Two-year colleges’ Opportunity Grant program off to a good start
The two-year college system is getting a whole lot smarter.
Equipped with data about two-year college students’ socioeconomic make up and the barriers that impede success, they are learning more about the students they serve – and the growing number of adults who are underserved.
This knowledge – coupled with the need to provide Washington’s economy with an educated and skilled workforce – has led to the development of new strategies that move students further and faster along their educational journey and into higher wage jobs.
One of these strategies includes the Opportunity Grant pilot program created by the 2006 Legislature.
“We know that a high school diploma and a GED is not enough to get a good paying job with benefits,” said Rep. Phyllis Gutierrez Kenney, D-Seattle, before the House Higher Education Committee in February.
Opportunity Grants offer key wrap-around services and financial assistance to low-income adults – above and beyond the cost of tuition and fees – to ensure participants are successful in completing education and training programs that lead to good jobs.
There are 10 pilot projects across the state. They are creating a bridge connecting businesses that have a need for trained and educated workers with adults who are eager to learn and succeed.
The program is showing promising results with more than 90 percent of students returning from fall to winter quarters.
Building on this success, Rep. Kenney has sponsored a bill this session that would expand the Opportunity Grant concept to all 34 community and technical colleges.
“The resources being utilized by the community and technical colleges in the 10 pilot programs have been phenomenal,” said Rep. Kenney. “They are making sure the students have the resources they need [to be successful].”
This early success is attributed to the pilot colleges’ ability to leverage existing resources to provide financial assistance to students, offer relevant job training, and provide wrap-around support services to guide students along the pathway.
Addressing the financial needs of low-income adult students
Christel Salazar spoke before the House Community and Economic Development Committee this session about the struggles she faces every day as single parent of three, working multiple jobs to support her family while pursuing her educational goals at Clark College.
She talked about the generational cycle of poverty – of living paycheck to paycheck – and how she fears teaching her children to continue this cycle, rather than to break it.
“Education offers a door of hope [to people] that they can be so much more than their circumstances,” she said. “You can see the ripple effect of helping people attain their education.”
Sixty-eight percent of the 485 students participating in the Opportunity Grant pilots are parents who juggle the demands of work, family and education, just like Salazar.
The average household income for Opportunity Grant participants is less than $12,500 per year for an average household of three.
“Many people think if you are a low-income student traditional financial aid resources will fully cover the costs of attending college,” said SBCTC Director of Student Services Nani Jackins Park. “Students in the pilots with incomes that are less than the poverty level have an average gap of more than $6,000 between the costs of attendance and the financial assistance available through other state and federal programs.”
Opportunity Grants are designed to help address the real costs of low-income adult students while they are in college. Grants provide funding to cover tuition and fees, as well as money to cover the cost of books and supplies, tools and equipment, some living expenses, transportation and child care, she said.
The average grant awarded to students is around $5,000. And though it doesn’t close the gap completely, it is making a significant difference for students in continuing their education, as the retention numbers are showing.
“This grant can have a long-reaching effect on our communities here in Washington,” said Salazar. “So many of us are hungry for a chance in this life…hungry for a new and better life for our children. I know I’m not alone…I’m just one voice of so many.”
Building career pathways – leveraging the partnership between industry and education
Troy Hutson from the Washington State Hospital Association was one of many industry representatives speaking before legislators recently in favor of expanding the current Opportunity Grant pilot program.
He said hospitals are one of the largest employers in Washington, employing approximately 88,000 people statewide.
“We’re facing a demographic problem – with an aging population and rising demands on the healthcare industry,” he explained. “There are not enough skilled workers to meet this demand and we need more diversity in our workforce … we need to train for jobs in every level.”
Opportunity Grants are helping to meet this need, as 47 percent of program participants are students of color and allied health programs represent over half of all the educational pathways offered.
“The collaboration between business and education has been crucial to the development and on-going success of this program,” said SBCTC Director of Administrative Services Chris Reykdal.
