Promoting Access While Maintaining Competitive Admissions Standards

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Promoting Access While MaintainingCompetitive
Admissions Standards

• Jefferson Blackburn-Smith, The Ohio State
  University
• MorraLee Holzaphel, National College Access
  Network
• Lori Tochihara, University of Arizona
• College Board Forum, November 10, 2006

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What is the National College Access Network?

• Association of 222 college access programs,
  resource centers, statewide networks, supporting
  members, guarantors and lenders
• Non-profit under US Tax Code
• Active in 44 states and the District of Columbia
• I KNOW I CAN is a member of NCAN

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The Student Pipeline in the U.S.
h
For every 50 Ninth Graders
Source NCES Common Core Data, WICHE High School
Graduates, ACT Institutional Survey, NCES-IPED
Graduation Rate Survey 2002
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The Student Pipeline in the U.S.
34 Graduate from High School
Source NCES Common Core Data, WICHE High School
Graduates, ACT Institutional Survey, NCES-IPED
Graduation Rate Survey
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The Student Pipeline in the U.S.
20 Enter College
Source NCES Common Core Data, WICHE High School
Graduates, ACT Institutional Survey, NCES-IPED
Graduation Rate Survey
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The Student Pipeline in the U.S.
13.5 Are Still Enrolled Sophomore Year
Source NCES Common Core Data, WICHE High School
Graduates, ACT Institutional Survey, NCES-IPED
Graduation Rate Survey
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The Student Pipeline in the U.S.
9 Graduate From College (Within 150 Time 6
Years)
Source NCES Common Core Data, WICHE High School
Graduates, ACT Institutional Survey, NCES-IPED
Graduation Rate Survey
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21st Century Challenges

• The U.S. ranks 13th among developed nations in
  educational attainment
• The college participation gaps between affluent
  and poor students, and between white and minority
  students, are widening
• College costs are climbing, and unmet need is
  rising for low-income students
• The number of young men enrolling in college is
  devastatingly low.

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Challenges -- The 4 A s

• Aspiration
• Academic Preparation
• Availability
• Affordability

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1. Aspiration

• Weak support for higher education in the
  family-first generation
• Low perceived value of higher education
• Low socioeconomic status
• Negative attitudes beliefs about college
  haves/have nots

Source The Ohio Board of Regents, T. Rudd, Sept.
2002
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Low-Income Students Attend Postsecondary at
Lower Rates
2001 by The Education Trust, Inc.
Source NELS 88, Second (1992) and Third Follow
up (1994) in, USDOE, NCES, NCES Condition of
Education 1997 p. 64
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2. Academic Preparation

• Low expectations from teachers
• Lack of parental involvement
• Lack of academic content standards
• Inadequate teacher preparation
• K-12 and higher education are largely
  divorced from one another

Source The Ohio Board of Regents, T. Rudd, Sept.
2002
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3. Affordability

• Lack of info about financial aid
• Lack of info about price of college
• Price of college
• Declining value of Pell Grants
• Reliance on student loans (FEAR FACTOR)
• Expectation that children should
  contribute to the family financially at
  some point
• Low income and immigrant families may be
  in a survival mode

Source The Ohio Board of Regents, T. Rudd, Sept.
2002
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4. Availability

• Desired college program not available
• Lack of info about distance learning
  opportunities
• Lack of technical skills to participate in
  distance learning
• Programs not offered at times that meet
  individual needs
• No transportation (esp. for rural
  students)

Source The Ohio Board of Regents, T. Rudd, Sept.
2002
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What Is a College Access Program?

• Community based nonprofit organization
• Created to help financially disadvantaged
  individuals learn about, enroll in, pay for and
  be successful in college
• Primary funding is from private sources

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I KNOW I CAN Key Components

• Created to assist urban Columbus Public School
  students learn about, enroll in and pay for
  college(67 On Free/Reduced Lunch)
• Great working relationships with local colleges
• Provides One-on-One Advising and Last Dollar
  Grants
• Last Dollar Grants available for 5 years
• Track Students To Degree
• Recently added a retention component

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FACTS FIGURES

• Since 1988, I KNOW I CAN has
• Served 94,548 students
• Awarded 16,387 Last Dollar Grants
• totaling 16,581,478
• Leveraged 227.2 million of
• financial aid
• Received 154,629 hours of
• volunteer service
• Recorded 49,235 community service
• hours from Last Dollar Grant recipients

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Dont guidance counselors provide enough
information?

