Dive Brief:
- The University of Wisconsin at Madison plans to increase the amount of non-need-based, or merit, aid it awards to prospective students to better compete with peer schools that offer more money in financial aid packages, tempting away some of the state’s top students.
- Inside Higher Ed reports that Chancellor Rebecca Blank sees merit aid as a waste of money that could go to students with real financial need, but she is ready to “play that game” and engage in the “arms race” to get more students.
- While the university deals with budget cuts, these plans to increase merit aid extend to out-of-state students, as well, but the head of the Wisconsin Center for the Advancement of Postsecondary Education said UW-Madison could increase its yield by improving recruitment— especially among in-state transfer students from community colleges.
Dive Insight:
As sticker prices climb, continuing to outpace inflation, families across the wealth spectrum look at college cost to help make their decisions. UW-Madison is at the bottom of the pack when it comes to the amount of non-need-based aid it awards, in terms of dollars per student and portion of students served. Surely Blank is not the only public university leader who would rather not engage in the “arms race” of increasing that funding. But competition is spurring schools all over the country, especially in areas like the Midwest and Northeast, where the number of high school graduates is declining because of demographic trends.
Private colleges have the same problem competing with students. Vassar President Catharine Bond Hill has said spending meant to attract higher-income students exacerbates inaccessibility for those from low-income families. But unless all institutions, together, commit to reallocating their budgets, it’s hard to imagine how individual ones might succeed taking the moral high road.