| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 56.45 |
| Liaison | Bambi Ingram |
| Submission Date | Feb. 7, 2020 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Alabama at Birmingham
PA-7: Affordability and Access
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.02 / 4.00 |
Julie
Price Sustainability Coordinator Sustainability |
Does the institution have policies and programs to make it accessible and affordable to low-income students?:
A brief description of any policies and programs to minimize the cost of attendance for low-income students:
UAB has a robust, federally-funded TRIO program:
UAB's TRIO Academic Services (TAS) is a Student Support Services program that is a part of a network of TRIO programs fully funded by the U.S. Department of Education. The mission of TAS is to provide academic and personal support to help participants be successful as they pursue their educational goals at UAB. The TRIO program helps with cost of attendance by supporting the whole student:
Free tutoring
Free printing
One-on-one assessment of your needs by TAS staff each semester
Cultural enrichment opportunities
Midterm monitoring of your progress so that TAS can adjust services to meet needs identified by instructors
Close monitoring to ensure you meet financial aid requirements
Help with developing good study skills
Academic, career, personal, financial, and graduate school counseling
Assistance with preparation for graduate and professional school entrance examinations; and additional services based on your individual needs.
UAB also accepts ACT or SAT score off the high school transcript instead of requiring a special report from the testing service.
UAB also hosts a variety of scholarships, many of which are targeted to regional low-income students: https://www.uab.edu/students/paying-for-college/scholarships/regional
75% of UAB students complete the FAFSA, the first step to receiving need-based aid.
72% of incoming freshmen receiving a merit-based scholarship.
UAB has a robust work-study program with on-campus employment options.
A brief description of any programs to equip the institution’s faculty and staff to better serve students from low-income backgrounds:
Faculty are required to complete DSS training, which includes information from the Office of Student Advocacy, Rights, and Conduct. The information provided by this office includes information about counseling services, interventions, food pantries, case managers, etc to better equip faculty to address students of concern.
Academic advisors anually complete training with Office Enrollment Management to offer resources for advisors to support low-income student populations.
First year experience instructors also receive training from the Office of Enrollment Management to better support first-year students.
A brief description of the institution’s programs to guide and prepare students and families from low-income backgrounds for higher education:
UAB TRIO offers support for students and families to be successful.
Enrollment Management offers targeted communications to help families understand the financial aid package they are receiving, including the true out-of-pocket expense associated with attending UAB.
Orientation includes separate parent and family sessions to prepare the families for a student participating in higher education.
Student Affairs also has a division, Parent and Family Services, to support parents and families of all students from pre-admission to graduation. https://www.uab.edu/studentaffairs/families/
A brief description of the institution's scholarships for low-income students:
UAB sponsors travel awards to help low-income TRIO students travel abroad.
72% of incoming freshmen receiving a merit-based scholarship.
UAB also hosts a variety of scholarships, many of which are targeted to regional low-income students: https://www.uab.edu/students/paying-for-college/scholarships/regional
A brief description of the institution’s targeted outreach to recruit students from low-income backgrounds:
UAB is the lead university on Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP), a national grant program that serves black belt counties in Alabama to assist with college access. GEAR UP is a competitive grant program of the U.S. Department of Education that increases the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter and succeed in postsecondary education by providing States and local community-education partnerships six-to-seven year grants to offer support services to high-poverty, middle and high schools.
In the fall of 2014 the University of Alabama at Birmingham was awarded the state grant, thus GEAR UP Alabama (GUA) was born. Servicing nearly 9,300 students in 52 schools across 21 school systems throughout the Black Belt Region of Alabama, GEAR UP Alabama has five objectives to meet the overall goal established by the grant:
Increase the academic performance and preparation for postsecondary education for GEAR UP students.
Increase the rate of high school graduation and enrollment in postsecondary education for GEAR UP students.
Increase GEAR UP students’ and their families’ knowledge of postsecondary education options, preparation, and financing.
Increase percentage of GEAR UP students who enroll in and succeed in postsecondary education.
Increase the preparation of the project teachers and staff to teach and serve GEAR UP students.
UAB also hosts RAISE.ME, a microscholarship program offering students the opportunity to accrue scholarship money in high school through good grades, starting in freshman year of high school. https://www.raise.me/join/uab
A brief description of the institution’s other policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:
A new program of UAB TRIO is STEM-H for students majoring in STEM fields who are first-generation college students.
https://www.uab.edu/students/academics/trio/stem-h
Does the institution have policies and programs to support non-traditional students?:
A brief description of the institution’s scholarships provided specifically for part-time students:
Part-time students are not eligible for need-based aid.
Several small scholarships are available for part-time students, such as the UAB Women's Club scholarship. https://uab.academicworks.com/opportunities/1109
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:
UAB has a Child Development Center on the main campus in downtown Birmingham. The rates are minorly subsidized compared with other accredited day care facilities in downtown Birmingham.
https://www.uab.edu/humanresources/home/childdevelopmentcenter
UAB also received a grant from the US Department of Education to support low-income and nontraditional students through affordable, high-quality child care. The goal of CCAMPIS is to assist low-income, undergraduate students with child care expenses so that they persist and graduate. Child care fees are paid directly to the child care provider. https://www.uab.edu/news/campus/item/9849-grant-to-give-uab-students-who-are-parents-additional-child-care-opportunities
A feature article on a recipient of the child care grant program: https://www.uab.edu/news/people/item/10568-nontraditional-student-family-pursues-path-to-degrees-with-help-of-family-friends-uab
A brief description of the institution’s other policies and programs to support non-traditional students:
Many programs targeted to non-traditional students (ex. Business and Education) have course offerings in the evening to accommodate working schedules.
In addition, UAB's OFFICE OF VETERAN SERVICES offers scholarships, personal support, and many other resources for prospective and current student veterans.
http://www.uab.edu/students/veterans/
UAB offers everal programs to help veterans and other nontraditional students complete their degrees:
UAB SALUTE program https://www.uab.edu/online/admissions/uab-salute
UAB FINISH program: https://www.uab.edu/online/admissions/uab-finish
UAB also has an office supporting Off Campus students: Off Campus Student Services. Off-Campus Student Services fosters student learning and development through programming and initiatives designed to serve and retain off-campus students. https://www.uab.edu/students/offcampus/
Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (tracking accessibility and affordability)? (If data is not available, select 'No'):
The percentage of entering students that are low-income (0-100):
The graduation/success rate for low-income students (0-100):
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):
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):
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):
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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.