Graduating students at City College in New York in a 2016 file photo. For first-generation college students to reach this point, they may need support that students from families with a history of college-going take for granted. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images
This fall, residence halls and classrooms are filling with new students eager to start their academic journey. Many of them are “first generation” students — the first in their family to be able to pursue higher education.
The thrilling feeling of accomplishment and pride these students feel upon entering college, however, is often accompanied by less helpful emotions like anxiety and self-doubt. And, unlike students for whom college-going is a family tradition, first-generation students often lack the structural and emotional supports to overcome the real and perceived barriers they face as they enter academia.
To succeed, first-generation and other less-advantaged students need more than simply admission to college; they need academic, financial, and social-emotional support.
These “wraparound” supports are key to the new partnership between the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and College Track, a national nonprofit with a proven record of helping first-generation students navigate through high school, college, and beyond.
The partnership gives College Track a public higher education partner in the Baltimore region and builds on the April announcement by the Baltimore Ravens, the Stephen and Renee Bisciotti Foundation, and M&T Bank of a $20 million donation to establish a College Track center in Baltimore to support Baltimore City Public Schools.
With an innovative 10-year support model that follows students from ninth grade through post-graduation, College Track helps them prepare for college, apply for and be admitted to college, graduate and turn their degree into a satisfying and fulfilling career.
College Track currently serves more than 4,000 high school and college scholars in California, Colorado, Louisiana, and the Washington, D.C., metro area. Ninety percent of College Track scholars are first-generation college students, and 84% are from underserved communities. They earn their bachelor’s degrees at more than two-and-a-half times the rate of their first-generation peers.
This is how the new partnership will work: UMBC will guarantee admission each year for a cohort of eligible College Track Scholars from Maryland with a priority on students from Baltimore City schools. UMBC will provide funding for the full demonstrated financial need of these College Track scholars up to the cost of attendance for up to five years of full-time enrollment.
UMBC will also invite all College Track scholars to participate in the Summer Bridge program, a six-week residential program that prepares students for academic life with costs covered by the university.
Why is UMBC taking on this significant financial commitment? Because, as a historically diverse public university with a stunning record of equitable student success — particularly in STEM fields, where first-generation students and students of color are especially underrepresented — UMBC is the ideal partner for College Track’s efforts to democratize potential.
Put simply, we know how to do this work. With resources such as our Meyerhoff Scholars program, UMBC is a powerful force in diversifying academic excellence in this country. For example, UMBC is the nation’s No. 1 producer of Black undergraduates who go on to complete a Ph.D. in the natural sciences or engineering.
Our partnership with College Track will allow us to find more students from traditionally underserved backgrounds and help them share their gifts with the world.
UMBC’s effectiveness at delivering results isn’t the only reason we are joining College Track in their work; this agreement also reflects how UMBC is deepening our commitment to Baltimore City students and equity-based education overall.
Under President Valerie Sheares Ashby, we believe we have a responsibility to make equitable education happen in real, tangible ways that improve people’s everyday lives. Combining our academic strengths with College Track’s wraparound support model will empower promising students in Baltimore and across Maryland to pursue their dreams and contribute meaningfully to their communities.
The Maryland State Plan for Higher Education identifies ensuring equitable access to affordable and high-quality postsecondary education for all Maryland residents as a top priority. To turn that priority into our state’s reality, we need to surround students with long-term support that meets their unique needs, be it financial help, assistance understanding how higher education works, or just motivation to keep going.
The UMBC/College Track partnership will put many students in Maryland on the path to becoming their family’s first college graduate. It will also provide a template for other partnerships that leverage shared resources to meet students where they are and take them to the next level.