FRONTLINES ARRUPE COLLEGE
MAKING THE GRADE
2020 PLAN
All Brandon Thomas hoped for after graduating high school was a shot at attending college. “I wasn’t getting enough financial aid from the universities I applied to,” says Thomas, who graduated from Christ
the King Jesuit College Prep High School in Chicago’s Austin neigh- borhood. “My father works at O’Hare and my mother is a teacher, so tuition was always going to be a big factor in my decision.”
After a few months of disap-
pointing phone calls, Thomas was offered admission into the inaugu- ral class of Arrupe College, Loyola’s two-year college designed to help students graduate with little to no debt. “I was originally waitlisted, so when I got a call asking if I wanted to be an Arrupe student I was so happy,” Thomas says. “I’m grateful that someone took a chance on me when I thought college was out of the picture.” Arrupe opened its doors in the
summer of 2015, and Thomas and his classmates are now in their sec- ond year on the road to graduating with an associate’s degree this summer with the hope of going on to earn a four-year degree. And ma- ny are excelling in the classroom— in October, Arrupe inducted 33 members of the sophomore class into Phi Theta Kappa, an honor society for students of two-year colleges with a GPA of at least 3.5. The average GPA of the 33 students inducted is 3.66. Arrupe’s retention rate for
students from year one to year two surpasses the average of two-year colleges nationwide. One of the major reasons behind this success is
Arrupe’s intensive and holistic sup- port structure, which is grounded in the Ignatian value of cura personalis, care for the whole person. “Embracing this idea of caring
for the whole student means that we have an intrusive style of advising,” says Stephen Katsouros, S.J., dean and executive director of Arrupe. “Our faculty and advisors pay close attention to student progress. We’re accompanying stu- dents step-by-step through their post-secondary experience.” This structure includes a social
worker, career coordinator, and dedicated faculty members who are on-site five days per week for teaching, advising, and office hours. Arrupe also employs a College Placement Director to guide students interested in going on to pursue a bachelor’s degree through each step of the college transfer process. “When students come here they already know who their advisor is, and there is a firsthand connection that regular two-year colleges don’t provide,” says lecturer Minerva Ahumada, PhD. “We work with students as a whole person, and because of our size, we’re capable of doing that.”
82%
RETENTION RATE
FAR EXCEEDS THE NATIONAL RETENTION RATE OF 61% FROM YEAR ONE TO YEAR TWO FOR TWO-YEAR COLLEGES (NCES)
ARRUPE COLLEGE
IS A MAJOR INITIATIVE OF THE FIRST INSTITUTIONAL PRIORITY OF PLAN 2020, LOYOLA’S FIVE-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN
318
CURRENT STUDENTS (131 SOPHOMORES AND 187 FRESHMEN)
36
STUDENTS ON SUMMER DEAN’S LIST WITH
70%
OF STUDENTS CURRENTLY EMPLOYED
3.5 GPA OR HIGHER
4 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY CHICAGO
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