Economic Inequality and Higher Education

College graduates currently earn almost twice as much on average as those with a high school diploma or less. Obtaining a bachelor’s degree has become an increasingly important step for those seeking economic and social advancement, but evidence indicates that college is no longer within reach for many low-income Americans. With support from the Foundation, Stacy Dickert-Conlin and Ross Rubenstein of Syracuse University will host a conference in September 2005 exploring the reasons why income-related gaps in higher education access and completion remain large and may be expanding. The conference will cover a wide variety of topics, including the role that elementary and secondary school education plays in fostering post-secondary education inequalities, class differences in information about college-going, and the role of community colleges and remedial education in ameliorating or exacerbating economic inequality. Dickert-Conlin and Rubenstein plan to edit the papers and prepare them for publication as an edited volume.