Pullias Center for Higher Education
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.
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1 Submitted Idea
- 2013 Grants Challenge
Increasing Capacity for College Going
Our primary goal is to increase college attendance throughout the under-served communities of Los Angeles which will have a major impact on improving education in Los Angeles and the state of California. There are thousands of students that attend schools in Los Angeles that are not getting the information they need to help them with the college going process. They have the grades and have taken the required courses but are overwhelmed and confused about the college application process so choose not to attend college or go directly to a community college instead of a four-year institution. Attending a community college is not a bad option but may take students at least 3-4 years to transfer to a four-year college if they ultimately want to receive a Bachelor’s degree. The programs that we offer target first generation, low-income, college-bound seniors from low-performing high schools and assist them with the college-going process. The I AM( Increasing Access via Mentoring) program is a mentoring program that provides assistance with the college choice, college admissions and financial aid processes. The SummerTIME (Tools, Information, Motivation, and Education) program teaches advanced writing and “College Knowledge” (e.g. time management, note-taking, financial literacy) to support participating students' transition to the freshman year. Finally, Collegeology includes games (Application Crunch and Mission: Admission) that teach strategies for navigating the college application process in fun and interactive ways. The first game is a card game, the second is a Facebook Application. In April, we’ll be launching FutureBound, a game targeting middle school students that illustrates the connection between making good decisions in middle school and college/career. We are currently working on a game that fosters financial literacy and knowledge about financial aid options for college. Here’s the challenge: with I AM and SummerTIME, we are limited by resources as to how many students we can serve. With the online games, we need to train teachers and practitioners on how to use the games. The 2050 grant would help us expand the capacity of these programs. We currently work with 11 high schools and serve approximately 300 students but we would like to expand our college-going model so that we can serve a wider student population in Los Angeles. Our programs contain tools that can be replicated on a larger scale so that more students will have the opportunity to be accepted to college and receive a college education. A My LA2050 grant would enable us to train more mentors, implement guidance activities at more schools, expand services offered and ensure college opportunity for a larger number of students.