Collaboration: A Key to America's Future

Minnesota has significant achievement and prosperity gaps between the aging majority population and the rapidly growing, younger communities. Over 25% of the next generation will be from minority communities, but these groups are under-represented in post-secondary education. Many northern urban regions face comparable dilemmas. Blue-ribbon commissions agree that the 21st-century economy requires students to complete at least 14 years of schooling in order to prosper, just as earlier generations required universal 12th-grade education. National education leaders are taking more provocative positions. The Education Trust wants us all to be "Thinking K-16." ACT advocates for universal college and workforce readiness via the same rigorous curriculum. How can Campus Compact institutions move toward these new standards? Our institutions address higher expectations, access, and affordability through a new program called "The Power of You." It guarantees that urban high school graduates can enroll at our institutions for two years without worrying about tuition and mandatory fees. The target audiences include communities of color, first-generation attendees, and other low-income students. The Power of You combines "reach-back" programs in schools and community organizations to stimulate college readiness, TRIO-like programs and tuition support, and using the program's success to spark a statewide conversation about universal access to two years of higher education. We will discuss the importance for first-generation students of encountering a deeply-embedded culture of civic engagement on our campuses. Service learning and community partnerships will shape the education of these new students and foster patterns of engaged citizenship for their post-college lives. [author]