Goal is to recast process, broaden access, and encourage college-going mindset for all students

A diverse coalition of public and private colleges and universities that includes the University of Vermont is coming together with the goal of improving the college admission application process for all students. The coalition is developing a free platform of online tools to streamline the experience of planning for and applying to college.

In creating the platform, the colleges and universities hope to recast the college admission process from something that is transactional and limited in time into a more engaged, ongoing and educationally reaffirming experience.

They also hope to motivate a stronger college-going mindset among students of all backgrounds, especially those from low-income families or underrepresented groups who have historically had less access to leading colleges and universities.

“We are very enthusiastic about this initiative,” said Stacey Kostell, UVM’s vice president for enrollment management, who played a role in enrolling public universities in the consortium. “We’re hopeful that it can bring more students from diverse backgrounds to college, make the application more meaningful, and take some of the stress and anxiety out the process.” 

The Coalition for Access, Affordability, and Success currently includes more than 80 public and private universities and colleges across the United States that have made a commitment to make college affordable and accessible for students from diverse backgrounds, and for students to be successful in completing their education.

The coalition, which continues to add members, will be working over the next few months to develop tools and processes that are intended to address many of the barriers that prevent students from attending college or successfully earning a degree.

The online tools — which will include a digital portfolio, a collaboration platform, and an application portal — seek to reshape the process of applying to college as the culmination of students’ development over the course of their high school careers, reducing the unfamiliarity of the application and leveling the playing field for all students.

UVM plans to implement the system for the class that will enroll in the fall of 2018. 

Many talented students who should aim for a good school often don't understand the path to get there. For example, research has found that students from disadvantaged backgrounds often do not participate effectively in the college application process, struggle with applying for financial aid, and often do not get awarded all the financial aid they qualify for.

As a result, even the most highly qualified students either do not attend college, attend a college that does not engage their full potential or do not complete their degrees. Attending a high school with a college-going culture greatly increases students’ college success.

The Coalition hopes to address these findings through its free online tools and increased transparency around admissions and financial aid.

Members of the coalition include a diverse group of public universities that have affordable tuition along with need-based financial aid for in-state residents, and private colleges and universities that provide sufficient financial aid to meet the full, demonstrated financial need of every domestic student they admit. Coalition schools graduate at least 70 percent of their students within six years, with many having much higher graduation rates. UVM has a 75 percent six-year graduation rate. 

Additional details about the application process enabled by the platform will be announced before summer of 2016. More information can be found at coalitionforcollegeaccess.org.

Coalition member institutions:

Amherst College


Bates College


Bowdoin College


Brown University


Bryn Mawr College


California Institute of Technology

Carleton College

Clemson University

Colby College

Colgate University


College of Holy Cross


College of William & Mary


Colorado College


Columbia University


Connecticut College


Cornell University


Dartmouth College


Davidson College


Duke University


Emory University


Franklin and Marshall College


Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering


Georgia Institute of Technology


Grinnell College


Hamilton College


Harvard University


Haverford College


Illinois State University


Indiana University, Bloomington


James Madison University


Johns Hopkins University


Miami University, Ohio


Michigan State University


Middlebury College


Mount Holyoke College


North Carolina State University, Raleigh

Northeastern University


Northwestern University


Oberlin College


Ohio State University


Penn State


Pomona College


Princeton University


Purdue University


Reed College


Rice University


Rutgers University, New Brunswick


Skidmore College


Smith College


St Olaf College


Stanford University


State University of New York, College at Geneseo

State University of New York, University at Buffalo

Swarthmore College


Texas A&M University


Tufts University


Union College
University of Chicago

University of Connecticut


University of Florida


University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

University of Maryland, College Park


University of Michigan


University of Minnesota, Twin Cities


University of Missouri


University of New Hampshire


University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

University of Notre Dame


University of Pennsylvania


University of Pittsburgh


University of Rochester


University of South Carolina


University of Vermont


University of Virginia


University of Washington


Vanderbilt University


Vassar College


Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Washington University in St. Louis


Wellesley College


Wesleyan University


Williams College


Yale University 

PUBLISHED

09-30-2015
University Communications