Gap Closing Gazette the Newsletter of the College for All Texans Foundation

November 2006 Gap Closing Gazette: the Newsletter of the College for All Texans Foundation Awards Over $3.8 Million to Help Close Gaps TG has become one of the largest funders of the Closing the Gaps effort in Texas For the second consecutive year, TG has awarded grants to advance college access, student retention, and educational research TG's Public Benefit Grant Program is providing this fall more than $3.8 million in competitive grants to 28 institutions and non-profit organizations (Continued on page 2) TG President and CEO Sue McMillin (second from left) and Asst VP Jacob Fraire (far left) at launch of Austin Community College’s Mobile Go Center A TG grant is enabling expansion of Austin Community College’s College Connection which the new MGC, funded by AMD and AT&T, will support The Coordinating Board’s Assistant Commissioner for Outreach and Success Catherine Dikes (third from left) and Don Brown (far right) join the celebration and help hold the MGC key presented to ACC by TSTC-Waco The mission of the College for All Texans Foundation: Closing the Gaps is to generate the private resources necessary to ensure the success of the College for Texans Campaign For more information or to make a donation, please call 512 427- 6108 or visit www.collegeforalltexansfoundation.com More news in this issue (left-click on headline): AMD Funds New Mobile Go Center for Central Texas to be Operated by Austin Community College TG Provides $300,000 for College G-Force to Help Students in Go Centers Tarrant County College Begins Operation of Mobile Go Center Summer Bridge Program at Texas A&M International University Americorps*VISTA and Recent Retirees to Help Go Centers UTPA’s Mobile Go Center Sets the Pace: Reaches Over 6000 in First Seven Months Five Gap Closing Programs Win Texas Higher Education Star Award Fall 2006 Higher Education Enrollment Grows But at Lower Rate Than in Several Previous Years Mobile Go Center Photo Gallery Foundation Information TG Awards Over $3.8 Million in Grants (cont’d from page 1) Recipients will use the grant funds to enhance opportunities and access to higher education and improve student success in preparing for and earning a college degree “Since TG's founding 25 years ago, we have believed that everyone who aspires to complete a college degree should have the opportunity to so," said Sue McMillin, president and CEO for TG, a nonprofit company that provides federal student loan guarantees and helps millions of students finance higher education each year "Through TG's Public Benefit Grant Program, we're pleased that we can help educational partners and like-minded organizations reach out to students and families." In determining the recipients, TG required each nonprofit organization to declare its intent to use grant funding to improve access to, or participation in, postsecondary education, college retention, and student success TG intends that the primary beneficiaries of these efforts, either directly or indirectly, be students who are from low- to moderate-income families, with priority awarded to proposals that addressed the needs of first-generation college students, students from high schools with low college-going rates, and/or students who are underrepresented in higher education The grant funds will help organizations carry out efforts that include financial aid, in the form of need-based grants to students; student mentoring and internships; pre-college outreach to students and parents; academic support and instruction; student retention; student transfer guidance and support; and education research TG funds have been instrumental to the development of Mobile Go Centers They have enabled UT-Pan American to operate its Mobile Go Center, the College for All Texans Foundation to construct its initial three MGCs, and South Texas Tech Prep-Laredo Community College to acquire a MGC During the first year of funding in 2005-2006, TG awarded $1.8 million through its competitive grant program As then, the current grant funds are offered in addition the Charley Wootan Grant Program, established by TG in 2000, that provides $1 million each year in need-based aid to students enrolled in postsecondary education Earlier this year, TG's Public Benefit Grant Program also set aside $500,000 to help students whose education was interrupted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita The TG Textbook Awards program provided 1,000 students with grants to purchase textbooks and education-related supplies for the 2006 summer session or fall semester For more information: Contact Jacob Fraire at (800) 252-9743, ext 4964, or via e-mail at jacob.fraire@tgslc.org Return to top - AMD Funds Mobile Go Center for Central Texas: Launched by Austin Community College on November 16 AMD, to help close the educational gaps in Austin and Central Texas, has funded the state’s fifth Mobile Go Center Like other