| Overall Rating | Silver - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 56.59 |
| Liaison | Rob Andrejewski |
| Submission Date | Feb. 15, 2016 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Richmond
PA-8: Affordability and Access
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
3.54 / 4.00 |
Lisa
Miles Assistant Director Common Ground |
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indicates that no data was submitted for this field
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Does the institution have policies and programs in place to make it accessible and affordable to low-income students?:
Yes
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A brief description of any policies and programs to minimize the cost of attendance for low-income students:
Richmond In Reach, our need-based aid program, is available to eligible, full-time undergraduate students who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Through this program, Richmond commits to meeting 100% of our students’ demonstrated need, and we don’t consider financial need when making admission decisions.
Aid packages are made up of grants and scholarships that do not have to be repaid, as well as a self-help portion that may include loans or Work-Study. Because it is the University's desire to help students graduate with very little debt, they attempt to keep loans to a minimum.
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A brief description of any programs to equip the institution’s faculty and staff to better serve students from low-income backgrounds:
Pathways is a program coordinated out of the Academic Advising Center and Common Ground, the diversity initiative. Through it, faculty and staff are taught how to provide intensive advising for first-generation students, many of whom are low-income. With 6 hours of training in the fall,and on-going monthly meetings, advisors learn from listening to a panel of first-gen/low-income students, doing readings on best practices with said population, and meeting with staff from financial aid, academic resources, and student development to understand how to best provide complete services.
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A brief description of any programs to prepare students from low-income backgrounds for higher education:
Pathways to a College Experience is a program offered out of the Center for Civic Engagement. It trains 100 students a year to mentor local high school students in underserved schools in all matters of the college selection and application process. Focus areas include college readiness, such as academic preparation, study skills, learning expectations in a college environment, and college access, such as researching college options and financial aid and preparing for the college application process. College mentors also provide tips about the transition to college life based on their own real life experiences.
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A brief description of the institution's scholarships for low-income students:
For any entering first-year student from Virginia who qualifies for admission, whose total family income is $60,000 or less and who demonstrates eligibility for need-based aid, the University of Richmond provides an aid package equal to full-time tuition plus standard room and board (without loans).
In addition, the University is one of a handful of schools nationwide that meet 100% of demonstrated need, and are need-blind in our admissions policies.
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A brief description of any programs to guide parents of low-income students through the higher education experience:
The orientation session for parents of first-generation college students, the work with partner programs such as LEDA, education related to scholarships, the Multicultural Overnight Visitation Experience, the ANSWER program for admitted Black and Latino students all contain parent components. Financial Aid is present for all on-campus visit days.
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A brief description of any targeted outreach to recruit students from low-income backgrounds:
We also work with a number of partner programs that help us identify high-achieving, low-income students who are well-prepared for college such as the Wight Foundation based in Newark, NJ and the LEDA program.
In addition, we are a member of ImFirst.org, an organization that brings information about colleges to 30,000 first-generation high school students annually.
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A brief description of other admissions policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:
The Multicultural Overnight Visitation Experience invites interested and diverse high school students to an overnight visit. Meetings with financial aid officers explain our process for both parents and students. The ANSWER is a program offered for admitted Black and Latino students in April to allow them to more closely understand what Richmond has to offer. In both cases, students may be flown in by Admissions if they student demonstrates high financial need.
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A brief description of other financial aid policies or programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students:
All first-year, degree-seeking applicants, including Fall Early Decision, Winter Early Decision, and Regular Decision applicants, are eligible for merit scholarship consideration. Scholarships range anywhere from $750-$20,000. Scholarships include music/dance scholarships, Davis United World Scholars, National Achievement Scholarships, National Hispanic Recognition, and Army ROTC Scholarships.
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A brief description of other policies and programs to make the institution accessible and affordable to low-income students not covered above:
Richmond is among only 1 percent of institutions in the U.S. with both a "need-blind" admission policy and a guarantee to meet 100 percent of demonstrated need. Forty percent of undergraduates are eligible for need-based aid, with an average aid package of $43,000. Plus, all first-year applicants are considered for merit-based aid, including full-tuition scholarships and a variety of interest-based programs.
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Does the institution have policies and programs in place to support non-traditional students?:
Yes
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A brief description of any scholarships provided specifically for part-time students:
Degree-seeking students may qualify for financial aid and/or SPCS scholarships and can utilize the University of Richmond’s Financial Aid Office. Merit-based scholarships, need-based aid, Virginia Tuition Assistant Grant (VTAG) and loans are some of the resources available to qualified applicants. And the University’s installment plan allows you to spread tuition payments over several months.
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A brief description of any onsite child care facilities, partnerships with local facilities, and/or subsidies or financial support to help meet the child care needs of students:
Not offered.
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A brief description of other policies and programs to support non-traditional students:
Most non-traditional students enter through our part-time School of Professional and Continuing Studies. SPCS is fully staffed with academic advisors, on-site career counselors, their own student government association and access to all the library, computer labs, and other programs and services of the undergraduate population.
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Does the institution wish to pursue Part 2 of this credit (accessibility and affordability indicators)?:
Yes
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Indicators that the institution is accessible and affordable to low-income students::
| Percentage (0-100) | |
| The percentage of entering students that are low-income | 16 |
| The graduation/success rate for low-income students | 81 |
| The percentage of student financial need met, on average | 100 |
| The percentage of students graduating with no interest-bearing student loan debt | 57 |
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The percentage of students that participate in or directly benefit from the institution’s policies and programs to support low-income and non-traditional students:
16
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The website URL where information about the institution's affordability and access programs is available:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
http://financialaid.richmond.edu/prospective/virginians/index.html
http://financialaid.richmond.edu/prospective/need-based/index.html
https://www.collegegreenlight.com/cboProfile/the-wight-foundation
http://www.ledascholars.org/news-press/our-results/
http://www.imfirst.org/university-richmond/#.VkqqN3arSM8
http://admissions.richmond.edu/visit/index.html
http://spcs.richmond.edu/degrees/students/index.html
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.