Authors: Tania LaViolet, Benjamin Fresquez, McKenzie Maxson, and Josh Wyner, The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program

The research presented in this slide deck serves as a visual companion to the American Talent Initiative’s The Talent Blind Spot two-part report on increasing community college transfer to high-graduation-rate colleges and universities. The slide deck is divided into three sections:

• The National Picture: A look at demographics and behaviors of potential community college transfer students.
• A Call to Action for the ATI Sector: Why ATI institutions should enroll more high-achieving community college transfers?
• A Road Map from The Practical Guide: Potential high-value practices to consider to support community college transfer success.

The slides are customizable for institutions to use internally or externally to help make a strong case for transfer with data and to map out community college transfer strategies over the near- and long-term.

Authors: Elizabeth Pisacreta, Emily Schwartz, and Martin Kurzweil, Ithaka S+R

This report, the first public reporting since the American Talent Initiative (ATI) launched in December 2016, shares that ATI members have increased enrollment of students who receive federal Pell grants by 7,291 since the 2015-16 school year. This progress indicates that ATI is on track to reach its goal to enroll 50,000 additional low- and moderate-income students at high-graduation rate institutions by 2025. The report provides detail about the quantifiable progress toward the 50,000 student goal, identifies five key strategies that ATI members are employing in their efforts to expand opportunity, and shares more information about how ATI, co-managed by the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program and Ithaka S+R, supports the work of its members.

A summary of ATI data is available in the Addendum: Aggregate Data on Enrollment, Success, and Income, accessible at this link.*
*An earlier published version of the data addendum incorrectly graphed the $110+/Unknown and Non-resident alien categories. As of 1/9/2019, this error is now corrected.

Authors: Tania LaViolet, Benjamin Fresquez, McKenzie Maxson, and Josh Wyner, The Aspen Institute College Excellence Program

The Talent Blind Spot demonstrates that, each year, more than 50,000 high-achieving, low- and moderate-income community college students do not transfer to a four-year institution. Approximately 15,000 of these students have a 3.7 GPA or higher, which suggests they could succeed at even the most competitive schools. The report also demonstrates that high-graduation-rate colleges and universities—the American Talent Initiative schools—enroll far fewer transfer students than other four-year institutions. The report offers a path forward based on the work of several ATI member institutions that have demonstrated that creating robust community college transfer success is possible through strong, leadership-drive partnerships, early outreach and advising, and dedicated, holistic supports.

The Talent Blind Spot is divided into two parts.

• The Case for Increasing Community College Transfer to High Graduation Rate Institutions
  • Understand the community college transfer landscape at high graduation rate colleges with data from the report.
• The Practical Guide to Increasing Community College Transfer to High Graduation Rate Institutions
  • Use the “Fundamental Principles” as a strategy audit to assess how your institution compares to others.
  • See what is possible by learning from the “Transfer-Friendly Ecosystems” of three exemplary institutions: Smith College, the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, and the University of California-Los Angeles.
  • Read the “Transfer Tactics Repository” to access case studies of institutional practices that respond to specific challenges.

Authors: Jessie Brown, Ithaka S+R; Martin Kurzweil, Ithaka S+R

With finite budgets and multiple priorities, institutions limit the funds they allocate to need-based aid and other programs that support low- and moderate-income students. Yet even with those constraints, some top-performing colleges and universities have enhanced their commitment to serving low- and moderate-income students, and have found the financial means to do so. This paper profiles five such institutions: Franklin & Marshall College, University of California, Berkeley, University of Richmond, University of Texas at Austin, and Vassar College. The paper reviews increases in aid, support, and opportunity at these schools, and highlights strategies that each has pursued to reallocate funds in ways that are financially sustainable, maximally effective, and broadly supported by institutional stakeholders.