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

About the Partnership

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

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.

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

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

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

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

Dreamkeepers

Emergency Grant Assistance for Pell Eligible Students

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

Dreamkeepers Video (Youtube)Dreamkeepers Video (Youtube)

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©

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

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

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

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

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

Why Dreamkeepers

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)

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

Student PersistenceStudent Persistence

• Overall recipients re-enrollment from Great Lakes student cohorts

• Baseline 51% Fall 2010

• Year one 72% Fall 2013

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

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

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

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

Best Practices

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

Questions and Discussion