MGCs, the new unit is a long, enclosed trailer equipped with laptop computers connected to the Internet by a dish antenna and satellite system The MGC can be pulled to a wide range of locations to connect students, parents and others with information about preparing for, applying to, paying for and succeeding in college 3 AAMD’s Allyson Peerman and Ward Tisdale next to one of AMD’s logos on the MGC The AMD grant enabled construction of the MGC and provided it with all equipment— including laptops with AMD processors except its satellite Internet system That system is made possible by funds from the AT&T Foundation’s eight-year grant for technology used on MGCs and in some fixed-site Go Centers The AT&T Foundation grant, announced early in 2005, kick-started the entire Mobile Go Center Project the communities within ACC’s eight-county service area College Connection is a unique outreach program which the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board recently recognized with its Star Award for contributions to Closing the Gaps (see p 7) The program’s primary goal is to place college enrollment services squarely in front of all ACC area high school seniors to create the expectation of postsecondary education Every College Connection participating senior who graduates receives an ACC acceptance letter along with his/her high school diploma Like all the partner institutions operating Mobile Go Centers, ACC will use the MGC to carry and convey the broad “Education Go Get It/ La Educación Saber es Poder” message Austin Community College’s Mobile Go Center, pictured above, has its own website, www.austincc.edu/go/ with an operating calendar and an invitation to request visits Donors and school leaders from across the region gathered at ACC's Eastview Campus on November 16 to launch the new Mobile Go Center and to announce a major expansion of the College Connection program Austin Community College will use the MGC in its acclaimed College Connection program It will bring support and information about college preparation, enrollment, financial aid and related subjects to students, parents, and others, especially those from families with historically low college-going rates who live in For more information: Richard Armenta, PhD, at Austin Community College (512)223-7955 or via e-mail at rarmenta@austincc.edu; or Dewy Brooks at the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (512) 427-6289, or via email at dewy.brooks@thecb.state.tx.us Return to top _ TG Grant for College for Texans: $300,000 for Collegiate G-Force to Help Students in Go Centers An award made under TG’s Public Benefit Grant Program (see p 1) will strengthen the impact of Go Centers in Texas’ three regions with the largest populations The TG funds will provide grants of up to $1,000 to at least 300 Collegiate G-Force members in 2006-2007 in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, the Houston and Gulf Coast region, and South Texas The grants make it possible for far more college students to encourage more high school students to prepare for, pursue, and succeed in college The Coordinating Board will allocate the TG funds to 10 institutions in the three regions Those colleges and universities will select the student recipients and connect them to the Go Centers where they will serve The Collegiate G-Force is composed of college students who work in Go Centers Under the guidance of an adult G-Force sponsor, they help draw high school students to Go Centers to obtain college-going information and support Because of their experience in college, Collegiate G-Force members can tutor high school students who need academic assistance, mentor them as they proceed along a path to college entrance and success, and take other steps to build a college-going culture The Collegiate G-Force members can serve as role models to younger students in their communities, and often are able to engage students who otherwise would be overlooked by the education system For more information: Chris Alvarado (512) 427-6207, or via e-mail at chris.alvarado@thecb.state.tx.us Return to top _ Tarrant County College begins operation of Mobile Go Center Tarrant County College announced the launch of its Mobile Go Center at a ceremony on October 10 at historic Trimble Tech High near downtown Fort Worth The new MGC is the fourth to begin service in Texas, and the third of those owned by the College for All Texans Foundation and deployed by partner institutions College for All Texans Foundation representative Don Brown, presented the MGC’s keys to TCCD Trustee Robyn Medina Winnett along with the now-traditional large key from Texas State Technical College The large key symbolizes the contribution to the College for Texans Campaign of TSTC Waco’s transformation of the bare trailer into a ready-togo Mobile Go Center Trustee Winnett accepted the MGC for Tarrant County College District and pledged that it would be used fully to reach and help students