The University of Missouri-Kansas City earlier this year found itself in
a bad place — high on a list of the priciest public universities for
students from the lowest-income families.
Now, an update of the federal College Navigator website shows the challenge for UMKC has only grown.
UMKC officials say the school is taking steps to make more scholarship money available for those students, who come from households with less than $30,000 in annual income.
“We are constantly thinking: How can we make school more affordable, and what are some of the things we can do to support students more?” said Jennifer DeHaemers, associate vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management. “I would expect to see some changes coming and for us to then continue moving forward.”
Based on 2010-2011 numbers, UMKC was among the 10 most expensive schools for the lowest-income freshmen, with an average net price of $16,798 a year. Net price is the cost of college — tuition, fees, room and board, books and other expenses — after grants and scholarships.
The list, based on College Navigator numbers, was part of a report released in May by the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan public policy institute.
The new data on College Navigator, for 2011-2012, put UMKC at $18,638. That’s up $1,840, or 11 percent.
“We had a slight increase in tuition, a 3 percent increase in housing costs, a 3 percent increase in food. And it’s not like our costs have stayed steady,” said Mel Tyler, vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management. “What hasn’t gone up (enough) is the amount of money available for scholarships.”
UMKC expects a 2-year-old program that discounts the cost of tuition for low-income students, plus new endowed scholarships, to lower its average net price. The Advantage Grant program reduces tuition for 233 Pell Grant-eligible, in-state undergraduates with at least a 2.7 GPA.
UMKC also is trying to get more students and parents filling out federal financial aid applications sooner to claim available dollars.
The rising cost of college and pressure from the Obama administration to make college more affordable has many public colleges focused on lowering the cost of attendance for their neediest students. Scholarships are a key way colleges can lower their net price.
Scholarship dollars can come out of an institution’s operating funds, or they can be designated by a private or corporate donor to go to a particular type of student based on need or merit. Ideally colleges and universities look to endow a scholarship so that it can be given in perpetuity.
The new College Navigator data show that the average university-awarded grant and scholarship amounts given to the lowest-income freshmen are heftier at the other schools in the University of Missouri System — the University of Missouri in Columbia, the University of Missouri-St. Louis and the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla.
Read more : http://www.kansascity.com/2013/09/24/4506216/umkcs-net-price-for-lowest-income.html
Now, an update of the federal College Navigator website shows the challenge for UMKC has only grown.
UMKC officials say the school is taking steps to make more scholarship money available for those students, who come from households with less than $30,000 in annual income.
“We are constantly thinking: How can we make school more affordable, and what are some of the things we can do to support students more?” said Jennifer DeHaemers, associate vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management. “I would expect to see some changes coming and for us to then continue moving forward.”
Based on 2010-2011 numbers, UMKC was among the 10 most expensive schools for the lowest-income freshmen, with an average net price of $16,798 a year. Net price is the cost of college — tuition, fees, room and board, books and other expenses — after grants and scholarships.
The list, based on College Navigator numbers, was part of a report released in May by the New America Foundation, a nonpartisan public policy institute.
The new data on College Navigator, for 2011-2012, put UMKC at $18,638. That’s up $1,840, or 11 percent.
“We had a slight increase in tuition, a 3 percent increase in housing costs, a 3 percent increase in food. And it’s not like our costs have stayed steady,” said Mel Tyler, vice chancellor for student affairs and enrollment management. “What hasn’t gone up (enough) is the amount of money available for scholarships.”
UMKC expects a 2-year-old program that discounts the cost of tuition for low-income students, plus new endowed scholarships, to lower its average net price. The Advantage Grant program reduces tuition for 233 Pell Grant-eligible, in-state undergraduates with at least a 2.7 GPA.
UMKC also is trying to get more students and parents filling out federal financial aid applications sooner to claim available dollars.
The rising cost of college and pressure from the Obama administration to make college more affordable has many public colleges focused on lowering the cost of attendance for their neediest students. Scholarships are a key way colleges can lower their net price.
Scholarship dollars can come out of an institution’s operating funds, or they can be designated by a private or corporate donor to go to a particular type of student based on need or merit. Ideally colleges and universities look to endow a scholarship so that it can be given in perpetuity.
The new College Navigator data show that the average university-awarded grant and scholarship amounts given to the lowest-income freshmen are heftier at the other schools in the University of Missouri System — the University of Missouri in Columbia, the University of Missouri-St. Louis and the Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla.
Read more : http://www.kansascity.com/2013/09/24/4506216/umkcs-net-price-for-lowest-income.html
