Overall Rating Gold - expired
Overall Score 65.95
Liaison Kathleen McCaig
Submission Date June 14, 2017
Executive Letter Download

STARS v2.1

Berea College
PA-7: Affordability and Access

Status Score Responsible Party
Complete 4.00 / 4.00 Kathleen McCaig
Sustainability Coordinator
Operations & Sustainability
"---" indicates that no data was submitted for this field

Does the institution have policies and programs to make it accessible and affordable to low-income students?:
Yes

A brief description of any policies and programs to minimize the cost of attendance for low-income students:

Berea College covers the cost of tuition for each student through Federal, State, Non-Berea Scholarships, and institutional grants. All students who are accepted into the college must be low income (98% of Berea College domestic students are Pell eligible), and must also work at least 10 hours per week to help defray their Cost of Attendance. Our students also consistently graduate with some of the lowest student loan debt in the nation. Our graduation success rate for low income students (our entire student body) exceeds the national norms.


A brief description of any programs to equip the institution’s faculty and staff to better serve students from low-income backgrounds:

All students come from low income backgrounds, and in the interest of best serving the students' needs along with the unique college life they lead at a labor college (as opposed to most non-labor required colleges) faculty and staff are briefed and prepared as a part of the on-boarding process to best provide for these students.


A brief description of the institution’s programs to guide and prepare students and families from low-income backgrounds for higher education:

The FRESH START and other orientation week programs help students adjust and find the best academic pathway for their needs and interests, be they based on their financial need or other forms of diverse backgrounds.


A brief description of the institution's scholarships for low-income students:

Berea College awards a four-year, tuition scholarship to every admitted student. This scholarship works in conjunction with any other grants or scholarships students receive to completely cover the cost of tuition.

Costs, such as housing, meals, and mandatory fees, may also be covered by Federal, State, scholarships, and College institutional funds for all students depending upon financial need. All students receive some amount of aid for these costs.


A brief description of the institution’s targeted outreach to recruit students from low-income backgrounds:

The Berea College GEAR UP Partnership serves six high-poverty school districts through intensive programming and relationships with 16 schools in the contiguous Appalachian counties of Estill, Jackson, Lee, Madison and Rockcastle. Also, the College's Admissions Counselors serve the Berea territory (mainly the Appalachian Mountain region) to recruit students from low-income backgrounds. Students must not have an Expected Parental Contribution of not more than $4750 to be admitted to the College, in addition to a history of service, and high ACT/SAT scores.


A brief description of the institution’s other policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:

See above.


Does the institution have policies and programs to support non-traditional students?:
Yes

A brief description of the institution’s scholarships provided specifically for part-time students:

Federal, State, College institutional funds, grants and scholarships are pro-rated based on the course load of a student.


A brief description of the institution’s on-site child care facility, partnership with a local facility, and/or subsidies or financial support to help meet the child care needs of students:

The College has a Child Development/Care center on campus to assist student and employee parents with child-care. They are also given help in enrolling in state programs to assist with child care, food, and housing expenses.


A brief description of the institution’s other policies and programs to support non-traditional students:

All non-traditional students have the opportunity to live in the Ecovillage, a sustainable housing facility located on campus with a college-run child care facility within steps of the Ecovillage.


Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (tracking accessibility and affordability)? (If data is not available, select 'No'):
Yes

The percentage of entering students that are low-income (0-100):
98

The graduation/success rate for low-income students (0-100):
65

On average, the percentage of need that was met for students who were awarded any need-based aid (e.g. as reported to the U.S. Common Data Set initiative, item H2) (0-100):
95

The percentage of students graduating with no interest-bearing student loan debt or for whom no out-of-pocket tuition is required (i.e. the percentage of graduates who have not taken out interest-bearing loans) (0-100):
100

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 (0-100):
100

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
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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.