{"id":450172,"date":"2020-09-03T11:48:15","date_gmt":"2020-09-03T15:48:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=450172"},"modified":"2020-09-03T16:42:45","modified_gmt":"2020-09-03T20:42:45","slug":"university-expands-support-for-low-income-first-generation-students-450172","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/university-expands-support-for-low-income-first-generation-students-450172\/","title":{"rendered":"University expands support for low-income, first-generation college students"},"content":{"rendered":"
Rochester selected for national grant to support additional academic advising services and other enrichment activities to help programs reach more students.<\/div>\n
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The Ä¢¹½´«Ã½<\/a> will significantly expand the support services offered to its low-income, first-generation college students as a result of a five-year, $1.3 million grant from the US Department of Education (DOE). The University has already received generous support from the DOE for initiatives such as the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement, Talent Search, and Upward Bound programs; the new grant provides additional resources for academic advising, financial assistance, and enrichment activities for students.<\/p>\n

The Student Support Services award\u2014like the McNair, Talent Search, and Upward Bound programs\u2014will be administered in the David T. Kearns Center for Leadership and Diversity in Arts, Sciences & Engineering<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Beth Olivares<\/a>, dean for diversity in Arts, Sciences & Engineering and executive director of the Kearns Center, says that the center \u201chas been academic home for first-generation college students now for four years, and the need for our services has far outstripped our ability to meet that need.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of this year, roughly 28 percent of undergraduates in the College are low income or first generation. Olivares estimates roughly 170 low-income, first-generation students in the Class of 2024.<\/a><\/p>\n

More resources for proven models<\/h2>\n

The Kearns Center is one of four offices that offer advising services to undergraduates in the College. The others include the College Center for Advising Services (CCAS), the Office of Minority Student Affairs (OMSA), and the Greene Center for Career Education and Connections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Kearns Center\u2019s particular mission is to expand the educational pipeline, from pre-college programs through graduate and professional school, for low-income, first-generation college, and underrepresented minority students. The center has worked toward that mission by generating replicable and scalable models. Already, by receiving a mix of intensive academic advising and graduate and professional school preparation, undergraduates served by the Kearns Center graduate on time and attend graduate and professional schools in numbers well above the national average.<\/p>\n

Still, as of the Class of 2019, there is roughly a 10-percentage-point gap between the four-year graduation rates of Rochester students who are low income and\/or first generation versus students who fall into neither of those categories. Among low-income and\/or first-generation students who are members of underrepresented minority groups, the gap is roughly 20 percentage points.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Low-income and first-generation college students face unique challenges that, left unaddressed, lead to lower retention and graduation rates. Among the findings both nationally, and from internal data at the Kearns Center:<\/p>\n