The Yes We Must Coalition is the only organization in higher education composed of non-profit, private institutions where undergraduate enrollment of Pell-dependent students is 50% or more. The Coalition is dedicated to collaborating to find and implement the changes necessary to increase the success of low-income students. Yes Goals Contribute to the goal of increasing the number of students achieving college degrees. Be a national voice to advocate for students from low-income backgrounds and the role of institutions and organizations that effectively serve them. Work collaboratively to improve graduation rates for low-income students. Read more >
We Members The Yes We Must Coalition brings together private colleges and universities and affiliated organizations and individuals who are committed to access to higher education and success through to graduation for low-income/first-generation students.
If you are a supporter of greater equity in higher education, of improving college graduation rates for underrepresented students, and of collaborative processes that reduce college costs and increase student success, please join us.
Member List & Map >
Must Collaboration Income inequality in the United States has widened dramatically over the past three decades, and the correlation between the income level of one’s family and the level of education achieved flies in the face of the American dream.
It is time for colleges to look beyond their individual campuses and act boldly to clarify and create new measurements, practices, systems, and structures to better serve the needs of our country and our global community. It is time for new thinking, and it is time for new voices to be heard.
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Why we joined the Yes We Must Coalition
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GRANT RECEIVED:
YWMC receives $2.5 million grant from Ascendium Education Group The YWMC has received a three-year, $2.5 million grant from Ascendium Education Group to support 10 member institutions to intentionally integrate career preparation into 4-year degree programs and adopt new curricular and co-curricular strategies to better align the student’s educational experience with career readiness.
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GRANT RECEIVED:
YWMC receives funding to expand reach of Coalition The Yes We Must Coalition is pleased to announce a grant from a fund within the Gulf Coast Community Foundation that wishes to remain anonymous, to be used to expand the reach of the Coalition. The Fund will support the annual membership dues of seven new, qualifying institutions from the private, non-profit sector with 50% or more Pell-dependent undergraduates. Candidates can come from anywhere within the United States and Puerto Rico. We are very grateful for this support, which will help to bring more institutions to the collaborative work of the Coalition.
Please join us for Yes We Must Coalition webinars in the coming months. Find full descriptions of these webinars here →
Creating Opportunities for Transfer Student Capital to Improve the Transfer Student Experience Wednesday, March 8, 1:00–2:00 pm ET
The Loss of Students from Low-Income Families in Higher Education and What Policy Makers Can Do About It Tuesday, March 28, 2:00–3:30 pm ET
Helping Students Reach Graduation and Beyond in A STEM Discipline: Emergent Outcomes and Lessons Learned from A Collaborative NSF S-STEM Project Designed to Increase Low-Income Student Success Across Four Yes We Must Coalition Institutions Wednesday, May 17, 3:00–4:00 pm ET
Becoming a Trauma-Responsive Campus: A Planning Workshop (via Zoom) The Yes We Must Coalition is offering a workshop to college/university teams for Becoming a Trauma-Responsive Campus . The workshop was led by Dr. Karen Gross, a national leader and educator in this work. It was intended for cross-campus teams to learn about how trauma affects students and what campuses can do about it. Teams of 2–6 people learned together and each school created a campus action plan. The two-session workshop took place on February 13 and 27, 2023, at 3:00–4:30 pm ET .
GRANT RECEIVED:
YWMC Receives Seed Grant The Coalition is pleased to have received funding from the Transformational Partnerships Fund, which provides support for institutions of higher education to explore student-centric partnerships.
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GRANT RECEIVED:
YWMC shares $1.45 million grant from Ascendium Education Group YWMC recently received a second-round grant from Ascendium’s Maintain Momentum for Student Success Initiative and was pleased to be able to offer dues relief to its institutional members thanks to the grant.
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YWMC REPORT:The New Student Majority: In Their Own Words This new, in-depth report on the lives of low-wealth students captures the words of YWMC students and offers a valuable resource for educators and policy makers. Conversations with 30 Pell-dependent students from 18 of our member institutions provide important insights about the reality of poverty in a college student’s life and the ways colleges and universities can respond. Listening to our students is vital for reconstructing higher education to achieve more equitable outcomes.
Read more or download the report
YWMC REPORT:Online Learning: What Works for Low-Income Students? The shift to online learning because of the COVID-19 crisis has been accomplished at YWMC schools with an overarching sensitivity to the needs and complicated lives of the low-income students they serve every day. This report offers insights from our member institutions as well as insights from the literature. It includes suggestions for designing and formatting online courses to maintain and bolster student identity within the context of a supportive community where relationships are still important and part of the learning environment.
Read more & download the report
GRANT RECEIVED:
YWMC Receives $249,000 Grant To Transition Longitudinal Data Project to the National Student Clearinghouse Postsecondary Data Partnership This grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation provides funding to help transition YWMC members to the National Student Clearinghouse’s Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP), which serves as a hub collecting, verifying and reporting data back to participating institutions so they can make sound, evidence-based decisions about how to help their students succeed. Read More
YWMC CONVENING:Increasing Employer Engagement: Creating a Model That Works for Low-Income Students
September 19-20, 2019, Augsburg University “Actually helping students prepare for their careers is easier said than done.” Goldie Blumenstyk, Senior Writer, The Chronicle of Higher Education , discussed Career Ready Education. Read More
GRANT RECEIVED:
YWMC Receives up to $95,000 from Ascendium Education Solutions for 2019 College-Employer Partnerships Convening The Yes We Must Coalition has been awarded up to $95,000 to plan, coordinate and host a two-day convening and to cover the costs of travel by 4-person teams from 18 YWMC member institutions. The goal of the convening is to develop a model for the collaborative engagement of colleges and employers with particular attention to what works for students from low-income backgrounds. Read More
YWMC REPORT:Listening to Our Low-Income Students: Seniors Reflect on Their College Experience One hundred forty-three Pell-dependent seniors discussed the factors that went into their college success and the obstacles along the way. Learn about this YWMC project in our report “Listening to Our Low-Income Students: Seniors Reflect on Their College Experience.” Learn more about this YWMC project. Read More
YWMC REPORT:High Impact Practices and Low-Income Student Success: What Works? This document brings together representative examples of recent evidence-based literature regarding practices and policies that support the success of low-income students. Read More
2nd NATIONAL CONFERENCE:Education for the New Student Majority:
Collaborations, Innovations and Strategies for Completion October 24–26, 2018
Omni Austin Hotel at Southpark, Austin, Texas Read More
GRANT RECEIVED:
YWMC Receives a 3-Year, $300,000 Grant from The Teagle Foundation Four member institutions are participating in this project to embed the liberal arts in business education. www.teaglefoundation.org
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GRANT RECEIVED:
YWMC Receives a 3-year Capacity Building Grant in the Amount of $990,545 The Yes We Must Coalition has been awarded a 3-year, $990,545 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Read More
GRANT RECEIVED:
National Science Foundation Awards 4.4 Million Dollars “Collaborative Research: Institutional Collaboration to Recruit, Retain and Graduate Low-Income Students in Biology” Read More