2010 higher education alliance annual report

8/8/2019 2010 Higher Education Alliance Annual Report

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Alabama Poverty Project

Higher EducationAlliance2010 Annual report on college access,student retention & service-learning

Our Blueprints College Access Initiative combines service-learning, community-university

partnerships and mentoring to create a college-positive culture in low-wealth communities.Page 12

Above: University of Montevallo mentors lead Montevallo High School students on a campus tour, Spring 2010.


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A MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Dear Friends:

Thank you for your continuing support of the Alabama Poverty Project and our work to educate and

equip Alabamians to eliminate poverty.

Our college and university partners are an absolutely critical part of that mission. College graduates

earn twice as much as high school graduates, and they bring back $1 million in spending to thei

local communities.

You are working hard to ensure that more students have the opportunity to go to college through

outreach initiatives, nancial aid incentives and academic support.

You are also deepening your commitment to service-learning and reciprocal community-university

partnerships, which gives students a chance to more deeply engage in their coursework and

increases their educational outcomes.

This second Higher Education Alliance annual report captures the great work our 24 members are

doing in the areas of college access, student retention and service-learning.

Thank you again for partnering with APP. Together, we are making great strides towards ensuring

that every Alabamian has economic opportunity and security.

Best,

Kristina Scott

Executive Director, Alabama Poverty Project

Dr. David PottsChair, APP Board of DirectorsPresident, Judson College

Mark BerteDirector of Community Engagement,Mobile Area Education FoundationDr. Royrickers CookAssistant Vice President for UniversityOutreach, Auburn UniversityElizabeth Dotts FlemingAssociate, Public FA., Inc.Rev. Dr. James Evans

Pastor, First Baptist Church AuburnSean Flynt

Electronic News Editor, Samford UniversityDr. Wayne Flynt

Professor Emeritus of History,Auburn University

Kimble Forrister

State Coordinator, Alabama Arise

Dr. Leon FrazierProprietor,Professional Support Systems

Susan Pace HamillProfessor,University of Alabama School of Law

Dr. Humphrey LeePresident,Northwest-Shoals Community College

Sue McInnishExecutive Director,Alabama Civil Justice Foundation

Carolyn McKinstryPresident,Sixteenth Street Foundation, Inc.

Lukata MjumbeExecutive Director,Community Action Association of Alabama

Susan Yvette PriceVice Chancellor, Alabama Department of Post-Secondary Education

Isabel RubioExecutive Director,Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama

Joyce SpielbergerAssistant Executive Director,Birmingham Jewish Federation

Fightress AaronHelp Desk Agent,Focus Technology Consulting

Dr. Nancy Francisco StewartAssociate Professor of Social Work,Jacksonville State University

Carlissa Strong CunninghamSenior Financial Sales Consultant,BBVA Compass Bank

Linda TillyExecutive Director,VOICES for Alabamas Children

Dr. Cameron VowellCommunity Leader, Birmingham

Dr. Carol Prejean ZippertCo-Publisher, Greene County Democrat

Dr. Carole Zugazaga

Assistant Professor of Social Work,Auburn University

Ex ocio member

Ralph FosterDirector of the Oce of Public Service,Auburn University

Alabama Poverty Project 2010 Board of Directors

Photo courtesy David Smith

dsmithimages.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

College access

A model community-university partnershipAuburn University

Partner spotlight: PTKNorthwest-Shoals Community College

Student retention

Service-learning

Student support servicesUniversity of West Alabama

Partner spotlight: Nora LeeAthens State University

Adult educationJ.F. Drake State Technical College and the

Alabama Department of Post-secondary Education

Sustaining serv ice-learningHigher Education Alliance Annual Meeting

Lifetime of Learning2009 Conference of the Higher Education Alliance

PE students learn life lessonsUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham

6.

4.

8.

18.

10.

12.

14.

16.

Community college is just the beginningfrom DIVERSE: Issues in Higher Education

STEM SpotlightsAuburn University Montgomery

Athens State UniversityAlabama State University

Alabama Science in Motion

STEM initiatives

Mentoring

Recruiting the bestSamford University

Annual report layout and Blueprints logo by Christopher Murphy. Articles produced and compiled by Robyn Hyden.

Learning communities

Alabama Poverty Project Higher Education AllianceAnnual Report 2010

Community engagement

Poverty and Education Data

About the Alabama Poverty Project

Learning community bootcampAlabama Poverty Project

Partner spotlight: living-learning communitiesAuburn University

Assessing service-learning outcomesCalhoun Community College

e Woodrow Wilson partnershipBirmingham-Southern College

Partner spotlight: service scholarshipsWallace State Community College-Hanceville

Touching 10,000 livesFaulkner University

American HumanicsAuburn University Montgomery

Black Belt 100 Lensese University of Alabama

Creating a college-positive culture

Blueprints college access initiativeBirmingham-Southern College

Judson Collegee University of AlabamaUniversity of Montevallo


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Loachapoka High School is only six miles from

Auburn Universitys campus, but in recent years,

only three to ve percent of Loachapoka students

were accepted to Auburn.

ey werent accessing the opportunities they

could have to help them go to college, and we werent

reaching out to them eectively, explained Dr.

Christianna Russell (right), the new coordinator of

Auburns Loachapoka Partnership.

is year, the Loachapoka Partnership will

engage members from across the Auburn campus

in an ambitious community partnership with Lee

County schools. Russells goal is to get 25 percent

of Loachapoka High School graduates accepted to

college.

Many dierent groups across campus have

completed service projects in the Lee County

system, explained Russell, but there has never been

a unied eort. While Auburn students were doing

a lot of good work, they werent working together or

tracking their progress, said Ralph Foster, director of

Auburns Oce of Public Service.

When they reviewed their strategic plan in

2008, the Auburn community decided to be more

intentional about designing outreach programs

to make a greater impact through two-way

community-university partnerships. And in their

most recent strategic review, they set the ambitious

goal of creating two substantive partnerships with

local schools. Loachapoka will be their rst model

partnership.

We want to look at the school system intentionally,

holistically, evaluating its overall needs. is eort

is centered in our oce to be more collaborative

across departments, but also more accountable for

producing outcomes, said Foster.

Auburn is testing several Loachapoka initiatives

this fall, and Russell is intentionally soliciting

community feedback and pa rticipation.

Were meeting with the parents, and theyre so

grateful that someone cares what they have to say.

We dont look like the big university coming in and

telling them what to do, how they should do better,

or that theyre not doing a good job. Instead we want

to hear from them, because they have much to oer.

ey want to be our partners.

e partnership includes the Advanced University

Experience, in which Auburn students and facult

will help high school seniors prepare for college

a parenting class called Family University, givin

families tools and t raining to support students; an

K-12 outreach programs, from math, science an

technology training to ACT prep.

