Counseling for Admissions… and Completion
KIPP broadens definition of college counseling.

High schools in KIPP (Knowledge Is Power Program) are charter schools with a strong emphasis on preparing students for college. KIPP schools have a good track record at sending disadvantaged students on to higher education.
But as detailed in a new report from the Center for American Progress, KIPP found that its students weren't graduating from college at high rates. KIPP officials believe they have remedied the problem in part by rethinking the role of college counseling in KIPP schools.
What prompted the changes was a 2011 analysis finding that 31 percent of KIPP alumni graduated from college within six years (the federal rate). While this rate surpasses national averages for low-income students, KIPP officials were disappointed.
Most high schools have limited contact with alumni, so KIPP decided to provide counseling during high school to guide students in college as well and to extend its role after high school graduation. This involved reconfiguring college counseling from being focused just on getting into college to succeeding in college and life. For starters, KIPP changed the name of its counseling program from KIPP to College to the current KIPP Through College and Career.
Consistent with the name change, the program goes beyond traditional college counseling in various ways. For example, in explaining college options, KIPP counselors place less emphasis than those at other high schools do on prestige, and they prioritize colleges with good track records at graduating disadvantaged students.
Further, KIPP has created an alumni database to match new alumni with those in their junior and senior years of college. The older students provide advice on completion. Students report that the alumni network is particularly helpful for minority alumni enrolled at predominantly white institutions.
The graduation rate for KIPP alumni is now 38 percent, seven percentage points higher than it was when the new efforts were started.
Trending Stories
THE Campus
Resources for faculty and staff from our partners at Times Higher Education.
- How to tell if your university is making a genuine effort to increase diversity
- Strengthening academic integrity requires action from students and teachers alike
- Asynchronous pedagogy to improve student engagement
- How to raise the bar on the teaching section of your CV
- Challenges and opportunities of the 60-year curriculum
Most Shared Stories
- Academic experts offer advice on ChatGPT
- ChatGPT sparks debate on how to design student assignments now
- Women chairs face mushrooming demands with inadequate support (opinion) | Inside Higher Ed
- When disgraced presidents return (or never go away)
- The role of the liberal arts in an era of skills-based hiring
But What About Outcomes?
It’s Complicated