• Ratio of Secondary School Counselors to Students
  in
• United States 1407
• Arkansas 1694
• South Dakota 1500
• Arizona 1590

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Collaborating With Colleges

• Getting the right students to apply to achieve
  the right fit
• Exchanging data/information to know what works
• Understanding options available for students and
  linking them together
• Getting in is not enough-getting through is
  the goal!

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OUTCOMES-RETENTION
YEAR RECIP IKIC OSU /-
1999 104 56.7 84.1 -27.4
2000 87 66.6 86 -19.4
2001 72 65.3 86.5 -21.2
2002 79 70.9 87 -16.1
2003 85 83.5 88 -4.5
2004 61 85 89 -4
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ACCESS VS. ADMISSIONS

• HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR COMMITMENT TO BOTH?

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The University of Arizona

• Tucson, Arizona
• Established in 1885
• Arizonas First University
• Land Grant University

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The University of Arizona

• Research I University
• Association of American UniversitiesNCAA
  Division I Pacific 10 ConferenceTotal
  Enrollment 36,805Minority 26.90

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Demographic Comparison(2000 U.S. Census UA
Fall 2006 of population)
Arizona Tucson UA
Hispanic 25.3 35.7 14.45 (n 5,320)
African American 3.1 4.3 2.83 (n 1,041)
American Indian 5.0 2.3 2.21 (n 812)
Asian Pacific American 1.9 2.7 5.82 (n 2,141)
White 63.8 55.0 74.69 (n 27,491)
Total 100.0 100.0 100.0 (n 36,805)
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Office of Early Academic Outreach

• Mission Statement
• To increase the number of minority, low-income
• and first generation college bound students who
  are prepared
• to enter a university degree program.

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Guiding Principles

• Guiding Principles of Effective
• College Preparation Programs
• Rigorous academic curriculum
• Academic, college, and career counseling
• Co-curricular activities
• Incorporation of students cultures
• Family and community engagement
• Peer support
• Mentoring
• Timing of interventions
• Funding priorities including evaluating the
  costs and benefits of program delivery
• Source Dr. William Tierney, Director, USC
  Center for Higher Education Policy Analysis

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Office of Early Academic Outreach

• Programs and Efforts
• Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement
  (MESA)
• 40 middle and high schools located in southern
  Arizona
• After school program hands-on math and science
  activities
• Over 1,000 students served each year
• PSAT SAT Preparatory Workshops
• Low cost four consecutive Saturdays on UA campus
• Collaboration with high schools to serve
  increased numbers of low income students
• Gaining Early Awareness Readiness for
  Undergraduate Programs
• Cohort includes 3,000 current seventh grade
  students
• 15 middle schools that feed into five high
  schools

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Office of Early Academic Outreach

• Programs and Efforts
• College Knowledge for Parents
• Designed for parents of eighth grade students
• Workshops include College Admissions Paying
  for College the Transition to High School
• Partnership with five local school districts
• Offered in English and Spanish
• College Academy for Parents
• Twelve week program for parents of K-5 students
• Academic focus classes taught by UA staff and
  professors
• Classes offered in English and Spanish
• Math Summer Programs
• Summer of 2007
• Created to hone Algebra I skills
• Transition between middle and high school

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Minority Student Recruitment

• Mission Statement
• To increase the number of minority, low-income
  and first generation college bound students who
  enroll at The University of Arizona.

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Minority Student Recruitment

• Recruitment Strategy
• Staff
• Seven full-time staff
• 17 student employees
• Target Sites
• 41 high schools located throughout Arizona
• Identification based on proximity to UA, minority
  student enrollment, and willingness to work with
  MSR
• Regular (and often longer) visits by professional
  or student staff member
• NonSites
• Phone bank staff by student employees who work in
  the evenings
• Contact with resident and non-resident students

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Minority Student Recruitment

• Admissions Responsibilities
• Admissions and Scholarship File Review
• Out of State Recruitment
• Elementary and Middle School Campus Visits

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Minority Student Recruitment

