College Access & Affordability Programs

Increasing College Access, Affordability, and Outcomes for New York Students

There has been a groundswell of support in recent years for public programs that increase college access and affordability, especially for low-income and first-generation students. It is not enough, however, that we help these deserving students start college – we must see that they finish. Currently, far too few low-income and first-generation students who enroll in college make it to graduation. 

Monroe University is working hard to address this national challenge and become the standard-setter in outcomes for first-generation students. Our innovative programs and high-touch student support philosophies are making a difference and having a measurable impact. Chief among them is the Presidential Partnership Program, which was launched by President Jerome in 2016 to help New York families.

For more than 90 years, Monroe University has worked to improve access, affordability, and outcomes for New York high school students. As part of this commitment, we implemented an ambitious and innovative initiative in 2016 called the “Presidential Partnership Program,” which draws on our experience and proven outcomes educating urban and first-generation students.

The Program, which pre-dates New York State’s Excelsior Program, offers selected students an opportunity to obtain a post-secondary education – in most cases with zero debt – from a private institution known for having some of the best outcomes in New York State for lower-income students. We have been educating New York students since 1933 and have built a comprehensive academic and personal support infrastructure to help them succeed.

We were compelled to launch the PPP program in 2016 in response to three troubling trends adversely impacting our local communities:

The number of low-income students attending college in New York was declining.

Data from The Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) revealed a decline in the number of Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) recipients attending college. There was an 8% drop in the number of students receiving TAP between the 2011-12 and 2015-16 academic years, indicating that the number of low-income students attending college in New York was declining.
 

Graduation rates for low-income NYC high school students remained low.

There was evidence that local graduates are primarily attending institutions with low graduation outcomes, perhaps due to cost concerns. College costs are rising at an exceptional pace, and affordability remains a major concern for families across America, and especially in the Bronx. All too often, the cost of attendance rather than program outcomes dictates college choice. We sought to help these students by taking the cost factor out of the equation and see if doing so would impact state data.
 

City data showing that high schools in the Bronx were struggling with outcomes. 

The disproportionate number of Bronx schools on the citywide list of Renewal Schools at the time was widely reported. The Presidential Partnership Program was structured to improve outcomes for students in the Bronx and, potentially, to set a model for similar programs elsewhere.

Today, the Presidential Partnership Program (PPP) brings together financial scholarship, academic mentorship, special personal development programming, and heightened performance monitoring to help freshmen students adapt to the rigors of college responsibilities. The program serves to help them successfully bridge the transition from high school.

There are four core components to the Program: 

• Generous scholarships that give the majority of recipients a chance to realize their college dreams without having to take on student debt to cover tuition and fees not covered by federal and state grant aid; 
   
• A dedicated mentor who serves as the student’s advisor, advocate, cheerleader, and coach every step of their journey at Monroe, providing pre- and post-enrollment support services; 
   
• Special “bridge to college” programming and events to help students form strong connections to the University and each other while making a successful transition to college-level studies and responsibilities; and 
   
• Engagement with students and school administrators to effectuate the program’s goals and help inform local high schools’ own college-readiness programming.

Thousands of students from more than 200 high schools across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Yonkers, and Westchester County have attended Monroe as a result of the unique opportunities afforded them through the Presidential Partnership Program.

The PPP program has made college dreams come true for undocumented students, too. 

While helping undocumented students realize their educational dreams has long been engrained in Monroe’s DNA, we formally rolled out a program to assist these students in 2017. Called our Dreamers’ Initiative, it reserves 20 full-tuition scholarships (and an additional unlimited number of partial scholarships) strictly for academically gifted undocumented students for whom college would otherwise be out of financial reach.

In September 2024, we introduced an expansion of the PPP initiative called the PPP Generations Program.

Through this program, parents and guardians of students at participating PPP schools are now eligible to earn their undergraduate degree at Monroe, too, with generous scholarship support. Monroe has a thriving community of adult learners who prove every day it’s never too late to go back to school. They are balancing work, school, and home responsibilities and pursuing their college dreams.

