CPE’s Kentucky Student Success Collaborative serves as the country’s first statewide center that works with two- and four-year institutions, linking campuses with nonprofit organizations, business leaders, and state policymakers to identify challenges facing higher education students (basic needs of a student) and develop strategies to address them.
The root problem college students face must be understood to understand this collaboration further. More than half of all college students nationwide struggle to meet their needs for food, housing, and other necessities, adversely affecting their ability to succeed in school. To address these challenges, the Council on Postsecondary Education’s Kentucky Student Success Collaborative has formed an action network to examine the scope of the problem in the commonwealth and identify ways to increase support, so students don’t opt out of college.
So why are students struggling in the first place? Nationally there has been a simultaneous decrease in public funding for higher education, coupled with a steep increase in tuition rates and more students entering college with fewer financial resources. To put it into numbers, tuition has increased an average of 35 percent in the past 15 years. Usually, funding like the Pell Grant would cover the gap. In 1975, The Pell Grant would cover up to 79% of college tuition, but now it covers only 29%. A valid argument could be that many scholarships are available for those who apply.
However, it’s dicey to figure out which scholarships are legitimate or not, and even then, you are competing with other students to get that scholarship. That is when the collaborative wanted to step in and help students graduate by taking care of their essential needs, so all they have to worry about is passing the class and learning new skills.
Check out this infographic to learn more:
Source: cpe.ky.gov
