Reducing barriers for Indiana University Bloomington students starts before they come to campus. Through a $500,000 grant from the American Talent Initiative, more high school 21st Century Scholars and Pell Grant recipients across the state will receive college prep and enrollment support as well as dedicated support once on campus.
As one of 16 universities to receive the grant nationwide, IU will use the funding to create a new enrollment program, IUBound, that will strategically align the existing student recruitment and student success efforts to support low-income Indiana students in a cohort model from eighth grade through their senior year of college with partner Indiana high schools.
“This initiative is vital for increasing access and opportunity for low-income students, particularly Pell Grant recipients,” IU President Pamela Whitten said. “By supporting students from eighth grade through graduation, we aim to foster success and equity in higher education. Together with our partners, we are committed to ensuring that all students, regardless of financial background, can achieve their college dreams.”
“The IUBound program couples the state of Indiana’s 21st Century Scholarship, along with IU Bloomington’s 21st Century Scholars Covenant, to provide the financial means for low-income students to attend college, while also providing the college planning through College Advising Corps and college readiness work through dual enrollment,” said David B. Johnson, IU Bloomington vice provost for enrollment management.
“IUBound continues to support students once they are enrolled at IU Bloomington with guidance through the 21st Century Scholars Office, career coaching and internship support. This collaborative model of financial support, college planning and academic readiness guides students through the new IUBound pathway to IU and through IU toward student success.”
“We also want to be able to connect this IUBound group with programming and internship opportunities to get them plugged in to the right spaces where they can become successful and graduate,” said Janai Weeks, associate director of precollege initiatives and director of the Precollege Academy.
The grant will also help the university increase program capacity and hire more staff members dedicated to these programs’ success. Weeks relies on co-workers running various aspects of the programming and student workers to help implement the precollege programs.
Luis Abrego is one of those student employees. As a senior majoring in informatics with the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering and minoring in financial literacy with the Kelley School of Business, he supports the program’s data and logistical management and mentored students as an Precollege Academy camp counselor. He has also experienced first-hand the impact that precollege programs have.
“It means a lot to see students that are underrepresented and 21st Century Scholars like me succeed in higher education,” Abrego said. “I had a College Advising Corps adviser from the Bloomington campus as one of my counselors in high school. He helped me find direction my senior year and was the one that convinced me to come to IU Bloomington through a program called Groups. The work of CAC advisers is life changing, because without the support and advice from my CAC adviser, I would not have come to college.”
For Weeks, pre-college programs have become a passion project. When she was in high school, she took advantage of Advanced College Project dual-credit opportunities and completed the IU Precollege Academy program she now leads.
“I went through the Precollege Academy in the summer of 2015, and it changed my entire life,” Weeks said.” I almost lost my life in a car accident a month before the Precollege Academy, so any ambitions or dreams that I had about college went out the window.
“The Precollege Academy was the only thing my mom made me go to, and I needed that experience to know I could still do this. It really helped open my eyes. I got to see Bloomington’s campus and connect with other people my age from across the state.”
From the establishment of IUBound to additional staff support, improved precollege, dual-credit advising, college enrollment support and transportation aid for students, the American Talent Initiative grant will help IU Bloomington continue making a difference by removing barriers for students as they pursue a college degree.
“I have seen first-hand how the program was able to help students find direction and relieve stress when it comes to finding the right college for them,” Abrego said. “I hope for the future the program continues to grow and provide opportunities to more students.”
The American Talent Initiative is a Bloomberg Philanthropies-supported collaboration between the Aspen Institute College Excellence Program, Ithaka S+R, and more than 135 top colleges and universities nationwide committed to enrolling, supporting and graduating more talented students from lower-income backgrounds. The American Talent Initiative seeks to substantially expand access and opportunity for talented, low- and moderate-income students at the nation’s colleges and universities with the highest graduation rates. Member institutions are enhancing their own efforts to recruit and support lower-income students, learn from each other, and contribute to research that will help colleges and universities expand opportunities.
