SparkPoint at Skyline College Increasing Student Persistence, Retention and Success The Role of Financial Well-Being in Student Success Workshop Walnut Creek, CA April 26, 2017
What is SparkPoint? Students and other m embers of the community use SparkPoint services & r esources to strengthen their f inancial capability & f urther their economic & educational goals.
SparkPoint Outcomes Services in these three general areas: 1. Workforce Preparation Education 2. Financial Capability 3. Benefits Access Supports List of Resources and Services: Financial Coaching ( Budget, credit, banking, IDA, Debt, etc.) Public benefits access (resource referral and support) Food Pantry Career Services Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Grove Scholars Program Secure Credit Builders Program
Outcomes SparkPoint at Skyline College t r acks results in following major outcome areas: I ncreased Income I m proved Credit Reduced Debt Building of Assets I ncrease Student Persistence
SparkPoint Services
Community Financial Resources San Mateo Credit Union English Language Institute San Mateo County Community College District Life OnTrak Skyline College (Instruction & Student Services) Career Center Earn It Keep It Save It Achieving the Dream United Way of the Bay Area Grove Foundation Joy Family Foundation Opportunity Fund Peninsula Family Service San Francisco Health Plan Benefits Access SparkPoint at Skyline College Grove Scholars Program California Employment Development Department Second Harvest Food Bank San Mateo County Human Services Agency Silicon Valley Community Foundation San Francisco- Marin Food Bank Human Services Agency of San Francisco Off-Site Partner Co-Located Program or Partner Annie E. Casey Foundation California Community Colleges Chancellor s Office Funder/Affiliate
Key College (Internal) Partnerships SparkPoint is woven into the fabric of the college and written into the San Mateo County Community College District Strategic Plan Internal Partnerships are as important as external partnerships (partial list) Career Services Center EOPS/CARE, CalWORKs ACCEL Financial Aid Guardian Scholar Program TRiO Program Counselors and Learning Communities TRiO Dream Center
Data Matters SparkPoint Centers utilize Efforts to Outcome (ETO) to collect data Clients complete a Welcome and Baseline Form at their initial meeting with a financial coach A Follow-up Form is completed each time a student achieves financial progress
Meet Claudia Acuna Claudia Acuna I HAD APPLIED TO BE PART OF SPARKPOINT BECAUSE I HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT WHEN YOU HAVE MORE THAN ONE HAND TO HELP WE CAN DO MORE. SPARKPOINT IS A WONDERFUL RESOURCE FOR PEOPLE LIKE ME THAT DON T KNOW ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES AND HELP THAT IS AVAILABLE Moved to America from El Salvador in March 2015 to study Architecture Efforts: Uses Financial Coaching, Free Tax Preparation, Career Center Workshops and Food Pantry Outcomes: Got a safe secured credit card to develop credit history, hired at the Library, receiving financial aid
2014 Annual Income Comparison (2 adults, 2 children)
The Financial Challenge 1 in 4 Bay Area families could not make ends meet 1 in 2 Latino & African-American families could not make ends meet 4 jobs required for many Bay Area families to reach self-sufficiency 77% of families have at least one worker who is struggling to make ends meet SOURCE: United Way s Self-Sufficiency in the Bay Area Report, 2014
SparkPoint at Skyline College Service Population SparkPoint Serves a Higher Percentage of Black and Hispanic/Latino Students Compared to the College 30.0% 25.0% 25.6% 20.0% 19.0% 18.7% 17.3% 18.5% 20.7% 15.0% 13.0% 13.4% 15.2% 14.7% 10.0% 7.9% 5.0% 0.0% 3.7% 3.7% 3.7% 2.7% 1.6% 0.2% 0.3% Am. Ind./Alaska Native Asian Black - Non-Hispanic Filipino Hispanic/Latino Pacific Islander White Non-Hispanic Multi Races Unreported College Wide SparkPoint
The Cascade Effect at Colleges hungry and can t focus can t finish semester EVICTED
SparkPoint Eliminates Obstacles Disconnected Services Present major barriers to success SparkPoint Centers Simplifies process for families
Bundling Services SparkPoint urges clients to utilize two or more integrated services, which more effectively addresses the complex issues facing struggling households.
