Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship: New, but Growing Rapidly | Inside Higher Ed

Many switch college students cite affordability as a driving concern. Given a number of the unknowns for switch college students—corresponding to which establishment they are going to transfer to and what number of of their credit will apply to program completion—it’s typically tough to estimate what a bachelor’s diploma will price. The College of Arkansas’ new switch scholarship program seeks to handle these challenges.

The Arkansas Switch Achievement Scholarship (ATAS), rolled out in fall 2019, has proven unimaginable development, significantly amongst college students from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds, together with first-generation college students. The scholarship pays the distinction between the U of A’s base tuition hourly charge and the present base hourly charge on the two-year establishment. So the scholar pays the identical tuition on the U of A that they did on the two-year faculty. Within the 2021–22 educational yr, the award ranged between $121.51 and $186.51 per credit score hour.

What Does ATAS Look Like?

To be eligible, college students have to be Arkansas residents who’ve accomplished an affiliate of arts, affiliate of science or affiliate of arts in educating at one of many seven collaborating faculties and enroll on the U of A in an on-campus, undergraduate diploma program the semester instantly following diploma conferment. The award will be renewed for as many as 10 semesters, so long as college students are constantly enrolled (full- or part-time) and keep in good educational standing.

An Emphasis on Outreach and Recruitment

To announce this system, we partnered with registrars at collaborating system colleges to share listing info for college students with 45 hours or extra or who had utilized for commencement. Many faculties have created info sheets for his or her college students, and that contact info comes straight to the U of A’s Switch Central workplace in admissions for follow-up. In 2020–21, an admission’s graduate assistant was on-site at one location to debate this system with potential college students, and we’re scheduled for extra such visits sooner or later.

Different promotion channels embody particular webinars, attending orientation/welcome occasions for brand new college students at two-year system colleges and fliers custom-made for every faculty, along with common recruitment efforts like visits and faculty gala’s.

We’ve additionally offered to representatives from group faculty companions, corresponding to school and advisers, to additional promote transfers within the state. As we had performed earlier than the pandemic, we’re once more visiting their campuses and internet hosting switch connections occasions on our sister campuses. Moreover, we have now shared details about this revolutionary program on the Arkansas Group Schools annual convention, the Nationwide Institute for the Examine of Switch College students annual convention and the Southern Affiliation of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers.

Influence on Fairness and Outcomes

These outreach efforts have been profitable. Following ATAS’s launch in Could 2019, the variety of purposes, admissions and enrollments from the seven collaborating colleges within the U of A system has grown considerably. By spring 2022, extra college students from these colleges enrolled than had utilized previous to the announcement.

Although we solely have a small pattern dimension to this point—3,617 whole switch enrollments, with 101 being ATAS recipients (fall 2019–spring 2021)—we will see some basic takeaways:

• This system is rising quickly: in fall 2019, 11 % of switch college students from Arkansas with an affiliate diploma have been ATAS college students. In fall 2020, that quantity was 40 %.
• This system is broadly adopted by first-generation college students: 61 % of ATAS college students are first technology in comparison with 44.8 % of all new transfers.
• College students of shade are effectively represented: 33.6 % of ATAS recipients are college students of shade, in comparison with 30.9 % of all new transfers.
• This system is being adopted amongst low-income college students: 36.6 % of ATAS college students are Pell eligible in comparison with 17.1 % of all new transfers.
• First-year retention charges are barely greater amongst ATAS college students—a two- to four-point improve

In taking a look at yr to yr, from fall 2019 to fall 2020:

• Retention improved amongst ATAS college students (and people with an affiliate diploma), even whereas it fell for all new transfers.
• The proportion of ATAS college students who belong to an underrepresented group in comparison with these in-state college students with an affiliate diploma grew sooner than the underrepresented charge amongst all new transfers.
• The identical development was seen for Pell-eligible and first-generation college students.
• Getting into GPA decreased amongst ATAS college students and all new transfers, however it rose amongst these from Arkansas and people with an affiliate diploma.

Past numbers, the ATAS has impressed six new educational agreements with system colleges with extra on the way in which.

This switch scholarship program has proven unimaginable development, offered distinctive alternatives for a wider pool of scholars, and elevated pupil success among the many switch inhabitants. By addressing affordability and making a bridge between two-year packages in our system to the College of Arkansas system’s flagship establishment, ATAS is shifting the state towards its purpose of accelerating faculty diploma attainment amongst Arkansans.