A nationwide alliance of high-graduation-rate colleges and universities has made significant progress in improving opportunities for low- and moderate-income students, according to a new report by the American Talent Initiative (ATI).
Between the 2015-16 and 2017-18 academic years, ATI members from 108 leading U.S. institutions increased enrollment of students with Pell grant aid by 7,291 students, achieving almost 15 percent of the initiative’s goal. During this time frame, 68 ATI members increased Pell enrollment and 47 of those did so by increasing its student body, according to the report.
In addition, more than two-thirds of the initiative’s members increased its Pell enrollment and reversed a downward trend for almost half of those members.
Established in 2016 by the Aspen Institute, Bloomberg Philanthropies and Ithaka S+R, the goal of ATI is to make higher education available to 50,000 more low- and moderate-income students at the 296 high-graduation-rated institutions by 2025.
Dr. Kevin Pitts, vice president for undergraduate affairs at the University of Illinois, told Diverse that the school decided to join the initiative because it was a great opportunity to work with other schools, share best practices and brainstorm how they can improve in student access and student success.
“One of the things that’s great about ATI is that the types of institutions that are involved in that effort are very diverse. You’ve got large public institutions like the University of Illinois, you’ve got small private institutions and everything in between,” Pitts said. “So a lot of the issues that we face with students are in common. So for us to collaborate [with] these institutions to talk about what we can do to help recruit and retain and graduate students is really valuable.”
In order for an institution to be eligible to join ATI, the school must consistently graduate 70 percent or more of its student body in six years. Currently, 108 colleges and universities with high graduation rates joined the initiative because “they are committed to expanding opportunity for lower-income students on their campus and across the country,” said Dr. Liz Davidson Pisacreta, the lead author of the report.
