Center for Student Opportunity programs serve College-Bound Coalition colleges in the promotion, improvement, and expansion of campus programs serving first-generation, low-income, and minority students. Coalition colleges are identified as four-year, student-centered institutions with vested commitments to serve and support this target student demographic.

Coalition member benefits includes: 

• Participation in CSO College Center, an online clearinghouse of college programs and admissions information serving first-generation, low-income, and minority students. Coalition colleges receive a three-page profile highlighting their community outreach, student recruitment, and retention programs, receive login access to our database of registered students on the site, and participate in marketing endeavors to increase visibility for your institution. College programs and student spotlights will be featured in regular mailings, such as the monthly “Opportunity Knocks” eNewsletter and other marketing efforts.
  
  
• Leverage the Coalition network to build relationships with leading college access programs, community organizations, and schools and enhance targeted outreach and recruitment efforts. As a national umbrella organization, CSO is bridging relationships between organizations on the frontlines of college guidance and preparation and Coalition colleges that seek to serve their students.
  
  
• Eligibility for Program Development grant opportunities. Funding and in-kind consulting are available for CSO college partners that have an interest in collaborating with and receiving funding from CSO to develop community outreach, student recruitment, and/or retention programs serving first-generation and other historically underserved student populations. Grant proposals are accepted on a rolling basis and are reserved exclusively for College-Bound Coalition members.
  
  
• College access email outreach services. Coalition colleges can benefit from CSO’s marketing expertise, professional design staff and sophisticated broadcast email platform to enhance your outreach and recruitment efforts targeting first-generation, minority student audiences. Collaborate with CSO to craft an email to prospective students promoting specific scholarship or support programs on campus or send a mailing to current students to encourage them to use your support and retention services. For more information, click here.
  
  
• Receive Coalition eNews, a regular eNewsletter that features spotlights on successful program models, disseminates advice on best practices, and updates Coalition members of new CSO programs and service opportunities.
  
  
• Access to the CSO Help Desk. CSO’s expert staff provides on-going, in-kind consulting services to answer questions, provide technical assistance, and offer general support and consulting surrounding programming and issues of outreach, recruitment, and retention for first-generation and other historically underserved students. At your request, Coalition colleges can receive an audit of their programs from CSO's expert staff and a comparative report examining best practices and successful models in the field.
  
  
• FUTURE PROGRAM EXPANSION: CSO is in the early stages of developing an admissions matching program to find college homes for first-generation, low-income, and minority students among Coalition colleges. CSO is leveraging relationships with Coalition college access programs to identify and recruit students and families for the program. Through interviews, application assistance, and college guidance, CSO will work closely with the student, family, and participating colleges to identify strong college fits and increase prospects for enrollment.
  

Please contact info@csopportunity.org or call (301) 951-7101 ext. 214 to learn more.