**U.S. Department of Education**

**A Profile of the Veterans Upward Bound Program: 2000–2001**

**A Profile of the Veterans Upward Bound Program: 2000–2001**

**Prepared for:**

U.S. Department of Education

Office of Postsecondary Education

Federal TRIO Programs

**By:**

Research Triangle Institute

# Thomas R. Curtin

# Margaret W. Cahalan

This report was produced under U.S. Department of Education Contract No. ED–01–CO–0052/0007 with the Research Triangle Institute. Frances Bergeron and Kathy Fuller provided technical review of the content. Shirley Johnson served as the contracting officer's representative. The views expressed do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service, or enterprise mentioned in this publication is intended or should be inferred.

**U. S. Department of Education**

Margaret Spellings

*Secretary*

**Office of Postsecondary Education**

Sally L. Stroup

*Assistant Secretary*

**Federal TRIO Programs**

Larry Oxendine

*Director*

December 2005

This report is in the public domain except for the photograph on the cover. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, *A Profile of the Veterans Upward Bound Program: 2000–2001*, by Thomas R. Curtin and Margaret W. Cahalan, Washington, D.C., 2005. 

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**Contents**

**iv****Tables******

**iv****Figures******

**iv****Foreword******

**iv****Acknowledgments******

**iv****Highlights******

ivGrantees

ivParticipants

ivProgram Participation and Services

ivPostsecondary Enrollment

**4****Chapter 1    Introduction******

4A.Program Purpose, Origins, and Requirements

4B.Program Funding History

4C.The Changing National Context

4D.Purpose and Development of the VUB Performance Report

4E.Report Structure

**4****Chapter 2   Characteristics of Grantees******

4A.Federal Region

4B.IPEDS Comparison

**4****Chapter 3    Veterans Upward Bound Participants******

4A.Participant Distribution, by Eligibility

41.Context: National Data on Poverty

42.Distribution of VUB Participants, by Eligibility Status

4B.Participant Distribution, by Race/Ethnicity

41.Context: National Data on Race/Ethnicity

42.Distribution of VUB Participants, by Race/Ethnicity

4C.Participant Distribution, by Gender

41.Context: National Data on Gender

42.Distribution of VUB Participants, by Gender

4D.Participant Distribution, by Need for Services

4E.Participant Distribution, by Educational Attainment and Age at Program Entry

41.Distribution of VUB Participants, by Educational Attainment at Program Entry

42.Distribution of VUB Participants, by Age at Program Entry

**4****Chapter 4    Program Participation and Services******

4A.Participation Level and Number Served

41.Participation Level

42.Length of Participation

43.Number Served and Number Funded to Serve

4B.Services Offered and Received

41.Percentage of VUB Projects Offering Services

42.Percentage of VUB Participants Receiving Services in Subject Areas

43.Veterans Upward Bound Math-Science Services in 2000–01

**4****Chapter 5    Postsecondary Enrollment******

4VUB Performance Report Data on Postsecondary Enrollment

41.Source of Information on Postsecondary Enrollment

42.Type of Postsecondary Enrollment

43.Postsecondary Enrollment Status, Financial Aid Sources, and Standing

44.Postsecondary Grade Level and Degree and Certificate Completion Status

**4****Appendix   Upward Bound Performance Reporting: Methods and Data   Quality for the First Year******

**4****Glossary******

**4****References******

****

Tables

41.TRIO funding, number of grants, number of participants, average award, average number served, and amount per person served: 2002–03

42.TRIO funding, by program in current and constant 2002 dollars: 1967–2002

43.Projects and unduplicated counts of current- and prior-year VUB, UB, and UBMS participants included in the project reports, by type of project and grantee sector:  2000–01

44.Number and percentage of Upward Bound projects, by federal region: 2000–01

45.Number of two- and four-year degree-granting institutions serving undergraduates and the number and percentage of these institutions with Upward Bound grants, by type of postsecondary institution: 2000–01

46.Comparison of the distribution of Carnegie-classified postsecondary institutions and VUB grantees, by type of degree awarded: 2000–01

47.Postsecondary institutions serving undergraduates and institutions with Upward Bound projects, by type of institution: 2000–01

48.Percentage distribution of VUB participants, by eligibility status and sector of grantee: 2000–01

49.Number and percentage distribution of the U.S. population, by race/ethnicity: Selected years, 1960–2002

410.Percentage distribution of the employment status and disability status for VUB participants, by grantee sector: 2000–01

411.Percentage distribution of the educational attainment of VUB participants at project entry, by sector: 2000–01

412.Percentage distribution and mean age at program entry for new, current, and reentry participants in VUB projects, by sector of host institution: 1999–2000

413.Percentage distribution of participant status (new, continuing and reentry), by type of Upward Bound project: 2000–01

414.Percentage distribution of months of participation for VUB new, current, and reentry participants, by sector of grantee: 2000–01

415.Percentage distribution of months of participation of prior-year VUB participants, by sector of grantee: 2000–01

416.Percentage distribution of the educational status of VUB participants at the end of the reporting period, by host grantee sector: 2000–01

417.Percentage distribution of VUB projects providing service during the year, and percentage of current participants receiving the service: 2000–01

418.Percentage distribution of VUB projects with Upward Bound Math-ScienceCenters providing math-science activities, and percentage of new, current, and reentry participants receiving the service: 2000–01

419.Percentage distribution of source of information on postsecondary activities for VUB participants and prior-year participants who had completed high school and for whom postsecondary source information was reported, by gender: 2000–01

420.Percentage distribution of the types of postsecondary institutions first attended by VUB participants who were high school graduates, by sector of grantee institution: 2000–01

421.Percentage distribution of postsecondary enrollment status among VUB and UB participants who were high school graduates, by gender: 2000–01

422.Percentage distribution of type of financial aid among VUB and UB participants who were high school graduates, by gender: 2000–01

423.Percentage distribution of postsecondary enrollment standing among VUB and UB participants who were high school graduates, by gender: 2000–01

424.Percentage distribution of postsecondary grade level among VUB and UB participants who were high school graduates, by gender: 2000–01

425.Percentage distribution of postsecondary degree completion status among VUB and UB participants who were high school graduates, by gender: 2000–01

4A–1.Number of Upward Bound projects funded and number and percentage that submitted participant performance reports, by program type: 2000–01

****

Figures

41.TRIO funding in constant 2002 dollars, by program: 1967–2002

42.Percentage of the population 18–24 years old who have dropped out of high school (status dropout rate), by race/ethnicity: 1967–2000

43.Percentage of 18–24-year-olds enrolled in postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity: selected years, 1967–2000

44.Percentage of high school graduates enrolled in college the October following graduation, by family income: 1972–2000

45.Percentage of U.S. military veterans who have completed high school, by race/ethnicity: selected years, 1970–2001

46.Percentage distribution of U.S. military veterans, by level of education and selected age group: 2001

47.Percentage distribution of VUB projects, by sector of host grantee: 2000–01

48.Percentage of people 18–64 years of age who were below the poverty level, by race/ethnicity: 1970–2001

49.Percentage of U.S. population aged 18–64 years old in poverty and under 150 percent of poverty level, by race/ethnicity: 2001

410.Percentage of children 6–18 years of age having a mother with a bachelor's degree and percentage having a father with a bachelor's degree, by race/ethnicity: 1974–1999

411.Percentage of high school students who were potentially first-generation four-year college graduates, by race/ethnicity: 1972, 1980, 1990, and 2002

412.Percentage distribution of VUB participants, by eligibility status: 2000–01

413.Percentage distribution of VUB participants, by race/ethnicity: 2000–01

414.Percentage distribution of VUB participants, by race/ethnicity and by host grantee sector: 2000–01

415.Percentage distribution of participants, by race/ethnicity and by type of Upward Bound program: 2000–01

416.Percentage distribution of participants, by gender and by type of Upward Bound project: 2000–01

417.Percentage distribution of the educational attainment of VUB participants at program entry: 2000–01

418.Percentage distribution of new, current, and reentry VUB participants, by sector of host grantee: 2000–01

419.Percentage distribution of months of participation for VUB new, current, and reentry participants: 2000–01

420.Percentage distribution of months of participation for VUB prior-year participants: 2000–01

421.Number served over the course of the reporting year and number funded to serve, among VUB projects submitting performance reports: 2000–01

422.Percentage of VUB participants who were high school graduates, were enrolled (or accepted for enrollment) in postsecondary education, and first attended the grantee institution, by grantee sector: 2000–01

****

**Foreword**

To help achieve our collective goal that no potential learner will be "left behind," high-quality educational opportunities must be available to all students. In keeping with this goal, the Federal TRIO Programs provide outreach and support to help low-income and potentially first-generation college students who have need for academic support to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to postbaccalaureate programs. 

On behalf of the Federal TRIO Programs, I am pleased to present *A Profile of the Veterans Upward Bound Program: 2000–2001*. The goal of the Veterans Upward Bound Program is to encourage enrollment in postsecondary education and to develop the skills and motivation necessary for success in that environment among low-income, first-generation military veterans. 

This report is the first in a series that presents a national profile of the Veterans Upward Bound Program. We have also prepared similar national profile reports on the classic Upward Bound and Upward Bound Math-Science Programs (published in August and December 2004, respectively). In addition, individual project reports, which will be provided separately, summarize specific information submitted by each project and provide aggregate information on other Upward Bound projects in the same geographic area, the same institutional sector, and the nation. The 2000–01 performance reports, submitted by the Veterans Upward Bound projects, were the primary data source for this national profile report and each individual project report. The 2000–01 performance reports from "classic" and math-science Upward Bound projects were similarly the source of data cited for purposes of comparison at various points in this report.

We are proud to formally begin a process for sharing national statistical information on the Veterans Upward Bound Program and related national data. It is our hope that the collection and dissemination of this information will foster communication aimed at assessing our mission and implementing measures of how well we are doing. We also hope that this profile report will serve as the catalyst for a dialogue on ways to provide program services to more veterans, improve the effectiveness of program services, and increase postsecondary enrollment and degree completion for low-income, first-generation college military veterans.

I appreciate the collective effort of the Upward Bound community to help ensure that our veterans will have access to the opportunities afforded through a quality education.

Larry Oxendine

Director

Federal TRIO Programs

**Acknowledgments**

Publishing this report was a team effort, and we appreciate the support of all who contributed. First we thank the project staff members of the Veterans Upward Bound projects who reported the data on which this profile report is based. Frances Bergeron, Team Leader, Program Management and Development, Federal TRIO Programs, coordinated the data collection and reporting processes, provided feedback as the report developed, and reviewed the report. Charles Brazil, Loretta Brown, Kathy Fuller, and Teresita Kopka, also of TRIO, provided a careful review of the document in preparation for publication. 

**Highlights**

This report provides a comprehensive profile of the Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) Program using individual student-level information for VUB participants served in 1999–2000 and 2000–01. Ninety-six percent of the VUB projects (45 out of 47 postsecondary institutions and community organizations funded in 2000–01) provided student-level data for this report. The 45 projects provided information in the performance reports for 8,512 VUB participants. After removing duplicate records (e.g., students who were listed more than once in a project), some 8,299 VUB project participants were identified. This included 6,196 new, continuing, and reentry participants served during the 2000–01 project year (75 percent); 2,087 prior-year participants (25 percent)—those participants served in 1999–2000 but not in 2000–01; and 16 participants whose status was unknown (0.2 percent).

