Things Could be Worse for Undocumented Students

While the national debate on the DREAM Act is over for this season, and students here in Illinois can at least go to community college for in-state tuition rates, things are worse elsewhere.

This article from Inside Higher Ed describes the current uproar in North Carolina over admitting undocumented students to state community colleges at all. Not whether they should pay in-state rates; in fact, those in North Carolina who see the wisdom in allowing local folks without papers some opportunity to better themselves still agree that paying out-of-state tuition, which is at least $2000 more than the estimated cost to educate a student per year, is OK.

But apparently even this is too much of a stretch for some folks to swallow. Apparently the former attorney general, now governor's legal opinion that holds colleges cannot exclude applicants for "non-academic" reasons is mighty unpopular.

In the discussion below the thread, one poster argues that if colleges wouldn't want felons on their campuses, they shouldn't let illegal aliens on them either. The last I knew, there was no formal bar on admitting those few ex-cons who've manage to get to the point where they'd want a college education. But hey, what do I know? Besides, I live in a town where ex-felons are aldermen.