At some Minnesota schools, the first lessons are on how to navigate college itself startribune.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from startribune.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The Dougherty Family College at the University of St. Thomas, approaching its seventh year, provides low-income and underrepresented students with access and holistic support to earn a two-year degree. For low-income or underrepresented minority students, earning their associate or bachelor’s degree is key to economic mobility in the long term. At the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota, administrators believe they have a responsibility to address the educational attainment gap, says Buffy Smith, dean of Dougherty Family College. “If the educational attainment gap is a structural problem, to solve or eliminate that educational attainment gap will require a structural solution.”
A group of 300 soon-to-be graduates at the University of St. Thomas' Dougherty Family College marked the milestone of graduating debt-free during a block party on Thursday.