The highlights below provide information on the characteristics of VUB grantees and program participants, program participation levels, and services. Also provided are preliminary data on postsecondary enrollment.

**Grantees**

· During the 2000–01 program year, a total of 47 Veterans Upward Bound projects were funded. Two of these grantees were Veterans Upward Bound Math-Science Centers; 45 of the projects offered classic Veterans Upward Bound services. Approximately 2 percent of the VUB participants served during the 2000–01 project year attended math-science projects.

· The largest percentage of VUB grantees was four-year postsecondary institutions (55 percent were public four-year and 6 percent were private four-year institutions). Twenty-eight percent of the grantees were two-year postsecondary institutions and 11 percent were sponsored by community organizations.

· VUB projects were widely distributed across the United States, with grantees located in nine of the 10 federal regions defined by the U.S. Department of Education. Regions IV, V, and VI had the largest number of grantees.

**Participants**

· Overall, 72 percent of VUB participants were both low-income and potentially first-generation college students; 21 percent were first-generation only; and 7 percent were low-income only. 

· The largest percentage of VUB participants in 2000–01 (44 percent) were white, followed by black or African-American (36 percent), Hispanic or Latino (14 percent), and American Indian or Alaska Native (5 percent). Relatively small numbers of VUB participants were Asian, Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander, or more than one race (less than 1 percent each). 

· Unlike most other TRIO programs, VUB has a much higher proportion of males than female participants (83 percent male). In contrast, 36 percent of the participants in classic UB projects were male.

· For the 2000–01 reporting period, almost half of the VUB participants were unemployed (47 percent), 15 percent were employed part-time, and 5 percent were retired. About one-quarter of the VUB participants (24 percent) had disabilities; the disability status of another 16 percent was unknown.

· When they first entered the program, about 5 percent of VUB participants were high school dropouts. Another 40 percent of the participants had both completed high school and had some postsecondary education; 56 percent of the participants were high school graduates, or had equivalency credentials, but were without college experience.

· The mean age of VUB participants at entry into the project was 40.5 years. Fourteen percent of these participants were less than 26 years old when they entered the program. Nine percent of participants were over 55 at program entry. Female participants' mean age of entry was 37.

**Program Participation and Services**

· In contrast to the other Upward Bound Programs, VUB is not typically designed to provide long-term services. Of note, 76 percent of the VUB participants served in the 2000–01 program year were new participants. (For comparison, 38 percent of classic Upward Bound participants were new.)

· About 37 percent of VUB participants received no more than three months of services before leaving the program; 65 percent of VUB participants received no more than six months of service. Just 6 percent of the participants were served for a year or more.

· Among prior participants, the length of time the participants were served was even less. More than three-quarters of prior-year VUB participants reported being in VUB for six months or less (78 percent); 49 percent of the participants received less than three months of services. 

· During 2000–01, 47 VUB grantees were funded to provide services to 5,530 veterans. This included funding for 5,440 participants in classic Veterans projects and 90 partic​ipants in Veterans UBMS projects. On average, classic VUB projects were funded to serve 121 participants each. (This participant per project average for classic Veterans projects was larger than classic UB for traditionally aged high school students, where the average number of participants the projects were funded to serve was 71.)

· A total of 6,196 veterans were served by the 45 projects that returned performance reports during 2000–01. The number of participants served was larger than the number for which the projects were funded to serve by 906 individuals—about 17 percent. (The difference can be explained by replacements for dropouts, as well as by program efficiency.)

· Many different types of services were available to veterans through VUB projects, and most VUB projects offered instruction in the required areas of math, science, foreign languages, and English. During 2000–01, most projects offered programs of instructional support in mathematics (96 percent), composition (96 percent), computer science (93 percent), and literature and reading (about 90 percent each). About three-quarters of VUB projects offer foreign language instruction.

· While the VUB projects offered the instruction, relatively few participants received instruction in science or a foreign language (20 percent and 18 percent, respectively). In fact, the most frequently utilized academic offering in VUB projects, mathematics instruction, seems to have been utilized by 55 percent of the participants.

· The service offered most frequently to participants was academic advising, available to all VUB participants during the year. Other noninstructional services available to more than 90 percent of the participants included college survival/study skills, tutoring, personal counseling, career awareness, financial aid/VA benefit advising, cultural act​ivities and college admissions assistance**.**

· Eighty-one percent of VUB participants received academic advising and about two-thirds received career awareness and personal counseling. Between 40 and 55 percent received mathematics, composition and computer science instruction; learned college survival/ study skills; received financial aid/VA benefits advice, college admissions assistance, and tutoring; and participated in cultural activities and informational workshops.

· While 80 percent of VUB projects offered GED and high school equivalency assistance to participants, only 6 percent of VUB participants received the service during the year. 

· Projects offered a variety of referral services, of which the most widely used were employment and academic referrals; each was received by approximately 22 percent of participants.

· Both of the VUB math-science projects offered targeted activities for VUB participants with professional mathematicians and scientists or with math and science majors. All participants utilized those services. 

**Postsecondary Enrollment**

· Among the VUB participants reported to have graduated from high school or to have obtained a high school equivalency certificate by the end of the 2000–01 reporting period, and for whom postsecondary source information was available, 51 percent were enrolled in postsecondary education while 33 percent were reported as not enrolled in postsecondary education. The educational status of another 16 percent was unknown.

· Approximately three-fourths of the postsecondary school codes that grantees provided for VUB participants enrolled in postsecondary education were successfully matched with institutions in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) file of the National Center for Education Statistics. Analysis of these postsecondary schools revealed that 46 percent of the students involved were enrolled in four-year institutions, 52 percent in two-year institutions. Four percent attended other institutions.

· Based on information in the performance reports, 54 percent of the VUB participants who enrolled in postsecondary education first attended the grantee institution.

· There was a strong association between VUB participants' host institution and the sector of the postsecondary institution the participants attended. For example, 88 percent of the VUB participants whose host institution was a two-year institution also first enrolled in a two-year institution.

· Among VUB participants who were enrolled in postsecondary education and whose enrollment status was reported, just over half were enrolled full-time (53 percent), 37 percent attended part-time, and 11 percent had varied enrollment status.

· About 32 percent of VUB participants whose financial aid status was reported had "multiple federal" or "multiple federal and other sources of aid," while 18 percent had a Pell Grant only. Twenty-seven percent of the veterans attended postsecondary classes using Veterans benefits or the Montgomery GI Bill. Nine percent received other forms of financial aid or combinations of aid, 13 percent were not awarded aid, and 1 percent of participants were reported not to need financial assistance.

· Virtually all of the VUB participants (96 percent) enrolled in postsecondary education and whose academic standing was reported in 2000–01 were in good standing at their institutions.

· As might be expected in the first years of annual performance reporting for the Veterans Upward Bound Program, the educational attainment for most VUB participants was limited. About 68 percent of VUB participants who had completed high school and who had started their postsecondary education or who had been accepted into a postsecondary institution were in the first year of study. Eleven percent were accepted for study but have not yet started. 

· By the end of the reporting period, significant numbers of VUB participants who were served in either 1999–2000 or 2000–01 had time to complete only short-term degrees—associate degrees and certificates or diplomas of less than two-years' duration. About 7 percent of the VUB participants with high school diplomas or GEDs had completed associate degrees or programs leading to a certificate or diploma. About 91 percent of enrolled participants had not yet completed their programs of study by the end of the 2000–01.

**Chapter 1   Introduction**

The U.S. Department of Education’s *Strategic Plan for 2002–2007* (U.S. Department of Education 2002) established an objective to "reduce the gaps in college access and completion among student populations differing by race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and disability while increasing the educational attainment of all." Upward Bound, which made its first awards in 1965, has always sought to increase the academic performance and motivation of low-income individuals and potentially first-generation college students so that these individuals may successfully pursue postsecondary education programs. By continuing its efforts to meet these goals, Upward Bound seeks to contribute to achieving this objective of the Department's Strategic Plan. 

The *Profile of the Veterans Upward Bound Program: 2000–2001*is one component in a series of reports that present a national profile of the Upward Bound programs. We have prepared similar national profile reports on the other types of Upward Bound programs—classic Upward Bound (UB) and Upward Bound Math-Science (UBMS) (published in August and December 2004, respectively). Although each of the three types of Upward Bound programs has shared goals and similar performance reports, each has a unique mission, with different participant characteristics and offered services. Each profile report follows the same outline and includes some overarching tables that provide findings across the three program types. However, detailed information in this report is presented only for the Veterans Upward Bound Program, the focus of this profile. 

In this introductory chapter, we present information on the program's background, the changing context of Upward Bound, and the purpose and development of the performance reports; we also outline the report's structure. 

**A.Program Purpose, Origins, and Requirements**

Upward Bound was the first TRIO program, and the classic, or original, Upward Bound Program (UB) remains the largest of the programs in terms of annual funding allocations. TRIO began with the *Economic Opportunity Act of 1964,*which authorized 18 pilot programs in 1965, and the program was expanded a year later to 220 projects. The Veterans Upward Bound Program (VUB), the focus of this report, began in 1972 during the Vietnam War to provide educational and support services enabling veterans to transition to postsecondary education. The final component of Upward Bound, the Upward Bound Math-Science Program (UBMS), began in 1990 as an initiative to help address national concerns about attracting and retaining students within science and mathematics in the light of predicted shortfalls in the number of persons entering these fields.

In 1965, one year after the implementation of the UB pilot projects in the United States, the *Higher Education Act of 1965* authorized a second program, Talent Search (TS), to identify and assist youths with the potential for success in higher education. The term TRIO was coined in 1968 to encompass the three initial programs: UB, TS, and the newly authorized Student Support Services (SSS), which provided support services to undergraduate students to assist them in completing programs of postsecondary education. At the same time, all three programs were placed under Title IV of the *Higher Education Act of 1965*. 

Several years later in 1972, the same year that the Veterans Upward Bound Program was begun, the Educational Opportunity Centers Program (EOC) to serve adults was authorized. Fourteen years later, the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program (McNair) was authorized to prepare undergraduates from groups underrepresented in graduate education for graduate study and the attainment of Ph.D. degrees. The Training Program for Federal TRIO Programs, authorized in 1976, supports training activities to enhance the skills and expertise of project directors and staff employed in TRIO Programs. The newest program, the TRIO Dissemination Partnership, was authorized in 1998 to encourage the replication of successful practices of TRIO Programs at institutions and agencies that do not have a federally funded TRIO project.

The purpose of Upward Bound has always been to foster, among low-income individuals and potentially first-generation college students, the skills and motivation necessary to enroll and succeed in education beyond high school. Consequently, *The Code of Federal Regulations*for Upward Bound (34 CFR 645.11–14) specifies a core academic and support program for participants attending any VUB, UB, or UBMS project. Each project is required to provide instruction in math, laboratory science, composition, literature, and foreign language. Other services include: 

· Instruction in reading, writing, study skills, and other subjects necessary for success in education beyond high school; 

· Academic, financial, or personal counseling;

· Exposure to academic programs and cultural events;

· Tutorial services;

· Mentoring programs;

· Information on postsecondary education opportunities;

· Assistance in completing college entrance and financial aid applications;

· Assistance in preparing for college entrance examinations like the ACT and SAT; and 

· Work study positions to expose participants to careers requiring a postsecondary degree. 

