News

Students at a Paying for College Bus Tour stop, Reading PA

The Sallie Mae Fund pledges $1 million over three years to advance college access in Texas

Partnerships with state and local organizations support statewide initiatives for college achievement

Houston press conference marks official unveiling of two HISD college-access programs and launches the Houston leg of The Fund's national 'Paying for College' Bus Tour

HOUSTON, Tx., March 23, 2007—The Sallie Mae Fund today announced an unprecedented partnership with the state of Texas, which brings to bear $1 million over three years for college access efforts in the state. The gift represents the largest commitment the Fund has made to date for college access and outreach in Texas. The press conference held this morning at Houston's Cesar E. Chavez High School is the formal inauguration of the $1 million Texas initiative and the official launch of several long-term college-access projects in the state.

Local dignitaries, educators and experts on planning- and paying-for-college lauded the efforts of The Fund and reaffirmed the importance of supporting college access and outreach in the state.

"As the spouse of a retired public school teacher, I have long been a staunch supporter of our educational system," said Rep. Gene Green (D-TX). "Today, far too many students are being left out of the dream of a college education, and that hurts more than just the individual—it hurts the country. I am pleased that The Sallie Mae Fund is taking such an active role in increasing access to information about planning and paying for college for Texas students."

The effort is a partnership uniting representatives from Texas government, school districts, colleges and universities, and local communities to address the college access gap in Texas—a state with the second-highest number of K-12 low-income and minority students in the nation. The not-for-profit Sallie Mae Fund will partner with a number of Texas organizations on this initiative. Partners include the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, the Houston Independent School District (HISD), Texas A&M University, The University of Texas System Institute for Public School Initiatives, various Houston colleges and universities, the San Antonio Education Partnership, Communities Organized for Public Service (COPS), and the San Antonio Metro Alliance.

The need for additional college outreach in the state is significant. In Texas, a large gap exists among ethnic groups in both enrollment and graduation rates. The state's higher education plan, "Closing the Gaps by 2015," aims to address declining college participation across Texas by investing in the pipeline earlier. Specifically, it calls for an additional 630,000 Texas students to participate in higher education by 2015. Among the goals, the plan aims to increase the participation rate for the Hispanic population in Texas from 3.7 percent in 2000 to 5.7 percent in 2015—an increase of 438,706 Hispanic students. Similarly, it aims to increase the number of Hispanic students completing a higher education degree or certificate from 31,000 in 2005 to 67,000 in 2015.

"We are pleased to bring our resources to Texas, where state and local governments, school districts, colleges and universities, and community organizations are already so deeply committed to the pipeline challenge keeping deserving students from enrolling in and graduating from college," said Kathleen deLaski, president of The Sallie Mae Fund. "The fact is, information shapes a family's decision about college, and far too many families are not receiving the message that federal aid, state aid, and scholarships are available to them. The Fund has pledged $1 million in an effort to support important programs in Texas that will help bridge that information gap."

College access programs supported by the $1 million Texas initiative include:

Expanded Bus Tour Presence: The Sallie Mae Fund's popular "Paying for College" Bus Tour is visiting 15 cities in Texas this spring. Now in its third year, this Tour brings with it free workshops and information on scholarships, grants, loans and federal aid.
Houston Independent School District (HISD) SuccessExpress: The SuccessExpress is HISD's new paying-for-college bus, outfitted as a mobile college counseling center, which will bring information about planning and paying for college to Houston-area students and families. The SuccessExpress is modeled on The Sallie Mae Fund's successful National "Paying for College" Bus Tour. HISD is the largest school district in Texas and the seventh-largest nationally.
Kids2College: The Sallie Mae Fund, in partnership with Texas A&M University, will offer an early-college-awareness program for HISD sixth graders to bring to life the dream of higher education. Sixth-grade classes are paired with a local college or university to participate in lessons that provide information on careers, college life and how to choose courses that give them the greatest range of options for education beyond high school. Six thousand HISD sixth graders are expected to benefit from this program in 2007, which will culminate with a visit to a local partner university.
Statewide College Access Outreach Coordinator: In partnership with The University of Texas System Institute for Public School Initiatives, The Sallie Mae Fund will support a statewide college access and financial aid coordinator. This professional will provide outreach leadership and leverage the resources of The Sallie Mae Fund and the largest university system in Texas. The coordinator will work with the Texas Outreach Project, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, community colleges, non-profit organizations, chambers of commerce, college-access networks and state government to guide counseling and organize statewide initiatives to encourage and assist students toward a college education and a better life.
Collegiate G-Force: This program gives college Work-Study students a $500 scholarship/stipend to work for Texas Go Centers, which motivate students around the state to pursue higher education. The Sallie Mae Fund will support this program by funding students to staff Go Centers. In addition, The Fund will work with the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to make free materials available to high school guidance counselors.
San Antonio Education Partnership: This partnership consists of students and their families, the City of San Antonio, local colleges and universities, San Antonio corporations, local school districts, and community groups. The Sallie Mae Fund will support scholarships for students graduating from partnership high schools who are the first in their family to attend college, receive free or reduced lunch, and are Pell Grant eligible.

More information about these programs—as well as a list of stops The Fund's national Bus Tour will be making in Houston and throughout Texas—is available at www.salliemaefund.org.

Since 2001, The Sallie Mae Fund has awarded more than $672,000 in grants to charitable organizations in Texas. In that same time, students attending Texas colleges and universities received more than $808,000 in scholarships through Sallie Mae Fund programs. In addition, Sallie Mae's employees led efforts to bring an additional $466,000 to the state through the company's Matching Gifts and Dollars for Doers programs.

The Sallie Mae Fund, a charitable organization sponsored by Sallie Mae, achieves its mission—to increase access to a postsecondary education for America's students—by supporting programs and initiatives that help open doors to higher education, prepare families for their investment, and bridge the gap when no one else can. For more information visit www.salliemaefund.org.