Education is one of the essential components to breaking the poverty cycle, according to studies. However, college completion rates for students from low-income households continue to be some of the most dismal rates nationwide. According to Spotlight on Poverty, just 34 percent of students from the lowest income bracket will even enroll in higher education. Of that number, only 11 percent will actually graduate with some sort of degree. Clearly, this is not the pathway to the American Dream that our country’s leaders have envisioned.
If college completion rates are critical to raising families out of poverty in the U.S., something must be done to ensure more students from poor families are able to finish their education. This is the goal of a new three-year initiative from the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and the American Association of Community Colleges, in cooperation with the Open Society Foundations, as well as the Ford, Lumina, Annie E. Casey and Kresge Foundations. The Foundation Center reports that the Benefits Access for College Completion initiative is up and ready to roll at seven community colleges across the country.
About the Benefits Access for College Completion Initiative
The Benefits Access for College Completion initiative is the latest coordination to improve college completion rates by targeting low-income students. According to the website for CLASP, this initiative is designed to point low-income students to the services that will provide the financial support they need to make