U-Md. Aims to Boost Student Aid, Affordability

The University of Maryland plans to raise $1 billion during a seven-year capital campaign, pledging $350 million for financial aid to students aspiring to attend the state's flagship public university.

School officials said yesterday that the drive is the most ambitious of its kind in the Washington area for a public university, and the biggest part of it would aim to make the university more affordable, enabling top students from poorer families to attend the increasingly expensive school.

Tuition and mandatory fees at Maryland, as well as at other schools, have increased steadily over the past several years, as has the cost of living, making affordability a major issue at many universities. C.D. Mote Jr., Maryland's president, said it costs a student paying in-state tuition about $20,000 a year to attend the school, which has been ranked as one of the nation's top 20 public universities.

"It's very clear going forward, outside of the entire tuition discussion, that the cost of coming here is going to be more and more difficult for students of modest means," Mote said. "And we have a lot of them. So we need to raise resources. . . . Our goal is that no student who has the capacity to come here and succeed will be barred from that."

The $350 million would be split between financial aid for students in low-income families and scholarships designated by the donors or the university administration. For example, a Maryland program provides free tuition and mentoring for high-achieving students at certain high schools in Prince George's County and Baltimore; more money would enable the program to be extended.

Brodie Remington, vice president for university relations, said the fundraising drive began silently two years ago, helping officials estimate how much they could raise. They began with a goal of $800 million, he said, but donations exceeded expectations, and they increased their goal to $1 billion.

So far, the school has raised $312 million, Remington said.

Of the $1 billion sought, school officials said $225 million would be used to attract faculty. Officials would put $175 million toward improving academic and athletic facilities and would designate $250 million to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.

Remington said top public universities in Virginia, Michigan and California have undertaken programs of similar size to make a college education more affordable.

"It does put us in the big leagues," he said.

Joshua Wyner, vice president for programs at the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, which provides aid to talented students who require financial assistance, said he has seen statistics showing that less than half of all top-achieving working-class 12th-graders received a college degree. He said that there are many causes but that part of the problem is the increasing cost of going to college.

"There's inadequate need-based aid for those students," he said. "We welcome President Mote's initiative in this regard."