Experience Vanderbilt

Posted by Eileen Remley on Monday, October 3, 2016 in News Blurbs.

By now most of you have heard of the implementation of Experience Vanderbilt, our partnership with VSG that provides resources to undergraduate students eligible for financial aid so that they may engage in extra-curricular programs that require the payment of fees.

We know from our reading of Strong Inside that merely bringing students with limited resources to campus does not insure their success or their social integration. The goal of Experience Vanderbiltis to reduce the financial barriers between undergraduates and the extra-curricular programs that help define the Vanderbilt experience.

In a survey conducted by Vanderbilt Student Government in the Spring of 2015, 30% of students who wanted to participate in one of the categories listed (club sports, dance/theatre, service trips, outdoor trips, and Greek life), did not participate due to the cost of that activity and their inability to pay. Another finding from the survey was that first-generation college students and international students were most likely to indicate that they do not currently participate in any extra-curricular programs, but that they would like to do so.

Opportunity Vanderbilt made it possible for those students to be here, only to be faced with the financial difficulties of engaging in organizations and programs that can cost upwards of $1,000 a year. College is defined by experiences, many of which are academic-enriching. Where desire and passion for particular engagement exists, the institution should try to ensure that monetary barriers are not an issue. This is where Experience Vanderbilt comes in.

For its pilot phase, up to $500 per student is being distributed through a confidential application and random selection process beginning this fall. EV will be funded by donations from alumni, faculty/staff members, and current students.

Perhaps staffers in the Dean of Students offices and centers, who work as closely with students as anyone at the University, will want to consider designating Experience Vanderbilt as the recipient of their gifts during the annual campaign when they make their contributions this fall.

Give to Experience Vanderbilt: vu.edu/supportev