necessary to close gaps Gary Terry, regional vice president of external affairs, AT&T Texas conveyed his and his company’s support for the Mobile Go Center project The AT&T Foundation’s grant provided funds for the MGC’s computers and telecommunications equipment Several other Texas foundations contributed grants that paid for construction of the new MGC AT&T’s Linda Caram and Gary Terry with Trustee Robyn Winnett (holding key), and Don Brown “The Mobile Go Center will enable Tarrant County College and other Texas colleges and universities to reach potential students where they live, work and attend school,” said Dr Leonardo de la Garza, Tarrant County College chancellor “The mobility of the Go Center is especially valuable in expanding our outreach efforts throughout Tarrant County.” “Encouraging our youth to attend and graduate from college is of utmost importance to our community,” said State Rep 5 Lon Burnam “The Texas Legislature has helped facilitate this through the College for Texans Campaign, and the Mobile Go Centers are key to fulfilling the objectives of that campaign.” Following this Mobile Go Center launch, TCC will coordinate its schedule throughout the county in a variety of settings (festivals, sporting events, supermarket or mall parking lots, and schools that not have Go Centers) in an effort to reach parents and middle school and high school students who might not otherwise plan to attend college The Fort Worth Star-Telegram published the following editorial on Tarrant County College’s new Mobile Go Center on October 26: On your mark It's difficult to find a statistical variable more powerful than the correlation between higher education and income potential: Go to college, make more money and have a better quality of life The problem is that many students particularly lowincome students who often come from families whose parents did not attend college sometimes have very little idea about where to find information about how to apply for college, what it costs, what qualifying tests are required or what kind of financial assistance is available This is not a healthy situation The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board calculates that it will have to boost higher education enrollment by at least 630,000 students a 60 percent increase over enrollment in 2000 over the next 20 years (plus substantially raise the annual number of graduates to more than 210,000) just for the state to keep pace economically with the nation and the world The problem comes in tandem with rising tuition costs The fix? Help one student at a time That's what was going on one recent morning outside Fort Worth's Trimble Tech High School as students waited to explore the 34-foot-long Mobile Go Center that Tarrant County College parked at the campus' 89-year-old doorstep Inside, students found 10 laptop computers, satellite connections to the Internet, informational materials and pre-college counseling assistance The Go Center will be visiting public school campuses, sporting events, festivals and mall parking lots all over North Texas The go-get-them strategy could pay enormous dividends in expanded college enrollment Though TCC probably will pick up its fair share of students, the Go Center will provide information about institutions nationwide Think of it as "driving" access to higher education and a more prosperous future for both students and the region For more information: Dewy Brooks at the THECB (512) 427-6289, or via e-mail at dewy.brooks@thecb.state.tx.us, or Fidel Castillo at Tarrant County College (817) 5155180, or via e-mail at fidel.castillo@tccd.edu Return to top Texas A&M International hosts College Readiness Summer Bridge Program Funded partly by a federal First Generation College Student grant through the Coordinating Board, Texas A&M International University hosted the College Readiness Summer Bridge Program for 263 incoming high school juniors in June 2006 Students were housed at Texas A&M International’s Residential Learning Community under the supervision of residential assistants who offered mentoring and tutoring to all participants Participants were students from Laredo Independent School District and United Independent School District entering grade 12, whose 10th grade TAKS scores were between 2100 and 2199 in English/Language Arts and Math The goal of the program was to increase student TAKS scores to reach the College Readiness Index (CRI) score of 2200 Students were offered courses in the areas of reading, writing, and mathematics in an effort to increase TAKS scores and to prepare students for the Texas Higher Education Assessment (THEA) At the end of the program, the THEA was administered to all participants The 40 participants with the highest THEA scores were awarded concurrent enrollment scholarships by Texas A&M International University Participants are being invited to meetings during their junior and senior years to raise their level of awareness about