Higher education access gap: Lottery-based model for mitigating postsecondary education access-gap in North Carolina

The rising cost of obtaining tertiary education threatens the educational dreams of thousands of North Carolina students and creates an educational access-gap between low- and high-income students. Although there are various needs-based state and federal governmental assistance for students, the cost of tertiary education remains formidable and creates a mental barrier that disrupts the educational future orientation of low-income students. In this work, a model for relieving tertiary education costs using a restricted fund for cohorts of kindergarteners and the power of time-value of money is offered. This model is funded by pigovian taxes and disbursed after the successful completion of a qualifying post-secondary certificate or degree. It promotes the educational future orientation of low-income students by mitigating their future costs of college education, and, therefore, eliminating finance-based mental barriers of their education.