COLLEGE POSITIVE VOLUNTEERISM HELPING K-12 YOUTH TAKE STEPS TOWARD POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION College Access for Students in Rural Areas © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved

Identifying Rural Areas Understanding Rural Students Rural College Access Challenges Rural College Access Tips Rural College Access Activities © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved Overview

© 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved Rural CPV Resources

Markers of a rural community include: Distance to an urban center or metro area Geographic spread with a low population density Small community size Source: Andy SmarickAndy Smarick © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved Identifying Rural Areas

“What if I told you there were millions of American boys and girls living in communities where half of students are low-income, just one in five adults has earned a bachelor’s degree, and only 27 percent of high school graduates go on to college? What if I told you these students are more likely than their peers in any other geographic area to live in poverty? Most of you would probably gather that I’m talking about our inner cities. No. These statistics describe rural America.” - Andy Smarick, “America’s rural schools and communities”“America’s rural schools and communities” © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved Understanding Rural Students

1 in 3 American schools are rural 1 in 4 American students attend school in a rural community 4 our of every 10 rural students are low-income National Center for Education Statistics Though rural students graduate high school at a higher rate than their big-city peers, they are far less likely to attend college or enroll in post- college graduate or professional programs. Andy Smarick © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved Understanding Rural Students

Lack of understanding about the importance or value of higher education in the Midwest (Most parents and grandparents of today’sstudents grew up in a time when agriculture and industry provided many jobs for laborers without postsecondary education.) Fear of the unknown, or areas outside of the hometown Lack of local, low-cost commuter schools © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved Rural College Access Barriers

Rural communities can tend to be hesitant to open their arms to people who are outsiders (College Access Foundation)(College Access Foundation) “Distance between school and the home makes parent involvement difficult…Work schedules are a large barrier to engagement and attendance at events such as parent-teacher conferences, report card pickups, and volunteer activities,” (Ed Excellence) (Ed Excellence) There is often a lack of public and private transportation in rural areas © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved Rural College Access Barriers

Physically meet students and their families where they are most likely to be. Athletic events are particularly well attended in rural communities. Rosalie Ambrosino Provide transportation to events and field trips Offer events both far away and nearby to include all students © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved Rural College Access Tips

Provide incentives for attendance and participation Hold events that include parents and family Become involved in the community and school to discover what local resources are available Encourage students to search for and apply for scholarships from local organizations, such as the Elks, Rotary, Lions, Eagles, etc. © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved Rural College Access Tips

Use and social media and phone calls to reach students Look at U.S. Census data to better understand the community you’re in Promote county transportation and ride sharing boards to local families Act as a resource, not an expert, to avoid appearing as a threatening outsider © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved Rural College Access Tips

Show students that large universities in big cities are not their only postsecondary education options. o You can often filter college criteria during your college search to preferences on “Size & Environment”. Use this to show students schools of varied sizes. © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved Rural College Access Activities

Look for state specific resources! Take group trips to tour colleges near and far If college tours are cost prohibitive, bring college to the students in creative ways.  Virtual college tours are a great resource. For a generic tour of a fictitious example university, see KnowHow2Go’s homepage in the bottom left corner.KnowHow2Go’s homepage  To view specific colleges, check out ecampustours.com.ecampustours.com © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved Rural College Access Activities

Sam Morykwas, Resource Development AmeriCorps*VISTA member , who surveyed Mentoring to Access Corps members and other service-learning professionals about their experiences working in rural communities. Survey participants included: – Elizabeth Wallace – Nicholas Holton – Danielle Zipay – Eric Jenkins – Megan Parish © 2015 Campus Compact. All rights reserved A Special Thanks to: