Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 72.78
Liaison Emily Vollmer
Submission Date Feb. 18, 2021

STARS v2.2

Virginia Tech
PA-8: Affordability and Access

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 2.70 / 4.00 Beth Armstrong
Director
Virginia Tech University Scholarships and Financial Aid
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Provide at least one of the following figures:

Percentage of need met, on average, for students who were awarded any need-based aid :
55.40

Percentage of students graduating without student loan debt:
50.30

Percentage of entering students that are low-income:
14.50

Graduation/success rate for low-income students:
83

Optional Fields

A brief description of notable policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:
Virginia Tech administers the Funds for the Future grant to assist low-income families. This program protects families from future tuition increases and reduces unmet need for eligible undergraduates.

In addition, Virginia Tech awards the Beyond Boundaries Scholarship to high-achieving,
historically underserved students. Underserved students include those from low-income
families, and first-generation college students.

We administer the renewable Presidential Campus Enrichment Grant to incoming first-year
students to attract, retain and graduate undergraduate students who bring diversity to our student body. First-generation students with financial need are also considered.

Virginia Tech awards grants to students through the College Access Collaborative, designed to attract and retain students from regions within the Commonwealth that historically have low high school attainment and low matriculation to post-secondary education. The program cultivates a pool of high achieving college students from low- and middle-income families by partnering with schools across the Commonwealth where a majority of students qualify for free or reduced lunches.

Finally, through our Presidential Scholars Initiative we award grants equal to tuition, fees, room and board to underrepresented and underserved high-achieving Virginia students. This initiative supports a cohort of 85 students four up to four years, for a total of 340 students. The purpose of this program is to support academically talented students from low-income (Federal Pell Grant eligible), first-generation, and historically underserved communities.

A brief description of notable policies or programs to support non-traditional students:
The Virginia Tech Graduate School supports three child-care and family-support focused programs for graduate and undergraduate students associated with the university’s commitment to a work-life friendly atmosphere. The programs comprise a parent support group, a babysitting clearinghouse, and a cooperative play group for children ages 2-5 called Little Hokie Hangout. They are open to all graduate and undergraduate students.

Additionally, Virginia Tech supports non-traditional students through the administration of the Commonwealth of Virginia’s College Transfer Grant. Additionally, Virginia Tech awards the
renewable Virginia Tech VCCS Transfer Achievement Scholarship to students transferring from a
Virginia Community College.

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:
23.70

Website URL where information about the institution’s accessibility and affordability initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
---

Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
VT Enrollment Management/Analytics and Institutional Effectiveness/VT Institutional Research

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.