A report released by the Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education and Penn's Alliance for Higher Education and Democracy found that since 1970, the income gap between those that complete bachelor's degrees and those that do not has doubled.
According to the report, "Indicators of Higher Education Equity in the United States: 45 Year Trend Report," in 1970, students from the top income quartile were "34 percentage points more likely to attain a bachelor's degree" than students from the lowest income quartile. In 2013, this difference was 68 percentage points.
One key possible reason for the widened gap is the rise in tuition paired with changes in federal student financial support. Another reason may be the types of schools students choose to go to, with low-income students opting for community colleges while higher-income students choosing to attend four-year colleges and universities, where they are more likely to receive a bachelor's degree.
The gap results in further income inequality among the wealthy and poor in the country. "When low-income American students are one-eigth as likely as rich students to earn a four-year degree by age 24," senior fellow at the Century Foundation Richard Kahlenberg says, "we are wasting a lot of talent and making a mockery of our commitment to equal opportunity in higher education."
Read the full article at The Chronicle of Higher Education.