In addition to these core elements, VUB projects have the special mission of helping U.S. military veterans—most of whom have different education and life experiences than do secondary school-aged Upward Bound participants—to enter and succeed in postsecondary education. The U.S. military veteran population is large, with current estimates at more than 25 million, including 8.2 million Vietnam-era veterans (33 percent), the largest period-of-service component for veterans (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2004a).

While VUB projects are expected to provide the core academic and support services offered by other Upward Bound projects, federal regulations also require a subset of services more specifically targeted to the needs of veterans. These include:

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· Intensive basic skills development in academic subjects required for successful completion of a high school equivalency program and admission to postsecondary programs;
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· Short-term remedial or refresher courses for veterans who have graduated from high school but delayed pursuing postsecondary education;
 and
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· Assistance in securing support services from other available resources such as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, state veterans agencies, veterans associations, and other state and local agencies that serve veterans (34 CFR 645.14).
```

Like the Upward Bound projects available to school-aged students, in 2000-01 VUB projects were classified as either classic or math-science projects. Two of the 47 VUB projects funded during the 2000–01 program year were math-science projects. Each year, VUB projects are expected to serve a minimum of 120 eligible participants; the VUBMS projects are approved to serve fewer than that number. The two VUBMS projects in 2000 were funded to serve 45 veterans, on average. For comparison, classic UB projects serve between 50 and 120 students, while UBMS projects serve between 50 and 75. 

Federal regulations for the VUB Program do not have the same age requirements for participants as do the UB and UBMS Programs, whose participants must be between the ages of 13 and 19. Otherwise, the core eligibility requirements for the three Upward Bound Programs are similar. Participants must be potentially first-generation college students or low income, and demonstrate a need for academic support. At least two-thirds of the participants at each project must meet low-income *and*potentially first-generation criteria; the remaining participants must meet either of the two eligibility criteria.

In addition, VUB Program participants must meet several military service requirements, as defined by Upward Bound Program regulations (34 CFR 465.6). Participants must have served on active duty as a member of the U.S. Armed Forces for a period of more than 180 days, any part of which occurred after Jan. 31, 1955, and have been discharged or released from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable; or have served after Jan. 31, 1955, and have been discharged or released because of a service-connected disability. 

VUB projects offer services tailored to the needs of individual veterans, almost all of whom, upon entry into the program, have at least a high school diploma or equivalency credentials. More than 40 percent of participants are employed at least part time. VUB projects are therefore designed to serve the specific educational needs of their participants in an expeditious fashion—assessing the participants' needs, refreshing their academic skills, improving their career 

awareness, helping them to apply to postsecondary institutions and for financial aid, referring them to other sources of services for veterans, and providing them counseling. VUB projects offer course work and tutorial opportunities on a short-term basis and provide program services during the day and/or in the evenings. The length of a veteran's participation in the project depends upon his or her needs.

Upward Bound grants are generally four years in length, with the top-scoring proposals receiving five-year grants. Prior experience points may be earned by grantees that have conducted an Upward Bound project during the three years prior to the submission of the new application. Grantees may earn up to 15 prior experience points based on the following five regulatory criteria reflecting the goals of Upward Bound; each criterion is worth three points. The criteria for Upward Bound programs are:

1. Whether the project serves the number of participants agreed to under the approved application; 

2. The extent to which project participants have demonstrated improvement in academic skills and competencies as measured by standardized achievement tests and grade point averages;

3. The extent to which project participants continue to participate in the Upward Bound Program until they complete their secondary education program or, in the case of VUB, until they complete the educational program offered by the project;

4. The extent to which participants who complete the project, or were scheduled to complete the project, undertake programs of postsecondary education; and

5. The extent to which participants who complete the project, or were scheduled to complete the project, succeed in education beyond high school, including the extent to which they graduate from postsecondary education programs.

**B.Program Funding History**

With an annual appropriation of $802.5 million in Fiscal Year 2002 (FY 2002), the Federal TRIO Programs are the largest set of discretionary grant programs in the U.S. Department of Education. Table 1 presents a summary of TRIO funding and participant numbers for FY 2002 (2002–03 academic year). 

Upward Bound has historically had—and continues to have—the largest total funding allocation of any TRIO program ($264.2 million for UB and $31.8 million for UBMS in FY 2002). Information on the number of projects, participants, and funding for VUB projects is typically discussed, along with the UB and UBMS projects of which they are a part; VUB does not have its own separate allocation. UB and UBMS have among the highest levels of funding per student served among TRIO programs ($4,648 for UB and $5,215 for UBMS, exceeded only by the McNair Program). 

As table 1 demonstrates, VUB projects on average have smaller awards and, for VUB projects providing classic UB instruction and services, serve more participants per project than the Upward Bound projects that serve traditionally school-aged students. For example, the average classic Veterans Upward Bound grant was $279,654 for the 2002–03 program year; the average number of participants those projects were funded to serve was 121 individuals. The contrasting figures for classic UB projects that did not serve veterans were $346,856 and 71 persons, respectively. In 2002, VUB projects, including 43 classic UB and 2 UBMS grantees, reported serving 5,290 veterans. The average cost per classic VUB participant was $2,313 and, for each VUBMS participant, $5,187.

Table 2 gives historical information on funding for TRIO programs from 1967 to 2002 in current and constant 2002 dollars. During the 1990s, the annual appropriation for TRIO increased substantially in current dollars and constant dollars after a flat period for much of the 1980s. In 2002, 2,646 grants were made to serve an estimated 800,000 participants. Figure 1 provides a graphic display of TRIO funding in constant 2002 dollars across the periods in which the projects were operating.

**Figure 1.TRIO funding in constant 2002 dollars, by program: 1967–2002**

NOTE: UB=classic Upward Bound; TS =Talent Search; SSS= Student Support Services; EOC= Educational Opportunity Centers; McNair = Ronald McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program; UBMS = Upward Bound Math-Science. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, administrative and financial records from program files; U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Consumer Price Index: 1967–2000.

**C.The Changing National Context**

Since 1965, when Congress authorized the first TRIO programs, significant advances in the educational achievement and attainment of low-income, first-generation, and minority students have taken place within the United States. To provide context for the program profile for 2000–01, we review national data on changes in high school dropout rates and postsecondary enrollment over the period since TRIO began. We also provide educational attainment information on the U.S. population of military veterans.

When Upward Bound and Talent Search began in the late 1960s, and when Veterans Upward Bound began in the early 1970s, there was considerable emphasis on increasing high school graduation rates as the first step toward increasing college enrollment. Indeed since that time, secondary school dropout rates have declined, especially among black or African-American youths, for whom dropout rates by 2000 were less than half of what they were at the time of TRIO Program implementation in the late 1960s (fig. 2). However, as the Census data

**Figure 2.Percentage of the population 18–24 years old who have dropped out of high school (status dropout rate), by race/ethnicity: 1967–2000**

NOTE: The term "status dropout rate" in this figure is based on the self reports of 18–24-year-old respondents to the Current Population Survey (CPS) question on high school graduation status. This figure reflects cumulative data on dropouts among 18–24-year-olds and is considerably higher than that reported by the Census for the annual dropout rate of 15–17-year-olds, which is the proportion of students who left school in the year reported. For example, for 15–17-year-olds the annual rate was 4.5 percent for the national rate and 6.8 for Hispanics in 2000 (as reported in Census Table A-4. Annual High School Dropout Rates by Sex, Race, Grade, and Hispanic Origin: October 1967 to 2002.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Surveys, 1967–2002 (table A-5. The Population 14 to 24 Years Old, by High School Graduate Status, College Enrollment, Attainment, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: October 1967 to 2002) available at http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school.html (accessed July 11, 2005).

indicate, the percentage of young persons who have dropped out of high school remains high among all groups, especially for Hispanic youths who may be children of non-English speaking parents.

Figure 3 presents the postsecondary education enrollment rates from 1967 to 2000 for 18–24- year-old individuals, by racial/ethnic group. Overall rates increased from 26 percent in 1967 to 36 percent in 2000. Black or African-American youths had the largest increase—more than doubling, from 13 to 30 percent. The rate of college attendance among Hispanic youths was 20 percent in 1975, which declined to 16–17 percent in the 1980s, and was 22 percent in 2000.

**Figure 3.Percentage of 18–24-year-olds enrolled in postsecondary institutions, by race/ethnicity: selected years, 1967–2000**

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Surveys, 1967–2002 (Table A-5. The Population 14 to 24 Years Old, by High School Graduate Status, College Enrollment, Attainment, Sex, Race, and Hispanic Origin: October 1967 to 2002) available at http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school.html (accessed July 11, 2005).

Figure 4 displays Census figures on the percentage of high school graduates enrolling in postsecondary education immediately after high school graduation (i.e., by the following October). Overall, postsecondary enrollment among high school graduates went from 49 percent in 1972 to 61 percent in 2000. Among youths from low-income families, the Census Bureau estimates were 26 percent and 38 percent, respectively, in 1972 and 2002.

**Figure 4.Percentage of high school graduates enrolled in college the October following graduation, by family income: 1972–2000**

NOTE: Low income from 1972–95 was the lowest 20 percent of family incomes; high income was the top 20 percent; and middle income was the 60 percent in between. Percents reported for low income for 1990 and 1995 represent three-year averages due to small yearly sample sizes. In 2000, the percentage groupings changed somewhat: low income included the bottom 19 percent, and high income was the upper 33 percent. Middle was the 48 percent between the two other groups.

SOURCE: U.S Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, October Current Population Surveys, 1972–2002, available at http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school.html (accessed July 11, 2005).

As demonstrated in figure 5, the educational attainment of the population of U.S. military veterans has shown improvements comparable to the results of the U.S. population overall: The percentage of the veteran population that has not completed high school has dropped from 33 percent to 12 percent in the last 30 years as the result of a number of federal initiatives, revisions in the requirements for military service, and changes in the population of veterans overall. 

**Figure 5.Percentage of U.S. military veterans who have completed high school, by race/ethnicity: selected years, 1970–2001**

SOURCE U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Survey of Veterans (NSV), 2001, available at http://www.va.gov/vetdata/SurveyResults/nsv/final/NSV%20Final%20Report.pdf (accessed July 11, 2005).

Despite the improvements over the last three decades, the number of veterans without high school degrees remain significant—about 3.0 million veterans in 2001 (Klein and Stockford 2001; U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2004a). It is important to note, however, that the population of veterans is both very large and complex, and the educational status of the population varies by the age of the veterans—or, in other terms, by the particular years in which the veterans completed their military service. Figure 6 presents the educational attainment for three groups of veterans: two groups that are most likely to be VUB participants and another comprehensive group that includes all veterans. As shown in this figure, veterans who completed their military service since the Korean War are more likely to hold high school degrees than other veterans. For example, 95 percent of the veterans who were 40–54 years old in 1999 (i.e., Vietnam-era veterans) have completed high school, and the percentage of post-Vietnam or Gulf War-era veteran is even higher—reaching almost 98 percent.

**Figure 6.Percentage distribution of U.S. military veterans, by level of education and selected age group: 2001**

NOTE: Veterans 40–54 years old correspond roughly to the population of "Vietnam-era veterans." Persons aged 20–39 represent post-Vietnam- or Gulf War-era veterans.

SOURCE: Current Population Survey, March 1999, analyzed in Klein, R.E., and Stockford, D.D. (2001). Data on the Socioeconomic Status of Veterans and on VA Program Usage. Washington, D.C.: Department of Veterans Affairs, available at http://www.va.gov/vetdata/Demograhics/Advanced/sesprogramnet5-31-01.ppt (accessed July 11, 2005).

