The White House College Opportunity Day of Action helps to support the President’s commitment to partner with colleges and universities, business leaders, and nonprofits to support students across the country to help our nation reach its goal of leading the world in college attainment.
UTeach, through the UTeach Institute in the College of Natural Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI), pledges to support the preparation of secondary science and mathematics teachers at 44 universities throughout the United States, growing the total number of UTeach alumni by an additional 6,000 teachers by 2020.
“With each new university joining UTeach,” says Dr. Marder, our community of scientists, mathematicians, science and math teachers, and former and future teachers grows stronger.”
Today’s participants were asked to commit to new action in one of four areas: building networks of colleges around promoting completion, creating K–16 partnerships around college readiness, investing in high school counselors as part of the First Lady’s Reach Higher initiative, and increasing the number of college graduates in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The President will announce new steps on how his Administration is helping to support these actions, including announcing $10 million to help promote college completion and a $30 million AmeriCorps program that will improve low-income students’ access to college. Today’s event is the second College Opportunity Day of Action, and will include a progress report on the commitments made at the first day of action on January 14, 2014.
Expanding opportunity for more students to enroll and succeed in college, especially low-income and underrepresented students, is vital to building a strong economy and a strong middle class. Today, only 9 percent of those born in the lowest family income quartile attain a bachelor’s degree by age 25, compared to 54 percent in the top quartile. In an effort to expand college access, the Obama Administration has increased Pell scholarships by $1,000 a year, created the new American Opportunity Tax Credit worth up to $10,000 over four years of college, limited student loan payments to 10 percent of income, and laid out an ambitious agenda to reduce college costs and promote innovation and competition.
