dreamkeepers: emergency grants to increase student persistence presented by scholarship america max...
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Dreamkeepers: Emergency Grants to Increase Student Persistence
Presented by
Scholarship America
Max Espinoza,
Senior Vice President, Education Policy & Programs
and
Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation
Ben Dobner, Director – Education Grantmaking
October 15, 2014
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About the Partnership
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Scholarship AmericaScholarship America
• Largest nonprofit scholarship and education support organization in the country
• Partner with corporations, community foundations, colleges, community members and others to make college possible.
• $2.9 billion awarded to 1.9 million students since 1958
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Scholarship AmericaScholarship America
• Theory of Change– “Scholarships can advance equity in
postsecondary education, mobilizing communities to help students overcome barriers to access, persistence and attainment.”
• We do this through all of our programmatic work, including our education programs.
• Focusing our efforts on students who need our help the most.
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Great Lakes Higher Education Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & AffiliatesCorporation & Affiliates
• A non-profit group focused on a single objective– To promote college access and completion
• We are an established Student Loan Guarantor and Servicer
• We run one of the country’s largest Educational Philanthropy programs
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Great Lakes Higher Education Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty CorporationGuaranty Corporation
• Competitive grants to learn what works– Help more students be academically prepared
for success in college– Help more students who made it to college
complete their degree
• Grants to take proven programs to scale
• Baseline data, outcome tracking and evaluation are key in all applications
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Wisconsin Technical College Wisconsin Technical College SystemSystem
• 49 campuses in 16 college districts throughout Wisconsin
• More than 300 programs awarding two-year associate degrees, one and two-year technical diplomas and short-term technical diplomas
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Wisconsin Technical College Wisconsin Technical College SystemSystem
• Established 100 years ago, the system is the major provider of customized training and technical assistance to Wisconsin’s business and industry community
• Approximately 370,000 Wisconsinites enroll in technical colleges each year
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Dreamkeepers
Emergency Grant Assistance for Pell Eligible Students
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The History of Dreamkeepers The History of Dreamkeepers
• Dreamkeepers has proven to be a catalyst that keeps students enrolled in their college programs. – Lumina Foundation– Walmart Corporation– Kresge Foundation– Great Lakes Higher Education Guarantee
Corporation
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Dreamkeepers Video (Youtube)Dreamkeepers Video (Youtube)
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Partnership OverviewPartnership Overview
• Three-year, $1.9 million grant shared by 16 WTCS colleges
• Provides emergency grant assistance to Pell-eligible students
• Implemented by Scholarship America© Dreamkeepers©
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GoalGoal
• Decrease the number of Pell-eligible WTCS students who leave college before completion
• Determine whether providing small grants to help students overcome financial obstacles increases program completion
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What is an Emergency Grant What is an Emergency Grant Program?Program?
• Helps students with unforeseen financial emergencies to stay in college
• Most common expenses are “life expenses”
• Connects students with additional resources
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How it WorksHow it Works
• Great Lakes provides funding to– Allow each college to issue emergency grant
assistance to Pell-eligible students
– Pay 100% of the Dreamkeepers © program administration fees
– Defray each college’s expenses associated with administering the program
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How it WorksHow it Works
• Each WTCS college– Implements the Dreamkeepers © program,
including use of the Dreamkeepers © online grant application
– Provides baseline retention/completion data for their 2008 and 2010 Pell grant recipients
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How it WorksHow it Works
• Each WTCS college– Reports retention data for grant recipients twice
per year
– Conducts fundraising activities to supplement student grant funds from Great Lakes and sustain the Dreamkeepers © program
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Why Dreamkeepers
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Why is emergency financial Why is emergency financial assistance important?assistance important?
• The leading reason students drop out of college is a lack of financial resources
• More than 30 percent of college students leave after their first year and 50 percent never graduate
(Source: U.S. Department of Education)
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Impact of an emergency Impact of an emergency financial assistance programfinancial assistance program
• Improved term completion rates
• Holistic approach to students
• Connection to other resources
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Student PersistenceStudent Persistence
• Overall recipients re-enrollment from Great Lakes student cohorts
• Baseline 51% Fall 2010
• Year one 72% Fall 2013
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Who does an emergency financial Who does an emergency financial assistance program impact?assistance program impact?
Primary
• The Student– A solution– A bridge– An ask
• The College– Expands completion toolkit– Increases communication
among departments– Increase fundraising
capacity
Secondary
• The Community– Educated workers
• The Nation– Increase in persistence
leading to completion
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Areas of campus involved Areas of campus involved
• Student Services | Student Affairs | Counseling
• Foundation | Advancement
• President and Senior Leadership
• Communications and Marketing
• Business Office
• Institutional Research
• IT
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Lessons LearnedLessons Learned
• Students responsibility to obtain W9
• Checks are written to third party providers
• Assessment of student up front is key
• Counseling session leads to on-going support in other areas of their life
• Referrals made to other campus resources
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Lessons Learned cont.Lessons Learned cont.
• Housed with counselors
• Referrals come from faculty, advisors, financial aid, and/or self referrals
• Counselors and FA realized more financial literacy is needed
• Resulted in WCTC revamping the Financial Aid Appeal Process
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Best Practices
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Best PracticesBest Practices
• Administrative– Student support, additional resources
• Fundraising– Chief Development Officer, institutionalize,
diversify funding
• Marketing– Multiple messaging streams, promote to all
students, include mix of metrics and student stories
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Questions and Discussion