Editorial: Can do — College access is St. Louis’s most achievable major challenge

STLtoday.com

Money isn’t everything. Not when it comes to making sure first-generation and lower-income students have a realistic chance to attend and complete college.

An action plan St. Louis Regional College Access Pipeline Project published last week shows that there is something just as important as money: encouragement. Children must be encouraged to set college as a goal at an early age. They must be academically prepared by schools that have a “college-going culture.” They and their parents must be helped through the college selection, application and admissions maze.

Yes, students and parents must have access to adequate financial aid or support. But it’s money wasted if not accompanied by a constant push to make sure students persevere until they complete their degree.

The College Access Pipeline is a coalition of area colleges and universities, K-12 educators, college access service providers and business and philanthropic leaders. Many of its recommendations are achievable with resources that already are available.

Among the nation’s 35 largest metropolitan areas, according to 2007 data compiled by the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, St. Louis ranked 24th in the percentage of its population that has received at least a bachelor’s degree. It was 31st in degree attainment by African-Americans.

CAP’s goal is to ensure that 50 percent of adults in the St. Louis region have a post-secondary credential — either a bachelor’s degree, an associate’s degree or a meaningful vocational certificate — by 2020.

The plan’s focus is to put key players on the same page by setting common standards, creating regional databases and providing professional training to a wide range of service providers.

“We don’t need an outside savior to come in,” said Stacy Clay, director of College Summit-St. Louis and a member of the University City School Board. “Coordination is the key, and resources to do that already exist in our community.”

The greatest resource may be the growing understanding that this mission is critical to St. Louis’ future.

Kathy Reeves of Enterprise Holdings, the corporate parent of Enterprise and other car rental firms, said her company hires about 8,500 young people each year.

“All of our efforts come back to education,” she said, and while St. Louis can try to attract bright stars from other cities, the “low-hanging fruit is educating our own population.”

Ms. Reeves said that philanthropies are getting smarter and more aggressive when it comes to funding scholarships. They are starting to demand data that show colleges’ and universities’ commitment to admitting first-generation and lower-income students and making sure that they get their degrees.

Money isn’t everything. But it is indispensable.

An unacceptably high number of qualified high school graduates are priced out of college. They have done everything we have asked them to do. Even borrowing to the max, they simply can not afford to go.

Gov. Jay Nixon made deep cuts in Access Missouri, the state’s only needs-based scholarship program. Federal Pell Grants, meanwhile, are at risk in current deficit-reduction talks. The maximum grant of $5,550 could be cut by 45 percent.

Reversing those trends should become be a top political priority for the St. Louis region, given the same prominence and attention as our most ambitious economic development plans.

Government-funded scholarships need to come with a reliable private match; that’s where philanthropic help is needed. About 23,000 Missouri high school students each in the St. Louis region are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch programs, a key measure of economic need.

As little as $2,000 a year could make it possible for a student to bridge the gap and make college a reality. That’s a philanthropic goal St. Louis is capable of reaching.