Ensuring Affordability and Access at The University of Texas at El Paso

1
Ensuring Affordability and Access at The
University of Texas at El Paso

• Roy Mathew, PhD Director, Center for
  Institutional Evaluation, Research and Planning
• University of Texas at El Paso

2
Presentation Outline

• Mission and Regional Characteristics
• Challenges to Providing Access
• Challenges to Ensuring Affordability
• Comparing UTEP to Other Institutions
• Evidence of Achieving Success
• Ongoing Institutional Research to Advance Mission
  
• Commitment to Ensuring Access

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UTEPs Mission

• . . . As a public university, UTEP is
  committed to providing access and educational
  opportunity to the people of the El Paso region
  and the State of Texas . . .

4
Characteristics of the Region

• El Paso, Texas
• El Paso County-3rd poorest large county in the
  US1
• Population 724,000
• 81 Hispanic
• Border community, very dynamic flow of residents
  and students across the border
• Limited educational opportunities

1 2005 American Community Survey of the US Census
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Texas Educational Attainment, by Region Source THEBC Texas Educational Attainment, by Region Source THEBC Texas Educational Attainment, by Region Source THEBC Texas Educational Attainment, by Region Source THEBC Texas Educational Attainment, by Region Source THEBC
Region Population Over Age 25 Percentage High School Diploma (or GED) or Higher Percentage Associates Degree or Higher Percentage Baccalaureate Degree or Higher
Central Texas 1,274,317 82.1 35.2 29.6
Gulf Coast 2,972,716 76.2 31.1 26.1
High Plains 607,037 75.0 24.1 18.8
Metroplex 3,416,273 79.8 33.4 27.8
Northwest 350,250 76.1 21.4 16.7
South Texas 2,304,306 68.0 22.7 17.8
Southeast Texas 476,816 75.2 18.4 13.9
Upper East Texas 665,553 75.1 20.8 15.3
Upper Rio Grande 406,613 65.6 21.7 16.7
West Texas 317,012 71.2 21.3 16.4
Statewide 12,790,893 75.7 28.5 23.2
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Challenges of Providing Access
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Major Challenges
The federal government shifted the means of
fulfilling the commitment to equal opportunity in
postsecondary education from primarily using
grants to mainly using loans (St. John,
1994). State support for public colleges and
universities decreased (Callan Finney,
1997). . . .concerns about student enrollment
have triggered the bidding war in recruiting and
retaining academically well-prepared students (Hu
and St. John 2001). . . .minority students are
competitively disadvantaged in access to higher
education.. (Baker Velez, 1996).
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UTEPs Efforts to Ensure Access

• K-12 Pipeline
• Admission Pathways
• Cost and Affordability

9
Building the Pipeline

• El Paso Collaborative for Academic Excellence
• Founded in 1991 partners include the National
  Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of
  Education and The Pew Charitable Trusts, in
  addition to businesses and organizations in the
  community and throughout Texas

Goals of the Collaborative

• Ensure academic success for all students, K-16
• Ensure that all students graduate from high
  school prepared to succeed in a four-year college
  or university
• Close achievement gaps among different groups of
  students

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New Admission Pathways

• Key Initiatives that Shaped the New Admissions
  Policy
• Research on Student Success Funded by Lumina
  Research
• College Readiness Initiative

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Cost and Affordability
UTEP Fall 2007 Tuition and Fees for 12 SCH
2291.00 UTEP Full-time Students with
Need-Based Grant Aid Average Percent
Discount
100 Percent Tuition and Fees Compared to
Regional Median Income
16.1

• Institutional Assistance Programs for Low Income
  Students
• UTEP Promise  -  Financial Aid Program for first
  time freshmen at UTEP with family income of
  25,000 or less.
• Guaranteed Tuition Plan  -  Guarantees that
  tuition and mandatory fees will not increase for
  four
  consecutive year from the date of initial
  enrollment.
• UTEP Success  -  Efforts to educate the El Paso
  community about various financial aid programs
  the main message is that
  everyone qualifies for some form of financial aid
• On Campus Employment Opportunity Program  - 
  Subsidizes on-campus employment through non-
  
  tuition set asides 75 supported
  by Campus and
  25 hiring departments
• UTEP/EPCC Collaborations -  Common Admissions
  Application / Financial Aid Consortium

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Challenges to Keeping Cost Low at UTEP
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(No Transcript)
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Expenditures vs. Legislative Appropriations
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UTEP Tuition And Fees 10yr trend
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How Does UTEP Compare?

