Honoring Our Investment: Low-Income Student Success at Washington University in St. Louis

Abstract

While Washington University in St. Louis (the University) has enjoyed success in recruiting higher numbers of low-income students, it has not achieved comparable results in ensuring an equally successful college experience for this underrepresented group. Data shows that low-income students, as compared to their financially unaided peers, have an inequitable undergraduate experience at Washington University that includes performance gaps in STEM-intensive curricula and less-robust co-curricular experiences. This chapter presents the outcomes of a report entitled “Honoring Our Investment” that focused on how, from an institutional perspective, to best support the academic and co-curricular success of low-income students at Washington University. The Undergraduate Representatives to the Board of Trustees of the 2015–2016 academic year wrote this report and compiled information, research, and data about the low-income student experience as part of a dialogue focused on improvement. Additionally, this chapter recommends changes for improving outcomes.

Citation

Akula, S. and Jacobs, S. (2016), "Honoring Our Investment: Low-Income Student Success at Washington University in St. Louis", The Crisis of Race in Higher Education: A Day of Discovery and Dialogue (Diversity in Higher Education, Vol. 19), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 303-319. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-364420160000019016