Equity of Opportunity for Post-Secondary Education
By Jessie Tobin, Aaron Leo, & Kristen C. Wilcox
Prospects of a brighter future are becoming clearer as another COVID-19 vaccine is approved and the arrival of spring is just around the corner. The anticipation to emerge from a global pandemic brings about well-earned feelings of hope and relief around the world, however, the virus’s stark implications for underprivileged youth are becoming clearer every day. As the spotlight continues to shine on the pandemic’s effects on the emotional well-being and academic progress of young people, new research on the college enrollment gap is implicating the need for new innovations.
Impacts of COVID-19 on College Enrollment
In an article published in USA TODAY, “Lifechanging investment: how volunteer counselors can help guide more students to college,” CFES Brilliant Pathways CEO Rick Dalton highlights the disparities in higher educational enrollment among different income groups—a problem that has been exacerbated by COVID-19 challenges. According to new research, the enrollment rate for students from low-income backgrounds decreased by 29% in 2020. This alarming new statistic is reflective of the systemic inequities that have impacted vulnerable communities for decades.
Although attainment rates have increased overall in recent years, data from The Pell Institute indicates that individuals from the highest income quartile were five times more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree by the age of 24 than individuals from the lowest income quartile. This distinct difference in attainment rates perpetuates inequities for low-income and first-generation students.
When it comes to taking the steps necessary to enroll in a higher education institution, students from lower-income communities do not have the same access to resources as their peers in higher-income communities. Students in better-funded secondary schools, for example, experience greater quality supports and counseling to help with exploring post-secondary options than students who attend lower-resourced secondary schools. As low-income schools experience particularly impactful repercussions due to budget cuts amid the pandemic, access to invaluable college counseling has become increasingly scarce.
How Can the Community Help?
In his article, Dalton proposes a citizen-led movement to address the expanding enrollment gap. He calls upon everyday professionals to fill the roles of college counselors to mentor young people and help them realize their potentials to achieve higher education degrees. The CFES CEO cites Brilliant Pathways, his non-profit organization, as an exemplar for how such an effort can be accomplished through a school-community partnership initiative that effectively trains para-college educators to engage with underprivileged students in K-12 schools. Through more programs such as this one, counselors can help educate students about important steps in the college process, such as applying for financial aid.
What Can We Learn from NYKids Positive-Outlier Schools about Closing the College Enrollment Gap?
In NYKids’ Study of College and Career Readiness, we identified promising practices and programs across seven positive outlier schools throughout New York state including Crown Point (where we first were introduced to CFES). Many of these practices and programs have the potential to close the college enrollment gap for low-income students. A few key strategies include:
Strategy #1: Focus on post-high school graduation goals early
Educators at positive outlier schools focus on developing a student’s post-high school graduation goals early in their school careers. Teachers, counselors, and other educators all assist students to develop detailed plans and strategies to attain their goals for life after high school. As a Port Chester guidance counselor explained,
“Our goal is to make sure that every student can be a productive citizen, and they have to tell us their plan. They just can’t get a diploma and walk out the door.”
Strategy #2: Develop well-rounded young people with soft skills
Without sacrificing academic rigor, educators at positive outliers expressed a belief in the importance of students being well rounded and the essential need to develop soft skills such as self-regulation. Student success was viewed in not academic excellence terms, but social and emotional wellbeing and developing clarity about passions and interests. As the Malverne school principal asserted,
“We want to be that destination school that has rigorous academics, really preparing kids… so that kids are taking classes that are of interest to them, and they’re thinking about their talents, and they’re thinking about careers, and they’re thinking about college. I want that whole package there. We also have the sports, and we have the theater, and we have technology club…science Olympiads.”
Strategy #3: Align curriculum and program offerings to what is available from and needed in the local economy
School, as well as the community, are used as sites for college and career preparation of students. Educators align curriculum and program offerings to what is needed in the local economy. Educators regularly partnered with community-based businesses, organizations, and local colleges to offer apprenticeships, fellowships, and dual-enrollment courses where students could gain a significant amount of college credit before graduation. The Maple Grove Superintendent said,
“When [students] leave this building, the high school, are they ready to be successful in whatever they have chosen to do? We understand, in this day and age . . . you should know what you’re interested in, what you’re good at, some things you might have skills in, and some preparation here to help you then go further, whether it be college or trades or whatever you have in mind.”
For more information about these strategies and other related research see the NYKids’ latest College and Career Readiness Study reports on our website and sign up for our bimonthly newsletter. Please check us out on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or by email at nykids@albany.edu.
