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Higher Ed Dive
Rural counties would be economically devastated if their public colleges closed: report
Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
Jan. 26, 2021
Dive Brief:
Rural public colleges are local job engines, which means their closures
would be economically devastating, according to a new report from the
Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges.
The newly formed research group found that 19 of 115 counties served by
rural public institutions have high unemployment. That figure would
soar to 51 if these colleges closed.
Rural public colleges are chronically underfunded compared to their
peers, the alliance points out. It is urging the federal government to
pass aid that would benefit this contingent.
Dive Insight:
Despite their local impact, rural public colleges have received less
per student in state appropriations than the national average, which
includes state flagships and research institutions. Their tuition
revenue is also below average.
The alliance means to show why more investment in these institutions is
necessary. The researchers studied 118 rural public institutions, the
vast majority being regional colleges, though they also included a few
research and land-grant institutions. Some in the sample were also
minority-serving institutions.
The group pointed out that these colleges provide degrees in
high-demand local sectors, which would add to the fallout if these
institutions were to shut down. Rural public colleges conferred 16,248
degrees in health professions and similar programs in 2019, including
9,662 nursing degrees, a job facing massive shortages.
To help these schools respond to the current crisis, the researchers
said the federal government should create block grants for states that
would help restore the institutions' pre-Great Recession funding
levels. Future federal coronavirus aid should also be based on
headcount, not full-time equivalent enrollment, they urged. The latest
round of relief money uses a formula to distribute funding that
includes headcount, enabling schools that enroll many part-time
students to receive more money.
The researchers recommend the government give $1,000 grants to students
attending rural public colleges who are eligible for federal Pell
Grants, a common measure of campus poverty. This money could be used to
purchase laptops for remote learning. Over the past several years, the
share of undergraduates in online programs at rural public colleges has
grown, the report notes.
In the long term, the researchers said, the federal government could
help establish teaching health clinics and hospitals at rural schools,
improve partnerships with healthcare providers to enable more training
and consider loan forgiveness for health science graduates. This would
improve rural public health, they argue.
They encouraged the government to boost workforce development and
create a "Rural Serving Institution" designation in federal law that
would provide grants for these institutions.
Read this and other stories at Higher Ed Dive
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