Overall Rating	Gold - expired
Overall Score	81.45
Liaison	Lindsey Lyons
Submission Date	March 1, 2018
Executive Letter	Download

STARS v2.1

Dickinson College
PA-7: Affordability and Access

Status	Score	Responsible Party
	3.45 / 4.00	Neil Leary Director Center for Sustainability Education

"---" 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:

Twenty-one percent of the full cost of educating a student at Dickinson, roughly $13,000 per student, is funded from the endowment and alumni and foundation support, lowering the cost to all students. 76 percent of the entering class in fall 2017 demonstrated financial need, and all of these students received financial aid. The average total need-based package of grants, loans and work study was nearly $40,000.

Posse Scholars: Dickinson’s partnership with the Posse Foundation provides full scholarships, mentoring and a support group for “Posses” of students from Los Angeles and New York, most of whom have substantial financial need. Dickinson also partners with Philadelphia Futures, College Match, and NJ Seeds, which give qualified, historically underrepresented students the chance to attend institutions like Dickinson.
http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20050/diversity/1389/posse_at_dickinson

Community College Partnership Program: allows students to reduce total educational expenses by attending one of our region’s five top community colleges during their first two years. While there, they participate in an honors program and receive academic advising from Dickinson staff. After successful completion of the program, the students transfer to Dickinson for their final two years and receive a $15,000 scholarship for each of their two remaining years. Parnters include two community colleges in Maryland—Howard Community College and Montgomery College—and two in Pennsylvania—Montgomery County Community College, Northampton Community College and Harrisburg Community College.

Public Service Scholarship: Exceptional high-school graduates earn tuition credits of up to $40,000 while working to improve the society in which they live. Each year of meaningful public-service work--including service as a Global Citizen Year Fellow--earns participants a $10,000 tuition credit toward their tuition at Dickinson. Upon matriculation such Public Service Fellows receive priority consideration for positions as resident advisors, community advisors and other opportunities to further reduce tuition and fees and gain additional leadership experience.

Yellow Ribbon Program: Dickinson's historic mission of educating engaged citizens and leaders has driven participation in a government program allowing post-9/11 United States veterans—and in some cases, their dependents—to enroll with significantly reduced tuition. Dickinson is one of more than 1,000 colleges and universities participating in the Yellow Ribbon GI Education Enhancement Program. This federal effort allows qualifying students to pay no more for their Dickinson tuition than the maximum in-state fees at a state school. They may also receive a stipend for books and supplies. This initiative opens new doors for veterans and provides them with unprecedented access to higher education.

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

Diversity and inclusion training offered to faculty help them to better serve students from low-income backgrounds. Faculty and staff who serve for 4-years as the adviser for a group of Posse Scholars receive training to help them better serve the students in the program.

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

CONNECT offers a four-week summer program for at-risk, low-income middle school youth that integrates health education, academic enrichment, cultural activities, leadership, career exploration and community service. Led by Joyce Bylander, CONNECT is a partnership between Dickinson College, the Carlisle Arts Learning Center, the YWCA, Carlisle Area School District and the United Way, and is funded in part by the Partnership for Better Health. https://www.dickinson.edu/news/article/2182/connecting_to_possibilities

Dickinson’s Posse Scholars participate in an 8-month college preparation program through the Posse Foundation before coming to Dickinson. Dickinson also partners with NJ SEEDS, Lenfest Scholars and StreetSquash, which help low income students to prepare for college. http://www.dickinson.edu/news/article/825/seeds_and_success.

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

Samuel G. Rose ’58 Scholarship: provides scholarships for economically disadvantaged students from urban areas reduces recipients' student loans. The scholarship recipients are chosen by a team of administrators who review grades, high-school class ranks, SAT scores and financial situations. Rose’s philanthropy has been a major boost to the college’s level of diversity. http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20259/grants_and_scholarships/1193/samuel_g_rose_58_scholarship

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

Dickinson recruits students from low-income backgrounds through our Discover Diversity at Dickinson program, Posse Scholars and Community College Partnerships, as well as partnerships with programs such as NJ SEEDS, Philadelphia Futures and College Match.

Discover Diversity at Dickinson: a three-day overnight program designed for promising high-school seniors who self-identify as students of color and/or will be first-generation college students. This distinctive opportunity will allow you to experience Dickinson's dynamic campus community during overnight stays as well as during our traditional open house. The program will allow you to see the college community as it is and celebrate its true diversity. Participants will stay with a student host, attend classes, meet members of Dickinson's renowned faculty, collaborate with staff in workshops and connect with current students. Participants will also join visiting families during the fall open house prior to our first application deadline (Nov. 15). The program will introduce students to important information about our admissions and financial aid processes.
http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20255/visit/1058/discover_diversity_at_dickinson

Posse Scholars: Dickinson participates in the national Posse Foundation program and provides full scholarships to “Posses” of students from Los Angeles and New York who have been identified as student leaders from public high schools in selected urban areas and prepared by the Posse Foundation through an intensive eight-month Pre-Collegiate Training Program for enrollment at top-tier colleges and universities. http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20050/diversity/1389/posse_at_dickinson

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

Dickinson offers SALT, a financial literacy program, in partnership with American Student Assistance, a resource that benefits all students that can be particularly valuable for students with financial need. The program helps students with budgeting, student loans, savings, credit and investing. http://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/1003/other_helpful_information

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:

In cases where an adult student wishes to pursue a degree, part-time permission may be granted by the Registrar. Tuition per course will be prorated at the full-time tuition charge for those granted part-time status, whether initially admitted into a degree program or admitted conditionally for a maximum of four courses. Students who are admitted and who enroll in at least two courses per semester may be eligible for federal financial aid.

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:

Dickinson College Children's Center provides child care and Kindergarten for Dickinson College employees and students, as well as the general public. Dickinson employees and students pay a reduced fee.

Please see
http://www.dickinson.edu/homepage/66/dickinson_college_children_s_center

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

Please see

http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20045/admissions/1046/nontraditional_admissions

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):

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

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):

98.30

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):

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):

---

The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:

http://www.dickinson.edu/info/20045/admissions/1028/value_and_affordability

Additional documentation to support the submission:

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Data source(s) and notes about the submission:

Data for Part 2 are taken from Dickinson's 2017-2018 Common Data Set, http://www.dickinson.edu/download/downloads/id/8090/cds_2017_2018.pdf

Percentage of entering students that are low-income is based on incoming first-time first-year student Pell Grant recipients, row B4 of Common Data Set

The graduation/success rate for low-income students is based on the six-year graduation rate for the Fall 2011 cohort of Pell Grant recipients, row B11 of Common Data Set.

The percentage of student financial need met on average is based on full-time undergrads, row H2 of Common Data Set.

The percentage of students graduation with no interest-bearing student loan debt calculated as 100% less the % of students in graduating class of 2017 who took any loans, row H5 of Common Data Set.

Data source(s) and notes about the submission