A SIMPLE
NEED FOR INFORMATION
An essential
component of the interrelated programs and services discussed in
this paper is the simple provision of information. Potential
students need to know all kinds of things—where and how to
enroll, what courses to take, where to obtain financial aid, how to
apply for scholarships and loans. Lack of information may be the
single greatest obstacle to attracting students.
It is a
paradox of modern society that as information multiplies at every
level of life, it is often not accessible to those who need it
most. The poor and disadvantaged—who have historically looked
upon social institutions with confusion if not dismay—find
the world outside their immediate environments less and less
understandable. They are intimidated, and what they see in the
larger universe of the city usually seems unrelated to their needs
and circumstances.
A 1977 report
by La Casa de Puerto Rico, a Hartford-based advocacy and research
organization, found that some 67 percent of Puerto Rican high
school graduates in Connecticut were either unaware of higher
education services and programs available to them or needed help in
identifying institutions and programs suited to their needs. The
lack of financial aid remains a major barrier to the participation
of Hispanics in higher education, partly because potential students
do not know they are eligible for it or do not know how to apply
for it. A recent College Board study reached the same conclusion
(see pp. 58-63).
Increasingly,
urban-oriented institutions will be obliged to solve this
informational problem if they are to make higher education
available to the disadvantaged of the inner city. The University of
Hartford project is attempting to solve it on behalf of the
Hispanics in the area through recruiting and on-campus activity
that is largely informational