Harvard University’s move to make college more affordable for middle- and upper-income students through a reduced tuition plan for those whose family incomes total less than $180,000 is a commendable extension of its decision to offer financial aid packages covering all expenses for to students with family incomes under $60,000. Harvard’s plan will help families that are often left behind by the financial aid office because their incomes do not qualify them for large grants, but that are still unable to bear the burden of astronomical higher education costs. However, Harvard’s plan must bring more mid-income students into its qualified admissions pool, maximizing the number of students able to take advantage of its generous new program. If applicants do not know about or understand the program, they could easily write off Harvard as another private college beyond the bounds of affordability.
Harvard is to be commended for its decision to reduce the tuition burden on its students. However, for the nation’s wealthiest college, with an endowment of $34.9 billion posted at the end of the last financial year, Harvard’s annual investment returns surpass the amount it would collect from its students even if everyone paid full tuition. That Harvard will effectively reduce tuition for students whose family incomes fall between $120,000 and $180,000 is important and will expand the availability of the highest-caliber education — though the move will hardly put the wealthy university at a disadvantage. As the bar is raised and Harvard moves to make higher education cheaper for more students, the question arises whether any student needs to pay tuition at a school so independent of this funding source.
Several aspects of Harvard’s financial aid reform plan are smart — including its decision to tie tuition payments to family income rather than the cost of tuition itself. Like at other universities, students at Harvard expect a perennial increase in tuition costs. This year’s tuition cost, $31,456, represents an increase over past years, though the rate of increase at Harvard is two-thirds as fast as the national average, according to an Oct. 24 Harvard Crimson article. As the article states, Harvard’s endowment allows it flexibility in setting tuition rates. For this same reason, however, it seems unreasonable that Harvard raises its tuition at all, when earlier this year Princeton University proved it is possible for a college to maintain its tuition level — though already high — without an increase.
To be sure students take advantage of Harvard’s new policy, the school should make sure potential students understand the benefits available to them and their eligibility for them. Harvard does not need to increase its name recognition among low- and middle-income populations; it does, however, need to change its appearance to reflect increased accessibility. The college should also consider the reality that wealthier applicants are often the best prepared applicants for the Harvard admissions process — those who have most carefully been prepped for the tests and interviews it entails. It is right that Harvard will make it possible for most accepted applicants — whose achievements surpass those of other, wealthier applicants — to enroll in the school, undeterred by financial consequences. However, Harvard should figure out how to enroll qualified, lower-income students whose applicants may not have the same bells and whistles as students whose incomes allow them to pay the full amount of tuition.