Today's Students Coalition

What’s the shift higher education desperately needs right now? #MorePathways, #LessLadders.

Pathways like dual enrollment and credit for prior learning (CPL), combined with improving college credit transfer, can create a higher education system that’s more reflective of the many routes today’s students take to earn a degree or credential.

State level support for dual enrollment continues to grow, with some states already exceeding the national average for the number of high school students earning dual credit, achieving postsecondary program completion faster and less expensive. While most states have dual enrollment programs, support for dual credit students stands out in some states. As policymakers consider legislative and funding initiatives to strengthen dual enrollment, these program endeavors can offer scalable solutions for other state and federal work.

Students who earn CPL also have a higher completion rate than their peers, save on tuition, and achieve their degrees sooner, paying dividends in the labor market. But without allowing students to use federal financial aid to cover CPL, students lacking the financial means are unable to have different forms of learning recognized.

However, when students lose an average of 43% of college credits to the cracks of our higher education system, creating a credit mobility culture must become a shared priority among Congress and colleges alike for students to truly benefit from alternate pathways.

This toolkit is designed for you to share the #MorePathways, #LessLadders campaign with your network. Treat it as your own. Download and customize its content to fit the needs of your channels, networks, and audiences.

Not seeing what you're looking for? Reach out to us at info@todaysstudents.org.

It's a critical time for students - and the country. 

U.S. colleges and universities enroll nearly 16 million students. Among the undergraduate population, 4 in 10 students leave college before completing a degree. Today, the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center reports that the number of adults who have some college but no credential now stands at 36.8 million Americans.

Understanding who today’s students are is fundamental to creating a higher learning system that leads to their success.

TSC’s Today’s Students 101 contextualizes who today’s students are and why their needs matter to help inform essential higher education policy conversations. This tool kit is designed for you to share with your network. Treat the toolkit as your own. Share the importance of supporting the success of all of today's students by downloading and customizing its content to fit the needs of your channels, networks, and audiences.

Not seeing what you're looking for? Reach out to us at info@todaysstudents.org.

Parenting students are hard-working, and National Student Parent Month is a time to acknowledge the determination and dedication of the nearly one-fifth of undergraduate students who are also parents.

Working collectively with our partners and member organizations, every year Today’s Students Coalition helps lead a monthlong celebration of parenting students in support of students like Macauley O'Connell whose first enrollment attempt caused him to lose access to federal financial aid; Jennifer Shirk who balanced college, motherhood, and a full-time job; and La Quenta Lewis, a mother of three, a wife, and the operations manager at an elementary school in California who pursued higher education at the same time as her daughter. 

September’s designation of National Student Parent Month is an opportunity to create a lot of buzz and advocate for the needs of parenting students, especially with federal funding in limbo this year as the House plans to cut a program that helps parenting students complete college via access to affordable child care. For many of the more than 3 million student parents in the U.S., it’s the only way they can go to college.

This toolkit is designed for you to share with your network. Treat the toolkit as your own. Share the importance of supporting student parents by downloading and customizing its content to fit the needs of your channels, networks, and audiences.

Not seeing what you're looking for? Reach out to us at info@todaysstudents.org.

Got Pell Grants, student loans, even Medicaid? If you're a student or borrower, this concerns YOU.

Last month, the House passed a bill that slashes $380 billion in higher education programs, primarily to fund tax cuts for billionaires. The budget reconciliation bill proposed the most dangerous threats to financial aid in history, including significant slashes to Pell, elimination of subsidized loans for undergraduates, and increases to the cost of income-driven repayment plans. Vital food and health care programs, like SNAP and Medicaid, are also on the line for college students.

While the Senate version of the bill’s higher education provisions preserves access to Pell and subsidized loans, the reconciliation process is still underway — and Congress is still weighing massive cuts to financial aid. 

Make your voice heard before the bill becomes law. Many students, graduates, higher education leaders, educators, organizations, and advocates have joined the #GotPell fight. The Senate needs to know that cutting student financial aid to support tax cuts for billionaires is not how you want your tax dollars spent. Share this letter campus- and community-wide. Together, we can flood their inboxes.

Past Pell recipients can also join the fight. Use the hashtags #GotPell or #IGotPell to share your stories about how the Pell Grant changed your life.

This toolkit is designed for you to share with your network. Treat it as your own. Download and customize its content to fit the needs of your channels, networks, and audiences.

Not seeing what you're looking for? Reach out to us at info@todaysstudents.org.

In less than a minute, you can help by sending a letter to Congress asking them to update SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) policies ahead of the Farm Bill reauthorization. Use the toolkit to tell your followers you took action for today’s students. Share the importance of ending hunger in higher ed by downloading and customizing its content to fit the needs of your channels, networks, and audiences.

Recent studies show 23% of today's students in the U.S. struggle with food insecurity. When students don't have enough to eat, they are faced with the difficult choice between two options: paying for food or college costs. Updates to SNAP rules can help.

Research proves the connection between SNAP participation and persistence in college. But today’s students are currently prohibited from accessing SNAP. Even if students would otherwise qualify for SNAP benefits based on their income, citizenship, and state-level eligibility, those attending class more than half-time are barred from receiving SNAP unless they meet a complicated set of exemptions.

Low-income college students need help meeting their basic needs to complete their degree or credential. Tell your friends, family, and followers about the #LetStudentsEat initiative. It takes all of us working together to end hunger in higher education.

Not seeing what you're looking for? We are a national coalition of higher education and benefits access advocacy organizations. Reach out to us at info@LetStudentsEat.org.