**D.Purpose and Development of the VUB Performance Report**

The requirements for performance reports in each of the Federal TRIO programs were revised in recent years in response to the *Government Performance and Results Act of 1993* (*GPRA*) (P.L. 103–62)**and the U.S. Department of Education’s strategic plan (U.S. Department of Education 2002). In addition to providing statistical information on the TRIO programs, the new performance reports are designed to provide tools for measuring program outcomes and progress toward meeting program goals. To date, national profile reports have been published for the UB, UBMS, SSS, McNair, TS, and EOC programs using recent performance report data and other relevant data sources. This is the first national profile of the VUB Program to use data from the new performance report.

The Upward Bound programs were the last of the TRIO programs to implement a revised performance reporting form following *GPRA*. The report was carefully developed after several working groups considered draft forms and after substantial comment by Upward Bound projects. The VUB performance report was developed in conjunction with the forms for UB and UBMS, with special adaptations to fit the special program characteristics of VUB. The new form includes individual participant records and incorporates measures of the types of services received by program participants. VUB projects are expected to track eligible participants for four years after program completion. 

For the 2000–01 data collection (the first using the new report requirements), VUB projects were asked to include all project participants served by the projects during the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 program years. Since cohort data on project participants are not available before the 1999–2000 year, some program outcomes (e.g., postsecondary enrollment and completion rates) cannot be reported until additional trend information is collected. The performance report was designed to provide a rich source of information concerning participants' selections, entering characteristics, services/participation, and outcomes. The fact that participants' characteristics and outcomes are reported on individual students can potentially allow for analyses of the relationship among these factors. The potential also exists to use the information with other sources of national data such as the Federal Aid Files maintained by the Office of Postsecondary Education in the U.S. Department of Education.

**E.Report Structure**

This descriptive report endeavors to provide a summary of the results of the first year’s performance reporting for VUB, for which 96 percent of funded projects submitted individual participant-based performance reports (see appendix, table A–1). In organizing this report, we largely follow the performance report structure itself. We begin by presenting demographic profiles of the grantees and participants, then focus on program participation and services. Finally, we look at the information reported on postsecondary outcomes, although the 2000–01 performance reports include only a two-year span of information, thus limiting the scope of the postsecondary outcome measures.

Specifically, the report is presented in five chapters and one appendix. Chapter 2 focuses on the characteristics of the VUB grantees and is informed by matching the information from the VUB performance reports with the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) for the 2000–01 academic year (U.S Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics [NCES] 2001b). IPEDS is a core postsecondary education data collection program for NCES and includes all U.S. institutions and educational organizations with the primary mission of providing postsecondary education. Chapter 3 provides a demographic profile of the veterans who participate in VUB. Chapter 4 focuses on project participation, number served, length of participation in the program, and services provided. Chapter 5 focuses on postsecondary outcomes. The appendix includes methodological and summary information on performance report response rates and data quality, and also describes plans for future reports. In addition, a glossary of important terms used in the report has been included.

Throughout the report, we look at selected data by the sector of the host or sponsoring institution. The institutional sectors include: (1) public four-year postsecondary institutions; (2) private four-year postsecondary institutions; (3) two-year postsecondary institutions; and (4) secondary schools, nonprofit agencies, and other community organizations. This presentation by the sector of VUB institutions will simplify comparisons with the recent profile reports for classic UB and UBMS (Cahalan and Curtin 2004; Curtin and Cahalan 2004). However, the reader should be sensitive to the relatively small numbers of VUB host institutions in some of these groups (e.g., only three private four-year institutions sponsored VUB projects in 2000-01).

**Chapter 2  Characteristics of Grantees**

Veterans Upward Bound projects may be hosted by postsecondary institutions and public/private agencies or both. In exceptional cases, secondary schools may also sponsor VUB projects. About 62 percent of VUB grantees were four-year institutions, 28 percent were two-year institutions, and 11 percent were community organizations (fig. 7). 

**Figure 7.Percentage distribution of VUB projects, by sector of host grantee: 2000–01**

NOTE: VUB = Veterans Upward Bound.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound performance reports, 2000–01.

Table 3 provides the distribution of all three Upward Bound programs and participants by sector of the host grantee organization. VUB grantees were less likely to be private four-year institutions and more likely to be community organizations than the other two types of Upward Bound projects. The distribution of VUB participants by sector of grantees largely mirrors the distribution of VUB projects by sector (table 3).

**A.Federal Region**

Among the 10 federal regions listed in table 4, the regions with the smallest number of VUB projects were Region X with no projects, and Region I with one project. The regions with the largest number of VUB projects were Region IV with nine projects, and Regions V and VI, each with eight projects. These were also the regions with the largest number of classic UB projects.

**B.IPEDS Comparison**

To understand the distribution of VUB grantees relative to the entire group of postsecondary undergraduate degree-granting institutions in the United States, we merged the TRIO data with the institutional characteristics file for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Overall, roughly 25 percent of the two- and four-year degree granting Title IV-eligible institutions serving undergraduates have Upward Bound grants of some type, and

1 percent have VUB grants (table 5). VUB is more prevalent among four-year public institutions (4 percent have VUB grants) than among private four-year institutions (0.2 percent have VUB grants).

The Carnegie Classification System is a systematic classification of institutions of higher education developed by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching that uses variables such as degrees offered, size, and commitment to research. Table 6 compares the distribution of the total Carnegie-classified institutions with that of the VUB grantees. The largest numbers of VUB projects were located in postsecondary programs offering master's degrees (13 of the 47 UB projects funded in 2000–01). About one-quarter of VUB Program grantees were located in postsecondary institutions that offered primarily two-year degrees or less. Notably, these associate-degree-granting institutions were less numerous as a proportion of the total VUB grantees (26 percent) than they were among all degree-granting postsecondary institutions described in IPEDS. Overall, 45 percent of Carnegie-classified postsecondary institutions offered primarily associate degrees (table 6).

Table 7 gives the number and percentages of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) among degree-granting institutions found in IPEDS. Among the total degree-granting institutions serving undergraduates in the United States, about 3 percent (99 institutions) were HBCUs, 6 percent were HSIs (215 institutions), and 1 percent were TCUs (29 institutions). Representation of VUB projects at minority institutions exceeded the institutions' representation within IPEDS for HBCUs and TCUs (9 percent and 2 percent of VUB projects, respectively, were at these minority institutions).

**Chapter 3   Veterans Upward Bound Participants**

This chapter presents information on the demographic characteristics of VUB participants, including information on their eligibility status, race/ethnicity, gender, need for program services, and age at entry into the program. To provide context for the demographic statistics on VUB participants, we also include related information from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Census Bureau, and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). As we note below, the population of U.S. military veterans is large—over 25 million in 2003 (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2004a). The population is also quite complex, and the reader should be aware of this complexity in considering the contextual discussions of the population of U.S. military veterans that follow. The largest period-of-service group is Vietnam-era veterans (8.2 million, or about one-third of the population of veterans), and slightly less than one-half of U.S. veterans (48 percent) are either Gulf War- or Vietnam-era veterans. These two groups, as well as the veterans who served in peacetime between these periods, constitute the great majority of those served by Veterans Upward Bound. Other significant portions of the veteran population are older. For example, 31 percent are World War II or Korean War veterans; another 25 percent served during peacetime. Where possible, we discuss these age differences and how they impacted the findings in the following discussion.

**A.Participant Distribution, by Eligibility**

1.Context: National Data on Poverty

Upward Bound was first initiated as part of the "War on Poverty" in the 1960s, manifesting the concept that higher education was a cornerstone for helping to reduce poverty within the U.S. population. Since 1981, Upward Bound eligibility requirements have stipulated that two-thirds of participants must be low-income and potentially first-generation college students.  The other one-third must be either low-income or potentially first-generation college students. "Low income" is defined as having a family taxable income that does not exceed 150 percent of the poverty level at the time of entry into the project. The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, sets guidelines to determine the definition of the poverty level. To provide context related to these eligibility criteria, Census Bureau statistics on poverty rates are provided below. We also include NCES data on the percentage of high school students who were potentially first-generation college students at four points in time: 1972, 1980, 1990, and 2002. These statistics are useful in understanding the population of U.S. students who have been eligible for the Upward Bound program historically and more recently.

In 2001, out of a total U.S. population of 281 million, about 33 million persons lived in poverty, and 59 million lived at less than 150 percent of the poverty level (U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census 2001). At that time, approximately 6 percent of veterans were living in poverty—approximately 1.4 million veterans (Klein and Stockford 2001). 

Poverty rates in the United States for all persons aged 18–64 years have remained remarkably stable between 1975 and 2001, fluctuating between a low of 9 percent in 1970 and a high of 11 percent in 1995 (fig. 8). As shown in this figure, there were also consistent differences among racial and ethnic groups, with white, non-Hispanic individuals less likely to be living in poverty than the other groups.

**Figure 8.Percentage of people 18–64 years of age who were below the poverty level, by race/ethnicity: 1970–2001**

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Surveys, Historical Poverty Tables, Table 3. Poverty Status of People, by Age, Race, and Hispanic Origin: 1959-2003, available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/histpov/hstpov3.html (accessed July 11, 2005).

Figure 9 gives the percentage of adults aged 18–64 years who were living in poverty and under 150 percent of the poverty level (the eligibility requirement used in Upward Bound) in 2001. In that year, 17 percent of U.S. adults met the Upward Bound 150 percent of poverty level criterion. This percentage was slightly less than one-third among Hispanic and black adults. 

**Figure 9.Percentage of U.S. population aged 18–64 years old in poverty and under 150 percent of poverty level, by race/ethnicity: 2001**

NOTE: Estimates reported for "White" in this figure are for all whites and include those of Hispanic origin. A total of 7.8 percent of "White, not Hispanic" persons were under the poverty line in 2001; 14.9 percent were under 150 percent of the poverty line. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, Current Population Surveys, Families as of March of the following year, table 2. Age, Sex, Household Relationship, Race, and Hispanic Origin - Ratio of Income to Poverty Level: 2001, available at http://ferret.bls.census.gov/macro/032002/pov/new02_000.htm (accessed July 11, 2005).

The second TRIO eligibility requirement relates to potential first-generation-college status. This is defined as not having a parent or guardian who has received a bachelor’s degree. Census figures on parent education reflect the increase in educational attainment occurring since the initiation of the TRIO programs. At the time of the initiation of TRIO, substantial proportions of parents had not completed high school, and most had not entered a college. In the 1970s, during the first decade of TRIO, over a quarter of white mothers and fathers and well over half of black and Hispanic parents of school-age children had not completed high school. Census figures discussed in the *Condition of Education 2001* (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics 2001a, see supplemental table 4–1) document changes in educational attainment since the 1970s to more recent years. 

For example, between 1974 and 1999, the percentage of children of black mothers who had less than a high school diploma went from 58 percent in 1974 to 20 percent in 1999, and the percentage of children of black fathers without a high school diploma went from 61 percent to 15 percent in the same period. Among Hispanic parents, change was less pronounced. For example, the percentage of children of Hispanic mothers without a high school diploma went from 62 percent to 49 percent between 1974 and 1999. Among Hispanic fathers, the percentage without a high school diploma was 58 percent in 1974 and 49 percent in 1999 (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics 2001a).