Dr. Russell attended APPs annual Higher Education

Alliance meeting, Sustaining Service-Learning.

e Loachapoka partnership: a model community-university initiativeAuburn University

4

College accessOur partners help increase college access for low-income and rst generation students

Black Belt 100 Lenses Summer Campe University of Alabama

In June 2010, 29 high school students from five Black Belt counties - Choctaw, Dallas, Lowndes, Marengo, and Pickens - participated in the firs

annual Black Belt 100 Lenses Summer Camp hosted at The University of Alabama. Students spent five days on the Alabama campus after having taken

nearly 50 photographs to represent Black Belt culture. At the end of the week, students displayed their work in a photography exhibit for friends andfamily.

At the beginni ng of summer, students were given 35mm cameras and challenged

to take photographs representing both the positive and negative aspects of their

communities. Throughout their week at camp, students shared their photographs

wrote about their significa nce, and discussed some common themes. Participa nt

heard presentations on the history of the Black Belt, talked with representative

from community development and enrichment initiatives, and interacted with

local artists and elected officials during a field trip to Pickens County.

The 100 Lenses program began as a county-based arts initiative. Its evolution

to a summer camp enables students to be exposed to the UA campus, building

long-term relationships and partnerships while learning and teaching one another

about art, history and community engagement.

Were meeting with the parents and

theyre so grateful that someone

cares what they have to say. We dont

look like the big university coming

in and telling them that theyre not

doing a good job...They want to be

our partners!

-Christianna Russell


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Phi eta Kappa (PTK) ocers in the AlphaZeta Iota (AZI) Chapter at Northwest-Shoals

Community College had ambitious service-

learning projects for the 2009-2010 school

year. According to President Becky Jones, their

goal was to help break the poverty cycle by

increasing college access in their community

through outreach events, tutoring and service.

is project grew out of their PTK honors

symposium topic e Paradox of Auence:

Choices, Challenges and Consequences. ey

utilized APP web resources and participated in

APPs Lifetime of Learning Conference (see page

8 for details) to enrich and guide their reections

on poverty, service and civic engagement.

For their annual Honors in Action Leadership

Symposium, AZI members invited students

from thirteen area high schools to discuss their

symposium topic. Around 400 high school honor

students were guided in reection by professors

from NWSCC and nearby four-year universities.

Visiting students received a campus tour and

admissions information.Its one of the best recruitment events we

have all year, explained Nora Lee, AZI chapter

advisor. Its important to reach out to these kids

in the communit y.

In conjunction with this outreach event, PTK

designed an honors in action project, building

service-learning partnerships with local K-12 and

GED students. eir work focused on increasing

educational access by raising scholarship

funds, supporting literacy programs,

mentoring and tutoring in the Adult Basic

Education Program.

AZI ocers tutored GED program participants

in math, science, reading and writing.

eir chapter also helped organize a Girls

Can! Conference, a Chamber of Commerce

college access and career day event funded by

a Department of Labor grant. Nearly 350 high

school girls met and talked with professional

women, including elected ocials, small business

owners, physicians, engineers and college

administrators. Participants learned about career

options from keynote speeches, roundtable

discussions and panel conversations.

AZI members have grown in our leadership

abilities through our service eorts, said Jones of

her year of service. And they managed to complete

some impressive projects along the way. In total,

their chapter reached over 1,200 K-12 and GED

students and raised $6,000 to fund scholarships

and community outreach.

Recruiting the bestCumberland Law School, Samford University

AZI PTK Advisor Rachel Trapp and President

Becky Jones collected books for one service project.

Partner spotlight: Phi eta Kappa honor societyNorthwest-Shoals Community College

Donna Adams joined APP as an intern this summer through the Samford

University Cumberland School of Laws Summer Public Interest Stipend

Program, which oers a limited number of summer stipends for students who

volunteer with public interest legal organizations. In recent years Samfords law

school has made an eort to increase economic diversity by giving signicant

nancial aid to accepted students, like Adams. is scholarship allowed her to

consider pursuing a career in public interest law.

Ive always really been interested in working in indigent law. e public

interest department was instrumental in helping me plug into internship

opportunities at APP and Legal Aid, said Adams.Where did Adams get her interest in public interest in advocacy? Coming

from a lower socioeconomic background I know how tough it is, especially when

you need legal help and cant aord it. When you dont have access to the funds,

what do you do? ree years ago, my mom got really sick, but she had a hard time

claiming disability benets. She couldnt nd a reliable, smart attorney she could

aord. Witnessing that opened my eyes to see that people really need help. Who

is going to help them?

Adams notes that many young lawyers decide to go to work in large law rms

in order to pay o student loans. With her scholarship and a paid internship

through Cumberlands Public Interest Stipend program, however, she is freer to

pursue a career in the public interest. She said her experience at APP has only

strengthened her resolve to continue public interest work.

is summer I learned so much about food security and poverty, she said

Adams spent much of her time completing research for the Alabama Commission

to Reduce Poverty. I already knew that Birmingham had a problem with so many

people living in poverty, but I didnt know how pressing the issue was across the

state until I was able to research and dig into the numbers. It was shocking.

A direct service-learning experience helped Donna connect to some o

the real people living in poverty in

Birminghams Five Points South

neighborhood. Aer APP sta

completed service at a local homelessministry, the oce talked about the

people they had met.

Going to serve at the homeless

ministry was really eye opening. 90

percent of the people we met there had

a job and were working, and they still

couldnt aord a roof over their head.

is really drove home my research.

Adams plans to intern at Legal Aid

this fall, where she hopes to learn more

about her main area of interest, family

law.



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Partner spotlight: Nora LeeTwo-year college transfer coordinator

Athens State University,

Northwest-Shoals

Community College

Preparing students for college successBrief from the Southern Regional Education Board

Student retentionOur members support developmental students

Le: UWA SSS students celebrate at their annual banquet (see facing page)

6

Alabama is fortunate to have one of the strongest two-

year college systems in the country. Two-year colleges

give low-income and non-traditional college students

an affordable entre into higher education.

Transfer coordinators like our partner Nora Lee

work daily to support student success and retention

during the sometimes confusing and difcult process

of transferring their credits from Northwest-Shoals, a

two-year college. Her goal is to help students transition

to Athens State and other four-year colleges.

My hope is to make myself well-known enough

among students and instructors so that people

will come see me early on in the transfer process.

Instructors are some of my best allies. I also cultivate

relationships with the faculty and staff at student

support services so they can refer students to me.

(See page 7 for more on Student Support Services.)

Lee said its important to reach students early on in

their college career. Usually they come to me in their

sophomore year when theyve settled into a major and

theyve got questions about costs, general educationrequirements and so on. Its better if they can plan

ahead. I want to get them to think about these things

early on before it becomes an issue.

