Tarleton State University’s Fort Worth campus and Catholic Charities Fort Worth announced a new partnership this week to expand the nonprofit’s Stay the Course program to the southwest Tarrant County campus. The collaboration, formalized through a memorandum of understanding, will place two Catholic Charities navigators on campus to provide low‑income students with personalized case management, resource connections, and strategic financial aid.
Program aims and early impact
Stay the Course began as a pilot at the downtown Tarrant County Community College campus in 2013 and opened to the public in 2015. Before the Fort Worth partnership, the program operated at six community colleges and three universities, serving a total of 2,145 students. Early research from the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities showed that participants at TCC’s Trinity River Campus were 25 percentage points more likely to remain enrolled through their sixth semester and 16 % more likely to earn an associate degree.
“For us to be able to work in a four‑year institution and to see the whole journey with our clients, it’s quite beautiful,” said Catholic Charities CEO and President Heather Reynolds. “We’re so excited to support the students here.”
Local leadership supports the effort
Tarleton State Dean Rachael Capua highlighted that the university already offers a range of student‑support services, but adding Stay the Course will deepen assistance, especially as the campus continues to grow. “It just made a lot of sense to lock arms with Stay the Course,” Capua said.
The program’s case managers will work out of the university’s Center for Student Support and Well‑Being, sharing office space with other student‑services staff. Each navigator will handle roughly 30 students at a time, a ratio that Reynolds noted is far lower than the typical 100‑student caseload seen in other systems, allowing for more individualized attention.
Alumni return to give back
One of the new navigators, Saintia Dorestal, graduated from Tarleton State with a master’s degree in social work and now serves as a Stay the Course navigator. Dorestal recalled selling textbooks between semesters to afford her education. “Honestly, it feels like I’m coming home,” she said. She described the partnership as a full‑circle moment, helping students at the university that gave her the foundation she needed while working for a nonprofit that enables her to serve others.
“I love seeing people move forward in life, and I love knowing that I could be a small part of someone else’s journey,” Dorestian added.
Looking ahead
While the program’s success will ultimately be measured by student outcomes, both university and nonprofit leaders emphasized the day‑to‑day impact of having navigators physically present on campus. “Integration into the campus is really important for the efficiency of the students themselves,” Reynolds said.
Stay the Course’s expansion to Tarleton State Fort Worth reflects a broader effort by local institutions to address the financial and academic challenges faced by low‑income students, reinforcing the community’s commitment to education, family stability, and individual liberty.
Original reporting: Fort Worth Report — read the source article.
