Albertson Foundation grants aim to get Idaho students through college | Local News | Idaho Statesman
Students at alternative high schools throughout the Treasure Valley will soon get a leg up on college and careers through a grant-funded effort at the College of Western Idaho.
The Nampa-based community college is the only Southwest Idaho institution among six state colleges that will receive a total of about $4.6 million through the Continuous Enrollment Initiative.
The J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation grants, to be announced Thursday, aim to help at-risk students, GED students, displaced workers and others who traditionally have fewer opportunities to take advantage of higher education. This latest building block in the foundation’s “Go On” program seeks to keep Idahoans in college after they start.
CWI’s grant calls for collaboration between college and high school faculty, advising and other transition services, campus visits and mentoring high school students by college students.
“About 67 to 70 percent of our kids go on to college, but at the end of the first year half of them are gone, and only about 25 percent get a baccalaureate degree,” Meridian School District Superintendent Linda Clark said Wednesday. “This will be a really important piece of that puzzle.”
No statewide retention numbers are available, State Board of Education spokesman Mark Browning said, but the Albertson Foundation cited a national report, Measuring Up 2008, that ranked Idaho 50th in the number of first-time freshmen who return for a second year of college.
Meanwhile, Idaho ranks third in the nation for the creation of jobs that require an associate degree, according to Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce.
“The fact that Idaho’s retention rates are so low, coupled with the knowledge that by 2018, 61 percent of new jobs in Idaho will require some postsecondary education, convinced us that we needed to do more to seek a solution to this problem,” foundation Executive Director Jamie MacMillan said.
Since announcing “Go On” in November 2009, the Albertson Foundation has committed $11 million in scholarships, $730,000 for a Go On Challenge in Idaho high schools and $3 million for an advertising/awareness campaign to stress the importance of higher education.
All the new grant recipients have accredited two-year programs that lead to technical certificates, associate degrees or options for transferring to a four-year college. They also all have on-site Adult Basic Education programs that lead to General Education Development (GED) certification, which the foundation calls “a key college entrance portal for non-traditional students.”
The College of Western Idaho proposes numerous measures to get alternative high school students involved in dual credit and technical preparation courses that will allow them to earn college credits before they graduate high school.
“We’re very excited,” said Clark, whose district includes three alternative high schools, each with about 150 to 180 of the district’s most at-risk students.
“The more post-secondary credits a student earns in high school, the greater the likelihood of their finishing some sort of post-secondary program,” Clark said.
Last year, Meridian students earned more than 5,000 dual academic credits, she said, but only about 470 of the 1,300 eligible students took tech prep classes.
Participation in both programs is much lower among alternative-school students, she said, which makes CWI’s plans to focus on those students particularly encouraging.
Details and the final grant amount are still being worked out, but the community college is eager to expand its tech prep and dual credit programs, CWI communication director Jennifer Couch said.
“It’s going to be a substantial help, especially with the dual credit programs,” Couch said. “It really helps bridge that gap between high school and post-secondary.”
The program dovetails nicely with the college’s collaboration with the Idaho Department of Labor, which visits campus two days a week to help prepare students for getting jobs, she said.
“If we can help more students … earn degrees and certificates, everyone benefits: businesses, the state, colleges and especially the students,” foundation director MacMillan said, “because with every year of education they complete beyond high school, they can expect to earn 10 to 20 percent more annually.”
Recipients of J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation’s Continuous Enrollment grants, which last through 2013:
Idaho State University College of Technology ($1.21 million): The College of Technology proposes a multi-tiered program to enhance access to post-secondary education by GED students and increase retention so they can earn a certificate or associate degree.
Lewis-Clark State College ($972,000): This project aims to help displaced workers, GED graduates and alternative high school seniors through pre-college readiness programs at GED centers and varied college activities with a focus on retention.
College of Southern Idaho ($760,000 plus $225,000): The bulk of the approved funding would go to create a continuum of activities for GED and English as a Second Language students. The college also received funding for dual credit programs at alternative high schools in Hailey and Twin Falls.
North Idaho College ($552,000): NIC plans to expand its Integrated Basic Education Skills Training program for basic education students.
Eastern Idaho Technical College ($520,000): The college plans to build on existing recruitment and retention programs for its basic education program and reach out to alternative high school students.
College of Western Idaho (amount not released; contract not final): CWI plans to expand tech prep and dual credit programs for alternative high school students; foster collaboration between college and high school faculty; provide mentoring for high school students by CWI students; provide placement testing and other services.
Kristin Rodine: 377-6447
Therefore students would now have best time. That will surely help them to get a leg up on college and careers through a grant-funded effort at the College of Western Idaho.
ReplyDeleteI know several young people who started there this year and are, to my knowledge, having a great experience. Thanks for stoppin' by. :)
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