Oglethorpe University expanded its outreach to first-generation college students and their families by joining a leading national non-profit educational organization, OneGoal, as a partner.
Founded in 2009 in Chicago, OneGoal began as an afterschool program serving 32 students. It has since grown into a national leader in providing postsecondary education advising and support to under-served students with more than 15,000 Fellows enrolled in colleges and universities in six regions, including Georgia.
OneGoal is a postsecondary access and success organization working with high schools, districts and states to provide high-quality college and career planning services. OneGoal’s mission is to lead the movement to transform postsecondary advising and support.
OneGoal was established in Georgia in 2016 and now has partnerships with 16 high schools across the state, eight of which are in metro Atlanta. There are currently 1,400 OneGoal fellows enrolled in colleges, including several at Oglethorpe University.
“I’ve had the privilege of working with students and educators in every corner of Metro Atlanta,” said Taylor Ramsey, executive director of OneGoal Georgia. “I’m committed to doing everything I can, alongside parents, students and community leaders, like Oglethorpe University, to see our city live up to its social justice legacy.”
By 2025, 60% of jobs in Georgia will require a college degree or postsecondary credential. However, only 29% of students in Metro Atlanta are expected to earn an associate or bachelor’s degree within six years of high school graduation.
The disparities in postsecondary completion widen for low-income communities, the majority of whom are students of color, at the exact time when postsecondary credentials have become more essential for accessing economic opportunity.
“Our collective responsibility is to ensure every young person in Metro Atlanta will have a path to social mobility through postsecondary achievement,” Ramsey said.
Oglethorpe’s current enrollment is nearly 40% first-generation college students. OU already partners with Achieve Atlanta to address the degree inequity issue with graduates of Atlanta Public Schools.
“This new partnership extends that mission from Atlanta to the entire state,” said Dr. Rebecca Sandidge, vice president of Enrollment at Oglethorpe. “We are eager to let more students know about the outstanding student success resources we have at Oglethorpe and help them achieve their career goals through degree attainment.”
OneGoal’s methodology is straightforward: it recruits high-performing teachers—those already working in high schools in low-income communities—and provides them with the training and support to become OneGoal Program Directors. These Program Directors implement OneGoal’s three-year post-secondary success model with a cohort of students, who are called “OneGoal Fellows,” beginning with daily in-school classes in their junior and senior years of high school. The support continues remotely through the first year following high school graduation.
OneGoal has historically worked with high schools but is now expanding into partnerships with colleges and universities. The new collaboration with Oglethorpe is one of its first in Georgia.
Research conducted by the University of Chicago’s Inclusive Economy Lab found that OneGoal has a positive and statistically significant effect on nearly all academic milestones and, most significantly, college enrollment, persistence, and college graduation. The data showed that 81% of OneGoal high school graduates enrolled in a postsecondary institution, and 73% of those remained there one year after high school graduation.
“This partnership with OneGoal Georgia brings us another step closer to being recognized as Atlanta’ s premier undergraduate learning experience,” said Oglethorpe President Kathryn McClymond. “I look forward to welcoming OneGoal Fellows to campus and watching them achieve their dreams.”
