On April 18, the College Communications Office announced that Hamilton would be joining the American Talent Initiative (ATI), a national group of colleges focused on improving outcomes for low-income students. Founded in 2016, and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, the ATI includes over 100 colleges and universities.
Initially founded by a group of 30 institutions, the ATI has set lofty goals for helping high-achieving, low-income students enroll in and graduate from four-year institutions. By 2025, the ATI aims to educate an additional 50,000 of these students at 290 different American colleges and universities that graduate at least 70 percent of their students within six years.
The founding of the ATI was inspried by conclusive research that showed low- and moderate-income students are much less likely to graduate with a college degree than peers from higher income families. The ATI also found that academically high-achieving students from low-income families were less likely to enroll in the elite colleges that they were academically suited to attend. Because of this research, the ATI also works to improve how colleges conduct outreach to low- and moderate-income students
Reflecting on Hamilton joining the ATI, President David Wippman said: “We are joining the American Talent Initiative because it matches our interest in supporting access to college for talented students from lower-income families. We believe our affiliation with ATI will help us reach even more students whose academic credentials have earned them a place at Hamilton, and we look forward to helping ensure these students’ future success.”
The ATI focuses on three distinct areas to accomplish its’ goals. The Initiative aims to develop a sustained national campaign to raise awareness of the talent of low- and moderate-income students, while also aiming to help higher education leaders to develop initiatives around improving access to education. The ATI supports its member institutions in encouraging outreach to more diverse student backgrounds prior to the admissions process, prioritizing need-based financial aid and minimizing the gap in graduation rates between disadvantaged students by supporting their progress within institutions.
In addition, the ATI supports the development of research facilitated by the Aspen Institute’s College Excellence Program and Ithaka S+R to promote practices that support underprivileged students.
Both the Aspen Institute and Ithaka S+R received a $1.7 million multi-year grant to facilitate the sharing of best practices, which they use to bring together leaders of the various institutions in the initiative. Currently, the steering committee of the ATI includes, among other education leaders, the presidents of the University of Washington, Ohio State University, Princeton University, Franklin and Marshall College, and Davidson College. The ATI includes all members of the Ivy League and 17 state flagship universities, as well as Hamilton’s peer institutions, such as Amherst, Carleton, Haverford, and Williams. Through the partnership, the educational leadership of Hamilton will be able to network in more succinct ways with leaders of other schools at the forefront of improving college access to students of all backgrounds.
The ATI is a logical next step in Hamilton’s misison to proivde high quality education regardless of socio-economic background.“Joining ATI is another step toward identifying and enrolling talented, socioeconomically diverse students from across the United States,” said Monica Inzer, Hamilton’s Vice President for Enrollment Management.
The College also announced earlier this year a partnership with Questbridge, an organization that places and facilitates the application and enrollment of low-income students at elite colleges. The research and partnernships that the ATI faciltitates are perfectly in-step with the mission of organizations such as Questbridge. Furthermore, Hamilton has also partnered with other organzations, as well as internal programs, to support low- and moderate-income students, making the College a strong partner for the ATI.
