La Verne Partners with Bay-Area Group to Boost College Success Among Young Men of Color
The University of La Verne signed an agreement Dec. 10 with the Hayward-based Young Scholars Program to increase enrollment of African American men at La Verne and develop a support system at the University to raise their retention and graduation rates.
The agreement was signed by Young Scholars Chief Executive Officer and founder Jacqueline Rushing and La Verne’s Vice President of Strategic Enrollment Management and Communications Homa Shabahang at the university. La Verne is the first private university in California to partner with the nonprofit organization.
The first cohort of 30 to 40 students is expected to begin in the fall of 2016. The Young Scholars Program aligns with La Verne’s core value of diversity and inclusivity.
“We are happy about this partnership as it provides another outreach to students through the Young Scholars Program. We believe these students are a very good fit with the University’s mission and the diversity of its student population,” Shabahang said.
Rushing founded the college preparatory program for underserved students in 1999, giving the students the tools and preparation to enter and succeed at four-year institutions, and enter high-skilled careers. Eighty percent of the students who have gone through the program are the first in their families to go to college. The program boasts a 100 percent success rate in students passing their high school exit exams, graduating high school and entering college. Among those students, 85 percent graduated college in four to five years and 65 percent went on to graduate or professional schools.
In addition to college preparation, life skills training and encouraging parental engagement, the program also includes a college engagement plan requiring students to sit near the front of class, get to know their professors, adhere to a dress code and join a club by the third week of school.
“I’ve worked with underrepresented kids for many years to level the playing field for them,” Rushing said.
Young Scholars students will be referred to La Verne and other partner colleges, but Rushing says she also plans to conduct searches in Southern California for local students to participate in the program and pursue a degree at La Verne.
Young Scholars who are admitted to La Verne who complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid will receive a minimum scholarship of $5,000 per year for four years of undergraduate studies.
Though the program is primarily geared toward African Americans, it will also be open to students of other ethnicities, Rushing said.
Information: Community Relations & Outreach Director Sharon Cruz-McKinney, scruz-mckinney@laverne.edu or 909-448-4029.
