Friday, September 28 1:00-2:00 pm eastern
Students and state policymakers understand how important post-secondary education is to financial well-being and state economic productivity. Today’s college students are no longer 18- to 22-year-olds from middle class families who attend full-time and can depend on family support. They are increasingly low-income, working adults balancing work, family, and school. These students are more likely to be first-generation attenders, immigrants, and students of color. State higher education policies, however, have not adapted to this new reality. What these students need is access to essential supports such as high-quality advising, flexible financial aid, and child care subsidies.
In conjunction with higher education leaders, anti-poverty advocates, state policymakers, and post-secondary students, CLASP developed a state policy framework to help more low-income, working students succeed. Join CLASP Friday, September 28 at 1:00 pm eastern/10:00 am pacific for a webinar that will examine how states must expand their policies beyond the traditional post-secondary landscape to acknowledge the complexity of these students’ lives. CLASP will also release a new report describing how they developed the policy framework.
Presenters include:
- Amy Ellen Duke-Benfield, Senior Policy Analyst, CLASP
- Anne Kress, President, Monroe Community College (NY)
- Michael Meotti, Executive Director, Washington Student Achievement Council
- Ariel Ventura-Lazo, Student, George Mason University
As states lead the way on college completion and achievement initiatives, they are retrofitting systems designed for traditional students to meet the needs of today’s low-income students. However, when existing policies do not place equity front and center, they fail to target the systemic barriers holding back students of color. Current policies also fall short of addressing students’ multiple roles as parents, workers, and students. This underscores why it’s so important to listen to students and learn from their experiences when creating policies.