Read the Annual Report 2008 PDF.
Click here to hear U.S. Senator Dick Durbin talk about the importance of IEF Scholarships.
Click here to watch the "Newsmakers" video about the IEF airing on CNN Headline News.
Read the Chicago Sun-Time article on the IEF: "Program Invests in Student Success". PDF
Read the Chicago Social article on the IEF's First Annual Food & Wine Tasting Event. PDF
Signature Scholarship Overview
The IEF's flagship program is the Signature Scholarship, which targets high school seniors and students currently enrolled in community college.
All IEF scholarship programs operate under the single premise that, in order to be effective, simply providing students with financial support is not enough. The IEF Signature Scholarship offers a comprehensive set of student support services including college awareness, academic advising, tutoring, and mentoring, in addition to last-dollar scholarships.
Academic Advising
Academic Advisors ensure that students register for the appropriate courses that will move them closer to their ultimate goal of attaining a degree or certificate. Academic advisors communicate regularly with IEF Scholarship Coordinators to proactively troubleshoot potential areas of concern and to ensure that students are connected with tutoring and other support services as needed.
Awareness
The IEF coaches prospective students and their families through the scholarship application process, ensuring that they understand all aspects of applying to and enrolling in college. Once admitted to the program, students engage in a multi-day Summer Bridge program to prepare them for smooth entry into college.
Last-Dollar Scholarships
Students are awarded scholarship aid that bridges the gap between the government aid they receive, and the remainder of tuition and fees they still owe. Scholars also receive stipends to offset the cost of ancillary educational expenses, such as textbooks and transportation.
Mentoring
The IEF Mentoring Program connects scholars with professionals in their fields of study, helping them to build networks that will benefit them academically and professionally. This program enables students to develop supportive relationships that serve as a context in which students develop leadership skills. Once each month, mentors and students engage in curriculum-driven skill-building sessions with topics ranging from practicing good study habits to creating and adhering to a budget. Mentors are recruited from several sources, including professional and civic organizations, personal referrals, and college alumni organizations.
Scholarship Coordinators
The IEF’s Scholarship Coordinators communicate with their assigned students on a weekly basis. These informal conversations sometimes reveal a scholar’s need for services that fall outside the scope of our academic advising, tutoring, or mentoring programs. When that happens, the Scholarship Coordinators help students figure out how to secure needed services.
Summer Bridge
The summer bridge engages scholars in workshops that offer exposure into college curriculum and college-readiness study skills. Instructors include community college professors, financial advisors, academic professionals, and current college students. Students also take part in team building exercises and meet their mentors.
Tutoring
The IEF Tutoring Program meets our scholars’ need for academic support outside of the classroom. Every IEF scholar has unlimited access to tutoring services in a wide range of subject areas. Students may enroll in tutoring in one of three ways: they may opt to enroll in tutoring on their own, they may be referred by an academic advisor or scholarship coordinator, or they may be required to engage in tutoring if their grade in any course falls below a “C” at any point in time.
College graduates are twice as likely to vote or do volunteer work