Supporting students
in accessing higher education
QUÉ ES ASUNTOS UNIVERSITARIOS?
Asuntos universitarios, a $15 million grantmaking initiative of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation, seeks to increase college enrollment rates for Marion County high school seniors, especially for students less likely to enroll in college, including students from low-income households, Black students, and Hispanic and Latino students.
High school students face a variety of challenges when considering college, including accessing coursework that prepares them for college, identifying possible career options, and obtaining financial aid. For students without access to relevant support and resources, these challenges can turn into barriers that keep them from applying to and enrolling in college — furthering existing racial and socioeconomic disparities in education and worsening talent shortages in the Indy region.
To help remove some of these barriers and increase college enrollment, Asuntos universitarios is awarding grants to Marion County public high schools and community organizations in two phases, Meeting the Moment and Reversing the Trend. The grantees in both phases will use the funding to support Indianapolis students and their families as they navigate the process of exploring, enrolling in and financing college.
1 Indiana College Readiness Dashboard, 2 Panel de finalización de FAFSA
THE PROBLEM: WE NEED COLLEGE GRADS
More college graduates needed
Low college enrollment is a challenge to our economic vitality. Indianapolis employers continue to report difficulty finding talent with the education and skills needed to fill open positions. Fewer Marion County residents have college degrees than many of our peer cities, which puts us at a competitive disadvantage when trying to attract new businesses and better jobs.
For individuals, education beyond high school contributes to a higher annual income and improved financial stability. Further, increased educational attainment is associated with increased health, happiness, quality of life and civic engagement.
COLLEGE MATTERS: MEETING THE MOMENT
Grants to support FAFSA completion and college enrollment
A través de College Matters: Meeting the Moment, the Foundation awarded nearly $5 million in short-term grants to Marion County public schools, community organizations, and the Indiana Commission for Higher Education in September 2023. These grants provide support to students in two areas: completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) — now a requirement to graduate high school in Indiana — and exploring their college options.
Meeting the Moment: Grants to schools
To assist students and their families in meeting Indiana’s new FAFSA mandate during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years, the Foundation awarded a total of $3.25 million in grants to 37 Marion County public high schools within 17 school corporations.*
| Corporación escolar | Monto de la subvención |
| Escuelas de la ciudad de Beech Grove | $160,000 |
| Casa Christel Indianápolis | $160,000 |
| Goodwill Foundation of Central & Southern Indiana | $200,000 |
| Escuelas clásicas de Herron | $200,000 |
| Escuelas públicas de Indianápolis | $240,000 |
| Escuelas comunitarias de Irvington | $145,500 |
| Escuelas públicas KIPP Indy | $150,000 |
| MSD of Decatur Township | $200,000 |
| MSD del municipio de Lawrence | $240,000 |
| MSD del municipio de Pike | $200,000 |
| MSD del municipio de Warren | $240,000 |
| MSD del municipio de Washington | $177,750 |
| MSD del municipio de Wayne | $240,000 |
| Perry Township Schools | $240,000 |
| Academias de liderazgo Phalen | $150,000 |
| Escuela secundaria politécnica de Purdue | $160,000 |
| Preparación universitaria de la victoria | $150,000 |
Meeting the Moment: Grants to community organizations
To reach students and their families in places other than schools, four Marion County community organizations received grants totaling $1.35 million over three years to support students in exploring, enrolling in and financing college.
| Organización de base comunitaria | Monto de la subvención |
| Centro para el desarrollo del liderazgo | $300,000 |
| Exposición Negra de Indiana | $300,000 |
| Instituto Latino de Indiana | $450,000 |
| Liga Urbana de Indianápolis | $300,000 |
Meeting the Moment: Grant to Indiana Commission for Higher Education
To fund convenings and facilitate the exchange of information between grantees and the State of Indiana, the Comisión de Educación Superior de Indiana received a three-year, $363,000 grant.
COLLEGE MATTERS: REVERSING THE TREND
Grants to implement proven college enrollment strategies
To make an even larger impact on the college enrollment rate, the Fairbanks Foundation announced College Matters: Reversing the Trend in December 2023. This phase of Asuntos universitarios, which seeks to reverse the decline in college enrollment among Marion County high school students, launched a competitive grant process for Marion County public school corporations to apply for funding to implement strategies aimed at increasing college enrollment.
A través de Reversing the Trend, the Fairbanks Foundation is awarding funding in two stages. The first stage, which opened Dec. 5, 2023, and closed Feb. 1, 2024, allowed public school corporations to apply for one of six planning grants to support the development of four-year plans to increase college enrollment. These plans will use proven or innovative strategies to increase college enrollment, with an emphasis on students who are less likely to enroll in college.
From a total of 20 applicants, six school corporations were chosen to receive $20,000 planning grants:
Each of the grantees will receive technical assistance from national research firm Mathematica as they select the appropriate interventions for their schools and develop an implementation plan.
In the second stage of the grant process, which will take place in late July 2024, the six school corporations that received the planning grants will be invited to submit proposals for additional grants of up to $1.5 million each that, if awarded, will support the implementation of their four-year plans. Each grantee can also use this grant money to plan for how they will sustain their work beyond the grant period.
