Education Innovation

COVER STORY

EDUCATION INNOVATION

College Success Arizona is helping students – and the state – get more out of higher education

Arizona’s economic growth faces a challenge. Only 44 percent of Arizona’s working adults have an associate degree or higher, but by 2020, 70 percent of jobs in the state will require some form of higher education.

But simply attending college isn’t enough. To enjoy the full benefit and participate in the state’s present and future economy, students need to graduate. Still, just over half of the full-time students working toward bachelor’s degrees at Arizona universities will graduate within six years. And if a student is from a low-income background, or is a minority, or is a first-generation college student, or attends college part-time, the chances of success are even lower.

College Success Arizona is working to remedy this by supporting college students from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds. A A 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, it does this by providing a combination of scholarships, mentoring and emotional support to help students stay on track and graduate.