Increasing Capacity for College Going

The Pullias Center for Higher Education is dedicated to improving access to college for low-income and historically under-represented students. The academic arm of our Center has focused on: (1) researching how students, families and schools define and address challenges related to college going and (2) identifying effective strategies for improving college going outcomes. Our publications are widely used as guides by practitioners across the country. Yet just as significant, our Center has developed a three-pronged outreach approach where we work with schools and students to provide high quality college guidance and support; the three programs we run rank among the Center’s most important achievements to date. The first program we developed – I AM (Increasing Access through Mentoring) provides targeted college guidance support to juniors and seniors in high school as they prepare to apply for college. Many of the students we work with will be the first in their families to attend college. Many also attend high schools with exorbitant counselor to student ratios. I AM mentors work with school based counselors to identify students who might slip through the cracks and then meet with students regularly to make sure the (very complicated) college application process goes smoothly. Once students are accepted to colleges, mentors help students figure out financial aid awards and provide students with support as they decide where to go. We’ve helped over 1,000 students get into college since starting the program in 2005. The SummerTIME (Tool Information Motivation Education) program focuses on college completion. We bring students who have graduated from LAUSD schools and who will be heading to four-year colleges/universities to USC for a month-long intensive writing program. The curriculum is infused with lessons on college knowledge such has how to balance finances, how to interact with professors and how to cultivate effective study skills. The third program provides a twist to traditional college outreach approaches. We decided to meet students where they choose to spend after-school hours – in cyberspace! We partnered with USC’s Game Innovation Lab and students from Foshay Learning Center to create a series of role-playing games about college and careers. Our games were developed and pilot tested in Los Angeles and are now utilized nationally. My LA2050 funding would enable us to expand these programs and train practitioners on how to make use of the game-based tools.

Our project will help improve the college-going rates at high schools that have the lowest college-going rates within the Los Angeles Unified School District. Many students who are eligible for college choose not to attend college because they receive little support on how to navigate the college-going process or lack the information on how to apply. By pairing mentors with high school seniors who are college-eligible, they can successfully guide them through the college application process. The high school graduation rate in California ranks in the bottom half of all U.S. states, with the Los Angeles Unified School District’s own graduation rate well below the state’s, according to the U.S. Department of Education. Budget cuts have severely affected the amount of college counselors at the schools. A shortage of counselors limits the support that students receive regarding the college application process. Traditionally, California students' access to counselors varies by grade level, and 29 percent of California school districts have no counseling programs at all. The ratio of students per counselor in California averages 945 to 1, compared to the national average of 477 to 1, ranking California last in the nation. In Los Angeles, the average ratio is 800 students to 1 guidance counselor. Many under-resourced schools have guidance counselors, but not dedicated college counselors. Students attending private schools and public schools in affluent parts of the city are afforded very different access to college information and support, often supplemented by parents employing private college counselors to shepherd their children through the complexity of college applications. Thus the gap between those who have access to resources and those who don’t remains stark; the implications for college graduation rates and lifetime earning potential are obvious. By having volunteers serve as mentors, they can alleviate the burden of college counselors having to work with enormous case loads and students can have the one on one interaction needed to understand how to navigate the college admissions and financial aid processes.

Currently California ranks 40th among the states in the rate of high school graduates going directly to college. By 2050, we hope to increase college-going rates by 15-20% by working directly with students who are eligible to attend college but lack the information and guidance to do so. Young adults who delay college attendance also delay the economic and social benefits of higher education, benefits that accrue both to the individuals and to the state which contributes to our economy. In addition, research on college completion shows that students who follow the traditional college enrollment pattern of entering college immediately following high school are more likely to graduate from college. California’s population is expected to grow from 37 million to approximately 60 million by 2050. Since our population will dramatically increase by 2050, it is imperative that we have a college-educated population that will contribute to our economy. We understand that it may not be realistic for every student to receive a college degree but it’s important that they are pointed in a direction that offers as many opportunities as possible and that they learn invaluable skills that are required for long-term and sustainable employment. We would like to expand our programs so that we can serve at least 1,000-2,000 students during the academic year.