At her ofce in the University Center, she performs

transcript reviews and provides nancial aid counseling.

We have a unique program where students can dual-

enroll with NWSCC and Athens State at the same time.

That way if they have nancial aid or a Pell grant, we

can arrange it so that their grant is all rolled together

and they can pay for both sets of classes at once.

Instructors are

some of my best

allies!

Every year in the United States, nearly 60 percent of first-year college

students discover that, despite being fully eligible to attend college, they are

not academically ready for post-secondary studies.

After enrolling, these students learn that they must take remedial courses in

English or mathematics, which do not earn college credits. This gap between

college eligibility and college readiness has attracted much attention in the

last decade, yet it persists unabated.

Even those students who have done everything they were told to do to

prepare for college find, often after t hey arrive, that their new institut ion has

deemed them unprepared. Their high school diploma, college-preparatory

curriculum and high school exit examination scores did not ensure college

readiness.

Lack of readiness for college is a major culprit in low graduation rates, as

the majority of students who begin in remedial courses never complete their

college degrees. As a result, improving college readiness must be an essential

part of national and state efforts to increase college degree attainment.

An overlooked but critical element of systemic college readiness reform is

the process by which colleges and universities determine whether students

need remediation or can be placed immediately into college-level introductory

classes.

Since most states allow post-secondary institutions to conduct placement

on their own terms, the colleges and universities, in effect, set their own

readiness standards through their decentralized decisions about placementassessments and cut-off scores. It is not uncommon for different placement

tests to be used, even wit hin a single college system.

This hodgepodge of assessment practices sends confusing messages to high

schools and their students about the skill sets needed for college success and

can thwart otherw ise strong state efforts to establish readiness standards.

The statewide adoption of common assessment practices across broad-

access colleges and u niversities represents a step forward, but systemic reform

will be accomplished only if public schools use the very sa me standards. Only

this will ensure that students who meet their high schools college readiness

requirements are indeed col lege ready.

Excerpted from Beyond the Rhetoric: Improving College Readiness Through

Coherent State Policy, Southern Regional Education Board


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e University of WestAlabama faces some signicant

challenges in helping their

students graduate. We have a

lot of rst generation and low-

income college students here,

said Andrea Farquhar, counselor

for Student Support Services

(SSS). UWAs student graduation

rate hovers around 35 percent,

she said - but theyre working to

change that.

SSS is one of many federally-

funded TRIO programs, a set of

educational outreach programs

designed to identify and serve

individuals from disadvantaged

backgrounds. TRIO includes

eight programs targeted at low-

income, rst generation and

disabled students to progress

from middle school onwards. UWAs SSS oce works closely with another TRIO

program, Upward Bound, to identify high-achieving students in local high

schools and help get them to college. Once those students get to campus, SSS

provides support to help them graduate.

We only select highly-motivated students - those who maybe just need

a little help to succeed, Farquhar explained. ey receive funding to support

160 students each year. ose they select sometimes face signicant challenges

in getting through college, but SSS oers t hem resources and advice to increase

their chances.Many students in SSS commute

from the ve counties surrounding

UWAs Livingston campus and face

barriers just getting to class every

day. SSS oen helps students address

these day-to-day challenges. For

example, Farquhar recently helped

one student with transportation

barriers structure a course schedule that would require less commuting.

But transportation is not the only barrier her students face. A lot of my work

is about managing conicts between everyday life and college responsibilities

My students have more of those conicts than the general student body; many

are commuting from home, where they may have responsibilities for siblings or

parents. Farquhars oce provides counseling and recognition of those specia

challenges, in addition to academic support.

eir tutoring program oers help with core math, English and science courses

ey also provide career counseling and ex tensive nancial aid advising, making

sure that students know how to complete paperwork and have the knowledge to

utilize their nancial a id awards wisely.

Many of Farquhars students would like to make a dierence in their home

communities, and come to Farquhar looking for outlets to make an impact while

they complete required service hours for their freshman seminar.

ese students are really focused on their communities, how little there is

there and how they can go back and give something. I hear this feedback all the

time. Students want to nd a way to make their service more relevant, not just a

hoop they have to jump through.

To address this need, Farquhar has consulted with APP on ways to integrate

service-learning opportunities into SSS oerings.

SSS students visited Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s

childhood home in Atlanta.

Student Support Services: federal TRIO program helps rst generation students succeedUniversity of West Alabama

Last year, J.F Drake State Technical Colleges adult education program increased overal

enrollment by 62 percent, while the number o GED graduates increased by 135 percent.e Drake State Adult Education Program was established in January o 2008 through

grant rom the Alabama Department o Post-secondary Education. e program provide

residents in the Huntsville-Madison County area with basic adult education courses and

ree preparatory courses to successully complete their GED. During its second ull yea

o existence, the program has grown rom one to fve sites throughout the Huntsville and

Madison County area.

Each year in the spring, students who have graduated rom the program are honored

with a ormal diploma presentation complete with cap and gown. Additionally, eac

student who successully attains his GED through this program is entitled to one three

hour college credit course, ree o charge, at any o the states two-year institutions.

e programs goal is to immediately transition graduates into post-secondary education

programs, increasing their employability and job skills.

Adult education programsJ.F. Drake State Technical College and the

Alabama Department of Post-secondary Education


Several of Drake States Adult Education Spring 2010 Graduates

robed in cap and gown to participate in commencement.

A lot o my work isabout managing conictsbetween everyday lie andcollege responsibilities. Mystudents have more o thoseconicts than the generalstudent body.

-Andrea Farquhar


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In September 2009, more than 120 faculty, administrators

and students gathered at APP member Birmingham-Southern

College for the Lifetime of Learning: Service-Learning, Civic

Engagement and Higher Education conference.

Keynote speakers included Dr. Patti Clayton from the

Center for Service and Learning at Indiana University-PurdueUniversity Indianapolis, Vincent Illustre, the director of the

Center for Public Service at Tulane University, and Dr. Peter

Levine from the Center for Information and Research on Civic

Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tus University.

Breakout sessions highlighted best practices in service-

learning and community outreach on APP member campuses.

Many thanks to our sponsors BSC and Auburn University for making this inaugural conference a huge success.

Le: Vincent Illustre, Director of Public Service, Tulane University. Top right: Kristin Harper, Director of the Bunting Center,

Birmingham-Southern College; Vincent Illustre, Tulane; Kristina Scott, APP; Patti Clayton, Senior Scholar, IUPUI Center for

Service and Learning; Ralph Foster, Director of Public Service, Auburn University; Peter Levine, Director of CIRCLE, Tus

University

Service-learningMeaningful service experiences engage students in low-wealth communities

Sustaining service-learningAPPs Higher Education Alliance annual meeting

In July, APP hosted our annual Higher Education

Alliance meeting at our oces in Birmingham.

