The Pell Institiute for the Study of Opportunity in Higher Education
The strength of the United States is not the gold at Fort Knox or the weapons of mass destruction that we have, but the sum total of the education and the character of our people. Claiborne Pell
   
   
 

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The Pell Institute publishes research and analyses that address equal educational opportunity, particularly the outcomes for low-income, first-generation, and disabled students. Additional publications include occasional papers, policy briefs, and an electronic newsletter was prepared by the Council and the Pell Institute—with support from the GE Foundation—as part of the Council’s broader State Initiative.


Black College Dollars: Scholarships for African-American Students, 2007-2008 Directory

With The Sallie Mae Fund and BET Networks, the Pell Institute has compiled a scholarship guide for African-American students to help pay for college. The guide contains information about more than 300 scholarships that are designed to reduce the cost of a college education for African-American students, and for all students of color. The guide is also available online at (www.blackcollegedollars.org), allowing students to search for scholarships by GPA requirement, academic and career interest, and application deadline. View the Scholarship Guide here (.pdf)


Opportunity Matters: A Journal of Research Informing Educational Opportunity Practice and Programs
INAUGURAL ISSUE: February 2007

Opportunity Matters is a new annual research journal from the Pell Institute that will provide a scholarly forum to discuss, disseminate, and stimulate research related to educational opportunity programs and the populations they serve, primarily low-income, first-generation, and minority college students as well as students with disabilities. The journal aims to make research more accessible and useful to policymakers and practitioners in the field in order to advance the goal of improving access to and success in higher education for underrepresented and underserved student populations.

Opportunity Matters will publish research-based articles, quantitative or qualitative in nature, that examine issues relevant to TRIO and other educational opportunity programs, such as:
  • the demographic profile of students served by educational opportunity programs with attention to the needs of special populations or subgroups (i.e. immigrant students, out-of-school youth, males of color, rural students).
  • the factors (i.e. academic, social, economic) that affect college access and success for low-income, minority, and first-generation college students as well as students with disabilities.
  • the programs and practices that improve college attendance and completion rates for underrepresented populations (i.e. curricula, pedagogies including the use of technology, counseling practices).
  • the methods used to evaluate the effectiveness of educational opportunity programs and/or the outcomes of program evaluation studies.
  • the larger policy contexts in which educational opportunity programs operate and the impact of policy and legislation on the delivery of services to target populations.
The inaugural issue of the journal will feature the following articles, several of which have a special focus on college student retention for low-income and first-generation students:
  • Beyond Access: Promoting the Success of Low-Income Community College Students Through Learning Communities by Cathy Engstrom and Vincent Tinto, Syracuse University.
  • In Their Own Words: Voices of First-Generation College Students in a Multicultural Learning Community by Rashné Jehangir, The University of Minnesota.
  • Can Leadership Development Through Civic Engagement Activities Improve Retention Rates for Disadvantaged College Students? by Kate S. Williams and Rose M. Perrine, Eastern Kentucky University.
  • Assessing the Graduate School Readiness and Preparation Needs of McNair-Eligible College Students. by Karen J. Raymond and Kim Black, University of Northern Colorado.
  • The Drive to Attract More Students into Higher Education: Initiatives from the United Kingdom by Heather Eggins and Diana Tlupova, Institute for Access Studies, Staffordshire University, UK.
For more information, please contact the editor, Dr. Jennifer Engle, by e-mail at (jennifer.engle@pellinstitute.org) or by phone at
(202) 638-2887, ext. #203.


Demography is not DestinyDemography is not Destiny

The Pell Institute has released Demography is not Destiny: Increasing the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College Students at Large Public Universities.” This report, funded with a grant from the Lumina Foundation for Education, documents research conducted by the Pell Institute at 14 public universities that serve relatively high numbers of federal Pell Grant recipients. “Demography is not Destiny” describes differences in institutional policies and practices, considers if practices aimed at improving overall graduation rates also work for low-income students, and offers recommendations for institutions and policymakers. In combination with our previous report, Raising the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College Students., we hope to better inform policymakers and practitioners who seek to improve the chances for success for low-income students in higher education. (.pdf)


Straight from the SourceStraight From the Source: What Works for First-Generation College Students

The Pell Institute has released “Straight From the Source: What Works for First-Generation College Students.” This report, funded with a grant from the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation (TG), presents the findings from focus groups with first-generation students in Texas. The students shared what works to help them make the transition from college to high school, as well as what didn’t work or what could work better to get more first-generation students into college. (.pdf)


Expanding Access and OpportunityExpanding Access and Opportunity: The Washington State Achievers Scholarship

Prepared by the Pell Institute for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the College Success Foundation, Expanding Access and Opportunity synthesizes the findings of research conducted on the Achievers Scholarship program through Spring 2006. (.pdf)



Indicators of Opportunity in Higher EducationIndicators of Opportunity in Higher Education

The Pell Institute has released the second edition of Indicators of Opportunity in Higher Education. The report continues to track the status of opportunity for higher education in the US, with an additional indicator that addresses a family’s ability to pay for college. The report also features a closer look at the diverse group of students captured in the category of low-income students. (.pdf)


The State of College Opportunity in Ohio

This report was prepared by the Pell Institute—with support from the GE Foundation-and was released in October by the Ohio College Access Network and the Ohio Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel. Download a copy of the report here. (.pdf)

The State of College Opportunity in Ohio 2005 is one of four state-level opportunity reports.


Raising the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College StudentsThe Pell Institute has released "Raising the Graduation Rates of Low-Income College Students." This report, which was published by the Pell Institute and Lumina Foundation for Education, presents the findings of research on retention at institutions that serve large numbers of Pell Grant recipients. The project sought to identify differences in institutional characteristics or practices that might help to explain differences in student outcomes. (.pdf)


Occasional PaperOccasional Paper: Student Retention and Graduation; Facing the Truth, Living with the Consequences (.pdf)

Pell Institute Senior Scholar Vincent Tinto has authored an Occasional Paper Student Retention and Graduation; Facing the Truth, Living with the Consequences. The report provides a broad survey of what is known about why students leave college before completing a degree, and closely examines who goes to college and who graduates from college. The report also offers specific action steps that the federal government can take to assure that low-income students not only get into college, but stay through the completion of a degree.


  


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