Earning a bachelor’s degree is far less affordable at Ohio’s public universities than at those in other Great Lakes states, according to a new report. 

Researchers at the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) found Ohio’s public university students had an average affordability gap – the difference between what they owe and what they can afford to pay  – of $5,138. 

That amount is higher than in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin – and more than three times the national average of $1,555. 

This underscores, according to NCAN’s recent analysis, that cost is one of the biggest things stopping people from attending a four-year college, especially those from low- and middle-income backgrounds. 

“Affordability gaps shouldn’t be the barrier that is blocking students from achieving a bachelor’s degree, if that’s the path that they are hoping to pursue,” Louisa Woodhouse, a senior associate with NCAN and author of the Great Lakes report, said in an interview with Signal. 

One of the reasons these gaps exist is due to limited state investments in higher education. Though lawmakers in some Great Lakes states have boosted funding and the amount of need-based financial aid students receive, others have made cuts in those same areas. That’s led to “uneven progress across the region,” Woodhouse wrote in the findings. 

In Ohio, lawmakers included a slight boost in funding for colleges as well as an increase to the need-based scholarship program offered to state residents in the most recent state budget. Still, over the past two decades, state and local support for higher education in Ohio has trailed well below the national average. 

Study finds Ohio community colleges are more affordable than four-year schools

None of Ohio’s 14 four-year public universities met NCAN’s definition of affordability. 

The group classifies an institution as such if the total price in-state full-time students paid at a school (plus $300 for emergencies) is less than or equal to the average amount they received in scholarships, grants, federal student loans and other contributions. 

It was a different story for the state’s community colleges. Researchers found the majority – more than 70% – of Ohio’s 22 two-year public colleges hit NCAN’s definition of affordable. 

Woodhouse stressed that there are benefits to earning all types of certificates and degrees, both for students themselves and the state’s workforce overall. 

But “there is still a higher earnings premium for a bachelor’s degree, so it’s important that we’re still encouraging and supporting students to pursue that pathway,” she said. 

Workers with higher levels of education tend to earn more than those with less, but that’s also dependent on other factors such as gender, race and what they studied, findings from Georgetown University show. 

What Ohio can learn from Illinois 

Woodhouse said researchers didn’t look at how students were closing those affordability gaps in this study, but suspected they might be working more and/or taking out private loans to make ends meet.  

The Midwest “continues to stand out as a region where students face significant financial burdens when it comes to covering the cost of postsecondary education,” according to NCAN’s findings.  

In addition to a lack of state investment in higher education, colleges here also rely more on tuition revenue as an income stream than other areas of the country. That, in turn, can bump up costs for students. 

Not all of the Great Lakes states are failing, though. 

Woodhouse pointed to Illinois as one example Ohio leaders could learn from. State lawmakers there have increased funding for colleges. Plus, there’s a push to boost strong completion rates of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (or FAFSA) form, which can help students get all possible federal financial aid that might be available to them. 

Together, she said, those moves have helped make college more affordable for state residents.