Image: More than fifty participants attended the inaugural Momentum & Barriers symposium hosted by the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education on February 8-9, 2024. The event brought together researchers, program leaders, senior administrators, and policy advocates to share insights and experiences with college access and success programming. President of Albany State University Marion Ross Fedrick delivered the keynote address. President Fedrick offered a candid and hopeful assessment of the ways her campus has been able to expand its reach and successfully retain and graduate more students. Laurynn Scurlock and Dezrae Lockett, advisers with the Georgia College Advising Corps, presented a poster session at the welcome reception. The poster focused on approaches to creating a college-going culture in two area high schools. Three main working sessions during the day featured panels with speakers who provided overviews of key trends and initiatives in high schools and in postsecondary institutions and in funding strategies to support access and success programming. The presentations were followed by small group discussions, focused on sharing and planning to make make positive changes to challenges in higher education. Ashley Clayton, Jo Ellen Levy Yates Endowed Associate Professor at Louisiana State University; Sherontae Maxwell, assistant director of access programs at the University of Georgia Division of Academic Enhancement; and Korynn Schooley, vice president for college access at Achieve Atlanta, provided an overview of work in middle and high schools across the United States. They provided details on publicly and privately funded access programs. Reach speaker stressed the importance of coordination and communication among agencies all along the pipeline. The session was moderated by University Professor & Zell Miller Distinguished Professor of Higher Education Libby V. Morris. “As an intermediary, Achieve Atlanta, brings others together to collective tackle challenges in college enrollment, persistence, and completion,” said Schooley. She sought other groups to find ways to partner, pool knowledge, and develop broader sustainable initiatives. The second panel brought in speakers from around the country to talk about activities at higher education institutions and state bodies. Heidi Leming, Vice Chancellor for Student Success at the Tennessee Board of Regents; Paul Rubin, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership & Policy at the University of Utah; and Lori Tiller, Network Director, Embark Georgia in the JW Fanning Institute for Leadership Development at the University of Georgia share their insights and perspectives on student success initiatives in higher education. Leming highlighted the impressive dashboard used at TBR to track Tennessee Promise. The panel echoed a theme of competition among groups with similar missions and unintended consequences as university programs have an impact on community and technical college enrollments and revenues. Rubin noted need for more research on remote populations with little or no internet access. He also highlighted an emerging trend in reverse transfers as students leave four-year institutions to complete credentials at two-year schools. Tiller shared some of the challenges of serving more hidden populations, like students who have experienced homelessness or foster care in their youth. The Embark state-wide network coordinates the efforts at schools across Georgia. She complimented the work of staff and added that turnover in these predominantly volunteer or extra duty positions is high. She encouraged more research on these relatively new initiatives and areas of service. Ashley Young, education analyst in the Georgia Budget Policy Institute; Kelly Rosinger, associate professor of education at Pennsylvania State University; and Anthony Jones, executive director of financial aid and scholarships at the University of Utah presented findings on funding trends in higher education. Young shared an excerpt from an interview with a Georgia student working several jobs to afford college expenses. She noted that Georgia students graduate carrying the third highest debt loads in the nation, despite the decades-old Hope Scholarship. Given the debate about student loans in the federal government, she noted that more policy makers need to hear these messages about hard-working Georgians. Rosinger also dove into the higher education funding numbers and noted that while spending per student appears to be growing in recent years, that figure is driven by lower enrollments rather than greater investments. Both Rosinger and Jones talked about the importance of simplifying financial aid application processes. Jones added the caution to avoid oversimplification that could result in lost precision and exposure to fraud. Although the roll out of the FAFSA update was marred by delays and confusion, Jones pointed out the importance of the changes and was optimistic that the streamlined process and updated discretionary formula would benefit students moving forward. The final wrap-up and brainstorming session was led by Charles Sanchez, researcher at the Institute for Higher Education Policy, and Daniel Thompson, senior education research analyst at the U.S. Department of Education, Federal Student Aid. Sanchez picked up the theme of improvements to the FAFSA, sharing that the form has been reduced from nearly 200 questions to 37. He also noted the hardship placed on students without relationships with their parents. He charged the participants to find ways to be "an advocate by sharing [their] experiences ‘on the ground." Thompson discussed data being collected and analyzed to find gaps in student support through the pipeline and efforts between the federal government and major professional organizations, like NASPA and ASPA. The symposium was supported by a 2023 State of the Art Grant from the UGA Office of the Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost and the Louise McBee Institute of Higher Education. Type of News/Audience: General News
