U of A joins STARS College Network to boost support for prospective students from rural areas

“It was one of the scariest experiences of my life,” said Urquídez, who is now the U of A’s chief enrollment officer, vice president for enrollment management and dean of undergraduate admissions.

“Coming from a very small place, you’re usually the big fish in a small pond, and coming here, you’re this little itty-bitty fish in this enormous ocean and it feels so daunting, like everything’s going to be tougher than what you’re used to,” she said.

Urquídez went on to thrive in the ocean, becoming a two-time U of A graduate with a bachelor’s degree in family and consumer sciences and a Master of Education. She also earned a Master of Arts in education from Chapman University and a Doctor of Education from Northern Arizona University. She has worked for the U of A since 1994.

Urquídez knows first-hand how overwhelming the college experience can be for students from small towns and rural areas. Her office is now leading new efforts to better serve those students.

The university is one of the newest members of the STARS College Network, which gets its name for serving small-town and rural students. The network brings together universities and colleges across the country to share resources to help high school students visit member campuses, prepare them for college, and support them during their programs.

The network announced the university’s membership on Wednesday.

STARS was established last year with a $20 million gift from Trott Family Philanthropies, the foundation of Byron and Tina Trott. Byron Trott is chairman and co-CEO of BDT & MSD Partners, a merchant bank based in Chicago and New York City. The family has donated another $50 million to support outreach and engagement by member schools.

The U of A joins Dartmouth University, Duke University, Stanford University, the University of California Berkeley, the University of Notre Dame, the University of Southern California and others as new members this year.

STARS founding members are Brown University, California Institute of Technology, Case Western Reserve University, Colby College, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern University, The Ohio State University, University of Chicago, University of Iowa, University of Maryland, University of Southern California, University of Wisconsin, Vanderbilt University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Yale University.

STARS is headquartered at the University of Chicago.

Getting more students to campus

Students from small towns and rural communities often face unique obstacles to attending college. They are also less likely to encounter ads and media coverage about higher education institutions or to attend events on campuses as part of their daily lives.

In Arizona, fewer than half of the state’s high school students go to college, Urquídez said. For students from rural areas, the rate is even lower. As examples, only 38% of students from Pinal County go on to attain a college degree, and only 36% from Yuma County, according to the education advocacy organization Education Forward Arizona. The 2020 U.S. Census estimated that about 767,000 Arizona residents live in rural areas.

The AZ 60 Action Plan, created by Education Forward Arizona, includes a goal that by 2030, 60% of Arizona residents age 25 to 64 will have a two- or four-year degree. That number is currently 48%.

“There’s no way to grow that number without growing the number of students who are taking part in post-secondary education,” Urquídez said. “We know that there are so many outstanding students in our rural areas that just maybe don’t know of their opportunities. We want to help.”

As a land-grant research institution in a largely rural state, the U of A has long strived to reach and support students from rural areas, Urquídez said. Her team works each year to send recruiters to every high school in the state.

The university also offers campus-visit programs, including Arizona Road Trip, designed for ninth and 10th-grade students.

With the university now a STARS member, Urquídez said her team remains committed to getting even more prospective students on campus and looks forward to hearing ideas from other STARS Network members.

“We know that when prospective students get the experience of seeing and feeling our campus for themselves and can see themselves here, it makes all the difference,” she said. “We want to ensure that our students from rural areas get that true feeling of what campus life can be like and they feel like a star when they’re here – that they know they can take this and run with it.”