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College Access and Success Publications

Gerald, D., Haycock, K. (2006). "Engines of Inequality: Diminishing Equality in the Nation’s Premier Public Universities." The Education Trust. Washington, DC: The Lumina Foundation for Education.

Looking at the Flagship universities from each of the 50 states (i.e. the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities), The Education Trust researched and graded them according to the accessibility for low income and minority students, successfully graduating minority students, and progress towards increasing access and improving success for underrepresented students. Unfortunately, the outlook is grim in the way that these universities are serving low income and minority students, especially through financial aid. For example, in 2003 flagship universities spent $257 million on financial aid for families that earn more than $100,000 per year compared to only $171 million dollars on families that earn less than $20,000 per year! In assigning grades to the states in the financial area, 26 states received "F" and only 7 states received an "A." The publication includes facts and figures regarding theses issues of access and success for underrepresented students, as well as provides recommendations on how the universities can begin closing these gaps of inequality.
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Haycock, K. (August 2006). Promise Abandoned: How Policy Choices and Institutional Practices Restrict College Opportunities. The Education Trust. Washington, DC: The Education Trust

Published as a follow-up to two other documents from the Education Trust ("Choosing to Improve" and "One Step from the Finish Line" both 2005) this article looks at the gaps between low-income and high-income students in college access and degree attainment as well as the gaps with White and minority students (primarily African American and Hispanic). They approach the gaps within a historical context, comparing the changes in access, tuition costs and degree attainment to data collected 30 years ago. Included is a detailed list of recommendations that would increase opportunities for low-income, minority and first-generation college students in higher education. The recommendations are categorized according to who can best put the suggestions into practice, including: the federal government, state government, higher education associates, college boards and presidents, and higher education institution rankings guides.
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McDonough, P.M. (December 2004). The School-to-College Transition: challenges and Prospects. American Council on Education. Washington, DC: American Council on Education

This report identifies the overwhelming amount of research suggesting that two clearest, most direct ways to shrink the college access gap is through K-12 academic preparedness and financial aid, and everything else is a sub-category of these two main. McDonough maintains that higher education institutions need to take the boldest step in policy reformation so that there is greater access to and success in their institutions for low-income, minority and first generation college students. Four of the six identified areas in need of reform are listed at the K-12 level, including: academic preparedness, increased access and dissemination of information, counseling, and family needs. However, in order to reach into these different areas, higher education institutions have the resources and ability to effect the largest change. The publication also includes a list of questions for institutional research, asking faculty and staff to look introspectively at their own school culture and standards for success.
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Getting to the Finish Line: A Seven Year Longitudinal Study of the Boston Public Schools Class of 2000, November 2008, Boston Private Industry Council and the Center for Labor Market Studies

This study suggests that Massachusetts is not doing enough to prepare its public school students for success in college. The study focuses on Boston Public School’s graduating class of 2000. Seven years following graduation, only 675 students (35.5% of those who actually enrolled in college) had earned a one-year certificate, an associate degree, or a bachelor’s degree. This rate is almost 8% below the national average.
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"College Student Aid Unclaimed," Jack Flynn, The Republican, April 2009

In 2007 alone, 1600 eligible students never filled out the federal aid form in Massachusetts, effectively leaving $59 million in free money on the table, "The Republican" reports. "Overall, 45 percent of public college students in the Bay State did not apply for aid last year, according to a recent study by the Department of Higher Education. The rate was highest at community colleges, where 56.2 percent of students did not seek aid, followed by 37.4 percent at state colleges and 32.1 percent at the University of Massachusetts.
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Measuring Up 2008: Massachusetts State Report Card, December 2008, National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.

This is the most recent in a series of national and state-by-state report cards for higher education that was inaugurated in 2000. the key findings this year reveal that the nation and most of the 50 states are making some advances in preparing students for college and providing them with access to higher education, however, other nations are advancing more quickly than the United States; we continue to slip behind other countries in improving college opportunities for our residents. In addition, large disparities in higher education performance by race/ethnicity, by income, and by state limit our nation’s ability to advance the educational attainment of our workforce and citizenry – and thereby remain competitive globally.
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"Emerging Themes in the fields of College Access and Civic Engagement"

In the spring of 2007, with a grant from the Massachusetts Service Alliance (MSA) and support from the University of Massachusetts through the leadership of Keith Motley, MACC was able to identify and train student leaders on 14 different campuses to become College Access Fellows to help assess the infrastructure of college access and success across the state.

Promising student leaders were selected to 1) map the infrastructure of their campus to more effectively address issues of college access; 2) perform direct service in the community through strategic college awareness outreach; and 3) recruit and train college volunteers to be "college positive."

In this guide, you will find some themes and highlights from the College Access Fellowship program, a list of the Fellows and their sites, information to get you started, and a tool to help you begin the mapping process in your own community.
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"Guide to College Positive Volunteering"
This Guide was designed to help Community Service Directors, community partners, student organization advisers, student leaders to challenge college students to think bigger and understand the larger scale impact of their actions. College students hold a unique position on campuses and in their communities; they are gatherers, disseminators, activists and organizers, and role models for those who aspire to attend college.

With these various roles in mind, we created this college positive framework as a tool to bridge the gap between understanding and action. This guide provides a section dedicated to understanding the "problem" of college access and the work that has been done in the past, facts about the current state of college access, and the three roles that student volunteers can play in addressing the barriers to college access. We have also provided a training agenda that can be used as a tool for campus and student leaders to train and support college student volunteers in becoming more college positive.
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