Contact: Laura Osberger
(804)-387-5191 (cell)
LauraOsberger@schev.edu
For immediate release
RICHMOND — The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) released new analysis on how college access services can close gaps in college enrollment for low-income students. Students who participated in college-going workshops, visits to college campuses and financial aid counseling were more likely to enroll in college than similarly economically disadvantaged students who did not receive college access services. The more time in which a student participated in such services,, the higher the enrollment rate.
Statewide, 65% of students enrolled in college within 16 months after graduating high school in 2020. Only 49% of economically disadvantaged enrolled in college. Students who participated in college access services enrolled at a rate of 64%, nearly identical to the state rate, despite coming from low-income backgrounds.
The analysis examines students who participated in college access services provided through GEAR UP Virginia (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs), a federally funded program that provides college campus visits, financial aid workshops, career counseling and academic tutoring services to students and families in select school divisions. GEAR UP students attend school divisions with low college enrollment rates and high levels of economic disadvantage.
While the relationship in the analysis is correlational, more rigorous research has established the causal relationship between access services like GEAR UP and college enrollment.
“Institutions, policymakers and local community leaders are all concerned about overall declines in enrollment and gaps in college access between different groups of students,” said SCHEV Director Peter Blake. “These college access services could be a model to improve college-going rates, particularly for low-income students.”
SCHEV will host and coordinate college access activities around the Commonwealth, such as simultaneous tax filing and FAFSA completion events in GEAR UP priority high schools (Hopewell, Petersburg and Brunswick). Students and families will receive hands-on assistance from college access providers to file applications for state and federal financial aid, as well as assistance from tax preparers to file their 2022 taxes. These services are being piloted with the hopes to create a program in the future based on these financial service days that can be rolled out statewide.
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The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia is the state’s coordinating agency for higher education. With Pathways to Opportunity: The Virginia Plan for Higher Education, SCHEV is dedicated to making Virginia the best state for education by 2030. For more on this statewide strategic plan, visit schev.edu/TheVirginiaPlan
