In an attempt to boost college graduation rates, the Gates Foundation will $3 million each to New York City, San Francisco, Mesa, Arizona and Riverside California.
High schools will work with local community colleges to align academic expectations, collect and analyze data, develop college-prep programs and create support systems for students. Three of the cities have pledged to raise very low completion rates at community colleges.
At the City University of New York, 10 percent of the students enrolled as freshman in 2006 had earned an associate’s degree three years later. By creating a “common definition of college readiness,” the city hopes to see 20 percent earn a two-year degree.
Mesa Public Schools boast a high graduation rate. But the completion rate is only 5.4 percent for low-income graduates who go on to attend Mesa Community College. Mesa’s goal is to raise the rate to 16 percent by 2020.
The graduation rate at Riverside City College is 14 percent; the goal is 20 percent by 2013.
In San Francisco, only 27 percent of 9th graders will earn a postsecondary credential. The new funding will be used to expand access to preschool, get more students to take college-prep classes, boost pass rates on the graduation exam and the college readiness exam and allow more students to earn college credit at work, reported the San Francisco Chronicle. In addition, the city hopes to raise the number of students attending college full-time from 36 percent to 65 percent in 2020. Full-time students are much more likely to earn a degree.
