Building Blocks to 2020: The Details

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Challenge:  President Obama's 2020 goal of making the United States first in the world in college completion is ambitious and requires an immediate national effort to be realized.  Private higher education welcomes this challenge, and pledges a renewed focus to help all Americans with the desire to enroll and complete college.  While a decade sounds a long way off, when one considers the length of time it takes to transform a child or working adult into a college graduate, 2020 is right around the corner. 

Action:  NAICU and the Council of Independent Colleges pledge to work together to promote a collective effort among independent colleges and universities to help the nation reach the 2020 goal.  Already, private non-profit colleges have the greatest success rate of all the sectors -- even when controlling for such risk factors as income, academic preparation or first-in family to attend college.  However, we can and should do more.  To this end, we pledge the following actions.

• Survey of Current Landscape and Dissemination of Effective Programs:  There is an excellent and varied array of both college access and success programs that have proven lessons for all.  NAICU is conducting an on-going survey (summary of early results, presented Feb. 1) to identify innovative and successful programs that could be expanded or duplicated by others who also want to help more students finish college. 
  
  
• Expanding Proven Programs:  CIC has already secured more than $5 million in grants from the Walmart Foundation for 50 institutions to expand exemplary success programs with first generation to college students. At colleges and universities nationwide, only 24 percent of first-generation students succeed in earning a bachelor's degree compared with 68 percent of students whose parents received a bachelor's degree.[i]  At private colleges, the completion rate for first-generation students is 61 percent[ii].  We want to take what works and pass it on, so more at-risk students can succeed.  NAICU will continue its advocacy for a national 2020 program competition (authorized through the administration's student loan reform bill), open to all colleges, to help further grow successful models. 
  
  
• Marking Progress:  All private colleges will be encouraged to participate in the national effort by self- identifying goals or sets of goals appropriate to their missions.  Along the way, each college that participates will be asked to report on its success in meeting its goals, including: 1) producing more college graduates; 2) increasing graduation or retention rates; 3) increasing success with at-risk students, or 4) increasing graduates in areas of national need.   
  
  
• Interim Summary Reports:  Every two years, an update will be issued indicating the number of participating colleges and the collective change in retention rates or number of graduates for a given year.  These milepost reports may speak to programs targeted at sub-populations, as identified by the institution.  The report will link to this web site which will contain more detailed information about participants and their specific efforts. 
  
  
• Social Media:  New media, such as YouTube, will be used to spread the word and share success stories. We also will develop interactive tools to allow mentors to guide others in developing their own success programs.

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[i] Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988.  "First-Generation Students in Postsecondary Education: A Look at Their College Transcripts," July 2005.

[ii] Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 1995-96 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, Second Follow-up (BPS:96/01); Analysis by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities.