Berkeley: UC receives $1m grant to increase low-income enrollment

CBS 5 - Bay City News Wire

03/21/07 4:05 PDT

BERKELEY (BCN)
The University of California at Berkeley's Center for Educational Partnerships received a $1 million grant today as part of a nationwide initiative aimed at increasing college enrollment and graduation among low-income high school and community college students.
The grant was one of ten grants awarded by the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation to initiatives in nine states.
Foundation officials say the College Advising Corps initiative follows in the tradition of the AmeriCorps and Teach for America programs and will recruit and train college seniors to work full time as advisers for one or two years following graduation.
The programs will provide support for high school students in lower-income neighborhoods to help them apply to a wide range of post-secondary institutions that fit their individual academic profiles, career goals, and personal circumstances.
Foundation officials say their goal is to combat the high rates of college-qualified, low-income high school graduates who fail to earn bachelor's degrees by providing college admission and financial aid guidance to disadvantaged students.
Foundation executive director Matthew Quinn said in a statement, "We are squandering a huge national resource when millions of America's best high school graduates never get to college, or fail to advance beyond a two-year community college program."
Quinn said the foundation "is committed to addressing the college enrollment gap by providing crucial information to promising students facing financial barriers."
Foundation officials say lack of information about admissions and financial aid is a significant barrier to college for low-income students, who are much less likely than their counterparts in wealthier communities to have access to SAT preparation, college application guidance, and information about financial aid.
On average there is only one high school counselor for every 488 American public high school students, according to the program.
UC Berkeley's Center for Educational Partnerships will expand its Destination: College Advising Corps program for low and middle-income students into up to 20 high schools in underserved areas of northern, central, and southern California.
University officials say services will include new, full-time advisers who will provide individualized academic planning, counseling, SAT preparation, and assistance with college applications, personal statements and financial aid applications.
The program will provide one-on-one college-advising services to between 9,600 and 11,200 students and group services for at least 90,000 students over four years in three counties not previously served: Solano, Tulare, and San Bernardino.
UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau said in a statement, "This program will change the lives of thousands of California students who currently are missing the information and support they need to succeed."
Birgeneau said, "We are proud to expand the services of our Center for Educational Partnerships into high schools within Solano, Tulare and San Bernardino counties which have the greatest need."
The program is based on a successful model created by the University of Virginia and funded by a lead grant from the foundation.
Josh Wyner, the foundation's vice president of programs, said, "This innovative approach has succeeded in Virginia with notable increases in applications to colleges in the high schools where the guides work.
Wyner said, "Now low-income students in California will get access to much-needed guidance from mentors fresh out of college who can really inspire them."
Based in Landsdowne, Virginia, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation is a private, independent foundation established in 2000 by the estate of businessman and sports team owner Jack Kent Cooke to help promising young people reach their full potential through education.
Foundation officials say the organization focuses in particular on students with financial need.