海角大神

The University of California at Berkeley聽is sending an early holiday gift to middle-class families struggling聽to send their聽offspring to America鈥檚聽top-ranked public institution of higher education.

As of fall 2012, the flagship campus in the UC system will cap the amount that families with annual incomes between $80,000 and $140,000 must pay at 15 percent of household income.

The MCAP (for Middle-Class Access Plan) is the first such initiative at a public university. Several top-tier private schools such as Harvard, Princeton, and Wellesley College have either capped聽tuition聽at 10 percent of income for families聽earning under $200,000 or limited the amount of student debt at graduation to less than $15,000.

Unveiling the plan at a press conference, Berkeley鈥檚 chancellor, Robert Birgeneau, noted that the move is in recognition of California鈥檚 high cost of living and the challenges聽mid-range families face聽as they price out of aid available to the poorest students, not to mention the significant tuition increases of recent years.

鈥淏erkeley has an outstanding record of providing access through financial aid for students. As a result, our undergraduates leave college with among the lowest levels of student debt in the country,鈥� said Mr. Birgeneau. But, he added, while a strong commitment to financial aid has led to both an increasing number of lower-income students on the Berkeley campus and a reduction in their costs,聽鈥渨e see early signs that middle-income families who cannot access existing assistance programs are straining to meet college costs.鈥�

As a public institution, he adds, 鈥渨e feel strongly that we need to sustain and expand access across the socio-economic spectrum.鈥�

The additional aid will聽be聽raised in part from increased philanthropy and higher numbers of out-of-state students, who pay an additional $22,878 per year. This is on top of the estimated $32,000 for resident students. The 15 percent cap is available to out-of-state students, but will not apply to the nonresident surcharge.

鈥淭his is a game-changer,鈥� says Terry Hartle, senior vice president at the American Council on Education, a trade association representing some 2,000聽public and private colleges and universities.

Such a public commitment to this hard-hit sector, he says, 鈥渨ill force other leading public institutions to step up to the plate.鈥� Not all will be able to make the same commitment, he notes, because public universities rely on state legislatures聽for the majority of their funds, 鈥渁nd most聽state budgets are hard-hit and cutting back, particularly in the past two years.鈥�

The major higher educational聽institutions are聽intensely competitive for the top students, he notes. So, while he says he hasn鈥檛 yet fielded calls from any college聽presidents, 鈥淚聽imagine more than a few are gritting their teeth and saying this is聽something we can鈥檛 ignore.鈥�

While the large, public, and elite private schools typically have more resources to commit to such overtures,聽small and medium-size institutions are also keenly aware of the聽demand to address聽the needs of the middle-income family, says Debra Townsley, president of William Peace University in Raleigh,聽N.C. The school just reduced its 2012-13聽tuition by 7.73 percent.

鈥淲e鈥檝e been talking about this for years,鈥� she says, but notes that the demands have increased聽as the economy has worsened.

鈥淭he very wealthy and the very poor have access to higher education,鈥� she says, 鈥渂ut it is very difficult for the middle-income families to qualify for the kinds of aid聽available to the lowest-income families.鈥�

She notes that many smaller schools will not be able to聽match the UC Berkeley offer, but she adds, 鈥渃olleges and universities all over the country are searching hard for ways to respond and are doing聽what they can within their own constraints.鈥