college, career, and work readiness, as well as financial aid and admissions requirements The College Readiness Summer Bridge Program was free to all participants Students were provided with free housing, meals, instruction in academics, school supplies, and on-campus amenities In addition to the First Generation College Grant, the program was made possible by inkind financial contributions from Texas A&M International University and the United Independent School District A further report on the extent of success of the pilot program will be provided in January, 2007 For more information, contact Belinda Perez-Hernandez at (512) 427-6209 or by e-mail at belinda.hernandez@thecb.state.tx.us The AmeriCorps*VISTA members will be trained to conduct academic engagement programs using high school and college students and community volunteers to help close gaps in higher education participation and success Their objective is to ensure that CIS-SA students and parents know that college is affordable, possible, and desirable Several of the VISTA members and many of the community volunteers are expected to come from the ranks of recent retirees and college students in service learning programs at St Mary’s University, Our Lady of the Lake University, the University of Texas at San Antonio, and St Philip’s College For more information contact Jennifer Tywater, VISTA Leader, at (512) 427-6198 or by e-mail at jennifer.tywater@thecb.state.tx.us Return to top Return to top _ Americorps*VISTA and Recent Retirees to Help Go Centers The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board is partnering with Americorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) and Communities in Schools - San Antonio, as well as with Texas Campus Compact and the Retired Senior Volunteer Program, to explore a new way to initiate and staff Go Centers New Go Centers are planned for early 2007 in 10 elementary, middle, and high schools in which Communities in Schools is active in or near San Antonio An AmeriCorps* VISTA member will be assigned to the CIS-SA Go Center in each of the targeted San Antonio schools to assist students who might not otherwise aim for college by promoting college awareness and development in their schools and the surrounding community UTPA’s Mobile Go Center Sets the Pace: Reaches Over 6000 in First Seven Months As reported in previous issues of the Gap Closing Gazette, UT-Pan American was the state’s first institution to begin operating a Mobile Go Center, taking advantage of a wellequipped trailer it already owned and a welldirected grant from TG From the MGC’s initial visit on March 31 to the South Texas Career Fair in Kingsville (where 86 students and parents came aboard) through its appearance seven months later on October 30 in the McAllen Independent School District, more than 6000 people were assisted In a single week-long stay at Freer High School, the MGC served 455 students Over the same period, UT-Pan American deployed its MGC to 110 sites: 27 community events, 26 single-day visits to schools, 51 weeklong visits, and for training staff members 7 UTPA’s report to TG summarized its MGC experience as follows: “Through all of these efforts, the interest in the community continues to grow and new possibilities for partnerships keep developing While our initial plan of taking the unit out to schools for ‘Education: Go Get It!’ weeks proved challenging, the greater need for such services in the community became apparent Thus, we were forced to rethink our delivery model and successfully incorporated one-day school and community events into the MGC usage.” More good news: TG has awarded an additional grant to UT-Pan American to continue operating its Mobile Go Center For more information, contact Lisa Prieto at (956) 2927562 or by e-mail at lisaprieto@utpa.edu or Felipe Salinas at (956) 381-2526 or by e-mail at fsalinas1@panam.edu Return to top _ Five Gap Closing Programs Win Texas Higher Education Star Award and trustees The annual meeting allows the governing board members to focus on how to continue and improve the state’s efforts to achieve the goals of the higher education plan, Closing the Gaps by 2015 (See the plan at www.thecb.state.tx.us/ClosingtheGaps ) For this year’s competition, the Board received 52 applications, from which eight finalists were chosen Selection of the five Star Award recipients was based on the recommendations of a nine-member panel that included three Coordinating Board members; three Texas business, education, and community leaders; and three out-of-state educational experts The 2006 Star Award winners are: Austin Community College – College Connection Program Through this partnership between Austin Community College (ACC) and 15 school districts, with support from private industry and foundations, high school seniors receive admission and enrollment services on their high school campuses As a result, virtually all of Central Texas’ 6,400 high school seniors