Wallin Education Partners

Wallin Education Partners' activities focus on breaking down the barriers to economic opportunity and academic success faced by low-income students. Wallin Education Partners (Wallin) is the only program in Minnesota that provides a holistic combination of student supports--spanning financial aid, comprehensive advising, wrap-around services, and career development--to ensure success throughout college. In fy2024 we welcomed 546 new students into our programs. 89% are students of color and 79% are the first in their family to attend college. The majority of Wallin scholars are enrolled in a four-year program, currently totaling 1,271 participants. The six-year graduation rate for these scholars is 87% compared to a 64% graduation rate for all students nationally. Wallin programs include: scholar advisor program: scholars receive college and career advising from a Wallin advisor. The scholar-advisor relationship begins when a student is admitted into our program during their senior year in high school and continues until they graduate college and often beyond. First year students and advisors meet six to eight times to check in on progress, develop goals, and address each student's needs as they continue to meet throughout the scholar's tenure. Financial aid: scholars receive financial aid distributed term-by-term throughout college. Funds are administered directly to colleges and universities, provided the student meets minimum gpa requirements and remains on track for graduation. Our long-standing relationships with our partner colleges help us to leverage additional financial resources to ensure that our funding does not replace institutional funding. College-to-career: with the addition of the upturnships program in fy2024, Wallin expanded career development services that provide support to students in the areas of career discernment and exploration, core professional skills development, securing internships and apprenticeships, direct access to corporate Partners' workforce pipelines, and alumni support. By way of these support areas Wallin offered career discernment workshops to 240 students, 67 internships and introductory work projects, had 24 corporate Partners and 298 students attend the Wallin career fair, and helped 7 alumni secure employment through our direct talent pipeline access. In addition to the robust career programming embedded in our core model, we also hosted a number of career development events. Last year, we held 4 networking events, 4 corporate site visits, 5 career-focused events for our scholars and 2 for our alumni.pathways and Partners: Wallin is expanding our program with unique pathways through scholarships that bridge Education and workforce needs in high-demand fields such as health care, social work, technology, and construction management. Through innovative partnerships with companies, these pathways offer students an opportunity to gain valuable experience and mentorship, while preparing for a full-time career in their field of study. Forty-seven scholars participated in a pathway program in fy2024.opportunity pathways (op): at Wallin, we know that college and career success does not look the same for everyone. Op provides another pathway for scholars headed to a community college. Scholars receive the same holistic support our traditional program uses to increase access to career-ready programs and increased graduation rates for our op students. Currently, 344 students participate in this program. Highlights: - we are currently serving 1,615 students. - over 6,500 students have received support since 1992. - we partner with 73 high schools. - nearly 40% of our scholars graduate with no debt. The average debt for Wallin scholars is around $8,000, roughly 1/4 of the $35,000 average college student.