With the generous support of the Scheidel Foundation, the National College Attainment Network (NCAN) has been studying community-based organization (CBO) and higher education institution partnerships.
The second installment in our series of case studies, it is our hope that these resources will help our members and external partners form and maintain meaningful partnerships and increase positive postsecondary outcomes for all students.
Organization: College Beyond Location: New Orleans, LA Students Served: 400 Interviewee: Clara Baron-Hyppolite, Executive Director Focused
Partner Institutions: University of New Orleans(UNO) Partnership Length: Since 2018
Overview
Founded in 2015 by two teachers at Walter Cohen College Prep High School in New Orleans, College Beyond’s 360 degrees of student support model includes tools to prevent summer melt,
on-campus college coaching while matriculating, non-academic supports like microgrants for gas cards and books, as well as starting a food pantry to combat student food insecurity.
The first College Beyond freshman cohort at UNO began in 2016.
While College Beyond’s currently active partnership is with the UNO, they’ve previously had smaller, formal partnership pilot programs with Loyola University of New Orleans, Northshore Tech College, and Southeastern University of Louisiana.
Deliverables
College Beyond is responsible for garnering interest from the University’s freshman class and recruiting 100 students to be guided through college by College Beyond staff. There is no minimum GPA or testing score requirement; students must meet demonstrated
financial need to participate in the program. Students are assigned to a coach who meets with them at multiple checkpoints throughout the year. Both College Beyond and UNO have a data sharing agreement that outlines how their joint students are progressing
academically. The University provides them with space, university email addresses, as well as access to student level data.
Renewal and Evaluation
College Beyond measures success through a combination of long-term and short-term indicators. At a broader level, the organization tracks year-over-year persistence and graduation rates. As early benchmarks, they monitor the percentage of students who
complete at least 20 credits by the end of their first year, as well as overall GPA. The organization also administers robust student surveys at multiple points throughout the academic year to proactively identify barriers such as transportation issues,
limited access to technology, lack of career exposure, and underdeveloped academic soft skills. This data informs the design of student programming and shapes the recommendations provided to university partners to support broader institutional improvements.
Maintaining Institution Partnerships
To ensure alignment and accountability, College Beyond meets with the university president once per semester to provide updates on the partnership. In addition, the team regularly engages with key staff including the director of first-year experience,
data managers, and financial aid advisors, and participates in the institution’s student success council.
Partnership Expansion Plans
Understanding the importance of data, College Beyond relied on the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to identify institutions who might be in need of additional enrollment and
retention support. In terms of new institutional partnerships, College Beyond is aiming for a stronger regional presence by seeking partnerships with the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, Southeastern University and Southern University’s Baton
Rouge campus.
College Beyond is also looking into scaling their current college success efforts, exploring options to increase the number of UNO students they serve while still maintaining their current level of high impact programming. With an emphasis on slow and
steady growth, they’re hoping to have a bigger footprint in their university partners retention and graduation strategy.
Because College Beyond’s programming focus has been primarily college success work, there may be plans to increase their current college access efforts. By engaging students earlier, building trust, they’re looking to widen the pipeline with local high
schools to further improve retention for New Orleans' students.
Institutional Impact
In seeking to boost student facing offices’ capacity, College Beyond offers workshops focusing on study skills, time management and resume writing. They also provide various student retreats on leadership development, financial literacy, career readiness,
and networking so that students feel equipped with the tools they need to launch successful careers.
College Beyond students’ first-to-second-year persistence rate is 79%, compared to the
Louisiana state average of 61% for all students, and 58% of students at UNO specifically.
Recognizing that true successful matriculation extends past simply making satisfactory academic progress, the College Beyond team has implemented an ambassador program where junior and senior College Beyond students serve as mentors to the younger program
participants. These ambassadors produce social programming like movie nights, paint and snack events, peer led community circles. They also implemented a program to hire two master of social work interns to deliver elementary mental health coaching
to boost student morale and provide encouragement along the journey. For more intensive mental health needs, College Beyond has brought in partnerships with Meta and Mercer Family Services to provide a grief and loss group.
Lessons Learned
“We’ve learned that having a holistic understanding of the ecosystem in which we operate is essential. This includes a deep knowledge of institutional incentives, how universities assess return on investment, the availability of federal and state funding
streams, and the impact of local policies on university operations and resources. With this context, we’re better equipped to engage in meaningful conversations with partners and address institutional priorities with clarity and relevance,” Baron-Hyppolite
said.
College Beyond has also recognized that if a solution does not have a clear funding path, it likely has not been effectively aligned to the institution’s most urgent needs. Thus, long-term sustainability must be part of the conversation from the outset.
This includes considering how their work not only addresses current institutional challenges but also aligns with the long-term strategic goals of both university partners and funders.
Email to a Friend