Each edition of this newsletter issued by the Association of Schools Advancing Health Professions (ASAHP) provides information about the two domains of health care and education that are separate from one another in many important respects, but also closely related. The steady aging of the U.S. population is accompanied by increases in the number of patients in the oldest brackets who have co-morbidities. Addressing their health and social-related needs will require an adequate supply of competent, adequately prepared practitioners across a wide range of health professions. The education sphere is keenly involved in the production of teachers, clinicians, and researchers necessary to achieve optimal results. Although a main focus is on what transpires in colleges and universities, other levels involving elementary and high schools play a significant role in determining which students will arrive at the door of health professions academic institutions and be able to thrive in that setting once admitted.
The following discussion looks at some key variables involving the ability of students and their families to pay for that level of education and preparation necessary to begin a career in the health professions; the quality of education at levels below college; and the ability to complete formal education in a reasonable time period. Concerning the latter point, race and ethnicity have a bearing on how long it takes students to complete four-year degree programs. A Digest of Education Statistics from the National Center for Education Statistics has data showing that fewer than 50% of students at four-year colleges graduate within four years, which means that longer periods of time can not only produce higher costs than originally expected, but also delay the start of a career. Significantly, non-white students tend to be more burdened with such problems than what white students experience.
Meeting The Costs Associated With Participating In Higher Education
Tuition and related fees pertaining to functions involving meals and residence on campus are beyond the reach of many families. Depending on the amount of time spent in school and the type of education required to become a health professional, some students will graduate with a debt that may exceed $100,000 (e.g., physicians). The current average is approaching $40,000. At the time of distribution of this issue of the newsletter, the fate of $3.5 trillion social spending legislation in Congress has not been determined yet. One component entails making two years of community college free for all and a related piece is increasing the largest Pell Grant awarded to low-income students by $500. Entrance into some health professions requires only an associate degree. Participation in other professions make it necessary to achieve baccalaureate or even higher degrees. Many students who begin at the community college level manage to have credits transferred to four-year institutions and save money in the process of doing so. Also, nearly a third of students skipped the Free Application from Federal Student Aid or FAFSA® last year, with the form’s complexity posing a major reason why they did so. A step in the right direction is that the consumer banking company Sallie Mae launched a free suite of financial education instruments and planning resources, including a FAFSA support tool that can help families complete the form in minutes, to help students maximize federal financial aid.
Quality Of Education Below The College Level
Many students around the nation are plagued by having to attend public schools where dismally low percentages of youth are able to come even close to achieving proficiency at particular grade levels (4th and 8th grades) in reading, mathematics, and science. Alternatives exist in the form of charter schools and voucher programs that enable low-income parents to meet tuition costs in private institutions. Depending on the political jurisdiction at federal, state, county, and city levels, these options may be resisted fiercely. Regarding the issue of charter schools, according to data collected and analyzed by the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, during the first full school year of the COVID pandemic, a report released in September 2021 shows that the charter sector is likely to have experienced the largest rate of increase in student enrollment in half a decade. Public charter school enrollment increased during the 2020-2021 school year in at least 39 states, the only segment of the public education sector to grow during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the data compiled by the National Alliance. All told, nearly 240,000 new students enrolled in charter schools during that period, a 7% year-over-year increase, which likely represents more than double the rate of growth from the prior year.