New Report Exposes Major Discrepancies Among Four-Year Universities In College Completion Rate For Underrepresented Minorities; Provides Guidance To Increase Bachelor's Degree Attainment

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools Finds Program to Connect Scholars to Best-Fit University to Dramatically Increase College Completion Rate

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Alliance College-Ready Public Schools

Feb 05, 2019, 12:06 ET

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, a non-profit network of high-performing public charter schools serving 13,000 low-income scholars across Los Angeles, today released a report outlining wide discrepancies in bachelor's degree attainment for underrepresented minorities, and identifies strategies to increase college completion rates for those students. The report, CHARTING A COURSE TO COLLEGE COMPLETION: THE POWER OF COLLEGE MATCHING, announces the Power 150^TM Index, the 150 colleges and universities that graduate underrepresented minority students at a rate of 75% or higher.

Alliance stack ranks the Power 150^TM Index–or only 3% of all colleges and universities nationwide–with the remaining colleges and universities in three additional tiers, based on the bachelor's degree attainment of underrepresented minorities. Alliance college counselors use the Power 150^TM Index and tiered ranking system to consciously match each Alliance scholar with the college most likely to ensure their college completion.

This program can increase bachelor's degree attainment by 41%, simply by ensuring that Alliance scholars apply to, and matriculate to the colleges for which they are best matched academically.

"95% of Alliance scholars graduate from high school and are admitted to college. We're incredibly proud of that, but in 2019, getting into college isn't enough," said Dan Katzir, CEO of Alliance College-Ready Public Schools. "That's where our innovative college-matching program comes in. "Our goal is to have those scholars complete their degree and enter an increasingly-competitive job market."

Alliance college counselors use the Power 150^TM Index as a starting point to help scholars find their best-fit school. This helps prevent "undermatching," where an academically-eligible student does not attend a competitive four-year college, as well as helping to prevent scholars from attending colleges and universities without the ability to meet their specific needs.

"I'm proud of every one of our graduating scholars," Katzir added, "and I know they have the ability to earn a bachelor's degree. This is where we must put our emphasis as educators. I hope this report will contribute to the broader conversation about the college completion gap for underrepresented minorities and more schools will adopt this kind of college matching program that we've found so effective."

The full report can be seen HERE.

About Alliance College-Ready Public Schools: Alliance College-Ready Public Schools is one of the largest and most successful nonprofit charter school networks in the nation, operating 25 high-performing, public charter middle and high schools that educate nearly 13,000 students from Los Angeles' most underserved communities. Alliance schools have been recognized as among the best in the nation by US News & World Report, Newsweek, the U.S. Department of Education and the California Department of Education. Since opening its first school in 2004, 95% of Alliance students have graduated from high school and been accepted to college.

SOURCE Alliance College-Ready Public Schools