Faculty and sta from partner schools across the

state met to discuss faculty incentives for service-

learning.

Our panelists Dr. Cindy Walker from Faulkner

University, Dr. Nancy Francisco Stewart from

Jacksonville State University and Norma-May

Isakow from UAB shared strategies for getting

professors and administrators

in Alabamas two- and four-year

colleges and universities engaged

in sustaining service-learning.

Dr. Stewart, an assistant

professor of social work, shared

how her career at JSU has been

positively impacted by paving

the way for service-learning at

JSU while creating a productive

partnership with the American

Cancer Society. She also

described how campuses could

miss signicant opportunities to

respond to real-world events by

not taking the time to engage in

the crises that aect their local

communities.

Dr. Walker, a professor of English and director of

Quality Improvement at Faulkner, said that working

with professors and understanding their already

demanding schedules is key to getting dierent

departments i nvolved.

Its important that faculty dont feel like theyre

forced to do things or le out there on their own to

gure it out were actually providing resources for

them, she noted.

Norma-May Isakow, director of UABs Oce

of Service-Learning, described their rubric fo

evaluating service-learning courses and explained

their nancial incentives for professors and

departments to get involved.

My goal is to raise service-learning as a pedagogy

as a way of teaching and serving, across the

university, she said. is is a recognized way o

improving student performance, getting them to sta

and getting them to have a meaningful experience.

Service-learning is one of the primary ways APP

supports our Higher Education Alliance in getting

students engaged in ghting Alabamas systemi

poverty. Meaningful service experiences help

students connect in-class learning with real world

situations, forming reciprocal relationships and

learning how poverty impacts us all.

8

Its important that aculty donteel like theyre orced to do thingsor theyre le out there on theirown to fgure it out. Were actuallyproviding resources or them.

Cindy Walker

Kristina Scott, Nancy Francisco Stewart, Cindy Walker and Norma-May

Isakow discussed strategies for getting faculty to buy into service-learning.

Lifetime of Learning 2009 APPs Higher Education Alliance Annual Conference


9/20

Jessica DellItalia said she didnt expect to

learn very much when she enrolled in her PE 450

Physical Activity Programming for Individuals with

Disabilities course this past spring.

DellItalia, now 24, had worked with individuals

with disabilities at e Lakeshore Foundation since

she was 15 years old.

I really didnt know what I was going to learn that

I didnt already know, DellItalia said. But I learned

so much. I learned about people with cerebral palsy

and hearing impairment, and I didnt know a lot

about those things. I also learned that I knew people

with disabilities, but I didnt know much about their

diagnosis and what physically comes with that.

DellItalia and ve classmates learned these

things by working one-on-one with developmentally

challenged young adults through a serv ice-learning

partnership course between the UAB School of

Education and Triumph Services, Inc., a nonprot

organization which provides community-based

support to individuals with developmental

disabilities who are tr ying to live i ndependently.

Associate Professor of Education Dr. Kristi

Menear developed the elective course a few

years ago because she believed tness leadership

and exercise science majors needed exposure to

individuals with disabilities. She restructured the

course along with Triumph Executive Director

Brooke Stephens this past summer aer they met

at an open house event that Triumph hosted.

In the previous course version, Menear

placed students in volunteer positions at Special

Olympics, the Lakeshore Foundation and Hoover

Parks & Recreation, but she was concerned that

the students were observing more than interacting

in those situations. When Stephens told her how

hard it was for Triumph to nd physical activitiesto engage participants, Menear knew she had

found the local partner she needed to provide

students with hands-on learning and instruction.

It was music to my ears when Brooke said

she needed to nd trainers who are comfortable

working with individuals with disabilities,

Menear said. at was exactly the partnership I

needed, and it was exactly the t ype of environment

our students needed. It let me supervise our tness

leadership and exercise science students as they

learned on the job.

e PE 450 course provides students with

knowledge and skills needed to meet the unique

tness and physical activity needs of individuals

with various disabilities. rough class discussions,

course assignments, observation and service-

learning, students learned to design and implement

personal training, tness and sports recreation

programs for individuals with disabilities based on

assessments of health-related strengths and needs.

Menear said a big part of the idea behind the

course was to help students develop an enhanced

appreciation of the community issues and needs

when it comes to serving those with disabilities.

She also wanted to increase their involvement in

community aairs and their understanding of how

the knowledge, skills and abilities learned in the

course apply to everyday life.

Stephens believes the course did all of t hose things

and more. DellItalia was the only student of the six

in the class who had any experience interacting with

persons who have developmental disabilities, so the

course challenged students to step outside of thei

comfort zone and learn the gis a nd strengths thei

partners possessed.

e idea of a disability can make many people

nervous, and many of Kristis students were nervou

in the beginning, Stephens said. At the end of the

course one student aer another said, I did no

even see the disability. I found a friend. To me tha

is the biggest deal. Were giving our participants

healthier lifestyles because of t his collaboration, bu

we also have six students who are going to take this

experience wherever they go and know that its no

scary and that these individuals are remarkable.

is course can prepare students in a number

of ways, including positive advocacy, Menear

said. e students saw the abilities of their

partners rather than the disabilities as they wen

through the six-week program. It also provided

them the opportunity to apply what they learned

in several courses, and then write thoughtfu

weekly reections of their experiences. e

combination of application and subsequen

reection moved their learning into meta

cognition. Now, they have experience to fall back

on versus information that they memorized in the

short term for a test they had to take.

e course now will be required for all tnesleadership majors and an approved elective

for exercise-science majors. Fitness-leadership

majors generally become personal trainers and

exercise- science majors pursue physical and

occupational therapist positions or continue

training in graduate and medical school.

Reprinted with permission from the May 30, 2010

edition of the UAB Reporter.

UAB student Danya Barsalona (right) helps LucyBass work out on a Nautilus machine as part of a PEservice-learning course.

At the end o the course onestudent aer another said, I didnot even see the disability. I ounda riend. o me that is the biggestdeal. We have six students whoare going to take this experiencewherever they go.

Dr. Kristi Menear, Instructor

PE students learn life lessons from service-learningUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham



10/20

As an active participant in the national dialogue on science, technology, engineering and mathematics

(STEM) higher education, I oen attend meetings alongside college and university STEM faculty, all of

whom have a vested interest in diversifying the STEM pipeline.

But when faculty think about what it will take to widen the STEM pipeline, many leave community

college students out of the equation.

ere exists a false belief that future research scientists are trained solely within the walls of the nations

four-year research institutions; yet this is not necessarily the path most traveled, particularly when

considering underrepresented students seeking STEM degrees.

e population of underrepresented minority, rst generation, and low-income students entering

higher education at the two-year college level is substantial.

It is widely held that national post-secondary completion goals will not be met without the success

of community colleges and the entrance of underrepresented populations. e fact that so many

underrepresented students enter higher education at the two-year level is a fortunate concurrence.

