The Impact of Tuition and Student Aid on College Access, Affordability and Success: A Practitioner’s View Shirley A. Ort Office of the Provost – Scholarships and Student Aid The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Contact Info: and (919) Inaugural Conference of the Center for Enrollment Research, Policy, and Practice University of Southern California – Los Angeles August 2008

Access and Affordability at Chapel Hill An Uncommon Commitment ●Low-to-moderate undergraduate tuition and fees ($5,396/$22,294, ) ●Tuition policy: remain within 25 percentile of peers (in-state tuition) ●Primacy of need-based aid (institutional and state) ●35% of all new tuition revenue set aside for “hold harmless” grants ●Free laptop computers to undergraduates with need ●Initiatives that serve low-income students (e.g., Carolina Covenant®) ●Merit scholarships funded through non-tuition revenue (private, auxiliary)

Access and Affordability at Chapel Hill (continued) Results ●Enrollment growing, and growing more diverse (including economic) ●A Chapel Hill education remains affordable ●Total undergraduate COA as a % of CH Median Family Income over the last decade: oRemained constant at 12.8 percent for resident students oGrew from 17 – 26 percent, for non-resident students ●Rated “Best Value in American Public Education” by Kiplingers’ (7 years)

Access and Affordability at Chapel Hill: Aid Distribution Patterns

Access and Affordability at Chapel Hill: Aid Distribution Patterns (continued)

Growth in State Appropriations for Need-based Aid

Program Features and Student Characteristics ●Promise of a debt-free education (all educational costs) ●Eligible at 200 percent of federal poverty standard, or below, by family size ●High achieving, but highly diverse population oAverage GPA 4.27 oAverage SAT 1200 oMale to female ratio 37/63% oStudents of color 61% oFirst generation (no postsecondary degree) 57% ●Generous student aid important, but only one factor in student success equation ●Higher income students, more likely to graduate and graduate more quickly ●Mentoring and academic/personal support, necessary to student success Strategies for Student Success at Carolina: The Carolina Covenant

Graduation Rates By Financial Status New Entering 2003 and 2004 Students Group 2003 Control Group2004 Total Headcount Graduated by May of 4th Year Total Headcount Graduated by May of 4th Year N% Average GPAN% Average GPA Covenant % %3.125 Needy but not Covenant %3.2261, %3.255 Not needy2,3231, %3.3212,3311, %3.355 All students3,5152, %3.2863,5892, %3.317 Group 2003 Control Group Total Headcount Graduated by Aug of 4th Year N% Average GPA Covenant %3.058 Needy but not Covenant %3.191 Not needy2,3231, %3.293 All students3,5152, %3.254 Graduation Rates by Financial Status, UNC-Chapel Hill

Research and Evaluation: The Carolina Covenant (low-income students) Formal Study and Evaluation ●RTI, International (spring 2009 publication planned) ●Isolate impact of money, mentoring, and “minding their business” Lessons Learned ●Mindfulness is important. ●Often “life gets in the way” for these students. ●Chasing the dream of Medical School too long can thwart success. ●“Nothing changes if nothing changes.” ●Money matters and can change behavior (learning contract). ●“Intrusive mentoring” (John Lee) works. ●Institutional commitment is paramount.