Access & Affordability at Carleton College
Benchmarking Report
Anna Baldasarre Access & Affordability at Carleton College !2
This benchmarking report will present data on indicators of access and affordability at
Carleton College and a set of aspirational peers. Carleton College is widely recognized as one of the best liberal arts colleges in the nation. Located in rural Northfield, MN, Carleton is recognized by the Carnegie Classifications as a baccalaureate college with a focus on arts and sciences and educates approximately 2,000 four-year undergraduate students in a selective, residential environment (The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, 2015).
In order to assess access and affordability at Carleton, the chosen indicators represent data on student demographics and finances. The indicators for access will demonstrate student demographics regarding gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic position to determine if underrepresented students are attending Carleton and if they are succeeding while enrolled. The indicators related to affordability will offer information regarding the total cost of attendance, financial assistance including loans and grants, and endowment assets. These indicators are intended to help determine if a prestigious education is available to a wide variety of students.
Eight peer institutions will provide the data against which to benchmark Carleton’s information. These institutions were chosen from among a list of fifteen comparison institutions indicated on College Results Online. These institutions are similar to Carleton in that they are selective, residential, and located in rural or suburban areas. They enroll approximately 1,500 to
2,500 undergraduate students in liberal arts baccalaureate programs that focus on the arts and sciences.
The U.S. News & World Report rankings were used to narrow down the comparison institutions into a selection of aspirational peers; Carleton College was placed eighth in the rankings, and the aspirational institutions in this report were ranked first, third, tied for fourth, Access & Affordability at Carleton College !3 and tied for ninth (U.S. News & World Report, 2016). Although there is controversy over the validity of the rankings, they remain a widely publicized form of information for prospective students and families, thus obligating many institutions to notice their placement and strive to move up in the rankings. The final list of aspirational institutions consists of Williams College
(MA), Swarthmore College (PA), Middlebury College (VT), Bowdoin College (ME), Davidson
College (NC), Pomona College (CA), Wellesley College (MA), and Claremont McKenna
College (CA). Access & Affordability at Carleton College !4
Access Indicators (Source: College Results Online)
6-year graduation rate (all students, 2014)
Carleton College Aspirational Institutions
100%
75%
50%
25%
0% 6-year graduation rates (all students, 2014)
6-year graduation rate (underrepresented minority students)
Carleton College Aspirational Institutions
90%
88.75%
87.5%
86.25%
85% 6-year graduation rates (underrepresented minority students) Access & Affordability at Carleton College !5
Percentage of underrepresented minority students
Carleton College Aspirational Institutions
17%
12.75%
8.5%
4.25%
0% Percentage of underrepresented minority students
Percentage of students by gender
Carleton College Aspirational Institutions
60%
45%
30%
15%
0% Percentage of women students Percentage of men students Access & Affordability at Carleton College !6
Percentage of Pell recipients among freshmen students
Carleton College Aspirational Institutions
17%
16%
15%
14%
13% Percentage of Pell recipients among freshman students
Discussion
The access indicators reveal that Carleton College and its peer institutions enroll a very small percentage of underrepresented minority students, and those who are enrolled are less likely to persist to graduation. Only 10% of Carleton’s study body consists of underrepresented minority students, and only 16.6% of the combined study body of the aspirational institutions.
Carleton seems to be not very accessible to minority students. This may be attributed in part to location, campus culture, admissions policies, or finances. The aspirational data suggests that more minority students can be successful at schools like Carleton, so the college should consider ways to make the campus more welcoming to students of underrepresented races or ethnicities.
Yet enrolling minority students is only part of the challenge Carleton faces; the other part is exploring strategies to ensure their success, health, and happiness, while on campus. The 6- year graduation rate for all students at both Carleton and the aspirational institutions is 93%, but Access & Affordability at Carleton College !7 the 6-year graduation rate for underrepresented students drops to 86.8% and 89.1%, respectively.
These would be admirable percentages on their own, however, when compared to the graduation rate of all students, it is clear that minority students find it more difficult to graduate than non- minority students. Carleton does not lag far behind its peers but does have a slightly lower graduation rate; to help raise the number of minority students who graduate in six years, the college might consider studying reasons why minority students do not finish. Potential solutions might focus on increasing academic and cultural support for these students so that they feel comfortable on the campus and are prepared to succeed in class.
