Overall Rating Silver - expired
Overall Score 53.85
Liaison Jennifer Goree
Submission Date Nov. 26, 2018
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Clemson University
PA-7: Affordability and Access

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.43 / 4.00 Elizabeth Milam
Director, Clemson Student Financial Aid
Student Financial Aid
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have policies and programs to make it accessible and affordable to low-income students?:
Yes

A brief description of any policies and programs to minimize the cost of attendance for low-income students:

Clemson University participates in state and federal need-based programs and provides University funds for disadvantaged students, including low income, first generation, and underrepresented populations. Obstacles to access are minimized through the granting of waivers for admissions, orientation and testing fees. Multiple programs are in place to support disadvantaged students, some with targeted scholarship assistance and others with academic and emotional support to minimize cost through the retention of financial aid and timely graduation, e.g., WISE, PEER, WAVS, FIRST, Emerging Scholars, Tiger Alliance, Connections, and Call Me Mister.


A brief description of any programs to equip the institution’s faculty and staff to better serve students from low-income backgrounds:

At Clemson, Staff Advisors are equipped with more knowledge and can provide greater support than faculty

Faculty typically will reach out to financial aid after they identify a situation where a student has need in order to get the student in touch with a person who can direct them to relevant resources

CARE network – if a faculty member sees a red flag with a student, they can report the student to this network which has a variety of resources (mental health, counseling, financial aid connections)
• If a student gets reported once, they are put on a 'watch list'
• If a student gets reported more than once, they are contacted by the university


A brief description of the institution’s programs to guide and prepare students and families from low-income backgrounds for higher education:

Clemson offers programs for at-risk high school students

Clemson financial aid visits local and regional high schools and hosts financial aid workshops to promote higher education

All Clemson students attend an orientation session on financial aid availability


A brief description of the institution's scholarships for low-income students:

Clemson provides multiple scholarships that are designed to support low-income students, including the Gateway to Clemson Scholarship, Orange Carpet Scholarship, IPTAY Scholarship, Clemson Scholars Program, Clemson Hardship Grant, and Clemson Completion Grant.

The Emerging Scholars Scholarship is offered in conjunction with the Emerging Scholars Program, has made higher education a reality for students who have not seen college in their future. The mission of the Emerging Scholars Program at Clemson University is to establish a college-going culture among students in families from the state’s economically disadvantaged areas through academic enrichment, developing leadership skills and increasing college preparedness. The scholarship offers students with financial need are eligibility to receive tuition, mandatory fees and room for eight semesters of on-campus, full-time enrollment.


A brief description of the institution’s targeted outreach to recruit students from low-income backgrounds:

Targeted High School workshops to inform about financial aid and the options available to finance higher education

Specific diversity-related workshops which are often related to low-income participants


A brief description of the institution’s other policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:

Clemson uses the Net Price Calculator – this gives students a realistic picture of whether or not they can afford to attend Clemson. In effect, avoiding giving students larger/riskier loans

The overall cost of attendance at Clemson is moderate for a nationally ranked university. This is always a priority of those that set the cost of attendance


Does the institution have policies and programs to support non-traditional students?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s scholarships provided specifically for part-time students:

Aid that is available to traditional students is also available to non-traditional students, and is not prorated due to their part-time credits


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:

Financial aid is available for child care when pursued by parent. Clemson BOT approved a $5M budget to build a state-of-the art child care facility.


A brief description of the institution’s other policies and programs to support non-traditional students:

New federally approved program for support to students with intellectual disabilities


Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (tracking accessibility and affordability)? (If data is not available, select 'No'):
Yes

The percentage of entering students that are low-income (0-100):
18

The graduation/success rate for low-income students (0-100):
70

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):
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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):
55

Estimated percentage of students that participate in or directly benefit from the institution’s policies and programs to support low-income and non-traditional students (0-100):
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The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
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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.