received an admissions acceptance letter to ACC with their high school diplomas ACC’s enrollment from College Connection school districts increased nearly 38 Five exemplary higher education gap-closing programs received the Texas Higher Education Star Award from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board at an award ceremony in Austin on November “The winners represent the state’s most effective efforts for closing the education gaps that challenge our state,” said Commissioner of Higher Education Raymund A Paredes “The Coordinating Board is proud to recognize the people and the institutions that develop and implement these programs, as well as the organizations and others who support them.” The awards ceremony was part of the Coordinating Board’s 2006 Governing Boards Conference for higher education regents From left, ACC President Steve Kinslow, CB Chairman Bob Shepard, ACC VP Mary Hensley, College Connection Director Luanne Preston, Commissioner of Higher Education Raymund Paredes percent on average from fall 2003 to fall 2005 The increase was nearly 100 percent for two school districts In addition, the program is an effective tool for encouraging students to go to other colleges and universities Overall college- going rates for participating high schools increased more than percent during the same two-year period For more information: Mary Hensley, (512) 223-7618 Stephen F Austin State University – Academic Assistance and Resource Center The Academic Assistance and Resource Center (AARC) offers one-on-one peer tutoring, student-led study groups, supplemental instruction, and related services leading to increased intellectual development and academic success among participating students Average grades for student participants were nearly half a grade point higher than for other students, and college persistence rates for participants improved as well Students benefit from these services throughout their years in college, and earn degrees at higher rates For the university’s Class of 1999, the six-year graduation rates for students who received services from the Center was 48 percent, compared to 35 percent for other students – who had higher SAT scores on average For more information, contact:Robin Redmon Wright, (936) 468-1463 Tarrant County College District – SureStart Program SureStart, a learning community for under-prepared, first-time in-college students, offers early intervention to students who are at risk of dropping out of college Through the program, students who need better reading skills take a developmental education reading course From left, CB Chair Bob Shepard, TCC representatives Lily Tercero, Penny Matthes, Jacquelyn Warmsley, Sharon Wettengel, Charles DeSassure, and Commissioner Raymund Paredes They take their first college classes together, allowing them to bond and support each other As a result, SureStart students are more successful in college On average, they complete 29 semester credit hours of courses annually, compared to only 21 for a control group In addition, on average, SureStart students have earned a 2.19 grade point average, compared to 1.78 for the control group For more information,contact: Penny Matthes, (817) 515-3575 The University of Texas at El Paso – Chemistry Peer Leader Program “Two Plus Two Workshops” are a key element of this effort, which has increased student success in science, engineering, and math at UT-El Paso Two hours of workshops – small-group, peerled, team-based activities – are substituted for one hour of a large-section lecture per week in a first-semester general chemistry course Since the program was implemented in fall 2000, the “C-or-better” passing rate has improved from the historic average of nearly 53 percent to nearly 74 percent As a result, an additional 150 students are passing this “gatekeeper” course annually, allowing many more students to continue their education into science, engineering, and math majors For more information, contact: James E Becvar, (915) 747-7563 YES College Preparatory Schools – YES College Preparatory Schools Admission to a four-year higher education institution is a high school graduation requirement at YES College Preparatory Schools, based in Houston A comprehensive college counseling program is a key element, beginning in middle school with college campus visits, which total more than 20 by the time students are seniors During their junior year, students take a SAT/ACT preparatory course As seniors, students are enrolled in a “college seminar” course, which allows them time to work on college applications, financial aid applications, and discuss related issues with college counselors Parents also participate in college-preparatory seminars and workshops First-generation-incollege students account for approximately 86 percent of YES graduates, who have been accepted to 190 colleges and universities nationwide Approximately 76 percent of YES graduates persist in college, compared