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Santa Clara University
Impact 2030

Opportunity for all talented students

STRATEGIC PRIORITY THREE

OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL TALENTED STUDENTS

Expanding access and ensuring success for all talented students who aspire to attend Santa Clara are among the most fundamental ways we activate our Jesuit, Catholic mission and responsibility to advance the universal good, contribute to social mobility in our society, and strengthen our democracy. Data abounds showing that attaining a four-year degree improves earnings over a high school diploma alone; decreases unemployment; and vastly increases capacity for moving from one social or economic strata to another, uplifting generations.

 

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It is our aim to ensure that talented and promising students from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences form our campus communities. As a Jesuit, Catholic university, creating equitable, inclusive, and diverse communities that enrich our campus learning environment is foundational to our faith-based mission.

—Julie Sullivan, President

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Data also shows that the national pipeline for incoming students is changing markedly from decades past:

  • An enrollment “cliff”: A recession-related decline in births after 2008 means there will be fewer applicants.
  • Hispanic growth: Those who apply will increasingly reflect the growing Hispanic U.S. population (currently one in five university students is Hispanic, and 40% of California’s population is non-white Hispanic).
  • New needs: Census-based predictions inform us that the “average” applicant increasingly will be public-school-educated, first-generation, and low- to middle-income.

While we have made progress toward creating a more diverse and accessible University, we know much work remains, particularly in light of demographic shifts. By focusing on this priority, we will widen the aperture of opportunity for all talented low- and middle-income and first-generation students who are drawn to our values-driven, whole-person approach to education. These efforts also will help secure our future enrollment, and ensure our long-term viability.

 

GOAL:

Ensure that a Santa Clara education is within reach of all students and become increasingly proactive and creative in our outreach to the demographically shifting prospective student population

Initiatives include:

  • Build and expand upon newly formed partnerships with the American Talent Initiative, California Private College Alliance, and The Posse Foundation to increase access for enrolled students who identify as first-generation, as low- and middle-income, or as eligible for federal Pell Grants
  • Build on our momentum with the completion of the Innovating with a Mission campaign and pursue a new goal to raise another $500 million in scholarships
  • Increase the population of students transferring from community colleges or other institutions 
  • Attract the growing pipeline of talented Hispanic/Latiné/x students and ensure they thrive and flourish, and as a result attain the federal designation of being a Hispanic-Serving Institution
  • Double the number of students served by our marquee LEAD Scholars Program

 

 

NEXT STRATEGIC PRIORITY FOUR: BELONGING FOR ALL BRONCOS