This report also finds that Carleton is inaccessible to many low-income students. College
Results Online describes it as an “engine of inequality” because it does not enroll many students from working class or low-income backgrounds and ranks in the bottom 5% of all four-year colleges and universities nationally to enroll Pell grant recipients. Of the freshman class, 14.4% receive Pell grants. Once again, Carleton’s aspirational institutions show slight improvement at
16.2%.
The final indicator of access measured the percentages of students by gender. Carleton appears to have no problems attracting both men and women students, as 52.9% of students are women and 47.1% are men. The outlier in the aspirational group was Wellesley College, which enrolls 99.3% women students. Access & Affordability at Carleton College !8
Affordability Indicators (Source: College Results Online)
Total price for in-state, on-campus students
Carleton College Aspirational Institutions
$60,500.00
$60,375.00
$60,250.00
$60,125.00
$60,000.00 Total price for in-state, on-campus students
Average net price after grants
Carleton College Aspirational Institutions
$34,000.00
$25,500.00
$17,000.00
$8,500.00
$0.00 Average net price after grants Access & Affordability at Carleton College !9
Average freshman student loan (all sources)
Carleton College Aspirational Institutions
$7,000.00
$5,250.00
$3,500.00
$1,750.00
$0.00 Average freshman student loan (all sources)
Median debt of completers
Carleton College Aspirational Institutions
$18,000.00
$17,250.00
$16,500.00
$15,750.00
$15,000.00 Median debt of completers Access & Affordability at Carleton College !10
Endowment assets/total FTE (2014)
Carleton College Aspirational Institutions
$800,000.00
$600,000.00
$400,000.00
$200,000.00
$0.00 Endowment assets/total FTE (2014)
Discussion
The affordability indicators show that Carleton is typically a more expensive college choice than its aspirational institutions. Carleton charges a higher total price for in-state, on- campus students than the comparison group, and the average net price remains higher even after accounting for grants. After grants, the average Carleton student will need to pay $32,017.00 while the cost to attend the other institutions averages at $21,615.50. This difference of more than $10,000 may be prohibitive for some students and/or place significant financial strain on them. Carleton graduates will likely have gone into debt in order to finance their educations; the median debt of Carleton completers is $17,500.00 and the median debt of the aspirational group completers is $15,369.25.
Interestingly, the average freshman at Carleton will take out student loans in the amount of $4,824.00, while the average freshman attending an institution in the comparison group will take out $6,150.88 in loans. Due to Carleton’s higher total and net price, it would be expected Access & Affordability at Carleton College !11 that these students also have higher amounts of loans. Regardless of the difference between student loans at Carleton at its peer institutions, the average freshman student loan does not cover the previously state net price of any of these institutions. It is possible that Carleton’s students are finding more outside scholarships or earning money from part- or full-time jobs to pay for their education, but perhaps the difference in loans is more likely connected to the college’s lack of socioeconomic diversity. As previously mentioned Carleton enrolls a very low percentage of working class and low income students, indicating that students from middle or upper class backgrounds may be paying for their educations with funds from parents or other relatives.
The final affordability indicator measured the endowment assets per total full-time equivalent (FTE) students. For each student Carleton enrolls, the college has $390,191.00 in endowment funds. For each student the comparison group enrolls, the colleges have $735,527.50 in endowment funds. While these both seem like staggering statistics, it is clear that Carleton has a significantly smaller endowment than its aspirational peers—by almost half as much. This may explain, at least in part, why Carleton’s total and net prices are higher than those of its peers.
Institutions with large endowments generate higher amounts of interest which can be reinvested into the school each year, while institutions with smaller endowments are more tuition-dependent and rely on individual and government funds to keep the college afloat. If Carleton wishes to be more like these aspirational institutions, it should consider new or different investment and fundraising strategies. Perhaps with a larger endowment, the college would be able to offer more scholarships and grants in order to make its educational offerings more affordable to all types of students. Access & Affordability at Carleton College !12
References
College Results Online. (2016). Carleton College. Retrieved from http://collegeresults.org/
search1b.aspx?institutionid=173258
The Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. (2015). Carleton College:
Northfield, Minnesota. Retrieved from http://carnegieclassifications.iu.edu/lookup/
view_institution.php?unit_id=173258&start_page=lookup.php&clq=%7B
%22ipug2005_ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22ipgrad2005_ids%22%3A%22%22%2C
%22enrprofile2005_ids%22%3A%22%22%2C%22ugprfile2005
U.S. News & World Report. (2016). National Liberal Arts Colleges Rankings. Retrieved from
http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges/rankings/national-liberal-
arts-colleges