By strengthening community college education, we can also strengthen the educational success of

underrepresented groups.

Taken one step further, strengthening two-year STEM education will further contribute to minority

student success in these elds and the subsequent widening of the STEM pipeline. If higher education can

successfully transfer more underrepresented students in STEM elds, we will no doubt see the number of

STEM bachelors degrees increase.

With this reality in mind, Americas four-year institutions must not only be prepared to receive

greater numbers of transfer students, their STEM faculty must recognize the viability of these students to

contribute to STEM disciplines with the expectation that many will also continue past the baccalaureate.

Public four-year institutions must work with their two-year counterparts on the issue of articulation

for STEM coursework. Having an articulation policy is not nearly acceptable. Both parties need to be inagreement on the nature of rst-year STEM coursework so that students who start at community college

are assured they will receive proper course credit once accepted to a four-year school. University faculty

concerned about the quality of two-year freshman STEM coursework could benet the eld by helping to

supply the nations community college professoriate and oering professional development support.

University faculty should further reach out to promising community college students in the same way

they reach out to high school juniors and seniors. A students choice to start their education at a community

college should not mean exclusion from entering and succeeding in STEM elds.

Our expectations of aspiring transfers should be the same as those who start at four-year schools:

Baccalaureate completion with the option of continuing their studies if they so choose.

Dr. Lorelle L. Espinosa is director of policy and strategic initiatives at the Institute for Higher Education

Policy. Commentary originally appeared in the August 5, 2010 issue of DIVERSE: Issues in Higher Education.

Reprinted with permission.

STEM initiativesScience, technology, engineering and math programs

Community college is just the beginningby Lorelle L. Espinosa, Institute for Higher Education Policy

AUM grant funds STEM mentorships

Auburn University at Montgomery recently received

a grant for $279,930 over ve years from the Nationa

Science Foundation to help AUM students with

disabilities earn college degrees in science, technology

engineering and mathematics.

We plan to identify all students with disabilities a

AUM in the STEM curriculum and then train the senior

and juniors to mentor sophomores and freshman, said

Glen Ray, co-principal investigator for the grant and

professor in AUMs School of Sciences.

Eventually, he plans to train AUM sophomores and

freshmen to mentor and recruit high school student

with disabilities.

I think a lot of kids dont go into the sciences because

its pretty rigorous, and its even harder for kids with

disabilities because of the special equipment that i

necessary to help them.

e grant will fund peer-mentoring endeavors such as

Bridge to Baccalaureate and Bridge to Post-Baccalaureate

programs, as well as a Graduate Bridge program and

summer research internships.

It will also provide mini-grants for research-based

interventions at colleges a nd universities and will fund

technology enhancements for Alabama Science in

Motion, a program that provides high-tech laboratoryexperiences for high school students and professiona

development for teachers throughout the state.

Each summer we can provide two students with a

summer research internship program where we send

them to be a part of a summer research program at AU

ASU and Tuskegee, said Ray. Well pay students for

mentoring and for internships.

e Alabama Alliance, one of nine such Nationa

Science Foundation-sponsored alliances in the country

will support 106 students with disabilities majoring

in science, technology, engineering and mathematic

disciplines each year.

10


11/20

Athens State: Science Among the ColumnsAthens State Universitys Summer Enrichment program, Science Among the

Columns, brought 80 Limestone County children onto the Athens State campus

for two weeks in June. is program aimed to help third through sixth graders

view science as a fun and promising future career.

Dr. Mary Harris, camp director, designed the curriculum and supervised thepre-service teaching students.

Athens State pre-service education majors taught lessons as part of their eld

experience assignment. ey used an inquiry-based approach to explore dierent

disciplines of science, including astronomy, biology, chemistry and physics.

eir lesson plan included experiments titled Down with Gravity, Leafy

Explorations, Physically Fit and Bubbly Crews.

Student teachers had the children approach the experiments as if they were

scientists and reect on their ndings by keeping observational journals. In

addition, the campers wrote their own science camp songs and competed in

science challenges. At least one camper developed a love of science, saying I want

to come to this school when I grow up because they do stu with science!

Pre-service education majors used their experience to apply what they learned

in class, gain experience running a classroom and collaborate with their fellow

teachers to develop inquiry-based science lessons.

According to Athens State, Few elementary teachers and students have the

opportunity to study science through an inquiry-based approach because

of the increased emphasis placed on reading and math. is camp experience

provided the children and pre-service teachers with opportunities to develop an

appreciation for science so that they will become even more interested in science

and consider a career in a science-related eld.

Alabama State University: IMSET & LAMPAlabama State Universitys Department of Mathematics and Computer Science

and Division of Continuing Education held their rst annual Institute for

Mathematics, Science, Engineering and Technology (IMSET) this summer.

ere are promising careers in math, science, engineering and technology and

through this institute, we endeavor to encourage high school students to begin

charting a course t hat will help them prepare for these careers, said Dr. Cajetan

M. Akujuobi, dean of the ASU College of Science, Mathematics, Technology &

Engineering.

e program was oered to 15 students in the Montgomery tri-county area

to enhance employment opportunities in math, science, engineering and

technology for young people and to motivate and prepare them for a future in

one of these industries. Several of these students participated in the Nationa

Summer Transportation Institute hosted by the Department of Mathematics and

Computer Science and the ASU Division of Continuing Education.

In another local K-12 STEM partnership, Dr. Douglas Strout, professor o

Chemistry at ASU, and his physical chemistry students have partnered with the

Loveless Academic Magnet Program (LAMP) to enhance the learning experience

for LAMP students in chemistr y. ASU students lead LAMP students in laboratory

experiments and Advanced Placement test preparatory tutoring.

Science in MotionScience in Motion brings high-end science equipment to Alabama students

across the state. APP part ners Alabama State, Athens State, Auburn, Jacksonvill

State, UAB, UA, UWA and Montevallo are among the campuses who sponsor

Alabama Science in Motion (ASIM) mobile learning vans.

According to ASIM, Many Alabama schools dont have the funding or the

technology needed to educate their students and prepare them for a future in

science and research. anks to Science in Motion, students studying biology

chemistry and physics receive hands-on experience with t housands of dollars o

high-tech equipment that arrives at their school in a mobile science van.

Science in Motion provides opportunities for teachers to make their science

curriculum more lab-oriented and interactive. ey receive training through

workshops, seminars and on-site support from other teachers, who show them

how to use the equipment and incorporate experiments into lesson plans.

Below: ASIM teachers Chris and Tony pose with their mobile learning vans.


Athens State pre-service student Jessica Fabery leading a class science experiment

during Science Among the Columns, June 2010.

LAMP chemistry teacher Clarence Hann, Alabama State University chemistry

student Jessica Young (B.S. Chemistry 2010), and Dr. Douglas Strout, ASU.


