With a record number of students looking to federal funding to help pay for college, one program is making a post-secondary education a bit more affordable, providing scholarships to Tennessee high schoolers moving on to higher ed.
Called tnAchieves, the program is aimed toward helping low-income students who would be the first in their families to attend college. The organization provides “last-dollar” funding — filling the gap between what’s covered by federal aid and the total cost of tuition — for those community-college bound and raises money through a private-public partnership. Nashville signed on to tnAchieves this month, bringing the total number of Tennessee counties served to 27.
“For us it’s about the students. The number one goal is serving the students,” Krissy DeAlejandro, executive director for tnAchieves, told Red Alert Politics. “…It’s good to see everyone focused on the importance of pursuing that post-secondary degree. … It’s a culture shift.”
tnAchieves began in 2008, the brainchild of then-Knox County Mayor Mike Ragsdale. It was originally launched for workforce development, and with 1,200 of 3,500 graduating seniors opting not to pursue a post-secondary education, investing in students’ futures seemed like an obvious necessity.
When the program launched seven years ago — known then as KnoxAchieves — officials estimated they could provide funding for a maximum of 500 students. Only 497 applied, so each and every one could receive a scholarship. But in order for high school seniors to qualify for tnAchieves, and subsequently receive the money, they must meet a series of benchmarks ranging from completing their FAFSA to attending several tnAchieves meetings to conducting eight hours of community service each semester. At the end of their first year, 286 students qualified and met all the requirements, DeAlejandro said.
“It was so quick and we have been sprinting since then,” she said. “We wanted to target first generation, low-income students … but we never wanted a stigma attached. We wanted the families to be proud, ‘oh my student has this scholarship.’ …So every student was allowed to be part of the program.”
Since its launch, tnAchieves’ has seen close to a 1,000-percent increase in the number of students it’s served. This year, the group provided scholarships to more than 2,900 new freshman. And consequently, high schools throughout Tennessee, like those in Knox County, are reporting an increase of roughly 12 percentage points in college-going rates, DeAlejandro said.
And it’s these figures that makes soliciting donations so easy.
tnAchieves’ Board Chairman Randal Boyd’s company, Radio Systems Corporation, covers 100 percent of operating costs, so all private donations go straight to scholarships. And as the program has seen monumental success, all students who apply receive universal acceptance.
According to DeAlejandro, tnAchieves takes in approximately $2.2 million in private funds. The group has yet to hold a single fundraiser — save for a breakfast here and there — but the money keeps pouring in.
When DeAlejandro attended a breakfast in Memphis with Mayor AC Wharton, Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell and Gov. Bill Haslam (R) to launch Memphis/Shelby Achieves, they simply relayed personal stories about how tnAchieves has helped students from across the state. The group walked out with more than $500,000 in donations.
“We come in every day and the minimum goal is serving the students,” DeAlejandro said. “…It’s great to see so many people want to pursue a post-secondary degree.”
But tnAchieves provides more than just scholarships. Each and every student is paired with a mentor who provides guidance, support and a little nudge when they start to lag behind in their studies.
“The money is so important to starting the conversation, but what gets students over those hurdles is the mentor support,” DeAlejandro said.
And with student loan debt topping $1 trillion, it’s programs like tnAchieves that change the conversation from students amassing thousands in debt to easing the high price of a post-secondary education.
According to a new study released by the Department of Education, 57 percent of undergraduates attending a two-year public institution receive federal aid, compared to 70 percent of all undergraduates.
“It’s always been an obstacle in terms of cost for college students. It’s no longer there. There’s really no reason for them not to go [to school],” Drew Freeman with Tennessee Assistance Corp said in a video for the program. “I can go up there and talk about financial aid all day but you can tangibly say with tnAchieves you can go to school for free.”
