Bates College
PA-8: Affordability and Access
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.75 / 4.00 |
Tom
Twist Sustainability Manager Facilities |
Percentage of need met, on average, for students who were awarded any need-based aid :
Percentage of students graduating without student loan debt:
Percentage of entering students that are low-income:
Graduation/success rate for low-income students:
A brief description of notable policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:
For Bates, financial aid is a central priority. The college ensures that 100 percent of its students’ demonstrated financial need is met for all four years. Forty-three percent of students receive grants from Bates, with such grants averaging $40,000 per student.
Compared with its peers, Bates spends a significantly larger proportion of its resources on financial aid. In fiscal year 2015, for example, Bates had an operating budget of $103.4 million and spent the equivalent of a third, $31.4 million, on financial aid.
That year, Bates’ financial aid outlay was equivalent to 12 percent of the college’s endowment — more than twice the commitment of several peer liberal arts colleges with far larger endowments.
Bates has several structures in place to help low-income students. We are part of the American Talent Initiative -
https://www.bates.edu/news/2016/12/14/bates-joins-select-us-colleges-in-major-access-initiative/
Also -
The SAFE Program encourages study abroad by students with very limited family resources and no prior international travel experience. Study abroad participation levels among such students, often students of color or the first generation at college, tend to be lower nationally and at Bates. The SAFE program addresses this pattern with three efforts.
Extra encouragement – Additional outreach efforts to ensure these students recognize that this part of the Bates curriculum is fully available to them.
Program and grant identification – Special efforts to work with these students to identify lower cost study abroad programs and Federal and program grants that are targeted to low income students, students of color, and/or the first generation at college.
Financial support – The Barlow Endowment for Study Abroad supplements the College’s already generous financial aid by providing $500 grants to Pell Grant-eligible students for incidental expenses that are not included in Bates’ regular financial aid award. The goal is to reduce student anxiety about extra expenses that often accompany study abroad. This grant is not available if the study abroad program provides similar assistance.
https://www.bates.edu/accessible-education/students/resources-available-to-all-bates-students/
In addition, our student employment office offers help to under served populations for finding work in their chosen fields -
A brief description of notable policies or programs to support non-traditional students:
The Bobcat First! Program seeks to foster a greater sense of well-being, belonging, and self-empowerment among first generation to college students. Through a pre-orientation program, workshops, co-curricular activities, and alumni events, first-year students will build strong connections with one another, faculty, and staff. For parents, programs are offered to build a community of support.
The Bobcat First! Program is based on an opt-in cohort model, where students develop community through social and educational experiences.
Estimated percentage of students that participate in or directly benefit from the institution’s policies and programs to support low-income and non-traditional students:
Website URL where information about the institution’s accessibility and affordability initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.