PPP Generations Scholarship recipients will receive up to $4,000 per semester, depending on financial need, to cover the remaining cost of their tuition and fees at Monroe after applying eligible NY State and Federal financial aid funds. 

In celebration of our university status announcement in September 2024, President Jerome announced a new scholarship program to help working adults across New York further their education and advance their credentials for workplace success. 

It will first roll out in the Bronx and will be called the Building a Better Bronx Program. 

Local public service organizations and leaders may recommend constituents for consideration for a full or partial scholarship, depending on family income. The program aims to help eligible people in the community who aspire to continue their education but lack the means to pursue their dreams. 

In the summer of 2018, Monroe introduced an August Orientation Semester.

It's an intense, three-week program that gives freshmen the opportunity to take two college courses – including an introductory one in their major of choice – and earn six credits before the upperclassmen arrive in early September. The second class is experiential to keep students engaged while exposing them to new experiences, cultures, and perspectives.

The August Orientation Semester starts early in the second week of August and ends just before Labor Day. Students are in class five days a week, taking both classes each day. This new semester, coupled with our three-semester academic calendar, allows freshmen to earn 51 credits their first year compared to the 30 credits most freshmen earn elsewhere during their first year.

Started in 2004, Jumpstart is an on-campus, Saturday morning dual enrollment program that offers ambitious high school students the opportunity to explore a major of interest by taking one of the introductory courses taught by a dynamic faculty member who has worked in a related field. For example, the former Commissioner for the New York State Board of Parole has taught the Introduction to Criminal Justice course. 

The program is offered free of charge, including textbooks, to selected students from local participating schools in New York City and surrounding communities. To date, more than 10,000 students have participated in Monroe’s Jumpstart program.

Like Jumpstart above, our Dual Enrollment program enables high school students to take introductory college-level courses at no cost, including textbooks and instructional resources. Here, however, the classes are offered on-site at the high school.

The instruction is designed to meet the needs of pre-college learners, while offering the rigor and learning assessment of college-level coursework. Through the program, students earn college credits that are transferable to the college of their choice. Courses may be taught on-site at the high school by a Monroe University professor or a high school teacher who has been certified by the University. The classes include general education courses as well as those in our major areas of study.

EASE is a comprehensive academic and personal support program to give non-native English speakers (ELLs) a pathway to earning a college degree as fully matriculated students while improving their English language skills. Students in our EASE program receive more than just a strong foundation in listening, reading, speaking and writing. They also build confidence in conversing in English through projects and assignments designed specifically to expand their vocabulary and sharpen grammar skills.

Monroe University has a decades-long track record of effective remediation characterized by co-requisite enrollment in the major course of study, double the time in the classroom for the lowest levels of remediation, early intervention mechanisms, and intensive academic support outside the classroom.

Approximately eight years ago, Monroe piloted an initiative aimed at decreasing the number of students who begin their college experience in remediation. It afforded students who tested into remedial courses the opportunity to voluntarily enroll in intensive, one-week “academies” in writing and/or math in order to test into college-level courses prior to their first day of class.   

We soon discovered that 85% of students who participate in English Academies and 90% of students who attend the Math Academies successfully transition into credit-bearing courses. Since 2011, this approach has resulted in a decrease in the number of occupied seats in remedial courses by as much as 60%. Academic success is evidenced by outcomes of introductory credit-bearing courses where students who attended academies perform as well as students who took the traditional remedial courses.

Our Financial Aid team frequently shares their expertise with parents at local schools’ Financial Aid Night events. Staff present on the financial aid process and offer guidance for completing the FAFSA. The workshops are held in English and Spanish. Additionally, we participate each year in "College Goal NY," an event held at colleges and universities across the state to connect families needing help completing their FAFSA and TAP applications with financial aid experts who can provide it.