• System and WAG4 Comparisons

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Research Expenditures FY 2006 41,933,182
Research Expenditures FY 2006 34,865,068
Research Expenditures FY 2006 32,316,849
Research Expenditures FY 2006 43,085,236
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Net Cost Comparison at UT System
Full-time Undergraduate Students with Need-Based Grant Aid, AY 2006-07 Full-time Undergraduate Students with Need-Based Grant Aid, AY 2006-07 Full-time Undergraduate Students with Need-Based Grant Aid, AY 2006-07
Receiving Grant Aid Average Discount of Total Academic Cost
Arlington 39.0 94.8
Austin 46.7 78.5
Brownsville 69.7 62.3
Dallas 33.6 57.2
El Paso 46.7 100.0
Pan American 71.6 100.0
Permian Basin 46.9 79.4
San Antonio 43.7 62.8
Tyler 42.6 88.0
Source U.T. System Institutions
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Undergraduate Financial Aid Awards FY 2006 and Recipients Source UT System Accountability Reports Undergraduate Financial Aid Awards FY 2006 and Recipients Source UT System Accountability Reports Undergraduate Financial Aid Awards FY 2006 and Recipients Source UT System Accountability Reports Undergraduate Financial Aid Awards FY 2006 and Recipients Source UT System Accountability Reports
  Source of Funding Amount Awarded of Total Expenditures
Arlington       Federal/State/Work Study 21,691,636 22.16
Arlington       Institutional 14,344,014 14.65
Arlington       Private 3,326,296 3.40
Arlington       Loans 58,546,440 59.80
Dallas       Federal/State/Work Study 9,068,845 21.34
Dallas       Institutional 1,802,126 4.24
Dallas       Private 1,083,392 2.55
Dallas       Loans 30,546,554 71.87
El Paso       Federal/State/Work Study 37,602,934 42.65
El Paso       Institutional 9,141,667 10.37
El Paso       Private 3,005,501 3.41
El Paso       Loans 38,409,415 43.57
San Antonio       Federal/State/Work Study 35,745,359 23.28
San Antonio       Institutional 7,936,893 5.17
San Antonio       Private 7,707,727 5.02
San Antonio       Loans 102,145,469 66.53
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Evidence of Achieving Success
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Reflecting the Regions Demographics
UTEP Total Enrollment Residence Fall 2007 Number Percent
El Paso County 16,705 82.90
New Mexico 243 1.21
Other International 432 2.10
Mexico 1,801 8.90
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UTEP Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Fall 2007 UTEP Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Fall 2007 UTEP Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Fall 2007
White Non-Hispanic 2,124 10.50
Black Non-Hispanic 547 2.70
Hispanic 14,826 73.60
Asian American 226 1.10
Native American 44 0.20
Unknown 96 0.50
Mexican International 1,635 8.10
Other International 656 3.30
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Socio-Economically Disadvantaged and First
Generation Students

• Low Income
  
  
• Number of UTEP students who applied for
  financial aid                  15,269
• Average family income of financial aid
  applicants                   30,856
•  Percent of financial aid applicants with family
• income of 20,000 or less             
  44
•  Percent of UTEP students with reported family
• income of 20,000 or less                       
     34
• Percent of students with family income of less
  than 20,000 at large public research (doctoral)
  universities 10. Percent of students with
  family income of less than 20,000 at small and
  mid-sized private colleges and universities 12.
  (Council of Independent Colleges
  http//www.cic.edu/makingthecase/data/access/incom
  e/index.asp )
• Percent of students with family income less than
  20,000 at community colleges 29. (Lumina
  Foundation Focus, Fall 2005, P.5)

First Generation

Fall 2006 Fall 2007 Percent of
freshmen who are first-generation college
students
52 52
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Ongoing Institutional Research that Advance
UTEPs Mission of Providing Access
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Economic Impact on EnrollmentStudent Demand
Analysis

• UTEP Enrollment
• New Students
• First-time Freshmen
• New Graduate students
• Total Enrollment
• Continuing Students
• Transfer Students

Economic factors associated with UTEP
enrollment.
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Factors Influencing Student Demand
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Lumina Study

• Research on understanding why students leave,
  return (re-enroll), and graduate on-time by
  tracking enrollment history, academic progress,
  and financial aid data.
• The main questions the research tries to answer
  are
• How can the institution identify, at the time of
  admission, students at-risk of
• departure?
• What factors affect student departure, return and
  on-time graduation?
• Explored the effect of demographic, academic
  preparation, academic performance and financial
  aid variables on student departure and graduation
  for student cohorts from fall 1999 and fall 2000.
  

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Lumina Study Findings
Factors that predict graduation within six years Factors that affect student departure (identify at risk groups) Factors that do not predict graduation or at risk groups
Female() Female (-) ACT/SAT score
Age 20 or older at first enrollment (-) Age 20 or older at first enrollment () Household Income
High School Percentile Rank 2nd Quartile (-), bottom half (-) High School Percentile Rank 2nd Quartile (), bottom half () Enrollment in Developmental (after controlling for failing and time of enrollment)
Below college level Math Placement (-) Direct Matriculation (-) Educational level of parents
Intend to work more than 20 hpw (-) Below college level Math Placement () Reading Placement Level (BANR)
Number of failed Developmental courses (-) Intend to work more than 20 hpw () Writing Placement Level (BANW)
Cumulative GPA () Grant Received (-) English Placement Level (BANE)
Number of semesters received Grant () Work-Study Received (-)
Number of semesters received Loan () Student Loan Received (-)
Failing Developmental ()
Part-time enrollment ()
Withdrawing class ()
Semester GPA (-)
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Importance of Ensuring Access
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If the policy changes have disproportionally
negative effects on educational attainment of
minority students, then the economic and social
well-being of minority students and society as a
whole will inevitably be imperiled (Hu and St.
John 2001). . . .it also seems incumbent on
those who can influence public policy to work
toward the construction of less costly forms of
higher education and also toward the kinds of
financial assistance and loan programs that can
combine significant cost recovery with protection
to those whose participation in higher education
is most at risk from the inevitable need to share
in the costs (Johnstone 2003).
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Postsecondary Education Among Mexican American
Youth Contributions of Parents, Siblings,
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