More graduate, at greater cost, from schools in northern N.E.

CONCORD, N.H. – Higher education in northern New England is more expensive than in most of the country, but the region’s students are more likely to graduate, according to a report being released today.

“Measuring Up 2002” was compiled by The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education of San Jose, Calif., a nonpartisan, nonprofit group.

The group evaluated states on five criteria: how well they prepare students for college, the percentage of residents enrolled in college, affordability, graduation rates and benefits states derive from higher education.

The center gave New Hampshire, Maine and Vermont failing grades on affordability, a measure that compares average family incomes to higher education costs at community colleges, public universities and private colleges in each state.

Since the center’s previous report in 2000, Vermont’s grade fell from D-minus to F, while the other two states retained their Fs. All three states have increased financial aid since 2000, but other states have made more rapid improvements.

The three northern New England states have several expensive private colleges, which had a modest effect on their affordability ratings, said Will Doyle, a senior policy analyst at the center.

But the main reasons for the failing grades were the high cost of tuition and other fees at public institutions and the lack of financial aid for low-income students, Doyle said.

For example, the average family in Vermont would have to devote 38 percent of its income to pay for a four-year public education, even after financial aid. In New Hampshire, the percentage is 29 percent. In Maine, it’s 25 percent.

In Utah, which received a B grade, a family would spend 16 percent of its income. California received an A rating because of its community college tuition – just $390 a year, Doyle said.

Kathryn Dodge, executive director of the New Hampshire Postsecondary Education Commission, said the state is trying to make college more affordable. Funding for a grant program for low-income students has doubled this year, she said.

“We think that when the 2004 report card is drafted, we may be in better shape,” she said.

Vermont Student Assistance Corp. spokeswoman Irene Racz said it appears the state has made gains since the 2000 report in four of the six areas tracked.

“But our gains were not significant enough in relation to other states’ performance, leading to an overall drop in our affordability grade,” said Racz, whose nonprofit organization provides grants, loans and scholarships.

The report may not be fully capturing the effect of significant higher education funding increases in Vermont during the last few years, Racz said. Those increases, she noted, have enabled VSAC to raise state grant levels.

“However, affordability remains a concern,” Racz said. “We are still playing catch-up from the ’90s, when funding either stagnated or was cut. Public school tuitions remain high. Debt levels remain relatively high. The weakened economy – manifested in job layoffs and declines in the stock market – has made it more difficult for many families to afford college.”

New Hampshire and Vermont retained their As for completion – the number of full-time students who either graduate from college or return to school. New Hampshire had the nation’s highest ranking, with 66 percent of students finishing a bachelor’s degree within five years of leaving high school. In Vermont, 65 percent graduate.

The percentage of Maine students earning a bachelor’s degree within five years fell from 60 percent to 56 percent, but it still exceeded the national average.

All three states did better than average in preparation, which considers factors including the percentage of young people with high school diplomas and the number scoring in the top 20 percent nationally on the SAT and ACT college entrance tests.

The three states received average grades for the percentage of residents who enroll in higher education. The center looked at students who go directly from high school to college, as well as young adults and working age adults who are enrolled.

Vermont and New Hampshire scored better than average for realizing the benefits of higher education. That category considers the percentage of the population with bachelor’s degrees, the income advantage college graduates enjoy and the percentage of adults who vote, among other factors.

Maine scored below average in the benefit category, as it did in 2000, because there was little income advantage to having a college degree. Top states in the study showed a 12 percent income advantage to having a bachelor’s degree and a 4 percent income advantage with an associate’s degree. In Maine, the advantages were 6 and 1 percent, respectively.

“A high income in Maine is nowhere near a high income level in other states,” said state economist Laurie Lachance. “There aren’t a lot of jobs in Maine that pay a whole lot of money in sheer numbers in comparison to other states.”

Also, there is a vast difference in earning potential in different parts of the state, she said: Someone with a bachelor’s degree in northern Maine may make about the same as a person with a high school diploma in southern Maine.

The grades were compiled using statistics from sources including the U.S. Census Bureau, The National Center for Education Statistics, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and university studies.