| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 57.90 |
| Liaison | Jessica Bowen |
| Submission Date | Aug. 3, 2015 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Aquinas College
PA-8: Affordability and Access
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
2.78 / 4.00 |
Jessica
Eimer Bowen Director of Sustainability Center for Sustainability |
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Does the institution have policies and programs in place to make it accessible and affordable to low-income students?:
Yes
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A brief description of any policies and programs to minimize the cost of attendance for low-income students:
There is a twenty thousand dollar grant from student support services (SSS) that is awarded. This grant matches at least the minimum Pell Grant award for first and second year students impacting at least 20 SSS student participants.
SSS Scholarship opportunities - Five @ $1,000, five @ $500, four @ $500, four @ $250 dollars.
Sponsorship of AQ service learning up to $300 dollars per participant.
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A brief description of any programs to equip the institution’s faculty and staff to better serve students from low-income backgrounds:
Students grade point averages are monitored and there are service requirements for scholarships that awarded to SSS participants
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A brief description of any programs to prepare students from low-income backgrounds for higher education:
Aquinas is involved in a number of community outreach to local institutions including: Baxter Community Center, MLK Middle School, Wyoming Public Schools, Grand Rapids Girls Choral Academy, Upward Bound/TRiO.
Membership in the "To College, Through College" Lumina Grant project.
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A brief description of the institution's scholarships for low-income students:
There are no specific scholarships for low-income students currently. All aid is based on FAFSA, Grades, and student's ACT scores.
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A brief description of any programs to guide parents of low-income students through the higher education experience:
We offer college planning presentations which are typically held in the evening to include parents as well. These presentations include financial aid information and take place at most high schools in the lower peninsula.
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A brief description of any targeted outreach to recruit students from low-income backgrounds:
As mentioned previously, we are in contact with a group of advisers in Michigan who are placed in high schools that are typically first generation and low income students. We are also a compact member in the "To College, Through College" Lumina Grant. This is an initiative by Mayor George Heartwell that focuses on increasing America's success in higher education. It focuses not only on the amount of residents that enroll in college, but more importantly those who complete college.
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A brief description of other admissions policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:
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A brief description of other financial aid policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:
All financial aid is based off of FAFSA, GPA, and ACT scores.
None
A brief description of other policies and programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students not covered above:
None
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Does the institution have policies and programs in place to support non-traditional students?:
Yes
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A brief description of any scholarships provided specifically for part-time students:
There are several scholarships for our adult population/continuing-ed students. Some of these scholarships include the Donnelly scholarship which is an agreement between over 100 school districts and businesses around west Michigan. There is also the Hruby scholarship for students who participate in volunteering and/or community service. Aquinas is also in the process of developing a new scholarship that is tied to transfer GPA's.
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A brief description of any onsite child care facilities, partnerships with local facilities, and/or subsidies or financial support to help meet the child care needs of students:
Aquinas participates in an outreach with Marywood. It is understood that Marywood leases a portion of their facility to a private day care provider and is a head start program site.
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A brief description of other policies and programs to support non-traditional students:
We offer night time classes in order to allow non-traditional students to not only take the classes that they need, but be able to have time to work and meet their lifestyle needs.
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Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (accessibility and affordability indicators)?:
Yes
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Indicators that the institution is accessible and affordable to low-income students::
| Percentage (0-100) | |
| The percentage of entering students that are low-income | 18 |
| The graduation/success rate for low-income students | 42 |
| The percentage of student financial need met, on average | 85 |
| The percentage of students graduating with no interest-bearing student loan debt | 33 |
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The percentage of students that participate in or directly benefit from the institution’s policies and programs to support low-income and non-traditional students:
8.30
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The website URL where information about the institution's affordability and access programs is available:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.