12/20

2

1.

7.

6.

5.

4.

3.

2.

BY 2018, nearly two-thirds of available jobs will requiresome form of higher education. But Alabama lags behind the

nation in getting our young people to college.

College graduates elevate their personal earning capacity and

bring nearly $1 MILLION in spending power back to theirlocal communities, according to the US Census Bureau.

A college-going culture includes the environment, attitudes

and practices in schools and communities that encourage

students and their families to obtain the information, tools

and perspective to enhance access to and success in post-

secondary education.

HOW CAN YOU CREATE A COLLEGE-GOING

CULTURE IN YOUR COMMUNITY?

Maintain high expectations. Young people will follow

your lead and work to live up to your high opinion of

them.

Share your passion, experience and vocation.

Teens are often conicted about the future they wish

to pursue. Share your story about why you picked your

career, how you have acheived your goals and what

you are working towards in the future.

Invite them to learn more about your business

or occupation. Invite local teens to shadow you or

your colleagues for a day. Give young people the

opportunity to experience a career they may not have

ever considered.

Mentor a young person. Children that come from

homes without a college-educated parent may not

see the value of a college education. By sharing

your experience and encouraging a child to pursue

post-secondary education, you will dramatically

increase his or her chance of being exposed to new

opportunities.

Answer questions. Young people may be timid.

They may not even know what questions to ask.

Answering what seems like an obvious question may

turn into a longer conversation.

Participate in or produce a college or career fair.

Exposing youth to all their options, with information

and advice on how to reach those goals, can be a

strong motivational tool.

Support existing college access initiatives.Thereis no reason to reinvent the wheel. Volunteering with

or nancially supporting an existing initiative will help

to increase its impact. And to get involved with our

Blueprints initiative, read on!


13/20

The Blueprints PartnershipBirmingham-Southern College, Judson College, Te University of Alabama and University of Montevallo

Forming

relationships with the

students is really important. I know their

names, and I can specifcally help them.

-Blueprints Mentor, Montevallo

I learned today that I canafford to go to college when I

thought I couldnt! -Blueprints

participant, Francis-Marion

High School

Alabamas median household income is $9,443 less than the national

average. According to the Southern Education Foundation, 60 percent of

that gap is due to Alabamians low educational attainment. For every dollar

earned by individuals with a bachelors degree, high school dropouts only earn

32 cents and high school graduates only earn 51 cents.

Alabamas high poverty rate also adversely aects t he college-going culture.

According the State of Education report, in 2006 low-income students

immediately enrolled in college at a rate of only 50.9 percent, versus 61.4

percent for middle-income students and 80.7 percent for high-income

students.

e Blueprints College Access Initiative creates a college-positive culture,

inventories existing college access programs, holds college access workshops,

creates opportunities for parents to engage in the college application process,

builds community support and provides multiple opportunities for high

school students to visit college ca mpuses.

Blueprints is a direct service-learning experience for college students to

provide college access counseling and mentoring to low-income and rst

generation college students. Eight in-classroom workshops are combined

with aer-school support, college and career planning and opportunities for

parental involvement.

e Blueprints2009-2010 year was a

partnership between

APP, e University of

Alabama, University

of Montevallo,

Birmingham-Southern

College, Judson

College, Alabama

Consortium for

Educational Renewal,

Hueytown High

School, Francis-Marion

High School and Montevallo High School.

Blueprints Creator Nicole Bohannon, a University Fellow at UA, wrote the

program during an internship with APP. e concept for Blueprints was born

from my own experiences in high school, where my classmates and I were

provided little guidance for plans aer high school. Aer feeling like many of

my classmates were not equipped with a plan past graduation, several friends

and I set up an informal counseling network to assist our classmates with

preparing for college, she said.

If your parents attended college, it seems like a feasible goal, but if they

havent, college doesnt seem tangible or realistic. at myth can be dissolved,

though, if rst generation students are given information that makes college

seem like a possibility. I can truly say that I have learned as much from

Blueprints as our students, said Bohannon.

During our pilot semester of Blueprints, mentors and mentees gave us

positive feedback about the program. We were able to expose students to a

college campus visit and link college and career opportunities. In total, we

reached over 75 high school students, from freshmen to juniors, in discussions

about their options and plans for the future.


Le, above le:

Students atMontevallo HighSchool talk about

career choiceswith mentors from

the University ofMontevallo.

Above, and right:Francis-Marion

students enjoyedtouring the football

stadium at eUniversity of

Alabama


14/20

At the request of three two-year partner institutions, the Alabama

Poverty Project sponsored a Learning Community Boot Camp at

Calhoun Community College in Decatur on March 15. Colleagues

from three of our higher education members, including Wallace State

Community College-Hanceville, Northwest-Shoals Community College,

and Calhoun Community College spent a day strategizing and planning

to develop learning communities based on best practices. e workshop

emphasized service-learning and civic engagement as features of a model

learning community.

Facilitators Dr. Ruthanna Blake Payne, Learning Communities

coordinator at Auburn University, and Dr. Robert Exley, president of

Snead State Community College, led participants through the process of

developing learning communities. Each group brought dierent goals to

the planning process, including rst year student retention and support

for developmental students.

We appreciated the opportunit y to host this workshop, said Dr. Kermit

Carter, dean of Student Aairs at Calhoun. It was a good opportunity to

discuss the possibility of e stablishing learning communities at our two-

year schools, making sure we followed the model presented by Dr. Payne.

Learning communities are really going to have a signicant impact

on students learning processes. More and more students are going to be

engaged, and I think more schools are going to get on board, said Carter.

Above: Dr. Ruthanna Blake Payne. Le: Dr. Robert Exley

Learning communitiesFostering student retention, civic engagement and service-learning

Learning community bootcampCalhoun, Northwest-Shoals and Wallace State-Hanceville Community Colleges

Spotlight: Auburns learning communitiesAuburn currently oers 17 learning communities, ranging from

e Art of Civic Engagement for Liberal Arts students to Conservation

Biology. Learning Communities consist of around 25 students who

share a common interest. Students take several classes together

including an elective course that focuses on transitioning to college and

study skills and one to three core curr iculum courses and participate in

other organized activities.

Many learning communities incorporate service-learning. For

example, freshmen enrolled in the Liberal Arts and the Public Good

Learning Community spent the spring semester discussing and learninghow reading enriches the human experience and impacts society.

In their class, students discussed reading materials designed to

help them reect on the arts and humanities. In the service-learning

component, they read to preschoolers at nearby Head Start centers

and discussed the socio-economic challenges facing many local

communities.

For their nal project, t hey prepared a public presentation and grant

applications outlining the need for young children to have exposure to

books and literature.

