EDUCATION | The Washington Post reported this month that record numbers of low-income students are dropping out of college due to a lack of access to good Wi-Fi, stating, “As the fall semester gets into full swing in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, schools are noticing a concerning trend: Low-income students are the most likely to drop out or not enroll at all, raising fears that they might never get a college degree.”

Motlow State plans to address the trend by increasing their student’s access to free, public Wi-Fi. Motlow’s Moore County campus expanded student Wi-Fi access to the parking lot on both sides of the Marcum Technology Center. Students who do not have access to Wi-Fi are encouraged to come to the campus, remain in their parked car, and use the free Motlow Wi-Fi by signing in with their email username and password.

They also added a physical paperwork drop box on its Moore County’s campus to to drop off paperwork related to admission applications, class registrations, and financial aid. The Dropbox is not available for individual class items such as writing assignments and homework.

“We are thrilled to offer these new avenues for students to communicate with the College and with each other,” said Scott Shasteen, director of communications. “Motlow’s continuous focus on student success is strengthened by these evolving strategies. If one student in our Moore County area drops out because of a lack of internet access, then it is highly unlikely they will ever return to College. We can’t let that happen.”

Some 100,000 fewer high school seniors completed financial aid applications to attend College this year, according to a National College Attainment Network analysis of Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) data through August. Students from families with incomes under $75,000 are nearly twice as likely to say they “canceled all plans” to take classes this fall as students from families with incomes over $100,000, according to a U.S. Census Bureau survey in late August.

At Motlow, we want the story to be different,” said Terri Bryson, vice president of External Affairs.  “Student success is our mission. Every student needs to be a success story. We want to ensure that everyone can access Wi-Fi and can drop documents off at our campuses 24/7.” •

{The Lynchburg Times is the only independently owned and operated newspaper in Lynchburg, Tennessee. We cover Metro Moore County government, Jack Daniel’s Distillery, Nearest Green Distillery, Tims Ford State Park, Motlow State Community College, Moore County High School, Moore County Middle School, Lynchburg Elementary, Raider Sports, plus regional and state news.}