Is 'Power of You' making the grade?

Some days, it's tough for Briana Thompson to get to class. Maybe her boyfriend's Chevy won't start, or her 4-month-old daughter's coughing won't stop, or she'll have to stay late at Target, where she works part time. ¶ A year ago, this might have been a story about how, despite these circumstances, Thompson went to college. Now, it's a story of how -- and whether -- she and others like her will make it through. ¶ Thompson, 19, is one of about 800 students in the Power of You, a program that gives graduates of Minneapolis and St. Paul public schools 72 tuition-free credits at one of three Minnesota State Colleges and Universities schools. ¶ Now in its third year, the program has proved itself as a path to college for hundreds of poor and minority students who might not have gone otherwise. But as the legislative session approaches, officials, educators and researchers are asking hard questions about how students are performing on campus. The answers could determine whether the program expands -- or even exists.

Enrollment was the first focus. Now it's credits, grades and degrees.

A Wilder Research report released last month shows many Power of You students struggling just as other community college students are: They need developmental courses, they fall behind on credits toward graduation and, sometimes, they drop out.

"Essentially, their progress is slower than what you'd probably hope," said Daniel Mueller, associate director of St. Paul-based Wilder Research and the report's co-author.

MCTC's 'holistic program'

Educators at Minneapolis Community and Technical College, St. Paul College and Metropolitan State University say their program has the answer to those systemic issues, too. They give Power of You students individual attention and handle questions beyond classes, such as whether they have money for the bus or for the rent.

Given time and funding, they say, those efforts will show in reports.

"We're creating this holistic program for students because we know students come with a whole host of issues," said Nasreen Mohamed, director of MCTC's Power program.

The program has relied largely on foundation and corporate support, but the schools are hoping to get permanent state funding. The average annual cost of the Power of You scholarship is $1,100 plus $850 in additional support services per student. In total, the program costs $1.5 million to run.

In planning its biennial budget request from the state, MnSCU staff outlined $5.3 million to continue and expand the program to four institutions -- two in the metro and two outstate. But when whittling down its budget request, the board of trustees dropped funds specifically for the program.

Susan Heegaard, director of Minnesota's Office of Higher Education, said that in the coming legislative session, "there will probably be a tendency to look at reductions across state government" and fund only essentials. "The question is, right now, do we have the money to support doing new things?" she said.

Heegaard also questioned whether the Power of You has shown enough concrete results to warrant expansion. "Is the model really right for duplication yet?"

The Power of You has more than doubled the number of Minneapolis and St. Paul public school graduates enrolling in the MnSCU system. It "did not simply draw students away from other colleges but increased the overall number of students attending college," the Wilder Research report found.

"That's the single biggest piece of evidence that we're fulfilling the original vision," said Phil Davis, president of Minneapolis Community and Technical College.

Advantages faded over time

Of the 792 students entering the program in 2006 and 2007, nearly three-quarters were low-income and more than 65 percent were students of color -- under-represented groups in post-secondary education. Those are "very substantial accomplishments," Mueller said.

Although at first Power of You students were sticking in school longer than students like them, the difference shrank substantially by spring semester of their second year: Only 50 percent remained enrolled.

Nearly three-quarters of Power of You students took developmental (sometimes called remedial) courses in their first year, earning credits that don't count toward graduation.

Although all Power of You students were required to take a full load of 12 credits each semester, by the end of their second year, those still enrolled had earned an average of 34 credits, the study says, "far below the 64 credits needed to graduate with in associate's degree, which many Power of You students are pursuing."

Only 8 percent of the students had earned a two-year-degree or certificate after two years.

"The need for developmental courses and the whole issue of making good progress towards graduation -- these are not issues exclusive to this group," Mueller said. "These are issues that have to be addressed by the entire education system."

Colleges add problem-solving

Personal issues were the most-often-cited obstacle to student success, the study found. In response, Power of You staff members have tweaked requirements and added assistance. Students can now apply for book, transportation and housing loans through the program. Those with "overwhelming" personal issues are now allowed to take fewer than 12 credits. Thompson, who's taking nine, said that's one big reason she feels she'll be successful.

The program has also changed how the colleges address some issues. For example, Power of You staff advocated for a cheaper bus pass, and now MCTC offers one for $79 a semester. "I'm not saying it was because of Power of You," Mohamed said, "but we did really push it along."

Davis, MCTC's president, likes to remind people that many students are "just a flat tire away from dropping out of college."

MCTC sophomore Maria Andrade knows that's true. She could be the first in her family to graduate from college. But she wasn't the first to enter it. Her older sister was enrolled but after a broken leg led to expensive surgery, she left school and never returned.

Andrade, 19, had applied to a few colleges as a senior at Patrick Henry High School in Minneapolis, "but then I noticed I wasn't going to have the money to go to any of them," she said. So she's taking generals at MCTC as part of the Power of You and hopes to transfer to the College of St. Catherine or another university to finish a degree in social work.

"The word 'college' has many meanings," she told a gathering of 100 people at a scholarship luncheon this fall, "but to me the important thing is that no one can take my education away from me."

Jenna Ross • 612-673-7168