Not only were we taught how to work together with those

organizations, but we shared in the rewards of their passion and

generosity, said student Rachel Little. Who would have thought that a

skill we all take for granted could bring smiles to so many young faces?

We hope our eorts will instill a love for learning among these children.

Students secured grants totaling $2,000 to provide books to area

preschoolers from the Community Foundation of the Chattahoochee

Valley and the Central Alabama Community Foundation. e grant

funds will be used to buy books for distribution to preschoolers in

Chambers and Macon counties through their community partner in

Opelika, Reading is Fundamental.

Above: rst-year learning community students at Auburn.

14


15/20

Calhoun Community College, which has campuses in Decatur and

Huntsville, is at the oreront o two-year colleges instituting service-

learning requirements. Dr. Kermit Carter, the dean o Student Aairs,

has established partnerships with approximately 95 community agencies

to place Calhoun students in service-learning

assignments.

Service-learning oers so many positive

outcomes or student success. But beyond the

quantitative measures o success, Ive heard

students personally testiy how important that

experience was to them, he said.

Despite positive eedback rom students and

community members, Calhoun has never had

an empirical method to assess service-learning

outcomes. is all, the Oce o Student Aairs

will pre- and post-test service-learning students to compare their responses

to those o a control group o students who do not complete the reection

component o service-learning.

Service opportunities will be centered in the health sciences department,

and frst-year service-learning students wil l complete their volunteer work

with upper- level clinical students perorming community services at health

clinics. e frst-year students will be part o Calhouns pilot learning

community, which involves over 40 students enrolled in Psychology 101 and

an orientation course.

Our goal is to explore integrating service-learning into classes that

did not traditionally have that requirement, said Terri Bryson, director

o development or the Calhoun Community College Foundation. Were

dovetailing existing serv ice activities into non-traditional classes.

While health sciences students provide ree clinical services as part

o their training, explained Bryson, they oen have a get em and stick

em mentality that doesnt encourage much patient interaction. Service-

learning students will be trained to gather intake

inormation by interviewing clients beore passing

this inormation along to the clinical volunteers

who treat patients. Clinical volunteers will also be

trained with pre-service materials and will complete

a post-service reection exercise.

It will give clinical students rom health sciences

a more valuable service experience, and more

meaningul interactions with their clients, said

Bryson, while frst-year students will get a chance to

orm relationships with community members.

For example, at a ree u-shot clinic, frst-year students wi ll learn about

the clients and then share that inormation with the clinician students,

making their service more reciprocal. Previously, Bryson said, ese

people were kind o aceless. Were ocusing on humanizing them, and

helping personalize them or

the clinical students.

Aer their service is

complete, participating

students will reect on their

experiences and complete

surveys about their work.

ese results will be

compared with a control

group o regular health

sciences volunteers who did

not undergo service-learning

training or reection and did

not do intake with patients.

e results will help

Calhoun implement service-

learning more eectively to

impact student success or

uture program participants.ey will also be able to

track student success and

correlate their fndings to

classroom service-learning

experiences.

Our goal is to explore integratingservice-learning into classes thatdid not traditionally have that

requirement.Were also tracking the outcomes

of service-learning by testingstudents pre- and post-service.

-Terri Bryson

Assessing service-learning outcomesCalhoun Community College

Bobby Fitzgerald, above, is an ADN nursing student at

Calhoun. Clinical students will begin participating in a

control study of service-learning outcomes this fall while

completing clinical service.


Calhoun clinical students run the Lets Pretend hospital day to teach children about going to the doctor.

Above, one child tries out eye exam equipment.


16/20

Community engagement

Partner spotlight: scholarships and service

Our partners introduce students to a lifetime of learning beyond the classroom

Wallace State Community College-Hanceville

A long-term community partnershipBirmingham-Southern College and Woodrow Wilson Elementary School

For over 15 years, Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) students have

partnered with Woodrow Wilson Elementary School for service projects. e

Woodrow Wilson initiative provides opportunities for students to form positive

relationships with elementary school children through tutoring, mentoring, and

Cub Scout leadership. Students enrolled in courses such as Literature and the

Social Experience commit to visiting the school one to two times a week for

an hour at a time, helping kids improve math and reading skills while building

relationships.

Kathleen Smith, BSC alumna and former program director, recounts how she

got involved with the partnership: One day a friend told me about doing mad libs

with a student at Woodrow Wilson Elementar y School. ey were learning about

adjectives and nouns, using their imaginat ions, and having fun. I had never

tutored, and I did not even know what service-learning was, but I had extra time

and thought it would be fun.

I signed up and met LaDeisha, a second grade girl who needed to learn to

add without counting on her ngers. Every week aer that, we would meet to

work math problems and, during our breaks, to talk about nail polish, lip gloss,

and Hannah Montana. At the end of the year, we celebrated the progress she had

made. Now she could add and subtract without using her ngers, and math was

her favorite subject!

While LaDeishas success in class was of primary importance, my

relationship with LaDeisha had an even greater eect on my life during my fou

years at school. Tutoring gave me the opportunity to explore part of a community

I probably would have driven straight by. It changed and deepened the meanin

of assignments, discussions, and classes and led to many of my favorite moments

It allowed me to see real world examples of the issues I was hearing about in class

Phrases like education reform, poverty and even social responsibility meant mor

to me.

e Woodrow Wilson partnership has succeeded in part because it ha

created a long-term relationship with parents, teachers, sta and students. Each

month, BSC sponsors a pizza party to recognize and reward excellence in th

classroom. Teachers and tutors leaders select one student from each class who

has excelled or shown marked improvement in academic achievement, behavio

and character. ey are invited to a pizza party to be honored along with thei

relatives and guests, and they receive certi cates of recognition and goodie bags

e partnership also extends outside the classroom. During outreach days

students partner with Woodrow Wilson parents and sta to beautify the area

around the school.

Wallace State Community College-Hanceville requires students receiving Academic Excellence,

Leadership and Honors scholarships to provide volunteer service each semester either on-campus or

at a nonprot agency in the community. Placements correlate with the students major and future

profession. For example, future teachers are encouraged to volunteer in area schools or to tutor;

those with social work aspirations provide hours to community agencies in their area of interest; and

future veterinarians work with animal shelters.

Last year, honors and scholarship students performed more than 1,800 hours of volunteer

service as par t of scholarship requirements.

16

Le: a BSC student

tutors students at

Woodrow Wilson

Elementary

School. BSC has

worked with the

school for over 15

years.

Right: Kristin

Harper is the

director of BSCs

Bunting Center

for Engaged Study

and Community

Action.


17/20

Touching 10,000 livesFaulkner University

Auburn University Montgomery

Dennis Itson could not believe his success. Last fall, the director of Service

Learning at Faulkner University in Montgomery launched a mandatory 40 hours

of community service for all incoming freshman with the campaign sloganTouch 1,000 Lives. But it soon became apparent that 340 Faulkner freshmen

serving a mandatory 20 community service hours a semester would reach many

more people than originally anticipated.

