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North Carolina’s Rankings For the ninth time in a row, the University of North Carolina ranked as the “Best Value in Public Colleges” by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance (2010) UNC was one of only two public universities to be named among the top 25 in US News and World’s Report’s: “Best Colleges 2011: Best Values” UNC was ranked 5th in the US News and World’s Report’s: “Best Colleges 2011: Top Public Schools”
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The Carolina Covenant . . . . . . Our promise to current & future students Carolina will remain accessible and affordable for students from low-income backgrounds Created in 2003, implemented in fall 2004, it is a promise to future generations of students Nearly 2,900 Covenant Scholars have benefited since the start of the program Most recent class for which we have comprehensive student success and graduation data – entering Covenant class of fall 2005 KNOW NO LIMITS®
How the Covenant Works “Need blind” admission to the University Covenant Scholars named based upon program eligibility and low-income status (200% federal poverty level or below) Median family income of Covenant Scholars: $26,716 Scholars’ financial aid “packages” are composed of grants and scholarships, and a Federal Work Study job (i.e., “no loans”) for up to 9 semesters Research demonstrates that large grants, when combined with a part-time job and limited borrowing, positively influence the academic success of low-income students (Jacqueline King, Crucial Choices, 2003) KNOW NO LIMITS®
Assessing Covenant Scholar Progress The approach to evaluating the success of Covenant Scholars is based upon prior research findings. National Studies: Students from low-income families do not persist or graduate at the same rates as their classmates (Edward St. John, 2008; Cliff Adelman, 2007) Carolina’s 2004 Retention Study: Socio-economic factors (family income, parent education, etc.) were significant predictors of retention and graduation, even after controlling for entering academic preparation. Goal: To determine if the Covenant program helps close the gap in degree attainment between low-income students and other students. KNOW NO LIMITS®
Characteristics of Covenant Scholars* Fall 2004
Fall 2005
Fall 2006
Fall 2007
Fall Fall Fall 2008 2009 2010
No. of New Covenant Scholars
224
350
417
398
410
537
558
Average High School GPA
4.21
4.25
4.19
4.26
4.30
4.31
4.44
Average SAT Scores
1209
1223
1198
1202
1206 1230 1231
State of Origin: N.C.
87%
89%
84%
87%
84%
84%
84%
68
74
72
77
74
78
76
Female
69%
63%
61%
63%
60%
61%
64%
Male
31%
37%
39%
37%
40%
39%
36%
Students of Color
63%
60%
63%
61%
61%
62%
57%
First Generation
55%
52%
57%
53%
55%
57%
56%
N.C. Counties Represented Gender
* The income threshold for consideration for the Carolina Covenant was initially established at 150% of federal poverty guidelines. Starting in fall 2005, it was increased to encompass students with parents’ adjusted gross income up to 200% of the federal poverty standard.
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Support for Covenant Scholars “More than money”
Financial Aid University Embrace Programming and Mentoring
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Evaluation Design 2003 Control Group
2005 Cohort
N = 3,511
N = 3,750
Covenant-Eligible (224)
Covenant Recipients (326)
Other Needy (967)
Other Needy (937)
No Need (2,320)
No Need (2,487)
Compared the success of the cohort of Covenant Scholars in 2005 to that of a matched group of students from the 2003 entering class who would have been eligible for the Covenant, had it existed. Also compared performance of Covenant Scholars to their classmates with less need and those with no need. KNOW NO LIMITS®
Indicators of Student Success Academic Achievement (College Grades)
Retention Rates (Staying in College)
Graduation Rates KNOW NO LIMITS®
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So, how are they doing? PREPAREDNESS
~ Covenant Scholars Entering in ‘05; Graduating in ‘09 ~
~ All Students Entering in ‘05; Graduating in ‘09 ~
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Academic Achievement COLLEGE GRADES
n The average GPA for Covenant Scholars
at graduation is 3.11. n The average GPA for All students
at graduation is 3.30.
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Retention Rates STAYING IN COLLEGE
n The retention rate for Covenant Scholars
into fall year 3 (90.2%) is on par with all students! Compared to 2003 pre-Covenant benchmarks, this is an improvement of 4 percentage points. n The retention rate for All students is 93.5%,
a 1.6% increase during the same time period.
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Graduation Rates GRADUATION RATES
n The 4-year (8 semester) graduation rate for
Covenant Scholars improved 9.6 percentage points, compared with the graduation rate of similar students entering in 2003 – the year before the Covenant began. n The graduation rate for All students gained
2.5 percentage points during that same time but was, overall, somewhat higher. KNOW NO LIMITS®
Graduation Rates 4 YEAR GRADUATION RATES: MALE COMPARISON
n The 4-year (8 semester) graduation rate for Male
Covenant Scholars improved 27.2 percentage points to 67.2%, compared with the graduation rate of similar students entering in 2003 – the year before the Covenant began. n The graduation rate for All Male students
gained 5.5 percentage points to 73.0% during that same time. KNOW NO LIMITS®
Graduation Rates 4 YEAR GRADUATION RATES: FEMALE COMPARISON
n The 4-year (8 semester) graduation rate for
Female Covenant Scholars improved 1.4 percentage points to 65.7%, compared with the graduation rate of similar students entering in 2003 – the year before the Covenant began. n The graduation rate for All Female students
gained 0.3 percentage points to 79.5% during that same time. KNOW NO LIMITS®
Graduation Rates 4 YEAR GRADUATION RATES
~ Caucasian Males ~
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Graduation Rates 4 YEAR GRADUATION RATES
~ African-American Males ~
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Conclusion & Discussion The 4-year academic performance of Covenant Scholars entering in 2005 exceeded that of the 2003 pre-Covenant cohort. The improvement among the 2005 Covenant Scholars was considerably larger than that of all other students during the same time period (2005 - 2009). This notable progress, if sustained, should help Carolina close the achievement gap (academic performance and graduation rates) between low-income students and all other students. Financial support is critical but the “community embrace,” programming, mentoring, and interventions really matter. The improvements achieved by Carolina Covenant Scholars should help lift Carolina’s overall measures of academic KNOW NO LIMITS® performance.
