Kent State will launch a new initiative in February to recruit low-income, first-generation students to college — any college.
KSU President Lester Lefton told trustees on Wednesday that See You @ College will collaborate with community groups, nonprofits and national foundations to reach students who may not have college on their to-do list.
“We’re just trying to do the right thing,” Lefton said. “We’ll get our fair share [of students].”
The university will hold a conference on Feb. 13 at the Kent campus to train “ambassadors.” Greg Darnieder, a senior adviser with the U.S. Department of Education, and John Carey, chancellor of the Ohio Board of Regents, will be keynote speakers. About 300 community leaders who mentor young people in churches, clubs and the like have been invited to learn how they can shepherd them into higher education.
“By training the trainers, you reach a much broader range of individuals,” Lefton said.
Iris Harvey, KSU vice president of university relations, spearheaded the initiative, which will focus on middle school students.
“[The KSU ambassadors] are trusted and respected in the marketplace,” she said.
Ambassadors could provide information on the free federal financial aid application and what courses to take to prepare for college.
The leader of a Sunday school class, for example, could ask high school freshmen how many are taking Algebra 1 as a foundation for college.
According to Lefton, 30 percent of Ohioans who go to college right after high school are first-generation students and 24 percent are both first-generation and low-income. Lefton sees See You @ College as a model project that could blossom into a national initiative.
In other business, trustees agreed to allow some students to live off campus earlier than expected.
Starting this spring, students who have 60 credit hours or are at least 20 will no longer be required to live in one of KSU’s 27 residence halls. That will free about 250 students to move off campus if they choose to take advantage of the change, said Greg Jarvie, vice president of enrollment management and student affairs.
The university had required students with less than 64 credit hours or who were under 21 to live on campus. That was an “old, even archaic,” policy that dated from decades past, Jarvie said.
The new policy will not hurt the residence halls, he said, as they were filled at the start of the fall semester and are close to capacity in the spring semester.
Students who live within 50 miles of the Kent campus, who live in a university-recognized fraternity or sorority house or who take part in a KSU program with an off-campus living site remain exempt from the policy.
About 6,200 students, primarily freshmen and sophomores, live in residence halls.
Carol Biliczky can be reached at cbiliczky@thebeaconjournal.com or 330-996-3729.