In a parallel development, since 1974—the first year for which national data are available—the percentage of parents who had a bachelor’s degree has increased substantially. For example, the percentage of black children whose mothers and fathers had bachelor’s degrees increased fourfold, from 4 percent each to 14 percent for mothers and 17 percent for fathers from 1974 to 1999 (fig. 10). In the same period, the percentage of Hispanic mothers with a bachelor’s degree went from 4 percent to 7 percent, and the percentage of Hispanic fathers with a bachelor’s degree increased slightly from 8 to 10 percent. 

**Figure 10.Percentage of children 6–18 years of age having a mother with a bachelor's degree and percentage having a father with a bachelor's degree, by race/ethnicity: 1974–99**

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Condition of Education (table 4–1), 2001.

It should be noted that, while figure 10 shows trends in parents’ educational attainment, the figure does not precisely reflect the Upward Bound Program’s criterion for participants' "first-generation" status, since it provides separate data on children who had mothers and fathers with bachelor’s degrees. Instead, the Upward Bound Program requires that neither parent have bachelor’s degree if a student is to be considered potentially first-generation. Figure 11, on the other hand, accurately reflects the program’s "first-generation" criterion. Using data from four NCES nationally representative longitudinal studies of high school students: NLS-72, HS&B, NELS:88, and ELS:2002 (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics 1994, 1995, 2002, n.d.), figure 11 displays the percentage of potentially first-generation four-year college graduates among high school students in 1972, 1980, 1990, and 2002, by race/ethnicity. Overall, the percentage of potentially first-generation college students was 79 percent in 1972 and 62 percent in 2002. Among black and Hispanic students, the percentages of potentially first-generation college students were 92 and 93 percent, respectively, in 1972. By 2002, these percentages had declined to 69 and 79 percent, respectively. 

2.Distribution of VUB Participants, by Eligibility Status

As discussed earlier, in addition to meeting the definition of a veteran found in section 645.6 of the program regulations, VUB participants must also meet the general Upward Bound eligibility requirements. Figure 12 gives the distribution by eligibility status for VUB 2000–01 participants, and table 8 presents this information by host sector. Overall, 72 percent of VUB participants were both low-income and first-generation; 21 percent were first-generation only, and 7 percent were low-income only (table 8, fig. 12). Projects hosted by community organizations had the largest proportion of participants meeting both low-income and potentially first-generation college requirements (80 percent). There were some differences by sector of host with two-year institutions having the highest percentage of participants who were first-generation only (25 percent) and fewer who were both low-income and first-generation (table 8).

**Figure 11.Percentage of high school students who were potentially first-generation four-year college graduates, by race/ethnicity: 1972, 1980, 1990, and 2002**

NOTE: "High school students who were potentially first-generation four-year college graduates" are defined as having neither mother nor father, nor guardian with a bachelor’s degree. Information is from high school sophomores in 1980, 1990, and 2002. NSL-72 began with high school seniors; information is thus from seniors. "More than one race reported" was a possible response only in ELS:2002. 

SOURCE: Special tabulations using U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS–72/73); High School and Beyond (HS&B, 1980) sophomore cohort base-year survey; National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 first follow-up study (NELS:88/90); and Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 base-year student survey (ELS:2002).

**Figure 12.Percentage distribution of VUB participants, by eligibility status: 2000–01**

NOTE: VUB = Veterans Upward Bound.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound performance reports, 2000–01.

**B.Participant Distribution, by Race/Ethnicity**

1.Context: National Data on Race/Ethnicity

Upward Bound Programs are not targeted to specific racial and ethnic groups. Rather, they have a mission to serve low-income and first-generation college students. However, the VUB and other TRIO programs have historically played an important role in serving minority groups underrepresented in postsecondary education. Since the initiation of the TRIO programs, shifts have occurred in the distribution of the total U.S. population by race/ethnicity. 

Table 9 gives Census data on the distribution of the U.S. population from 1960 to 2001, by racial and ethnic characteristics. Developed from Decennial Census information (see Gibson and Jung 2002), this table provides a realistic representation of the U.S. population during the decades in which TRIO programs were implemented and expanded. These data document the growth in minority populations, especially the Hispanic and Asian or Pacific Islander populations, over the period. In addition, the 2000 Office of Management and Budget (OMB) requirement that government surveys allow for the choice of more than one race is also reflected in this table. There are now seven major categories for race/ethnicity. 

2.Distribution of VUB Participants, by Race/Ethnicity

The largest percentage of VUB participants in 2000–01 (44 percent) were white (fig. 13), followed by black or African-American (36 percent), Hispanic or Latino (14 percent), and American Indian and Alaska Native (5 percent). Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, and those of more than one race each represented less than 1 percent of the VUB participants. Figure 14 describes the race/ethnicity of VUB participants by the institutional sector of the host grantees. VUB projects offered by community organizations had the highest proportion of Hispanic or Latino participants. Project grantees housed in private four-year institutions had the highest proportion of black or African-American participants. About 63 percent of the participants in these VUB projects were black or African-American. 

**Figure 13.Percentage distribution of VUB participants, by race/ethnicity: 2000–01**

NOTE: VUB = Veterans Upward Bound.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound performance reports, 2000–01.

**Figure 14.Percentage distribution of VUB participants, by race/ethnicity and by host grantee sector: 2000–01**

NOTE: VUB = Veterans Upward Bound.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound performance reports, 2000–01.

Figure 15 compares the distribution of Upward Bound participants in VUB, UB, and UBMS projects. VUB participants were more likely to be white and somewhat more likely to be American Indian or Alaska Native than were participants from UBMS or UB; and they were somewhat less likely to be Hispanic or Latino, or Asian. UB and UBMS participants differed little in distribution by race/ethnicity. 

**Figure 15.Percentage distribution of participants, by race/ethnicity and by type of Upward Bound program: 2000–01**

NOTE: VUB = Veterans Upward Bound; UB = classic Upward Bound; UBMS= Upward Bound Math-Science. The percentages of VUB participants in this figure differ slightly from the numbers reported in the 2000–01 UB and UBMS profile reports. The differences result from how duplicate records were handled.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound performance reports, 2000–01.

**C.Participant Distribution, by Gender**

1.Context: National Data on Gender

The final report for the 2001 National Survey of Veterans (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2003, section 3) notes that, although veterans comprise a "richly diverse group," most U.S. military veterans in 2001 were male—in fact, 94 percent of U.S. veterans in 2001. Despite this preponderance, however, veterans' gender is important to consider in these analyses. First, the proportion of female veterans is slowly and consistently growing as the number and duties of women in the military have expanded. For example, the percentage of female veterans has almost doubled in the last 30 years, from 3.5 percent of the total veteran population in 1971 to 5.9 percent in 2001 (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2003, 2004b). In addition, it is important to consider the gender of veterans because, as the report on the 2001 National Survey of Veterans later mentions, the demographic characteristics of female veterans are markedly different from their male counterparts. The female veterans are younger, have higher levels of educational attainment, and are more likely to be members of minority racial and ethnic groups (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2003).

2.Distribution of VUB Participants, by Gender

Unlike most other TRIO programs, VUB had a much higher proportion of males (83 percent) than females (18 percent). This distribution is not surprising given the distribution of veterans in the United States noted above: 6 percent of all U.S. military veterans were female in 2001. Females are thus represented at higher proportions in VUB than in the general population of veterans (fig. 16). (Classic UB and UBMS both have over 60 percent female participants.)

**Figure 16.Percentage distribution of participants, by gender and by type of Upward Bound project: 2000–01**

NOTE: VUB = Veterans Upward Bound; UB = classic Upward Bound; UBMS = Upward Bound Math-Science. The percentages of VUB participants in this figure differ slightly from the numbers reported in the 2000–01 UB and UBMS profile reports. The differences result from how duplicate records were handled.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound performance reports, 2000–01.

**D.Participant Distribution, by Need for Services**

The VUB performance reports collect information on the employment and disability status of participants as an indicator of the need for services. For the 2000–01 reporting period, almost half of the veterans assisted were unemployed (47 percent); 15 percent were employed part-time; and 5 percent were retired (table 10). About one-quarter of the VUB participants had disabilities (24 percent); however, the disability status of 16 percent of the program participants was unknown. The employment status of the VUB participants contrasts greatly with the overall U.S. military veteran population. Based on the results of the 2001 National Survey of Veterans, over half of the U.S. veterans in 2001 were employed (55 percent); 32 percent were retired, and 7 percent had disabilities. Nationally, less than 1 percent of the veteran population reported being in school (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2003).

**E.Participant Distribution, by Educational Attainment and Age at Program Entry**

1.Distribution of VUB Participants, by Educational Attainment at Program Entry

Figure 17 and table 11 summarize the educational attainment of VUB participants when they first entered the program. About 40 percent of the VUB participants had completed high school and had postsecondary education experience—37 percent of the participants with postsecondary experience held high school diplomas and another 3 percent held GEDs or other high school equivalency certificates (fig. 17). Overall, 56 percent of the participants had completed high school with a diploma or GED but did not have college experience. Only 5 percent of participants entered the program as high school dropouts.

**Figure 17.Percentage distribution of the educational attainment of VUB participants at program entry: 2000–01**

NOTE: VUB = Veterans Upward Bound. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound performance reports, 2000–01.

2.Distribution of VUB Participants, by Age at Program Entry

The mean age of VUB participants at entry into the project was 40.5 years (table 12), and the age at the start of the 1999–2000 program year was about the same, 40.1 years (number not in the table). Fourteen percent of the VUB participants were less than 26 years old, and 35 percent were 35 and under at entry into the program. Nine percent of participants were over 55 at program entry (table 12). 

Female participants' mean age of entry into VUB differed from that of male participants. Female veterans were considerably younger than their male counterparts when first entering the program. For example, the mean age for female participants first entering VUB was 36.8, almost five years younger than the age at which male participants began (number not in the table).

While VUB participants were among the oldest of TRIO participants, overall, they were considerably younger than the average veteran in the United States. The median age for U.S. military veterans in 2001 was 58, and veterans under age 45 constituted only 21 percent of the total population (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2003). (About 61 percent of the VUB participants were aged 20–45 years.)

**Chapter 4   Program Participation and Services**

This chapter focuses on project participation in VUB and discusses: the number of participants served in 2000–01; the level and length of participation; the services offered; and the percentage of participants receiving those services. Specifically, this chapter considers the percentage of projects in which any participant received instruction in specified subject areas and the percentage of VUB participants in those projects who received the instruction in 2000–01. Both indicators provide measures of the level of services both available to and provided to VUB participants. In subsequent reports, as data become available on a complete cohort of participants who entered VUB in 1999–2000 and continued on to postsecondary education, we plan to include information on additional services provided by projects. 

In much of the following discussions, we compare findings for VUB participants to similar outcomes for classic UB participants discussed earlier in the profile report for the Upward Bound Program (Cahalan and Curtin 2004). There are striking differences between the populations of VUB and classic UB—the most notable being participant age: the mean age of veterans is 40.9 while UB participants are traditionally high school-aged. Despite these differences, the comparison of service and program outcomes between VUB and UB participants should aid understanding of the findings.

**A.Participation Level and Number Served**

1.Participation Level

In contrast to the other Upward Bound Programs, VUB targets an adult rather than a school-aged population and is not designed to serve participants over long periods of time. Rather, the program helps participants to make short-term preparation for postsecondary education. This aspect of the program is reflected in the statistic that 76 percent of the VUB participants served during 2000–01 were classified as new participants (table 13). For comparison, about half of the participants in UBMS were new (53 percent), while 38 percent of the classic UB participants were new.

