Inclusive Academic Access Model: Universities Taking Responsibility for Excluded Communities by Outreach and Dropout Prevention

In recent years western countries face immigration and multicultural challenges, alongside a severe deficiency of skilled employees. Universities have a responsibility for society and the labor market, as attainment of higher education grants a higher chance of integration in both. Aluma is an Israeli NGO that works from within communities and academic institutions to increase enrollment and retention of disadvantaged young adults, encouraging them to acquire skills for integration in higher education as leverage for education-befitting employment. In the last decade alone, the number of Israeli Arab students rose by 82%. A unique holistic data-driven approach of pedagogical, social and technological solutions for both the institution and the students is applied by a monitoring and measuring system, optimizing a personally tailored intervention plan, successfully reducing dropout rates by 50%, thus preventing substantial financial losses for both institution and students. Aluma’s work aims to a concentrated effort for a meaningful change, to reduce disparities, improve social mobility, and ensure an optimal integration in the society, while maintaining unique values and lifestyles.