Study: UConn Getting Less Affordable for Low-Income Students

The University of Connecticut, the state's major public university, is becoming increasingly less affordable to low-income students, according to a legislative report released on Thursday.

The report, authored by the state legislature’s Program Review and Investigations Office, reveals that college prices, including UConn’s, have spiked well beyond the rate of inflation.

To view the full report, click here.

“Prices may appear out of reach for students from low-income families,” a report in the CT Mirror quoted the report as saying. “Income needed for UConn rose most for low income students … Net price consumes a larger share of family resources as income declines.”

According to a table in the legislative report, after taking grant-based financial aid into account, low-income UConn students (up to $30,000 income) paid on average 13 percent more for the 2010-11 academic year than they did in 2008-09. In contrast, those in the middle-high-income bracket ($75,001 to $110,000) paid just 2 percent more, and those in the high-income (over $110,000) bracket paid 6 percent more.

According to the report, since the 1984-85 academic year, families at the lowest income levels have seen the percentage of their income going to cover college costs rise from 13 percent to 38 percent, while those at the highest income levels have seen an increase from 2 percent to 4 percent.

UConn President Susan Herbst, however, told legislators that the school was “affordable” and a “good value” for students, despite the increases, according to the CT Mirror report.