Figure 18 gives the percentage distribution of new, continuing, and reentry participants in VUB projects for 2000–01 by the institutional sector of the project grantees. Among the projects sponsored by community organizations, 95 percent of participants were classified as new participants in the service year. The percentage of continuing participants was greatest in the VUB grantees located in private four-year institutions (38 percent). It should be remembered, however, that only five community organizations and three private four-year institutions were grantees; these observations should therefore be interpreted with caution. 

**Figure 18.Percentage distribution of new, current, and reentry VUB participants, by sector of host grantee: 2000–01**

NOTE: VUB = Veterans Upward Bound.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound performance reports, 2000–01.

2.Length of Participation

The level of participation among the persons enrolled in VUB programs is also indicated by the number of months that the participants received services from the program. Thirty-seven percent of VUB participants received no more than three months of services; 65 percent of the participants received services for half of the program year or less (fig. 19). About half of the participants at host institutions in private four-year schools and community organizations were served for three months or less (table 14). 

**Figure 19.Percentage distribution of months of participation for VUB new, current, and reentry participants: 2000–01**

NOTE: VUB = Veterans Upward Bound.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound performance reports, 2000–01.

If we confine the analysis to include only those veterans who were reported to be prior-year participants, we see that 78 percent had been in the program for six months or less, and almost half (49 percent) received services for less than four months (table 15 and fig. 20). About 5 percent participated for more than one year.

**Figure 20.Percentage distribution of months of participation for VUB prior-year participants: 2000–01**

NOTE: VUB = Veterans Upward Bound. Because of rounding, detail may not sum to total.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound performance reports, 2000–01.

The performance reports ask projects to report the end-of-year status for VUB participants (table 16). Of all of the VUB participants described in the performance reports, 28 percent did not complete the project; slightly less than half (47 percent) were currently enrolled in postsecondary programs or had been accepted for postsecondary program education. Sixteen percent of the new, current, and reentry participants were reported to have completed the VUB project but had not enrolled in postsecondary education. 

3.Number Served and Number Funded to Serve

As in other TRIO programs, VUB grants are made with an explicit expectation that the project will serve a specified number of participants throughout the program year. During 2000–01, the 47 postsecondary institutions and community organizations that received VUB grants were funded to provide services to 5,530 participants. The 45 Veterans projects that provided classic UB services were funded to serve 5,440 participants and the two Veterans math-science centers were funded to serve 90 participants. On average, classic VUB projects served 121 participants each. (This participant-per-project average for classic Veterans projects was larger than classic UB, where the average number of participants funded per project was 71.)

For the 45 projects submitting performance reports for the year, the number of students served by the projects exceeded the number the projects were funded to serve by 906 participants—by about 17 percent (fig. 21). The number of veterans served by VUB projects beyond the number the projects were funded to serve may represent improved program procedures and other 

**Figure 21.Number served over the course of the reporting year and number funded to serve, among VUB projects submitting performance reports: 2000–01**

NOTE: This figure is based on the 45 projects that returned performance reports. All 47 VUB grantees were funded to serve 5,530 participants in 2000–01. VUB = Veterans Upward Bound. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound performance reports, 2000–01.

cost-effective measures taken by the projects. This is difficult to interpret, however, because the number of veterans actually served by projects may be overstated. For example, the number of participants actually served by the VUB projects may reflect replacements for participants who drop out of the projects. 

**B.Services Offered and Received**

Upward Bound regulations specify academic areas for which projects are required to provide instruction, in the form of either courses or tutoring. The regulations also identify other services that may be offered by projects. These academic areas and services are reflected in the performance reports and are listed in tables 17 and 18. The glossary provides definitions of these services as defined in the instructions to the Upward Bound performance report. The two major statistics reported in tables 17 and 18 are the percentage of projects having at least one participant receiving the service for 2000–01 (used as indicator of offering/providing the service) and the percentage of participants who are reported to have received the service in the reporting year. For example, if none of the participants whose records were submitted by the project was reported to have received "foreign language instruction," then the project would be classified as not offering the service. If the project had at least one participant receive instruction in the area, then the project did offer the service. We then calculated the percentage of all VUB participants nationally who received the service.

1.Percentage of VUB Projects Offering Services

Academic advising was the service most frequently offered, with all of the VUB projects that returned performance reports indicating that some of their participants received the service in 2000–01 (table 17). Services offered by more than 90 percent of projects included instructional services in several areas: mathematics, composition, reading, computer science, and college survival/study skills. Other services offered by more than 90 percent of the projects included tutoring, personal counseling, career awareness activities, financial aid/VA benefit advising, cultural activities, and college admissions assistance. Four types of referral services were available from more than three-fourths of projects. 

2.Percentage of VUB Participants Receiving Services in Subject Areas

Table 17 also shows the percentage of VUB program participants who received these services during the program year. The performance reports indicated that 81 percent of participants received academic advising and about two-thirds were provided career awareness and personal counseling. Between 40 and 55 percent of the VUB participants received mathematics instruc​tion, composition instruction, computer science instruction, college survival/study skills, tutoring, financial aid/VA benefits advice, cultural activities, college admissions assistance, tutoring, and informational workshops.

Fewer participants were reported as having received referrals to other services; however, about 22 percent each received employment and academic referrals. Relatively few VUB participants received instruction in science or foreign language (20 percent and 18 percent, respectively). While 80 percent of VUB projects offered participants instruction leading to a GED or other high school equivalency certificate, only 6 percent of VUB participants overall were reported to be receiving this instructional support.

3.Veterans Upward Bound Math-Science Services in 2000–01

Two of the 47 VUB projects funded in FY 2000 were Upward Bound Math-Science Centers. These projects were funded to serve 90 participants during the year—about 2 percent of the total number of VUB participants served. Table 18 provides information on math-science related activities received by these 90 VUB participants. The VUB performance reports collected three items separately for math-science participants, with the items relating to special services available to persons entering the field. As noted in the table, these services were available to all of the VUB math-science participants. All of the participants received the services within the summer program, and a small number (around 2 percent) also received them during the academic year.

**Chapter 5   Postsecondary Enrollment**

Information on postsecondary outcomes (enrollment and degree completion) for Upward Bound participants represents the primary performance indicator for the program. With this in mind, the performance report includes a number of items on postsecondary education. These items include:

· Source of enrollment information;

· Postsecondary institution first attended and enrolled in at the end of the reporting period;

· Date of first postsecondary enrollment;

· Postsecondary enrollment status (e.g., full- or part-time enrollment);

· Financial aid sources;

· Postsecondary grade level;

· Postsecondary standing; and

· Degree or certificate awarded.

Projects were instructed to report postsecondary status for all current- and prior-year project participants who had graduated from high school or completed a high school equivalency program. The report instructions stated that VUB projects should include the records for project participants enrolled in and served by VUB projects during the 1999–2000 and 2000–01 program years.

The instructions further specified that applicable prior-year participants should be followed annually for four years after completing the VUB program to determine their academic progress. Since follow-up data on a full cohort of participants are not yet available, we are able to include only limited information on the key statistic of interest—the percentage of those served by VUB who enter and persist in postsecondary education. Therefore, in this report we summarize information reported from the first year of data, with a focus on issues of reporting and interpreting the data, while stopping short of estimating the percentage of VUB participants who enrolled in postsecondary education.

**VUB Performance Report Data on Postsecondary Enrollment**

1.Source of Information on Postsecondary Enrollment

The first item in the postsecondary outcomes section of the VUB performance report form asks projects to report on the source of follow-up information included in the reports. A total of 8,067 VUB participants (or 98 percent of all current- and prior-year participants) were reported to have completed high school at the end of 2000–01—either with a high school diploma or GED or other equivalency certificate. Projects provided data on the source of postsecondary information for 6,559 of these students. Of the 6,559 participants, the projects reported having institutional enrollment data for about 32 percent (8 percent from official transcripts, 22 percent from other institu​tional data, and 2 percent from self-reported information with transcripts), while they had "self reports only" for another 19 percent (table 19). One-third of the participants were not enrolled in postsecondary education and the postsecondary status of another 16 percent was unknown.

The data in this table also imply that, of all students reported as having completed secondary school, about half of the VUB participants were reported as enrolled in postsecondary education (51 percent). If we look only at the prior participants included in the database—those served in 1999–2000 and not in 2000–01 who had completed secondary school (shown in the bottom half of table 19), we see that the percentage of individuals for whom there was enrollment information changes little for VUB participants.

2.Type of Postsecondary Enrollment

Projects were instructed to report the U.S. Department of Education Student Financial Aid code for the first postsecondary institution in which the participant enrolled after finishing secondary education and to also report the institution in which the student was enrolled at the end of the reporting period. We merged these codes with IPEDS to obtain information on the types of institutions attended by VUB participants. This approach permits the examination of several interesting questions, including whether the type of VUB host institution is related to the type of institution ultimately attended by VUB participants and to what extent participants enroll in the grantee institutions.

Of the 3,360 performance report records for VUB participants who had completed high school and presented evidence of postsecondary enrollment, 2,522 records matched successfully with postsecondary institutions on the IPEDS file (75 percent). These data indicate that about 46 percent of VUB participants with postsecondary codes associated with them were enrolled in a four-year institution (table 20). Forty-one percent were enrolled in public institutions, and 5 percent in private institutions. Half of the VUB participants who were enrolled in post​secondary education attended public two-year institutions, and about two percent each of the VUB participants attended private two-year institutions and other postsecondary institutions such as less-than-two-year schools. For comparison, 74 percent of classic UB participants were enrolled in four-year postsecondary institutions.

In general, there was an association between the sector of the host institution and the type of institution attended by the participants. Overall, 50 percent of VUB participants who had completed high school and had evidence of postsecondary enrollment attended public two-year institutions; however, among participants coming from projects hosted by two-year institutions, 88 percent of the individuals first attended two-year institutions (table 20). Almost 68 percent of the VUB participants who attended VUB projects hosted by public four-year institutions first enrolled in colleges and universities within the same institutional sector. In contrast, only 21 percent of the VUB participants from projects in private four-year institutions first enrolled in schools of that type.

Overall, about 54 percent of the VUB participants enrolled in postsecondary education first attended the same institution as the grantee host institution (fig. 22). This percentage was highest among VUB projects hosted by two-year institutions (74 percent), and lowest in private four-year institutions (17 percent). Notably, these figures may overrepresent the degree to which participants who were enrolled in postsecondary education were attending the host institution. We expected that projects would be somewhat more likely to know the participant’s institution for those enrolled in their own—rather than another—institution. Among VUB participants, the percentage attending the grantee institution was greater than among classic UB participants: 35 percent of UB participants enrolled in postsecondary institutions first attended the host institution, with the percentage highest (46 percent) among projects hosted by two-year institutions (data not shown in the table). 

3.Postsecondary Enrollment Status, Financial Aid Sources, and Standing

