Deferred Dreams Need a Boost

Cal State Northridge is one of the most diverse universities in the country, a place where students of every color, language and background can pursue the dream of higher education. Many are the first in their families to go to college. Upon graduation, their education and the earning power it brings them propel many into the middle class.

But for many CSUN students, that outcome is a dream deferred. Nationally, the college graduation rate within six years of enrollment as a freshman is 54%. For large urban institutions, the rate is 38%. CSUN comes in last among the four Cal State campuses in Los Angeles County, with a six-year graduation rate of 28%.

This is not entirely bad news. Longer times to graduation are one sign of how inclusive higher education has become. Before World War II, only about 8% of Americans received some kind of post-secondary education. After the war, the GI Bill sent a whole generation to college. Higher education was no longer reserved for the elite.

The transformation continues today. The typical college student is no longer an 18- to 21-year-old whose parents are footing the bill. Students from lower-income families, including many blacks and Latinos, are paying their way through college. They’re working more and taking fewer classes--and taking longer to graduate.

The transformation of higher education from elitist to inclusive is cause for celebration. But this doesn’t mean things can’t get better. To speed up graduation rates, CSUN has added study skills seminars, better advising services and weekend, night and online classes. And legislators such as Rep. Howard P. “Buck” McKeon (R-Santa Clarita) need to keep up their efforts to increase funding for grants, which have in the past decade fallen behind loans as the financial aid source favored by politicians. Students from poorer families find taking on debt intimidating, but grants can go a long way to toward making the dream of higher education real.