Timeline
| Activity | Date |
| Informational webinars | Jan. 10, 2024, and Jan. 12, 2024 |
| Planning grant applications due | Noon EST on Feb. 1, 2024 |
| Planning grantee notification | March 25, 2024 |
| Planning grant period | March 25, 2024 – July 31, 2024 |
| Implementation grant proposals due | July 31, 2024 |
| Implementation grantee notification | Sept. 3, 2024 |
| Implementation grant period | Sept. 3, 2024 – June 30, 2028 |
ASUNTOS UNIVERSITARIOS RECURSOS
Below, you’ll find a variety of items used to inform the creation of the Asuntos universitarios initiative, including data sources and relevant research. For more information on Asuntos universitarios, comuníquese con el personal de la Fundación al colegio@RMFF.org.
This competitive Request for Applications solicited proposals from eligible Marion County public high schools interested in receiving College Matters: Reversing the Trend planning grant funding.
Schools applying for College Matters: Reversing the Trend planning grants were encouraged to use this template when submitting a line-item budget for the planning grant period.
This Frequently Asked Questions document includes information relevant to schools applying for College Matters: Reversing the Trend planning grants.
This appendix to the College Matters: Reversing the Trend Request for Applications contains summaries of evidence-based interventions that fall under three strategies to increase college enrollment: 1) strengthen college and career counseling; 2) increase families’ financial awareness and help students apply for financial aid; and 3) bolster students’ academic preparation for college.
Este artículo de revista destaca el impacto de la política estatal de Luisiana de exigir la finalización de la FAFSA como requisito para graduarse de la escuela secundaria. El estudio demuestra que el mandato de completar la FAFSA en Luisiana condujo a un aumento de 19 puntos porcentuales en la finalización de la FAFSA, asociado con un aumento de 1 a 2 puntos porcentuales en la inscripción universitaria.
The College Readiness Dashboard provides interactive data to supplement the annual College Readiness Reports; data is available for the state overall as well as by county, school district and school. The Dashboard includes data for high school graduates from the classes of 2012 through 2021.
Este informe destaca la demografía de los graduados de la escuela secundaria en 2019, su nivel de preparación académica, tasas de asistencia a la universidad, métricas de éxito en la universidad temprana (graduados de 2018) y tasas de graduación (graduados de 2020).
Este informe anual proporciona información sobre cuántos estudiantes completan su título o certificado en colegios y universidades públicas de Indiana. Además de las tendencias a nivel estatal, los datos se proporcionan por campus y por características de los estudiantes.
El Panel de finalización de la universidad proporciona datos interactivos para complementar los informes anuales de finalización de la universidad; Los datos están disponibles para el estado en general, así como por condado, distrito escolar y escuela. El Panel incluye datos de los estudiantes que ingresaron a la universidad a partir del otoño de 2006.
Este informe proporciona información sobre los rendimientos que genera un título universitario después de la graduación, que van más allá de los beneficios financieros. Según el informe, los habitantes de Hoosier con un título universitario tienen mayor seguridad laboral, mayor movilidad social, mayor participación cívica, mejor salud y bienestar y mayor calidad de vida.
El panel de informes de valor universitario proporciona datos interactivos para complementar los informes de valor universitario; Los datos están disponibles para todas las instituciones estatales en general, así como por institución pública individual, nivel de grado y área de programa. El Panel incluye datos de los estudiantes que se graduaron de la universidad a partir de 2008 y terminando con la generación de 2017.
Este informe proporciona un análisis del costo total de la universidad en todas las instituciones públicas de Indiana y analiza la carga de deuda promedio de los graduados universitarios, así como el impacto que tiene la ayuda financiera estatal y federal en la reducción del costo para los estudiantes y las familias de Hoosier. La información se proporciona en general y por campus.
El recurso de datos gratuito de la Fundación Fairbanks, conocido como Community Data Snapshot (CDS), incluye información a nivel estatal y del condado de Marion sobre una variedad de medidas en las áreas de enfoque de la Fundación: Educación, Salud y Vitalidad de Indianápolis. En la sección Educación del Resumen de datos de la comunidad se incluyen múltiples conjuntos de datos relevantes para Asuntos universitarios, incluidas las tasas de graduación de la escuela secundaria, asistencia a la universidad y persistencia en la universidad, así como el desempeño en el SAT y el tipo de diploma de la escuela secundaria. Muchas de estas medidas también están disponibles en el CDS a nivel de distrito escolar y escuela.
El Panel de Graduados de Indiana Preparados para Tener Éxito, creado por el Departamento de Educación de Indiana, presenta datos a nivel de escuela y distrito para los estudiantes de Hoosier en los grados PK-12. Creado después de que la Asamblea General de Indiana promulgara el requisito de lanzar un panel de rendimiento escolar, la información en el GPS es específicamente relevante para Asuntos universitarios incluye la finalización de la FAFSA y el empleo/inscripción (el porcentaje de estudiantes que están empleados dentro de Indiana o que están inscritos en una institución postsecundaria pública de Indiana un año después de su año de graduación esperado).
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