• Event Coordination
• Ethnic specific and integrated approach
• Student and Parent Events
• Recruitment and Conversion Events
• High School/Counselor Relations
• Counselor meetings at sites and throughout
  Arizona
• Communication with school administrators and
  district representatives
• Community Relations
• Presidents Diversity Advisory Councils
• Ethnic Alumni Clubs
• Community Based Organizations
• Professional Associations

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The Ohio State University
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The Ohio State University

• Four year public, research extensive, Land Grant
  university
• Founded 1870
• Located in Columbus, OH 15th largest city in
  United States
• Five regional campuses, open admission process
  for Ohio residents
• 51,818 total enrollment Columbus campus
• 7,686 students of color (14.8)
• 37,500 undergraduates

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Freshman Class Profile Columbus Campus

• Selective Admission Process
• 19,000 applications for 5,800 enrollment spaces
• SAT middle 50 1120 - 1380
• ACT middle 50 24 29
• 46 AU06 admits came from top 10 of class
• 81 of AU06 admits came from top 25 of class
• 16 AU06 enrollment students of color

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What does Promoting Access Mean for Ohio State?

• Increase enrollments, through recruitment
  activities, among targeted students who may not
  believe Ohio State is a real option.
• Provide college awareness and financial literacy
  outreach for families with elementary and middle
  school age children.
• These are not mutually exclusive efforts

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Targeted students may be

• Racial/ethnic minorities
• Low income students
• First generation students
• Ohio Appalachian students
• Gender/major combinations (i.e. women in
  engineering, men in nursing)
• Majors (i.e. Agriculture)

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Institutional Structures to Support Access

• Office of Student Financial Aid (1936)
• Office of Minority Affairs (1970)
• Office of Undergraduate Admissions and First Year
  Experience (2000)
• P-12 project (2000)
• Office of Economic Access (2006)

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Increasing Enrollments Recruitment

• Build your prospect/inquiry pools so they contain
  significant numbers of under-represented
  students
• 60 of search names are students of color
• 26 of search names (from sources that allow
  income as a criteria) are low income students
• Ohio State recruits more broadly for
  under-represented students than others

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Increasing Enrollments Recruitment

• Differentiate your communication flows
• Make your messages population specific
• High ability, low income students hear about
  stacking
• merit and need-based aid
• Add touches for targeted students
• Making Our Voices Heard mailing
• Joint Minority Affairs/Honors Scholars mailing
• Special college mailings
• Call out cards in invitations highlighting
  sessions
• of interest

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Increasing Enrollments Recruitment

• Do something different
• Dvd minority students discussing their
  experiences on a majority campus
• Urban Radio Advertising Campaign
• Real students with real Ohio State experiences

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Increasing Enrollments Admission Process

• Holistic review process considers race/ethnicity,
  socio-economic status, first generation status,
  residents of Appalachian counties
• Two independent reads of application
• Ohio residents can select a second choice campus
  and change to Columbus after completing 1 year
  with a 2.0 gpa on a regional campus

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Increasing Enrollments Financial Aid

• Visible Access Scholarships
• Pathways Scholarship for minority and/or Pell
  eligible students earning other merit awards
  December 1 deadline 2,100
• Morrill Scholars Program for minority,
  low-income, first generation, or Ohio Appalachian
  students Dec 1 deadline Tuition
• Ohio Land Grant Opportunity Scholarship for one
  high ability, high need student in each Ohio
  county minimum 88 per year Feb 1 deadline and
  FAFSA by March 1 full-ride

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Yield by Need Level
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Early College Outreach

• Consortium of 7 local institutions serving 3
  urban school districts with student
  /parent/advocate college planning sessions
• Ohio State effort working with local community
  centers to provide student/parent/advocate
  sessions and develop lasting relationships.

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Early College Outreach

• Building Web and print resources
• www.osu.edu/access

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Early College Outreach

• Educational Minutes partnership with Radio One
• - Daily 60 second educational tip featuring OSU
  faculty, staff or local high school student with
  college aspirations
• - Non-promotional

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Contact information

• MorraLee Holzapfel, NCAN 614-202-8632
• holzapfelm_at_collegeaccess.org
• Lori Tochihara, UA 502-626-2300 or 520-621-3812
• lorit_at_arizona.edu
• Jefferson Blackburn-Smith OSU 614-292-7605
• blackburn-smith.3_at_osu.edu