to approximately 50 percent of all students nationwide For more information, contact: Ryan Dolibois, (713) 5747595 In addition to these awards, the Coordinating Board presented special Higher Education Leadership Star Awards to State Senator Florence Shapiro and State Representative Geanie Morrison for their work toward closing the gaps in Texas higher education Senator Shapiro chairs the Senate Education Committee and Representative Morrison chairs the House Higher Education Committee For more information on the Texas Higher Education Star Award program, contact: Glenda Barron, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, (512) 427-6255 or glenda.barron@thecb.state.tx.us Return to top Fall 2006 Higher Education Enrollment Grows But at Lower Rate Than in Several Previous Years “Clearly, we need even greater increases to achieve state participation goals,” said Texas Commissioner of Higher Education Raymund A Paredes He noted that Closing the Gaps by 2015, the state’s higher education plan, calls for enrolling 1.6 million students by 2015 The fall 2006 enrollment figures are based on a preliminary count on the 12th class day by higher education institutions Historically, these preliminary figures are approximately percent higher than the certified figures that are obtained later in the academic year Preliminary fall 2005 enrollment for each Texas higher education institution is available on the Coordinating Board’s Web site at http://www.thecb.state.tx.us/Board/PressRelease cfm For additional information, contact: Ray Grasshoff, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, (512) 4276111, or ray.grasshoff@thecb.state.tx.us Return to top _ Mobile Go Center Photo Gallery Enrollment in Texas higher education increased by 27,209 students, or 2.3 percent, to 1,211,582 students this fall, according to preliminary data reported by colleges and universities to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Although this increase is more than twice the enrollment growth reported in fall 2005, it trails the record increases reported each year from 2001 through 2004 Eighty percent of the total growth took place at the state’s two-year colleges, which had 19,785 more students this fall than last fall, according to the preliminary data Houston Community College 10 AMD-sponsored MGC for Austin Community College while at TSTC Waco Houston Community College Tarrant County College Austin Community College 11 Return to top BOARD OF TRUSTEES COLLEGE FOR ALL TEXANS FOUNDATION: CLOSING THE GAPS John T Montford, San Antonio, Chairman Cathy Obriotti Green, San Antonio, President Ronald K Calgaard, San Antonio, Vice President Milton G Wright, Lago Vista, Treasurer Lorraine Perryman, Odessa, Secretary A.W “Whit” Riter, III, Tyler Paul W Hobby, Houston Janie Strauss McGarr, Dallas Raymund Paredes, Austin, Ex Officio John F Moss, Pecan Gap Robert W Shepard, Harlingen Pamela P Willeford, Austin Raymund Paredes, Austin, Ex Officio (Commissioner of Higher Education) -Don W Brown, Austin, Executive Director 512 427-6108 don.brown@thecb.state.tx.us www.collegeforalltexansfoundation THE COLLEGE FOR ALL TEXANS FOUNDATION and COLLEGE FOR TEXANS The College for All Texans Foundation: Closing the Gaps is a nonprofit corporation established in 2001 as the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board’s official nonprofit partner The Foundation is governed by a board of trustees, a majority of whom are appointed by the chairman of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board The Foundation is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code The Foundation’s mission is to generate the resources necessary to ensure the success of the College for Texans Campaign, led by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board College for Texans is the “statewide awareness and motivational campaign” that the Coordinating Board was directed to establish by the 77th Legislature under Sections 61.951-61.954 of the Texas Education Code Its mission is to build a college-going culture throughout Texas, and its objective is to enroll an additional 430,000 academically prepared people— beyond the 200,000 enrollment growth projected on the basis of trends—into Texas higher education by 2015 The Campaign is a central part of the state’s higher education plan, Closing the Gaps by 2015 Return to top ... don.brown@thecb.state.tx.us www.collegeforalltexansfoundation THE COLLEGE FOR ALL TEXANS FOUNDATION and COLLEGE FOR TEXANS The College for All Texans Foundation: Closing the Gaps is a nonprofit corporation... Texas, and the third of those owned by the College for All Texans Foundation and deployed by partner institutions College for All Texans Foundation representative Don Brown, presented the MGC’s... state’s efforts to achieve the goals of the higher education plan, Closing the Gaps by 2015 (See the plan at www.thecb.state.tx.us/ClosingtheGaps ) For this year’s competition, the Board received 52