Access to Higher Education Fund

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Thanks to the leadership funding from the McClure Foundation, the Vermont Community Foundation has established the Access to Higher Education fund. This fund serves as a focal point for philanthropists interested in removing barriers to higher education. This is not a simple scholarship fund. This fund looks to impact the barriers that prevent Vermonters from aspiring to and attaining the advanced education they need to stay in Vermont; achieve their personal goals; and help our state prosper.

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While researching the barriers to the expansion of access to higher education in Vermont, the McClure Foundation and the Vermont Community Foundation identified national and regional foundations also addressing this issue. One of these foundations was the Lumina Foundation for Education. The Lumina Foundation is based in Indianapolis, Indiana, and has been studying and investing in programs that increase access to higher education in underserved communities. Their program, Achieving the Dream, partners with community college systems around the country to track, evaluate, and address the challenges that community college students face. In the fall of 2008, the McClure Foundation, the Vermont Community Foundation, and the Community College of Vermont successfully approached the Lumina Foundation about investing in Vermont’s community college system. As a result of these discussions, the Lumina Foundation has committed to a two-year investment. This investment will help more Vermont residents succeed in college by identifying and addressing the barriers they face when trying to complete degrees or certification.

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• Vermont Technical College
  Grant supports the Vermont Technical College’s Summer Bridge Program. The Summer Bridge Program provides remedial support in English or Math to students applying to Vermont Technical College. Summer Bridge students are typically “first generation” college students, and nearly all are from Vermont.



• Community College of Vermont
  Grant supports the expansion of the Community College of Vermont’s Introduction to College Studies (ICS) course into underserved communities. ICS is a free, non-credit course designed for high school juniors and seniors who might otherwise postpone or abandon their postsecondary education plans. The course helps students develop their note taking, test taking, studying, time management, goal setting, and organizational skills. If a student successfully completes the course in high school, he or she may apply for a voucher to take two free courses at a Vermont State College or another partnering institution. Notably, 65% of students who complete the course go on to attend college (versus 36% of Vermont high school graduates who go on to attend college).



• Linking Learning to Life
  Grant supports the expansion of the Linking Learn To Life College Connections Program. The program provides out-of-school youth and high school sophomores and juniors with the opportunity to explore postsecondary education options. Students enrolled in the program take courses at any one of six area colleges and earn high school and college credit for successful completion. College Connections targets students that have the potential to be first generation college goers, are from a low-income family, speak English as a Second Language, are minorities, or have identified disabilities. During 2008 85% of students who participated in the program met one or more of these criteria. In addition, 70% of the students who complete the program enroll in college in the fall after their high school graduation.



• College of St. Joseph
  Grant supports the launch of the College of St. Joseph’s STEPS Program. The STEPS program provides Vermont youth in foster care with resources and support systems in order to enhance these students’ success and increase the number of these students enrolled in college. The program includes year-round room and board, mentoring, intensive career counseling, psychological counseling (if needed), academic year course work, summer college courses, and work-related internships. The program is made possible by a partnership between the College of St. Joseph, the Vermont Department of Children and Families (DCF), and the Vermont Student Assistance Corporation (VSAC)



• College for Every Student
  Grant supports an ongoing partnership between College for Every Student (CFES) and Castleton Elementary, a Vermont public school with lower than average college aspiration rates. CFES identifies underserved students at the partnering school and then enrolls these students in the CFES Scholars program. Students in the Scholars Program receive college-student mentors; participate in leadership training through community service; establish academic and professional goals; and are exposed to college programs and living through on-campus visits.

Please click the button below to donate to this fund on our secure PayPal page with your credit card OR PayPal account. Please keep the donation confirmation for tax purposes.

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