College Opportunity

The Council for Opportunity in Education was founded to advance the vision that every student – regardless of their class, parents’ education, or race and ethnicity – would have the opportunity to earn a college degree. Over four decades, this broad coalition of educators has worked to achieve this ideal through fierce advocacy at the institutional, state, and federal levels.

Our approach

To that end, COE remains committed to increasing the body of knowledge to support and provide opportunities for low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities.

COE works to improve educational equity for low-income, first-generation students and students with disabilities by advocating and providing resources and services to support colleges and community agencies around the country. We address this mandate by:

Our Initiatives

• Promote leadership development and global citizenry through student leadership programs such as the National Student Leadership Congress, the Thomas R. Wolanin Congressional Internship, and the Keith Sherin Global Leaders Program;
• Develop partnerships with businesses and government to introduce low-income and first-generation students to 21st-century careers–particularly those requiring intense preparation in math and science–and to better prepare them for the workforce;
• Strengthen the academic preparation of TRIO pre-college students to assure they have the mathematics and writing skills necessary to excel in disciplines of their choice–through curriculum development for STEAM Clubs and Book Clubs available for free to over 4,000 college access and success programs nationwide;
• Through the annual First-Generation College Celebration, COE uplifts and expands the visibility of first-generation students on campuses across the country to increase institutional campus-wide engagement in providing comprehensive support to this student population;  
• Annually publish the Pell Institute’s Indicators of Higher Education Equity in the United States, which increases public awareness of disparities in college opportunity for low-income, first-generation students and provides data to help develop educational policies and programs targeting these students;
• Cultivate college access and success program alumni to serve as mentors and role models for current program participants, act as advocates for the programs, and serve as ambassadors to the broader community;
• Convene leaders of COE-affiliated state associations for executive leadership training to advance college opportunity efforts at the state and national level through partnerships with institutions such as Princeton University, Yale University, and Cornell University; and 
• Connect college access and success programs and community partners to COE’s cloud-based data system–empower™–for effective real-time tracking and analysis of student outcomes.

Our Outcomes

College access and retention services are essential to providing genuine educational opportunities for all Americans, including low-income and first-generation students and students with disabilities.

At present, college access and success programs reach only a tiny fraction of the students and families who could benefit from them. For more than 40 years, COE has worked to make the following outcomes a reality: