Success Boston is a shared agenda with the City of Boston, Boston Public Schools, the Boston Foundation, several nonprofit organizations, and nearly 40 local institutions of higher education. As a citywide partnership, Success Boston's goal is to double the college completion rate.
This program focuses on students going from high school to college based on the three tiers of "getting ready, getting in, and getting through." The program assists with the academic transition into college and provides ongoing support throughout, but the financial aid piece transcends everything else.
Reports on enrollment completion rate have found that a significant contributing factor to students' ability to persist is access to grants and scholarships, with finance being the top reason why students don't complete their education.
uAspire, a college affordability advising program located in all Boston public and charter schools, provides financial literacy and advising with parents starting in the ninth grade. Families United in Educational Leadership (FUEL) provides incentive for families to start saving even as little as $25 per month by matching what they save. The FAFSA For All initiative seeks to increase the number of FAFSA applications being completed (beyond the initial submission to full completion).
Another grantee organization, the Green Light Fund, has brought Single Stop to Massachusetts, a one-stop place at community colleges where students can access a comprehensive set of services and resources, such as help accessing funds that they're eligible for but not claiming (which could include benefits like food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance and more). Single Stop exists to help mitigate the financial burden of students to contribute to a smaller debt load and assist them in completing their degree programs.
Writer: Nicole Rupersburg
Source: Elizabeth Pauley, Program Director for The Boston Foundation's education strategy work