Empowerment Without Boundaries Michelle Asha Cooper, PhD President PRESENTED BY The Institute for Higher Education Policy AAC&U Student Success Conference March 2012

About IHEP Our Vision The Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP) envisions a world where all peopleparticularly populations who have been underservedhave the opportunity to reach their full potential by participating and succeeding in higher education. Our Mission IHEP is committed to improving college access and success in higher education for all studentswith a special focus on underserved populationsby providing timely research to inform public policy decisions. 2

Pop Quiz Access What percentage of all Americans enroll in college? What percentage of low-income students enroll in college? Success What percentage of all Americans graduate from college within 6 years? What percentage of low-income students graduate from college within 6 years? Affordability How much is the average student loan debt? 3

The College Completion Agenda Obama Administrations Education Goal: The President's Bold Goal: Have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world by The Lumina Foundation for Education: Increase the percent of Americans with a two or four year degree from 37.9% to 60% by 2025 The College Board: At least 55 percent of the U.S. population holds a college degree or certificate by

Low-income children are less likely to enroll in college, less likely to graduate 5

Drivers of the College Completion Agenda Global Imperative Globalized knowledge economy 21 st Century consciousness Economic Imperative Current labor market signals Future workforce readiness Equity Imperative Fastest-population growth occurring among racial/ethnic minorities Growing need to reengage and retrain growing number of adult learners Stratification along socioeconomic status 6

Building Blocks for College Success Academics Academic and Social Support Services F INANCIAL A SSISTANCE 7

Trends in College Affordability College costs have grown nearly 40 percent in the past 5 years 60 percent of all college graduates leave college with debt The average graduate leaves college with about $23,800 in debt Between 2001 and 2010, 2 million academically qualified students will not got to college because they cannot afford it 8

Financial Need Contributes to Failure to Complete Work/Loan Burden Too much work Failure to complete Stress Housing and food insecurity Too little sleep Part-time enrollment Too little studying Poor grades Source: CLASP,

Discussion What innovative ideas or strategies have the most potential to contribute to student retention and completion at your institution? How do you measure and document the effectiveness of these strategies? If you had the opportunity to highlight your strategies to a person of influence what would you say? What needs to occur for you to feel empowered to continue this dialogue when you return to work on Monday morning? 10