Meet Jose Iniguez Jose Iniguez SPARKPOINT HAS BEEN A GREAT SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR ME TO GET THROUGH MY CERTIFICATE AND FURTHER EDUCATION TRANSITION SINCE 2012. IT CERTAINLY HAS EXCEEDED MY EXPECTATIONS. First introduced to SparkPoint when seeking services from Co-Located Employment Development Department Office (EDD) in 2012 Efforts: EDD Services, Financial Coaching, Food Pantry, Public Benefits Support Outcomes: Enrolled in Sustainable Construction classes at Skyline College, developed a more consistent and healthy diet for whole family, opened a bank account, got a part-time job with the Sustainable Construction Program.
Cañada Cash Students earn cash incentives for completing beneficial financial behaviors Savings, credit scores, debt, & transactional banking capacity Timely completion of their educational goals Students select up to 4 behaviors & earn $25 for each goal achieved Cañada Cash students success and retention metrics will be compared to non- Cañada Cash participant percentages
What do Services do Students Receive? Behavior Intervention
Meet Ingrid Martinez Ingrid Martinez Office Assistant II & Student SparkPoint at Cañada College College 650-381-3550 martinezi@smccd.edu www.canadacollege.edu/sparkpoint Ingrid s Video
Launching SparkPoint Centers Modeled after the Annie E. Casey Center for Working Families model Bundling Services leads to increased financial success UWBA piloted SparkPoint Centers Work with participants to reach long term financial goals Bring together existing service providers with expertise in content and community (vs. having one agency build out this capacity) Encouraged bundling different types of services SparkPoint at Skyline College launched in 2011
Increased College Partnerships SparkPoint at Cañada College launch in 2015 SparkPoint Contra Costa partnered with Contra Costa College in 2016 SparkPoint Marin partnered with College of Marin in 2017 SparkPoint Oakland developing partnership Laney College SparkPoint American Canyon developing partnership with Napa Valley College
Meet Alex Kennedy Alex Kennedy SparkPoint Client at Skyline College SparkPoint Benefits Office Student Assistant SparkPoint at Skyline College College 650-738-7172 akenne@my.smccd.edu www.skylinecollege.edu/sparkpoint
SparkPoint Snapshot Over 24,000 served since 2009 Progress towards income, savings, credit and debt in the last fiscal year 83% achieved at least 5% progress 70% achieved at least 30% progress 861 people reached a prosperity goal Self-sufficient income 700+ credit score 3 months of living expenses saved Eliminating revolving debt
SparkPoint Student Persistence 100% 98% Fall to Spring Persistence Rates: College vs SparkPoint Service Bundlers 93% 97% 90% 80% 84% 87% 83% 86% 85% 80% 79% 79% 87% 83% 70% 60% 62% 64% 50% 40% Fall 2011 to Spring 2012 Fall 2012 to Spring 2013 Fall 2013 to Spring 2014 Fall 2014 to Spring 2015 1 of 3 SparkPoint Services 2 of 3 SparkPoint Services 3 of 3 SparkPoint Services SparkPoint Avgerage College Wide
Key Takeaways SparkPoint connects students to resources that support student success Clients show better results when up-taking both financial coaching & workforce coaching concurrently As the cost of living continues to rise, there is an increased need for students to connect to livable wage jobs By staying in school and completing their educational goals in a timely manner, students are better prepared to weather financial challenges and achieve financial stability SparkPoint will support the Skyline College Promise
Thank You Alex Kennedy Benefits Office Student Assistant SparkPoint at Skyline College College 650 738-7172 akenne@my.smccd.edu www.skylinecollege.edu/sparkpoint Chad Thompson Interim Director SparkPoint and Career Services at Skyline College 650-738-7038 thompsonc@smccd.edu www.skylinecollege.edu/sparkpoint