Since the launch of the Arizona Postsecondary Student Resiliency Fund, Helios Education Foundation and College Success Arizona distributed over $300,000 to more than 700 students across Arizona to help provide immediate assistance to college students affected by COVID-19. These funds assisted with educational expenses, housing expenses, technology expenses, as well as other immediate needs. Read more.

Last week, the Supreme Court prevented the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program through executive action. At College Success Arizona, we believe that this was the right decision and a just decision. We also understand that the fight to protect Dreamers is still a long way from finished. Read more.

This subject of institutional inequality is uncomfortable for me to talk about. I’m a middle aged, white male, and the color of my skin has never been a barrier to opportunity. I acknowledge that I have no real perspective of what it is like to be Black in America. I also understand that silence is no longer an option for me. Read more.

Today, Helios Education Foundation and College Success Arizona launched the Arizona Postsecondary Student Resiliency Fund to help support college students who have been impacted by COVID-19.  The goal of the fund is to support students to persist and succeed in completing their postsecondary degree, despite the challenges and uncertainty brought on by the global pandemic. Read more.

Altogether, there are 55 AmeriCorps members serving in 26 partner sites – including community organizations and high schools – across Arizona, where they assist students to tackle tough challenges like the college exploration process, admission tests, applying to postsecondary institutions that are a good fit, FAFSA, and providing services such as one-on-one advising. Read more. 

The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has forced institutions of higher education to make difficult decisions about the remainder of the spring term. Colleges across the country are deciding whether (or when) to curtail regular class schedules, cancel them altogether, move classes to an online format, or close their campuses entirely. It’s hard to see how every college student in the country won’t face some kind of academic disruption within the coming weeks. Read more.

Here at College Success Arizona, there is one big question that we return to, in some form, every day: how can we help more students in our state go to college and graduate with a certificate or a degree? This focus, on both the big picture in Arizona and our own impact, will come as no surprise to folks who are familiar with our work and our mission to increase college attainment in Arizona. Read More

Access to reliable financial aid is a crucial aspect in making college accessible and affordable to students. Arizona is one of a handful of states that does not have a meaningful state-sponsored need-based grant aid program. That could change, depending on the fate of three promise bills that are presently making their way through the Arizona State Legislature. Read more. 

Arizona must continue to find innovative and sustainable ways to increase Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion and support college access and attainment more broadly. One of the most effective ways of helping students, especially those from families with great financial need, achieve postsecondary attainment is through federal aid, making the FAFSA a crucial step on students’ journey to education after high school. Read more.

Last week, Governor Ducey shared his priorities for the upcoming year in his State of the State and proposed fiscal year (FY) 2021 state budget. College Success Arizona was encouraged that the governor outlined several policies that will help create a better educational system for all Arizonans. READ MORE

As 2019 comes to a close, College Success Arizona and our partners here in the state have plenty to celebrate from the past year and plenty to look forward to in 2020. Read More

Last week, College Success Arizona celebrated the 10^th anniversary of its Leaders and Legends event, at which we had the honor of recognizing Jane and Vince Roig for their many contributions to improving education in Arizona. READ MORE

Without community colleges, Arizona’s higher education system would be a shadow of its current self. Too often, their importance is rendered invisible. Community colleges are often regarded, mistakenly, as a lesser alternative to four-year colleges and universities.  READ MORE

College Success Arizona is proud to recognize Gaspar Mata, Recruitment and College Outreach Manager at Year Up Arizona, as the recipient of the 2019 College Success Arizona Star Award. Read More

America has a rich tradition of service dating back to the early years of our country. The depth and breadth of American service efforts has expanded notably since the Great Depression. Civic, non-profit, and governmental organizations and agencies – such as The Corporation for National and Community Service, which manages AmeriCorps and Senior Corps – have implemented community service projects and programs focused on improving the quality of life for millions of people. Read More

Educators, researchers, advocates, and policymakers nationwide are increasingly attentive to the educational experiences of rural students and the need to expand college access and success in rural communities. Thanks to this increased attention, there is more and more information available about the state of rural education, college access and success challenges, and the resources and services that rural students need. Read More

Across the country, advocacy organizations, funders, educators, and policymakers are devoting significant resources to efforts designed to increase the rate at which students and families complete the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Read More

Here at College Success Arizona we often talk about the importance of helping more young people in our state go to college and complete a high-value certificate or degree program. We focus on attainment because it represents a powerful way for Arizonans, their families, and their communities to increase their economic stability and mobility. Read More

High school students across Arizona are in the process of deciding where they will attend college in the fall. Many will enroll in community colleges to pursue a certificate or an associate degree.
Others will enroll at one of the state’s public universities with the goal of earning a bachelor’s degree. Read More

In January, we held our 13th Annual Leadership Symposium for our Success Services Program. This day-long student conference consisted of motivational speakers, workshops, and networking. This year, students heard from one of our communities’ greatest influencers, Gonzalo de la Melena, Jr., President & CEO of the Arizona Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Read More

The federal government is the single largest source of financial aid for college. Access to federal financial aid helps to increase college access, affordability, and, ultimately, attainment in Arizona. After all, most students cannot afford to pay the full “sticker price” for a college education. Read More

After hearing Governor Ducey’s priorities for 2019 in the State of the State, College Success Arizona offers its support and partnership to “do the things that matter.” Read More

As I reflect on my childhood experiences growing up in Superior, I think about the people who helped shape my interest in education. My earliest recollection of thinking about college came in third grade, when my teacher asked me, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” I said that I wanted to become a doctor, an engineer or a lawyer. Read More

Phoenix, Arizona – Today, College Success Arizona released a new report, How Information and Opportunity Gaps Limit College-Going in Rural Arizona, that examines barriers that rural students in Arizona—many of whom are Latino, low- income, or first-generation students—face in learning about their education and career options after high school. Read More

Any parent will tell you that in parenting there are moments of horror sprinkled in between those
peaks of pride. Parenting is not for the weak of heart, but if you’re lucky enough to get the job, it
can be the most rewarding. Read More

The Hechinger Report recently published an article highlighting our national failure to sufficiently fund financial aid programs intended to help low-income students afford the cost of college. Due to insufficient funding and slashed budgets—and, in some states, aid programs that have been suspended entirely—hundreds of thousands of students who apply and qualify for need-based financial aid are being turned away due to lack of funds. Read More

My name is Marjorie DeRubeis, Director of Partnership Development and Success Services. Read More

The enduring popular concept of what it means to go to college sends young people the message that they’re not “college material” if they’re not interested in, or able to attend, a four-year college or university. To counter this narrow and sometimes elitist image of higher education, we must build a college going culture in our communities that is inclusive and that promotes higher education in its many forms as a desirable and attainable goal for all young people. Read More

As the labor market becomes increasingly dependent on skilled workers who have at least some education beyond high school—whether that means an associate or bachelor’s degree, or a professional credential—student success in college is as important as it has ever been. Regrettably, though, large numbers of students in the United States do not have access to higher education opportunities. Read More

As members of the Arizona community, we all understand the significant connection between a highly educated workforce and improving the state’s economy. As an essential strategy of that effort, the idea of increasing our state’s postsecondary attainment rate (the percentage of adults who hold a high-quality credential, certificate or degree) is gaining steam among a number of state education and business leaders. Read More

Higher education is becoming more stratified: Many affluent students do very well in college, while most middle- and low-income students struggle to attend at all or, if they go, to complete a degree. College Success Arizona understands that increasing college graduation rates across the state means creating opportunities for and enhancing the chances of completion, particularly for Latino and low-income students. Read More