Adapt
Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Report
Dear Friends,
While the last few years of the COVID-19 pandemic brought uncertainty and turbulence to the education sector, College Possible has remained steadfast in its mission to empower students to earn a college degree, and to reap the economic mobility that degree affords.
For the more than 25,000 students we served in the 2021–2022 school year, the lingering impacts of the pandemic manifested across student learning gaps, teacher and staff shortages, student and AmeriCorps recruitment challenges, program accessibility constraints, and financial strains that made access to earning a college degree tougher than ever, particularly for first-generation students and those from disadvantaged communities.
For these reasons, our commitment to our mission — and our gratitude for the support of our partners, donors and funders — has never been stronger.
As we reflect on our key learnings and accomplishments from our 2022 fiscal year, we stand in admiration of our staff, AmeriCorps coaches, partners and students. While the pandemic put new demands and pressures on students, College Possible continued to adapt to help even more students prioritize college and stay on track to achieve their goals. Four themes have surfaced that exemplify our response to the evolving education landscape and rapidly-changing student needs, described in broader detail throughout this annual report:
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ENHANCE: A merger cost-effectively enhanced our offer and reach
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LEAD: Strategic hires strengthened our agility and program fidelity
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PARTNER: New partners and funders expanded our reach
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RETHINK: Program adaptations responded to evolving student needs
I want to thank you for standing with College Possible to champion educational equity. Your support plays a vital role in closing the college degree divide that permeates communities nationwide. When all students have fair access to a college degree, everyone wins.
Sincerely,
Dr. Siva Kumari
Chief Executive Officer
Nearly 60% of families who have been impacted by the fallout of COVID-19 through job loss or other financial loss have been talking with children about the costs of attending college. And nearly 70% of prospective and current college students say the price of attending has altered their college plans for the 2021–22 academic year.
National Student Clearinghouse annual Student Lending Survey
adapt
[ uh-dapt ]
verb
to adjust oneself to different conditions, environment, etc.
At the start of the 2021–2022 school year, high school and college students faced an environment of tumultuous uncertainty. While many school campuses reopened as COVID-19 vaccine availability grew, many would reclose as pandemic surges mounted. By last fall, staff and teacher shortages reached unsurpassed heights, undergraduate college enrollment had dropped by 8% nationally, and 70% of college students said concerns about college affordability had a moderate or high impact on their fall enrollment plans.
Learning gaps, and thereby a student’s academic preparedness for college, continued to mount. For newly enrolled College Possible high school students as well as first and second year college students, last fall marked their first days in a classroom or campus setting in the past three years. Further, the financial toll of the pandemic continued to pressure students to prioritize after-school jobs or sibling childcare over academics. For many students, college began to feel like an unachievable dream.
The reports are clear: The emotional, economic and learning loss impacts of COVID-19 have hit our nation’s most vulnerable students the hardest, putting the feasibility of a college degree — and the proven economic mobility it affords — in question.
As we reflect on our fiscal year 2022 (July 1, 2021–June 30, 2022), it is the adaptability of our employees, AmeriCorps coaches, school partners, funders — and most importantly our resilient students — that speaks to our biggest lessons learned and our organization’s most compelling impact.
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT
The return to the classroom empowers Cuauhtemoc to finish strong
When Cuauhtemoc started taking dual-credit courses at Omaha’s Westside High School, his mother started to encourage him to get a college degree.
Our impact
NATIONAL REACH
At the close of fiscal year 2022 (June 30, 2022), College Possible’s national reach included:
8
Regional sites
National Headquarters: St. Paul, MN
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Chicago
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College Forward (Austin, TX)
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Milwaukee
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Minnesota
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Omaha
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Oregon
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Philadelphia
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Washington
85,713
Students served since 2000
1
25,047
Students served annually
1
64%
Students of color served
2
139
High school partners
1
76
College partners
1
1,316
Total colleges attended
3
NATIONAL STUDENT OUTCOMES
At the close of fiscal year 2022 (June 30, 2022), College Possible students achieved the following college access and success results:
6,561
High school students served
1
80%
Enrolled in college immediately after high school
3
18,486
College students served
1
82%
Among enrolled students, number who persisted from first-to-second year in college
4
1,426
Total degrees earned in fiscal year 2022
5
1
2
3
4
5
Nationally, fiscal year 2022.
Of the students served fiscal year 2022 who reported race/ethnicity; this represents those who identified as Black/African/African-American, Hispanic/Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, American Indian/Native Alaskan or Multiracial.
Nationally, fiscal year 2022; to any degree-granting institution.
Nationally, fiscal year 2022; represents fall-to-fall enrollment to any degree-granting institution.
Nationally, fiscal year 2022; includes verified BA, AA and certificates.
Leadership and National Board of Directors
Dr. Siva Kumari
Chief Executive Officer
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Joanna Burleson
Chair
Managing Director, Monitor Institute by Deloitte
Daniel Lugo, JD
Treasurer
President, Queens University of Charlotte
Norm Bontje
Member
Seattle Philanthropist
Dr. Donnell Butler
Member
Founder and President, Opportunity College
Al Fan
Ex Officio Director
Marlene Ibsen
Member
Vice President, Community Relations, Travelers and President & CEO, Travelers Foundation
Dr. Doreen James Wise
Member
Nurse Entrepreneur and Co-Founder of College Forward
Dr. Fayneese Miller
Member
President, Hamline University
Andrea Mokros
Member
Chief Public Affairs Officer, M Health Fairview
Joelle A. Murchison
Member
Principal and Founder, ExecMommyGroup LLC
Dr. Jenny Rickard
Member
President & CEO, Common App
Dr. Suzanne M. Rivera
Member
President, Macalester College
