As the Carolina Covenant program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill prepares to graduate its first class on May 11, its seniors had posted a 90.6 percent retention rate by the first semester of this academic year.
The University won’t know how many from the first class will have completed their undergraduate degrees in four years until late this summer, when some students have finished summer school and records are complete. But of the first 223 Carolina Covenant Scholars who enrolled as freshmen in fall 2004, (reduced from 224 because of one student’s death), 202 were still enrolled or had graduated.
Some have transferred to other schools, and some have taken a break from their studies and may return. With private funds, the University has contracted with RTI International for a thorough analysis of the Covenant. Results are expected next year.
By the start of last semester, the scholars’ average grade-point average was 2.92. The mark betters that of 2.85 for students who would have been eligible for the Covenant had it existed when they enrolled in 2003.
The Covenant is now represented in all four classes, with 1,384 Covenant Scholars on campus. Averages for all four classes at the time they first enrolled at Carolina were SAT scores, 1208; grade-point averages, 4.23; from North Carolina, 87 percent; students of color, 61.5 percent; and first-generation college students, 56 percent.
The Covenant offers loan-free financial aid packages to any admitted student whose family income does not exceed 200 percent (150 percent for the first class enrolled, in 2004) of the poverty level. Now, that 200 percent level is $41,300? for a family of four. The Covenant funds the full financial need of each scholar for four years with a combination of scholarships, grants and work-study jobs.
The Covenant preserves and promotes Carolina’s identity as the people’s University.
“We think of the Covenant as an ethical and moral commitment, and indeed, we knew when we established it, that it fit our core values as a public university,” UNC Chancellor James Moeser said. “It fit our history and tradition of giving back to this state and to the nation.”
Before the Covenant, only Princeton University had a no-loans program. The Covenant, announced in 2003, was the first low-income initiative by a public university. It also was the first to add support measures to foster academic success by the scholars. Since then, more than 80 other public and private institutions have adopted programs to make higher education more accessible to students from low- to moderate-income families.
UNC Associate Provost Shirley Ort, J.D., director of the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid and the chief architect of the Covenant, attributed the 90.6 percent retention rate to program enhancements made possible in part by private giving.
Through April 7, donors ranging from banks and large corporations to individuals had committed almost $10 million to the Covenant. On campus, numerous units and individuals have pitched in to help the scholars succeed and provide them with a well rounded education. (See related story, http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/students/
carolina-covenant-prompts-support-campus-wide.html )
The private funds allowed UNC to raise income eligibility to 200 percent of the poverty level and begin incorporating eligible transfer students into the program in fall 2005. The gifts also supported the addition of faculty and professional staff mentors for the scholars, career workshops, etiquette dinners, financial literacy training and more.
“In addition to alleviating financial barriers for Covenant Scholars, we have put a lot of academic and student support services in place to help them make a good transition to collegiate life and study,” Ort said. “This type of invisible fencing is critical to keeping them here with us.”
Fred Clark, Ph.D., who coordinates all special programming for Covenant Scholars, created a faculty mentoring program for them and monitors their academic progress. If a scholar appears to need advice, Clark and his assistant, Michael Highland, contact the student to see whether they can suggest something that might help. They encourage the scholars to take advantage of support services available to all students, such as chemistry tutorials or help at the writing center, and those offered specifically for Covenant Scholars: time management, note-taking and more.
Ort calls Clark, who has taught at Carolina for more than 40 years, the human face of the Carolina Covenant. “It is he who continually reminds students that the program needs to be more than just money,” she said. “He hosts them for lunch, checks on their grades and conspires to further their academic success.”
Like all Carolina students, Covenant Scholars are encouraged to study abroad. The scholars may use their financial aid toward that purpose. Some have received University scholarships for study abroad for which all students may apply.
While the Covenant provides the opportunity for the scholars to graduate debt-free, some elect to borrow to cover such extras as non-required summer study or some study abroad programs. Under federal student aid rules, institutions may not prohibit students from borrowing if they determine that they would rather borrow than work. However, Ort said, very few Covenant Scholars have elected to take out loans.
“Without the Covenant, many of the scholars would not have understood how much grant and scholarship aid is available for them here at Carolina,” she said. “Some would have had to take out education loans, burdening themselves with debt for years after graduation. A number would have likely worked excessive hours while enrolled, potentially jeopardizing their academic success.”
Over the years, in visits with groups of middle school and high school students across North Carolina and beyond, Moeser has urged youngsters not to give up on obtaining a college education because of income.
“If they aspire to college and do what they need to do, working hard, choosing rigorous class schedules and participating in extracurricular activities and volunteer opportunities, there is a way for them,” Moeser said. “We want those who prepare academically to know their inability to cover college costs will not be a barrier.”
Note: Ort can be reached at (919) 962-9246 or shirley_ort@unc.edu.
For stories about individual graduating Covenant Scholars, see http://uncnews.unc.edu/news/students/
carolina-covenant-scholars-reflect-on-their-experiences.html for vignettes. For help connecting with other Covenant Scholar success stories, contact LJ Toler of News Services at (919) 962-8589 or laura_toler@unc.edu.
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589