For VUB participants, 53 percent of high school graduates with postsecondary enrollment were reported to be attending school full time (table 21). The remaining participants attended less than full time throughout the period (37 percent attended less than full time) or with "varied enrollment" (11 percent)—in other words, their status changed or was both full time and part time during the terms included in the reporting period. While female VUB participants were more likely to enroll full time in postsecondary education (57 percent), they were much less likely to enroll full time than all UB participants, over 90 percent of whom were enrolled full time.

**Figure 22.Percentage of VUB participants who were high school graduates, were enrolled (or accepted for enrollment) in postsecondary education, and first attended the grantee institution, by grantee sector: 2000–01**

NOTE: These analyses are based on VUB participants who completed secondary school with either a high school diploma or a GED. This comparison is not applicable for participants from projects hosted by community organizations. VUB = Veterans Upward Bound.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Federal TRIO Programs, Upward Bound performance reports, 2000–01, and National Center for Education Statistics (IPEDS-IC), 2000–01.

Table 22 provides a description of the types of financial aid awarded to Upward Bound participants enrolled in postsecondary education in 2000–01. About 32 percent of the VUB participants whose financial aid status was reported had "multiple federal" or "multiple federal and other sources of aid." About 18 percent had a Pell Grant only. Not surprisingly, about one-quarter of the VUB participants (27 percent) used financial aid resources available only to veterans (17 percent attended using veterans benefits and 10 percent with support from the Montgomery GI Bill). Nine percent received other forms of financial aid and combinations of aid. Overall, 1 percent of VUB participants were reported not to require financial aid, but 13 percent received no awards.

Virtually all VUB participants enrolled in postsecondary education during the 2000–01 program year were in good standing. Overall, a small proportion of the participants (about 5 percent) were not in good standing, a figure (4 percent) similar to that among UB participants (table 23).

4.Postsecondary Grade Level and Degree and Certificate Completion Status

The distributions of grade level and degree or certificate status for VUB participants who have completed secondary education are displayed in tables 24 and 25. Analyses for table 24 were subset to participants for whom grantees reported a postsecondary grade level. While the performance report data on which table 24 is based are not likely to be entirely current or complete with respect to the VUB participants' high school and postsecondary statuses, 68 percent of the group are in the first year of postsecondary study, 14 percent are in the second year, and another 11 percent was accepted for postsecondary education, but had not yet begun. About 8 percent were enrolled in more advanced years of study (e.g., junior year or higher).

Table 25 shows the distribution of degrees and certificates for VUB and UB participants reported to have completed secondary education; analyses were subset to participants for whom grantees reported postsecondary degree status. Since most of the students had just started postsecondary education, very few had earned degrees or certificates. Approximately 7 percent of the VUB participants had completed programs of study of two-years' duration (4 percent earned an occupational or educational certificate or diploma; 2 percent had completed an associate degree). Most of VUB participants (91 percent) had not earned postsecondary degrees or certificates by the end of the reporting year.

**AppendixUpward Bound PerformanceReporting: Methods and DataQuality for the First Year**

During the 2000–01 program year, a total of 47 Veterans Upward Bound (VUB) projects were funded through Upward Bound grants (table A–1). Computer Business Methods, Inc. (CBMI) processed the files of each of the projects submitting reports and performed a variety of data quality and error checks. CBMI combined the submissions of each project into the national database. Of these funded grantees, 45 projects (96 percent of the total) submitted performance reports containing individual participant records for 8,512 VUB participants. Analyses of individual records using Social Security numbers and other information identified 213 duplicate records (2.5 percent). These duplicate records were removed from the counts of numbers served that are presented in this report.

In the first reporting period, projects were instructed to include in the data file individual participant data for all students served in 1999–2000 and 2000–01. Further, projects were instructed to provide only one record for each participant and provide or update the information for each participant to reflect each student’s participation and academic status for the 2000–01 project year. Service information was to be provided for 2000–01 participants only.

The unique records represented 8,299 individual VUB participants. Approximately three-quarters of these participants (6,196 new, continuing, and reentry participants) received VUB services during the 2000–01 program year. Another 25 percent of the VUB participants (2,087) were prior-year participants who had received services during the 1999–2000 program year. 

This report covers the first year of reporting using participant-level data for VUB. The wealth of data contained in this report testifies to the strong effort that projects have made to carefully report the data requested for each Upward Bound participant. VUB projects are to be commended on the quality of the data provided for the first year’s reports. Although the percentage of missing data is not large overall, items such as postsecondary enrollment information had the highest percentage of unknown data reported. The percentage of records with data reported or legitimately inapplicable ranged from 62 percent for items such as the participant's date of first enrollment in the project to 100 percent for items such as program type. Most items have over 95 percent reported, and the average for 60 data elements in the file was 91 percent reported or inapplicable. However, the extent of missing data is masked somewhat by the fact that some items are only applicable to portions of the individuals in the file and that the inapplicable code is a legitimate response. 

Although the reports maintained a high level of internal consistency for most items, responses to some items indicated that a portion of projects may not have understood how to report the item or that selected response codes were used inappropriately in this first year of reporting. We note some of these problem areas below. 

· ***Duplicate records.***In the first year of reporting, as noted above, over 2 percent of participant records were duplicates within projects. These were typically the records of individuals reported as both current- and prior-year participants. The reporting structure allows for only one record per participant per reporting period. 

· ***Date reporting in the format specified.***This was a problem for some projects. Accurate reporting of dates in the form specified is very important as it is the means by which several key statistics, such as length of time in the project, are calculated.

· ***Including valid Social Security numbers (SSNs) only in the field for SSNs***. In a small number of projects, if the SSN was missing, some other form of identification was included. Mixing other identification schemes with SSN leads to difficulty in processing. SSN is very important as it allows the Department of Education to match with the federal student aid files for purposes of tracking participant postsecondary outcomes.

· ***Length of program participation.***According to performance report records, a significant number of prior-year participants (77 records or about 4 percent of cases overall) were "still partic​ipating [receiving services] at the end of the reporting period." Since prior-year participants were defined in the APR instructions as former participants *not* receiving services on a continual basis during the current reporting period, these cases appear to be data errors. In fact, over 70 percent of these 77 cases were individuals from a single VUB grantee, and almost half (44 percent) were prior-year participants who began their postsecondary enrollment in the host institution. The reasons for services offered to the other prior-year participants were less clear.

· ***Missing Office of Postsecondary Education codes.*** The Office of Postsecondary Education codes for postsecondary institutions first attended and attended at the end of the reporting period were also missing for a portion of applicable cases. Because no names are collected, the codes are the only way to identify the institutions. 

· ***Unknown information.***For many items, the extent of unknown data was low; however, for some key items, such as postsecondary enrollment status and receipt of financial aid, the percentage of unknown information is problematic—especially when analyzing subsets of the respondent population. For example, analyses of VUB participants who have completed high school may have substantial amounts of unknown or missing information. The postsecondary grade level of 20 percent of VUB participants who have completed high school is unknown. The financial aid status is unknown in almost one quarter of the records for high school graduates (24 percent).

As the report displays, for the most part, VUB projects provided complete and accurate information on participants for the period reported. However, with each reporting year, we anticipate that the number of unknown statuses will increase, as it may become more difficult to track the postsecondary progress of prior-year participants several years after leaving the program. We also anticipate that there will be a larger proportion of participants with unknown postsecondary enrollment status among those who attend but do not complete the educational program offered by VUB projects. 

For this reason, we are working with the U.S. Department of Education to match Upward Bound participant records annually with the Federal Financial Aid Application and Recipient files to gain additional information on postsecondary enrollment and persistence of federal-aid students who participated in VUB. We plan to include the results of this matching in future reports. In order for these data matches to be successful, SSNs must be correctly reported. Also, as additional years of data become available, we look forward to examining the interrelationships among participant characteristics, length of project participation, types of services received, and the educational progress of participants. 

**Glossary**

This glossary contains a listing of the terms used in this report. Some of them are specific to the TRIO program and do not necessarily apply to other Department of Education programs or grants.

**Carnegie Classification System.** A systematic classification of institutions of higher education in the United States according to such variables as degrees offered, size, and commitment to research. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in Menlo Park, Calif., offers a free online version of *A Classification of Institutions of Higher Education* (2000) at http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/Classification/ (accessed July 11, 2005). The Carnegie Classification was originally published in 1973, and subsequently updated in 1976, 1987, 1994, and 2000. 

**Core curriculum for Upward Bound.**This curriculum****includes the following: instruction in mathematics through precalculus, laboratory science, foreign language, composition, and literature.

**Current Population Survey (CPS).**This telephone interview, conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, surveys about 50,000 households each month. The CPS is the primary source of information on the labor force characteristics of the U.S. population and provides estimates of employment, unemployment, and earnings. A yearly supplement to the CPS, the Annual Social and Economic Supplement, takes place each March to collect information on school enrollment, educational attainment, previous work experience, health, and other demographic measures.

**Federal regions,** as defined by the U.S. Department of Education with two-letter abbreviations provided for each, are as follows: 

Region I:Connecticut (CT), Maine (ME), Massachusetts (MA), New Hampshire (NH), Rhode Island (RI), and Vermont (VT)

Region II:New Jersey (NJ), Puerto Rico (PR), United States Virgin Islands (VI), and New York (NY)

Region III:Delaware (DE), the District of Columbia (DC), Maryland (MD), Pennsylvania (PA), Virginia (VA), and West Virginia (WV)

Region IV:Alabama (AL), Florida (FL), Georgia (GA), Kentucky (KY), Mississippi (MS), North Carolina (NC), South Carolina (SC), and Tennessee (TN)

Region V:Illinois (IL), Indiana (IN), Michigan (MI), Minnesota (MN), Ohio (OH), and Wisconsin (WI)

Region VI:Arkansas (AR), Louisiana (LA), New Mexico (NM), Oklahoma (OK), and Texas (TX)

Region VII:Iowa (IA), Kansas (KS), Missouri (MO), and Nebraska (NE)

Region VIII:Colorado (CO), Montana (MT), North Dakota (ND), South Dakota (SD), Utah (UT), and Wyoming (WY

Region IX:Arizona (AZ), California (CA), Hawaii (HI), Nevada (NV), American Samoa (AS), Guam (GU), and the Northern Mariana Islands (MP)

Region X:Alaska (AK), Idaho (ID), Oregon (OR), and Washington. (WA)

**Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).**Institutions of higher education that have a full-time equivalent undergraduate enrollment that is at least 25 percent Hispanic and where not less than one-half of the institution's Hispanic students are low-income individuals as defined by 150 percent of the poverty level (*Higher Education Act of 1965,*20 USC Section 1101a).

**Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).**"Any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans" (*Higher Education Act of 1965,* as amended). These 105 institutions provide instruction to approximately 16 percent of all African-American postsecondary students. 

**Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).** The core postsecondary education data collection program for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education. IPEDS is a comprehensive system of surveys designed to collect data from all institutions and organizations whose primary purpose is to provide postsecondary education, as defined by Title IV of the *Higher Education Act of 1965*, as amended. The system is built around a series of interrelated surveys to collect institution-level data in such areas as enrollment, program completions, faculty, staff, and finances. The IPEDS for 2000–01 contains a total of 9,905 postsecondary institutions. Of these, 3,455 were two- or four-year public or private not-for-profit degree-granting, Title IV-eligible institutions that served undergraduates. (See http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/ for additional information on IPEDS.)

**Low-Income Individual.**Defined in the Upward Bound regulations as a person whose family taxable income did not exceed 150 percent of the poverty level amount in the calendar year preceding the year in which the individual initially participated in the project. The U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, sets guidelines to determine the definition of the poverty level. For example, the poverty threshold in 2000 for a four-person family with two children less than 18 years of age was $17,463 (Poverty Thresholds by Size of Family and Number of Children: 1980–2003, U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, January 30, 2004, available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/poverty/threshld.html (accessed Aug. 7, 2005). For this family, 150 percent of the poverty threshold would be $26,195.

**Participant Status for Performance. C**an be one of the following: new, continuing, reentry, or prior participants. 

· A *new participant*****is an individual who participated in the VUB project for the first time during the current reporting period and who meets the definition of participant in the Upward Bound program regulations (34 CFR 645.6).

