Tarleton State Fort Worth adds Catholic Charities' Stay the Course student support

Saintia Dorestal used to sell her textbooks at the end of each college semester so she could pay for the next term's books. She went on to earn a master's degree in social work from Tarleton State University. Now she works as a navigator for Catholic Charities Fort Worth's Stay the Course program, and she's going back to Tarleton to help students at its Fort Worth campus get from one semester to the next.

Tarleton State and Catholic Charities Fort Worth formalized the partnership on Tuesday, Oct. 6. Tarleton State President James Hurley and Catholic Charities Fort Worth President and CEO Heather Reynolds signed a memorandum of understanding. It brings Stay the Course to the university's southwest Tarrant County campus, where the program is being built into the campus student services center.

Stay the Course is a case management program that helps low-income students stay enrolled. Students get personalized service plans, connections to resources and targeted financial help. The program focuses on barriers outside the classroom that can keep students from graduating, and it offers emergency financial assistance for needs that aren't academic. "Access to higher education is only the beginning," Hurley said in the university's announcement.

According to the Fort Worth Report, Tarleton State is the first four-year university based in Tarrant County to partner with Catholic Charities on the program. Stay the Course started as a pilot at Tarrant County College's downtown campus in 2013 and launched publicly in 2015. Before Tarleton joined, it was offered at six community colleges and three universities. So far it has served 2,145 students, counting current participants.

This story is based on original reporting by the Fort Worth Report, with more details from Tarleton State University's announcement.