Two weeks into the semester, Itson calculated that students had already

interacted with many more than 1,000 people. e original campaign goal was

much too modest, he realized. We had to change it from Touch 1,000 Lives to

Touch 10,000 Lives! he said.

It was overwhelming, he recalls. e student response was unbelievable.

Not only were student-led initiatives reaching many more community members

than originally anticipated, but a surprising number of upperclassmen were

voluntarily joining service projects despite the fact that upperclassmen had no

service requirement.

As this years rst-year students move up in the ranks, they will bring the

service-learning requirement with themso that within three years when last

years freshmen class become seniors, every student at Faulkner will complete 20

hours of service each semester.

One of their biggest service project s last fall, the Montgomery Zoo Boo, involved

more than 85 student volunteers shepherding 6,000 children through a safe

Halloween-themed festival over six nights in October. A nother initiative reached

out to more than 175 seniors living

in elder housing on Faulkners

campus. Students worked in soupkitchens and interacted with

handicapped horseback riders

through MANE, the Montgomery

Area Non-Traditional Equestrian

Association. Others branched out

to do service in Nicaragua, Panama

and other foreign countries.

Service projects were made more

meaningful in Dr. Cindy Walkers

mandatory service-learning

course, where students reected on

their experiences a key component

of any service-learning curriculum.

Faulkner students reached

more than 13,000 people through service projects in the rst year alone. is

year, a whole new crop of freshmen coming will double the amount of studen

participation. Itson plans to increase student involvement in pre-existing service

project, deepening their long-term community partnerships and building on

current relationships.

Tink Lucy Bouler is committed to community

service - and through her work at AUM, her students

are too. As director of American Humanics at AUM,

she leads her students through a nonprot leadership

program. Students from any major can enroll, but

they are required to complete 300 internship hours at

a local nonprot before taking a capstone Humanics

course. ey graduate equipped to handle all aspects

of nonprot management, including grant-writing,

budgeting and accounting, risk-management,

programming and strategic planning.

Her students spend their internships serving in

a local nonprot agency such as the

United Way, March of Dimes, Red

Cross and Big Brothers, Big Sisters.

Bouler is also engaging students

outside the four walls of her

classroom in a path of lifelong

service.

In August, weve got the Adopt-

a-on where we sponsor the

adoption of over 300 shelter animals.

en in October weve got trick-

or-treating for human tracking,

collecting personal hygiene products

to go to Moldova. In December, wehave our eighth annual Christmas party, where we

sponsor presents for over 100 low-income children.

And then our tenth annual Easter Egg hunt is next

April - to name just a few service events sponsored

by Humanics students.

Each of these events depends on help from

students from across campus. She estimates that

130 students total help to plan, organize and run

each event. e American Humanics students are

dedicated to the university and community, she

explained. rough their leadership, theyre paving

the way for the rest of the university.

American humanics leads the way for service


Top le: AUM student Henry Guilford hands out toys

at a Christmas party.

Above right: A student helps one child open a present

AUM students sponsor toys for over 100 children at

Christmas.

Many Faulkner faculty members join

for Sustaining Service-Learning, our H

Education Alliance annual mee


18/20

The Alabama Poverty ProjectNEARLY ONEIN SIXALABAMIANS AND ONE IN FOUR CHILDREN LIVE BELOW THE

FEDERAL POVERTY LINE, WHICH IS $22,050 ANNUALLY FOR A HOUSEHOLD OF FOUR.

How are higher education and poverty connected?

Over the next ten years, new jobs in Alabamarequiring post-secondary education andtraining will increase by an estimated 132,000,while jobs for high school graduates and lowereducation levels will grow by only 89,000.

Currently, 55 percent, or 1.3 million, of all jobs inAlabama require some form of post-secondarytraining.

College graduates bring over $1 million inspending power back to their local communitiesover the course of their lifetimes.

A college graduate has, on average, double theearning potential of a high school graduate overthe course of their lifetime, and more than threetimes the earning potential of a high schooldrop out.

Only 21.5 percent of adults over 25 in Alabamahas attained a bachelors degree or higher.

In 2007, the high school dropout rate stood at41.4 percent.

What is the good news?

APPs Higher Education Alliance is workingto change this. Through college accessprograms, nancial aid, K-12 initiatives,

community-university partnerships, STEMinitiatives and service-learning, our highereducation members are actively engaged inpoverty elimination.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

Join the Alabama Possible movement.Educate. Advocate. Donate.

See facing page for details, or visit us online:http://alabamapossible.org.

18


19/20


Te Higher Education AllianceTogether with the 24 members o our Higher Education Alliance, the Alabama Poverty Project works to promote poverty education,service-learning, civic engagement and educational attainment initiatives.

APP provides proessional development opportunities, on-site presentations and inormation services in response to requests rommember campuses. APP sta regularly consults to strengthen and deepen college and university engagement in local communities.In addition, aculty, sta and students rom member campuses have the opportunity to present at APP conerences and educationalevents.

CORNERSTONE MEMBERS

Alabama State UniversityAuburn University

Auburn University at Montgomery

Birmingham-Southern CollegeCalhoun Community College

Northwest-Shoals Community CollegeSamord University

University o AlabamaUniversity o Alabama Birmingham -

College o Arts and SciencesUniversity o Montevallo

University o West Alabama

MEMBERS

Alabama State Department of Post-Secondary Education

Athens State University

Faulkner University

Gadsden State Community College

Huntingdon College

Jacksonville State University

J.F. Drake State Technical College

Judson College

Lawson State Community College

Northeast Alabama Community College

Snead State Community College

Spring Hill College

Wallace State Community College-Hanceville

The Alabama Poverty Project educates and equips Alabamians to eliminate poverty.

APP and its Alabama Possible movement address our neighbors tremendous needsand the systemic causes of poverty by:

Equipping Alabama faith communities to eliminate poverty through on-site presentations andworkshops like Give Us this Day Our Daily Bread, which features resources and best practices toght hunger.

Mobilizing Alabamians and educating policy makers about the economic impact of poverty and

the effectiveness of state-supported anti-poverty programs through our work with the AlabamaCommission to Reduce Poverty.

Promoting community service, civic engagement and service-learning with events like ourLifetime of Learning conference, which features nationally-acclaimed speakers and best practicesfrom Alabama higher education institutions.

Encouraging low-income and rst generation students to enroll in college through Blueprints, ourcollege access program. College students mentor high school students and guide them throughthe college application process.

Increasing access to educational material, published research and statistical data at our websitewww.alabamapossible.org


20/20

the alabama poverty project

po box 55058

birmingham, al 35255

2010 higher education alliance annual report

Documents