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Carter Boldman - Anthropology and Multidisciplinary Science, Class of 2024
PathwayOregon is a promise that tuition and fees for academically qualified, federal Pell Grant eligible Oregonians will be covered for four years. The innovative program, launched in 2008, uses a combination federal and state funds, as well as university grants and scholarships through the Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships, to cover those costs for eligible students.
PathwayOregon advisors in UESS work with award recipients from new student orientation to commencement, providing academic, personal, and financial support to help them meet their individual graduation goals and narrow a longstanding equity gap for Pell-eligible Oregonians overall.
advising appointments
second year retention rate for Pathway students
(average of last five years)
increase in four-year graduation rates
(over last ten years)
FAFSA Completion Support
PathwayOregon advisors provided students with a drastic increase in direct and outreach support for FAFSA this year, in response to the new federal student aid process and its delayed launch.
Since FAFSA completion is critical to maintaining the PathwayOregon financial promise, the program provided 61 hours of drop-in support for filing -- the only such support offered on campus. The program also sent four rounds of text messages to over 350 students, along with email blasts to 1,440 students, to provide updates on the new FAFSA process.
Career Readiness Initiatives
“Pathway to a Career” Pilot Program
Based on student survey feedback and unit goals, a new career readiness program was launched for PathwayOregon students in fall 2023. During regular advising meetings, PathwayOregon advisors identified appropriate career readiness tasks based on the individual student’s stage of preparedness. Successful completion of the identified readiness activities resulted in a $200 stipend.
For the pilot cohort, the program targeted second-year students and aimed for 50 participants. 47 students began the program, and a core of 24 have completed multiple meetings and career activities.
Career Newsletter
The program started a career newsletter curated specifically for PathwayOregon recipients. Newsletters included focused tips and tricks for career readiness (LinkedIn, searching for opportunities, writing a resume), highlighted on-campus job and internship opportunities, and profiled PathwayOregon alumni. A total of seven monthly newsletters were sent approximately 2,000 students, with an average open rate of 35 percent.
PathwayOregon LinkedIn:
PathwayOregon created a new LinkedIn group to help connect current students and alumni. The group, which now has 137 total members, including 73 PathwayOregon alumni, has already facilitated networking opportunities between students and alumni.
Emily Weaver - Graduated Summa Cum Laude, Psychology, Class of 2024
Makda Eyobe - Education Foundations, Class of 2024
Peer Support
Over 57 percent of the program incoming cohort were paired with an upper class PathwayOregon peer mentor aligned to their academic interests. These 47 mentors served as a resource and point of connection during mentees’ first term, checking in on their mentees over 1,200 times throughout fall term to normalize the common challenges of the transition to college, provide assistance and resources, and foster connections to PathwayOregon and other UO communities.
Student Testimonials:
“The most positive part of my experience in the mentoring program this year was being able to connect with someone who can relate to some of the things I was experiencing and being able to ask for and receive advice on almost anything I needed."
Kyleigh Cooke, mentee
“I really enjoyed being a peer mentor. I think the most positive part of my experience was feeling like I could actually offer some help or reassurance to students like myself who may not have people in their life that have been through higher education.”
Sydney Burdick, mentor
Increasing IntroDUCKtion Touchpoints
In summer 2023, PathwayOregon worked with student orientation programs to reintroduce a financial aid and budget workshop to the in-person IntroDUCKtion sessions for PathwayOregon recipients and their families. The workshop provides timely and individualized information to students about their aid offers, so they can make informed choices about housing and plan to cover fall term costs.
PathwayOregon offered this in-person engagement in addition to holding almost 900 advising appointments with the incoming cohort and hundreds of outreach phone calls to ensure students scheduled an initial advising appointment, enrolled in a full-time course load, and completed new student deadlines before fall term.