Texas Border Business
McAllen, TX (December 4, 2014) – Today, South Texas College President Dr. Shirley A. Reed will join President Obama, the First Lady, and Vice President Biden along with hundreds of college presidents and other higher education leaders to announce new actions to help more students prepare for and graduate from college.
The White House College Opportunity Day of Action helps to support the President’s commitment to partner with colleges and universities, business leaders, and nonprofits to support students across the country to help our nation reach its goal of leading the world in college attainment.
South Texas College is focusing on accelerating remediation through Directed Self Placement for English, participating in the New Mathways Project and partnering with 70 local high schools on dual enrollment, reengagement and academy programs.
“The mission of South Texas College is to create a college-going culture and to serve as a catalyst for social mobility,” said Reed. “By partnering with local school districts, we have established a high standard of dual enrollment programs that include Dual2Degree, Early College High Schools and Dual Enrollment Academies. These opportunities allow students to earn college credit at no cost to their families while they are still enrolled in high school. Stackable credentials, guidance from specialized counselors and the level of college curriculum encourage our dual enrollment students to continue their higher education.”
Today’s participants were asked to commit to new action in one of four areas: building networks of colleges around promoting completion, creating K-16 partnerships around college readiness, investing in high school counselors as part of the First Lady’s Reach Higher initiative, and increasing the number of college graduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The President will announce new steps on how his Administration is helping to support these actions, including announcing $10 million to help promote college completion and a $30 million AmeriCorps program that will improve low-income students’ access to college. Today’s event is the second College Opportunity Day of Action, and will include a progress report on the commitments made at the first day of action on January 14, 2014.
Expanding opportunity for more students to enroll and succeed in college, especially low-income and underrepresented students, is vital to building a strong economy and a strong middle class. Today, only 9 percent of those born in the lowest family income quartile attain a bachelor’s degree by age 25, compared to 54 percent in the top quartile. In an effort to expand college access, the Obama Administration has increased Pell scholarships by $1,000 a year, created the new American Opportunity Tax Credit worth up to $10,000 over four years of college, limited student loan payments to 10 percent of income, and laid out an ambitious agenda to reduce college costs and promote innovation and competition.
Since South Texas College first opened its doors in 1993, it has seen steady growth in its student enrollment starting with 1,058 students to over 31,000 students this fall 2014. It is projected that enrollment will reach more than 42,000 by 2020. South Texas College is nationally ranked as the 4th of the nation’s 1,200 community colleges in awarding associate degrees to Hispanics, 47th in awarding associate degrees to all students and has the highest graduation rate for very large community colleges in Texas. To learn more about South Texas College, visit www.southtexascollege.edu.
Photo courtesy of Arianna Vazquez-Hernandez, PSJA ISD Director of Communications/Public Information.
