| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 72.58 |
| Liaison | Tom Twist |
| Submission Date | June 12, 2020 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
Bates College
PA-7: Affordability and Access
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.80 / 4.00 |
Tom
Twist Sustainability Manager Facilities |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
Part 1
Support for Low-Income Students
Yes
None
A brief description of any policies and programs to minimize the cost of attendance for low-income students:
For Bates, financial aid is a central priority. The college ensures that 100 percent of its students’ demonstrated financial need is met for all four years. Forty-three percent of students receive grants from Bates, with such grants averaging $40,000 per student.
Compared with its peers, Bates spends a significantly larger proportion of its resources on financial aid. In fiscal year 2015, for example, Bates had an operating budget of $103.4 million and spent the equivalent of a third, $31.4 million, on financial aid.
That year, Bates’ financial aid outlay was equivalent to 12 percent of the college’s endowment — more than twice the commitment of several peer liberal arts colleges with far larger endowments.
Bates has several structures in place to help low-income students. We are part of the American Talent Initiative -
https://www.bates.edu/news/2016/12/14/bates-joins-select-us-colleges-in-major-access-initiative/
Also -
The SAFE Program encourages study abroad by students with very limited family resources and no prior international travel experience. Study abroad participation levels among such students, often students of color or the first generation at college, tend to be lower nationally and at Bates. The SAFE program addresses this pattern with three efforts.
Extra encouragement – Additional outreach efforts to ensure these students recognize that this part of the Bates curriculum is fully available to them.
Program and grant identification – Special efforts to work with these students to identify lower cost study abroad programs and Federal and program grants that are targeted to low income students, students of color, and/or the first generation at college.
Financial support – The Barlow Endowment for Study Abroad supplements the College’s already generous financial aid by providing $500 grants to Pell Grant-eligible students for incidental expenses that are not included in Bates’ regular financial aid award. The goal is to reduce student anxiety about extra expenses that often accompany study abroad. This grant is not available if the study abroad program provides similar assistance.
https://www.bates.edu/global-education/off-campusstudy/finances/barlow-grant-opportunities/the-s-a-f-e-program/
https://www.bates.edu/accessible-education/students/resources-available-to-all-bates-students/
In addition, our student employment office offers help to under served populations for finding work in their chosen fields -
https://www.bates.edu/career/students/advanced-studies-graduate-and-professional-school-advising/multicultural-admissions-initiatives/
None
A brief description of any programs to equip the institution’s faculty and staff to better serve students from low-income backgrounds:
Bates is a member of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, which seeks to provide support for students to pursue STEM degrees. This funding partially goes towards training our faculty to better serve students from low-income backgrounds:
Learning Environments where Students Flourish
We will embed entry level and core STEM courses with evidence-based practices that support our goals of inclusive excellence. We aspire to revise pathways through the curriculum to provide students with the flexibility to enter our majors and meet major requirements in ways that balance their interests and aspirations as Bates students. We are working to scaffold research experiences throughout the curriculum, leading to our capstone experiences with the goals of developing STEM graduates with strong disciplinary knowledge and skills and high self-efficacy and scientific identity.
Examples of Activities:
Implementation of new 100 level Biology courses with Course Based Research Experiences (2019-2020)
Implementation of new Biology Curriculum (ongoing)
New entry-level Physics Courses (Planning 2019-2020- implementation 2020-2021)
Revision of Introductory Chemistry Laboratories (Planning 2019-2020- implementation 2020-2021)
Implementation of Revised and new FYS and 100-level Geology courses with Course Based Research Experiences (2019-2020)
Implementation of revised FYS Chemistry course with Course Based Research Experiences (2019-2020)
A brief description of the institution’s programs to guide and prepare students and families from low-income backgrounds for higher education:
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None
A brief description of the institution's scholarships for low-income students:
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A brief description of the institution’s targeted outreach to recruit students from low-income backgrounds:
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A brief description of the institution’s other policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:
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Support for Non-Traditional Students
Yes
A brief description of the institution’s scholarships provided specifically for part-time students:
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A brief description of the institution’s on-site child care facility, partnership with a local facility, and/or subsidies or financial support to help meet the child care needs of students:
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A brief description of the institution’s other policies and programs to support non-traditional students:
The Bobcat First! Program seeks to foster a greater sense of well-being, belonging, and self-empowerment among first generation to college students. Through a pre-orientation program, workshops, co-curricular activities, and alumni events, first-year students will build strong connections with one another, faculty, and staff. For parents, programs are offered to build a community of support.
The Bobcat First! Program is based on an opt-in cohort model, where students develop community through social and educational experiences.
https://www.bates.edu/oie/bobcat-first/
Part 2
Yes
The percentage of entering students that are low-income (0-100):
12.20
The graduation/success rate for low-income students (0-100):
91
On average, the percentage of need that was met for students who were awarded any need-based aid (e.g. as reported to the U.S. Common Data Set initiative, item H2) (0-100):
100
The percentage of students graduating with no interest-bearing student loan debt or for whom no out-of-pocket tuition is required (i.e. the percentage of graduates who have not taken out interest-bearing loans) (0-100):
77
Optional Fields
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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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.