Paying for college.

Your editorial "What Bootstraps?" (March 25) dealt with a critical issue: the rising cost of higher education that threatens upward mobility for millions of young adults from families of modest means. You're right, it is troubling that some public universities, as well as private universities, are becoming so expensive, but I thought you'd like to know that a few public universities (not simply Harvard and Yale, as you mentioned) are trying to address this problem.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has initiated an effort, called Carolina Covenant, designed to make the university accessible to students from low-income families. (I'm not involved in this program, though I know people who are.) Carolina Covenant packages work-study positions with an assortment of grants and scholarships. At first the university targeted families with incomes of up to 150 percent of the federal poverty level, but now it is extended to families at 200 percent. By fall 2005, the university expects to serve 345 students in this program. Several major public universities have adopted similar initiatives: Virginia, Nebraska, Maryland, Illinois, Ohio State, and Michigan. In today's economy, it is critical that more young adults continue their education beyond high school. It's crucial to the health of our democracy, too.

FERREL GUILLORY

Raleigh, N.C.

The writer is director of the Program on Southern Politics, Media, and Public Life at the University of North Carolina.