Policy & Advocacy

College Now is committed to increasing rates of postsecondary attainment. Higher education attainment leads to larger salaries, reduced unemployment rates, greater health status and higher rates of productivity. More employers are demanding college degrees or postsecondary credentials and this demand will grow exponentially over the next several decades.

The postsecondary attainment rate in Cleveland is especially low (27%) and though it increases for Northeast Ohio (41%), it is still below the state-wide rate (44%) and the national rate (47%) – and well below the level needed for jobs across the state. Moreover, an increase of just 1% in postsecondary attainment in the region would have a $2.8 billion impact on individuals, families and employers across the region.

Ohio’s Governor, the Ohio General Assembly and the Ohio Departments of Education and Higher Education each play critical roles in developing and implementing policies pertaining to college access and student success. College Now meets regularly with these key leaders and their staff to ensure the policies being proposed and enacted at the state level have a positive impact on the students we serve.

College Now also supports Ohio’s statewide postsecondary attainment goal: 65 percent of Ohioans, ages 25-64, will have a degree, certificate, or other postsecondary workforce credential of value in the workplace by 2025.

Policy Priorities

A major barrier to degree attainment is Ohio’s high cost of college. Even after factoring grants, scholarships and federally subsidized loans, the average College Now scholarship recipient attending a four-year institution faces a $7,895 gap between the available aid and the cost of higher education. This large gap is also a key contributor to rising rates of student loan debt. 

To make college more affordable to the students we serve, College Now supports increasing the state’s investment in Ohio’s public colleges and universities through increases to the State Share of Instruction, increasing its investment in the state’s only need-based aid grant the Ohio College Opportunity Grant, keeping tuition and fee increases at Ohio’s public colleges and universities modest and imposing restrictions regarding state-facilitated student loan debt collections.

College Now corresponds regularly with its federally elected representatives to share its ongoing work and voice opinions on proposed legislation and regulations. College Now’s federal policy priorities are developed in conjunction with the National College Access Network, a national association representing college access organizations based in Washington D.C., the Council for Opportunity in Education, which advocates for federal TRiO programs and the National Council for Community and Education Programs, which advocates for the GEAR-UP grant program.

Policy Priorities

The federal government, through the Higher Education Act of 1965, plays an important role in supporting postsecondary attainment by funding college access programs, providing students with financial aid and by promoting transparency and accountability among institutions of higher education. The federal government also provides numerous loan repayment plans and student loan debt forgiveness programs.

To improve college affordability and promote college access and success, College Now advocates for maintaining and deepening federal grant opportunities as well as for numerous policies, with a current focus on simplifying the FASFA form, increasing the Pell grant and creating consumer-friendly, student loan repayment options.