1. Taking College Savings Accounts to Scale Municipal and Local Platforms
Karl W. Reid, Ed.D.
2011 RAISE Texas Learning Forum and Summit
November 1, 2011
Dallas, TX

2. For over 66 years, UNCF has enabled more than 400,000 minority and low-income students to attend and graduate from college
Raising more than $3 Billion in support
Providing general operating support for its 39 Member Institutions
Supporting 60,000 students at over 900 colleges and universities annually
Serving as a national advocate for minority education
Administering over 400 scholarship and internship programs

3. Focusing on postsecondary access is not enough
Stemming the catastrophic leaks in the pipeline to produce more “College-Ready Students”
7.5 million or 68% of White children under 5 years old will drop out of the system before completing college

4. Only ~870K of the 5.3M, or 16% of Latino children under 5 will graduate from college!

5. Only 12% of African American children under 5 will graduate from college!
7.5 million or 68% of White children under 5 years old will drop out of the system before completing college
Only ~870K of the 5.3M, or 16% of Latino children under 5 will graduate from college!

6. Further defining the challenge for children from low-income families…
<10%
of students from low- income families graduate from college by their mid-20s
Source: The Pell Institute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education (Mortenson, December 2008), Based on original data from Census Bureau and National Center for Education Statistics
Dr. Lomax Intro

7. UNCF KIPP: CFED What is the Partnership for College Completion?
A pioneering partnership between UNCF, KIPP and CFED that aims to increase the college enrollment and graduation rates of students from underserved communities.
UNCF is the nation’s largest and most effective minority education organization, with a successful track record of supporting students’ education and development through scholarships and social support programs for students at over 900 colleges and universities.
UNCF
KIPP:
CFED
KIPP is a national network of 109 high-performing public charter schools with a track record of preparing students in underserved communities for success in college and in life. Today, KIPP serves over 32,000 students in 20 states and DC.
CFED expands economic opportunity for low- and moderate-income Americans and provides extensive policy and practical expertise on children’s savings accounts and financial education and access.
Dr. Lomax intro

8. The planning and launch of the
have been generously supported by
the Citi Foundation and Citigroup

9. What does PCC address? College Readiness and Financial Education
Addressing critical college completion factors
Alumni
tracking
College savings accounts
Component 1 – College Readiness and Financial Literacy Education:
College Knowledge: PCC participants receive rigorous K-12 education as KIPP students.
PCC is now providing a special focus on “college knowledge” and college readiness skills, helping ensure students are prepared for the intellectual challenge of college, and help them select the college that best meets their needs.
Grade-specific college knowledge curriculum is being delivered by KIPP teachers and counselors in our pilot schools, through a partnership with the University of Chicago Urban Education Institute’s 6to16 program.
Financial Literacy Curriculum: Similar to the college readiness curriculum, financial literacy education is being taught in KIPP classrooms to students and we are offering parent financial education courses to families, covering topics from calculating college costs to creating savings plans for college
Component 2 – College Savings Accounts:
While many families understand that a college education opens the door to greater opportunity in life, the thought of saving and paying for college is incredibly daunting.
To help students and their families save for college, PCC has created incentivized college savings accounts for program participants. These accounts have been created by Citi Microfinance and Citibank to support scalable youth savings.
This year, PCC has seeded each account with a $100 initial deposit. Contributions are being matched 1:1 up to an annual limit.
Andrea will touch on this in more depth later – but we absolutely know that studies have demonstrated that students with savings accounts are much more likely to attend college than those without. Saving accounts boost aspirations for further education and concrete goal setting among students
Component 3 – Scholarships:
Beginning this coming school year, PCC will offer 12th grade KIPP students and alumni the opportunity to apply for competitive scholarships of up to $12,500 ($2,500 annually, renewable for up to five years). Funding permitting, approximately 20% of eligible KIPPsters will be awarded scholarships.
These scholarships are meant to help bridge the gaps our alumni face between the cost of college attendance and their financial aid packages. We believe scholarships at this level will not only make a difference, they are scalable.
Also, we’ll be tracking the outcomes of the PCC cohort students relative to the scholarships they receive. We’re interested to see what we learn.
And finally, through UNCF, PCC will work with program participants and their families to help them identify and apply for other scholarship opportunities to help further defray the costs of attending college. This is tremendous.
Component 4 – Alumni tracking
The best way to track these students, understand their progress, and stay in touch with them, is to track them. So we have built a national alumni tracking platform.
PCC supplements KIPP’s emphasis on academic rigor, character development, and local KIPP Through College supports
PCC supplements KIPP’s emphasis on academic rigor, character development, and local KIPP through College supports
Scholarships

10. Savings
Incentivized savings accounts opened for 6th/7th and 11th graders in four pilot regions last year, expanding to 6th – 12th grade students in 5 pilot regions this year
Accounts provided by Citi and owned by UNCF for the benefit of the student
Savings “seeds” of $100 and matches for first two years (1:1 match, up to $250 each year) provided by Citi
Funds to be used only for college education

11. Scholarships
$2,500/year 5-year scholarship awarded to ~20% of KIPPsters from the Class of 2012
Currently funded for Class of 2012
Alumni will need to be included in savings and financial education to be eligible
If funding is available, we aim to offer these scholarships every year

12. Financial & College Readiness Education via 6to16
Lesson Plans
E-learning &
Online Tools
Social
Networks

13. 4x 6x What is Next? Projected Student Growth 1,613 students
school year
school year
1,613 students
growth
7,300 students
Projected Savings Account Growth 6x
Dr. Lomax intro
787 accounts
growth
5,000 accounts

14. Of KIPP students graduate from college by their mid-20s
We are looking for new educational partners to achieve our long-term goal
To create a replicable model that will increase the six-year college completion rate of low-income and minority youth
Today
2020
2035
~50%+
Of KIPP students graduate from college by their mid-20s
(KIPP’s long-term aspiration: 75+% college completion, no gap with students from high-income families)
<10%
Of students from low-income families graduate from college by their mid-20s
~40%
Of ALL students from low-income families graduate from college by their mid-20s 13 13

15. For more information: www.partnershipforcollegecompletion.org
@The_PCC 14

16. The Gates Millennium Scholars Program
Over 7,100 GMS Scholars have graduated from college
35% of Gates Scholars go to graduate school
5-year graduation rate: 80%
11/16/2018

17. What Impacts College Completion?
Rigorous research and our early experience suggest that the following factors impact college completion
Academic readiness
A powerful set of character strengths
grit
self-control
zest
optimism
social intelligence
(including self-advocacy)
gratitude
The right match: student + school
Social and academic integration
College affordability
and financial
understanding
So what do we do about this?
Academic readiness for the intellectual challenge of college
A powerful set of character strengths – including grit, self-control, social intelligence (including self-advocacy), zest, optimism and gratitude – that enable students to stick with college even in the face of considerable obstacles
The right match between a student and his or her college
Social and academic integration through study groups, campus clubs, and alumni contacts, and other activities that enhance a student’s college experience and help him or her resist negative pressure to leave school
College affordability and financial understanding to help navigate the challenges of paying for college
In stepping back to assess these challenges, KIPP and our partners recognized – there is no silver bullet.
Through the PCC we are leveraging the expertise of three partner organizations to design and implement an innovative program that addresses every one of these factors for KIPP students