Each program was co-developed by the college and industry partners with the goal of creating educational pathways that students could build on as they progress in their careers, he said.
Edmonds Community College student José Tello spoke to legislators about the role Opportunity Grants has had on his progress in the pharmaceutical technician program.
Originally from Peru, Tello began taking English as a Second Language (ESL) classes with the goal of progressing to a career in the allied health field. However, he struggled with how to afford it while supporting his family.
Ineligible for typical financial aid because of his ESL coursework, the Opportunity Grant coordinator on campus gave him the guidance and encouragement he needed to begin his education journey.
“The Opportunity Grant pilot program is making such a great difference in my life,” he said. “This is the chance I was looking for. The financial and individualized support has allowed me the chance to focus on my studies and my family.”
The keystone of success – providing wrap around support services for students
Shoreline Community College student Jesús Jasso is a father who was working two jobs before enrolling in the Opportunity Grant pilot program in automotive repair.
Jasso explained to legislators that in the past he had to make a choice between supporting his family or going to college.
“Now, I am going back to school for my daughter … I am going back to school to get a future,” Jasso said. “There is no other way I can do it without going to school.”
He spoke about his internship for Toyota through the Opportunity Grant program – an opportunity he wouldn’t have been able to find on his own.
“A toolbox is $10,000 investment that I don’t have,” he said of the standard equipment needed to participate in the automotive apprenticeship program.
The Opportunity Grant helped him purchase some of the tools he needed to get started in his new career.
In addition, Jasso now only works one job and receives money for his daughter to attend childcare when he’s in class.
President of Shoreline Community College Lee Lambert said the key to the Opportunity Grant pilots’ success includes having programs built upon clear career pathways, community and industry partnerships, student mentoring, and flexible financial support.
The colleges’ entry-level automotive repair program was built from a federal grant in partnership with local automotive dealerships. The program has leveraged community partnerships to find students and connect them with local dealerships for on-the-job training.
The college provides the infrastructure and support to help ensure a student is successful. This includes counseling and advising, tutoring, and outside-of-the-classroom support services, all coordinated by a project director, he said.
“This [program] is about meeting the unmet needs of our underserved students so that they don’t have to choose between getting their children to daycare and pursuing an education,” Lambert said. “It is an investment in their children’s future.”
President of Big Bend Community College Bill Bonaudi also echoed to legislators the importance of intense interaction between the college and students as the key to ensuring success for students.
Big Bend’s Opportunity Grant pilot includes programs in early childhood education, welding, office technology and health careers.
He said the college provides intensive support for students through counseling and advising.
“Many [participants] lack experience with personal finances or lack experience in the education environment,” Bonaudi said. “We begin working with them on these things before they even attend a class.”
The pilots are leveraging other grant programs to encourage that same kind of support, he said.
The future of Opportunity Grants
Through the Opportunity Grant pilot program, the two-year college system will continue to learn how to better address the needs of low-income adult learners.
“This program is a perfect fit with the priorities set by the State Board for our two-year colleges to improve academic achievement for all students, implement new and innovative delivery models, and be responsive to the needs of businesses and the economy,” said SBCTC Executive Director Charlie Earl.
The wrap-around services provided in the Opportunity Grant pilot programs are tailored to meet the diverse needs of students. And this individualized attention has already proven essential in retaining students in the program, he said.
Earl also explained that placing the distribution of aid in the hands of the colleges has allowed them to direct resources where they do the most good for the student to be most successful.
“This is a totally new and innovative way of delivering financial aid…and it’s working,” he said. “The colleges are leveraging their resources, both on campus and in the community, to ensure students succeed.”
These resources include the natural partnerships that exist between industry and education that were leveraged to build programs to meet the need for educated and trained workers.
“We are building pathways for students at all levels that lead to high demand jobs in the economy,” stated Earl. “More residents across the state will benefit when this program is expanded to all community and technical colleges.”