USA Today covers JFI “Geography of Higher Ed” research

In an in-depth look at disparities in access to higher education in the Midwest and other parts of the U.S., reporter David Jesse of the Detroit Free Press documents the intersection of poverty and in-access to higher ed in an article today in USA Today, which features Laura Beamer, JFI Project Lead on Higher Education Finance. JFI’s recent research, “Unequal and Uneven: The Geography of Higher Education Access,” provides a new look at the issue of college access nationwide.

As the article states, over five million Americans live in education deserts, with no post-secondary institution within a 30-minute drive. Our recent research shows that over 30 million Americans have access to only one public school nearby.

“It’s a stark reality,” Beamer said of the socioeconomic disparities in access. The next of JFI’s three-part series on higher ed access will track differences in debt and debt-to-income ratios for individuals in education deserts or with little choice in nearby post-secondary institutions. Sign up for our newsletter below to keep up with this series and other important social science research.

Read the full article here, and view our interactive map of higher ed access here. Our press release on this research can be found here.