Dropping Out
Emergency aid may make all the difference, but not if students don’t know it’s there, or regulations prevent colleges from distributing it. -
News
Big Money Comes to Inequality Research
Amid anxieties over growing disparities, donors and foundations are devoting serious amounts to studies of rich and poor. -
News
Basic Training for Higher Ed
Why colleges might look to the armed forces for guidance on serving low-income students. -
News
When College Was a Public Good
As the population has grown more diverse, support has dwindled for grand efforts, like the GI Bill, to open doors to higher education. Coincidence? -
International
A Global Education Opens Doors but Leaves Many Shut Out
International experiences are seen as crucial for today’s graduates. But wealthy, white students are getting most of those opportunities. -
In the States
How a Big Bet on Higher Education Split a State in Two
Six decades ago, North Carolina banked on its research universities to revive its economy. The plan worked, but it left much of the state behind.