· A *continuing participant*****is an individual who participated in the project in both the current reporting period and the reporting period immediately proceeding. 

· A *reentry participant*is an individual who attended but did not complete the educational program offered by the project in a previous reporting year and who has reentered the program during the current reporting year.

· A *prior-year participant*****is an individual who participated in the Veterans Upward Bound program in a previous reporting period but who has not received services on a continual basis during the current reporting period.

**Potentially first-generation college status.**Defined in the Upward Bound regulations as the following:

(1)An individual neither of whose natural or adoptive parents received a baccalaureate degree; or

(2)A student who, prior to the age of 18, regularly resided with and received support from only one natural or adoptive parent and whose supporting parent did not received a baccalaureate degree.

**School Code for Postsecondary Institutions.**The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, assigns a Federal School Code to each postsecondary institution that is qualified to disburse federal financial aid. (These institutions are described as Title IV-eligible under the *Higher Education Act of 1965*, as amended.) A Federal School Code is always six characters, beginning with 0 (zero), G, B, or E and ending with a five-digit number. This six-digit number serves to uniquely identify postsecondary institutions and is required on all federal financial aid documents. Additional information on postsecondary school codes is available at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/Students/apply/search.html (accessed Aug. 7, 2005).

**Services.**Definitions applicable to "services" include the following:

· *College survival/study skills*means workshops, tutoring, or individualized assistance specifically designed to help students develop the skills necessary to succeed in academic programs. 

· *Tutoring* means individual or small group informal academic assistance provided by professional staff or students who are either part-time paid, volunteer, or internship-for-credit students. 

· *GED/high school equivalency assistance*means workshops, individualized assistance, or tutoring needed to obtain the knowledge and skills necessary to pass the high school equivalency exam. 

· *Personal counseling*means crisis intervention and assistance with personal problems and decisions. 

· *Academic advising*means assisting students in making educational plans, selecting appropriate courses, meeting academic requirements, and planning for further education. 

· *Career awareness*means project-sponsored activities, such as field trips, special lectures, and workshops to increase students’ knowledge of the various career opportunities available. 

· *Financial aid/VA benefits*means workshops or individualized assistance to help participants complete various financial aid applications, including veterans’ military benefits, scholarship applications, U.S. Department of Education federal student financial aid applications, and state applications for financial aid 

· *Cultural activities*means any project-sponsored activities, such as field trips, special lectures, and symposiums, that have as their purpose the improvement of the project participants’ academic progress and personal development. 

· *Campus visitations*means project-sponsored trips to postsecondary institutions for the purpose of acquainting students with institutions that the project participants may wish to attend. 

· *College admissions assistance*means workshops or individualized assistance to help participants complete college entrance applications or other documents for the college admissions process. 

· *College entrance exams preparation*means workshops, tutoring, or individualized assistance specifically designed to help students meet scoring requirements on national or state standardized tests given to students for admission into a postsecondary educational institution. 

· *Information workshops*include a variety of short workshops or seminars (usually a half day or less) on topics that may range from stress management and test-taking to drug and alcohol abuse. 

**Target area.**A discrete local or regional geographic area designated by the applicant as the area to be served by an Upward Bound project.

**Veteran.**Defined by Upward Bound regulations as a person who served on active duty as a member of the Armed Forces of the United States: (1) for a period of more than 180 days, any part of which occurred after Jan. 31, 1955, and who was discharged or released from active duty under conditions other than dishonorable; or (2) after Jan. 31, 1955, and who was discharged or released from active duty because of a service-connected disability.

**References**

Cahalan, M.W., and Curtin, T.R. (2004). *A Profile of the Upward Bound Program: 2000–2001.*Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal TRIO Programs. 

Curtin, T.R., and Cahalan, M.W. (2004). *A Profile of the Upward Bound Math-Science Program: 2000–2001.*Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Federal TRIO Programs. 

Gibson, C., and Jung, K. (2002). Historical Census Statistics on Population Totals By Race, 1790 to 1990, and By Hispanic Origin, 1790 to 1990, For the United States, Regions, Divisions, and States (Working Paper Series No. 56). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, Census Bureau, Population Division, available at http://www.census.gov/population/www/documentation/twps0056.html (accessed July 11, 2005).

Klein, R.E., and Stockford, D.D. (2001). *Data on the Socioeconomic Status of Veterans and on VA Program Usage*. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, available at http://www.va.gov/vetdata/Demograhics/Advanced/sesprogramnet5-31-01.ppt (accessed July 11, 2005).

Mortenson, T.G. (Ed). (2001). *Postsecondary Education Opportunity.*Oskaloosa, IA: Postsecondary Education Opportunity.

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. (2001). *Current Population Survey: Age, Sex, Household Relationship, Race and Hispanic Origin by Ratio of Income to Poverty Level: 2001.*Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, available at http://ferret.bls.census.gov/macro/032002/pov/new02_001.htm (accessed July 11, 2005).

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census. (2003). *Statistical Abstract of United States, 2003.*Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Commerce, available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/03statab/pop.pdf (accessed July 11, 2005).

U.S. Department of Education. (2002). *Strategic Plan 2002–2007*, Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (1994). *CD-ROM: National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972* (NCES 94–487). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2000). *CD-ROM: High School & Beyond: 1992 (Restricted) Data File* (NCES 95–361). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2001a). *The Condition of Education 2001* (NCES 2001–072). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, available at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/2001072.pdf (accessed July 11, 2005).

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2001b). Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).*Institutional Characteristics File for 2000–01.*Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, available at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/data.asp (accessed July 11, 2005).

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2002). *CD-ROM: NELS:88/2000 Public Use Data Files and Electronic Codebook—Base Year through Fourth Follow-Up* (NCES 2002–322). Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (n.d.). *Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002), Base Year*[unpublished tabulations]. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2002). *Data on Veterans of the Korean War.*Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Assistant Secretary of Planning and Analysis.

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2003). *2001 National Survey of Veterans (NSV): Final Report.*Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, available at http://www.va.gov/vetdata/SurveyResults/nsv/final/NSV%20Final%20Report.pdf (accessed July 11, 2005).

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2004a). *Organizational Briefing Book.*Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Office of Administration, available at http://www.va.gov/ofcadmin/orgbrfbook.pdf (accessed July 20, 2005).

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. (2004b). *Veteran Data and Information: Trend Data 1971–1995.*Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, available at http://www.va.gov/vetdata/Trends/data.htm#VETERANPOPULATION() (accessed July 11, 2005)

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�	There are three types of Upward Bound Program projects: (1) Veterans projects that assist military veterans to prepare for entry into postsecondary education programs; (2) regular, or classic, projects that prepare high school students for programs of postsecondary education; and (3) Math-Science Centers that prepare high school students for post�secondary programs that lead to careers in math and science. The acronym VUB refers to Veterans Upward Bound; UB refers to classic Upward Bound; and UBMS refers to Upward Bound Math-Science.

�	The federal regulations also specify that courses offered for veterans should not duplicate courses otherwise available to students at the grantee institutions.

�	"Potentially first-generation college student" means that neither of the veteran's parents had completed a bachelor's degree. A "low-income" individual is defined as one whose family's taxable income did not exceed 150 percent of the poverty level established by the U.S. Department of Commerce. In 2001, the income threshold was approximately $26,475 for a family of four.

�	VUB grantees do not provide any data about grade point averages since their participants are not enrolled in secondary education.

�	The overall population of veterans changes as Vietnam- and Gulf War-era veterans become proportionally larger relative to WWII and Korean veterans. For example, 95 percent of Vietnam-era veterans had completed high school (Klein and Stockford 2001) in contrast to 82 percent of Korean War veterans (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 2002).

�	Data for the analyses reported by Klein and Stockford (2001) came from the March 1999 Annual Demographic Supplement to the Current Population Survey. At that time, the group of 40–54-year-old veterans corresponded roughly to "Vietnam-era veterans."

�	While the Upward Bound regulations include length-of-service requirements to define participants for UB and UBMS, the regulations do not include such requirements for VUB participants. Therefore, each VUB project determines project participation within eligibility guidelines.

�	The participant numbers represent an unduplicated count of individuals within projects. Overall, duplicate records for 213 VUB, 808 UB, and 104 UBMS participants were removed.

� 	The IPEDS Institutional Characteristics file for 2000–01 contains 9,905 institutions (U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics 2001b). For our analyses, we used postsecondary institutions awarding at least two-year degrees and excluded private for-profit institutions, institutions not serving undergraduates, and non-Title IV participants (about 6,700 postsecondary schools were Title IV-participating). The resulting comparison file had 3,455 IPEDS institutions.

�	Title IV-eligible institutions are those determined eligible to participate in federal aid for postsecondary education, including the Federal Pell Grants, the Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG), the Federal Work-Study Program (FWS), the Federal Stafford Loans (subsidized and unsubsidized), the Federal PLUS Loan Program (Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students), the Federal Perkins Loan Program, and the William D. Ford Direct Loan Program.

�	These percentages sum to more than 100 percent. More than 1 million veterans served in more than one war period.

�	Requirements prior to 1981 were that participants be “disadvantaged” and have need of services; however, the TRIO legislation did not define a specific income or parent educational level until 1981.

�	The full names of the studies were the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72); the High School and Beyond (HS&B 1980) sophomore cohort base year survey; the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 first follow-up study (NELS:88/90); and the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 base-year student survey (ELS:2002).

�	Our analyses exclude 77 prior-year participants reported as "still participating" in the performance reports. Since prior-year participants were defined in the APR instructions as former participants not receiving services on a continual basis during the current reporting period, these cases appear to be data errors. Most were from one VUB grantee and almost half (44 percent) were prior-year participants who began their postsecondary study in the host institution.

�	Since less than 5 percent of participants entered VUB as high school dropouts (fig. 17), the relatively small number of VUB participants receiving this service seems appropriate. 

�	Since the 2000–01 performance reports include postsecondary education information for a relatively small subset of VUB participants, analyses presented in this first VUB profile report do not consider postsecondary enrollment dates. These results will be included as more years of data become available.

�	Guidance for the performance reports instructed staff to employ the definition of "good academic standing" used by the institution where the participant was enrolled. Definitions may vary considerably.

�	Two projects did not provide participant-level performance reports. The nonresponding two-year postsecondary institution and nonprofit organization were funded to serve 120 participants each.

�	The participation status of an additional 16 veterans (0.2 percent) was unknown.

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