The Kansas City Scholars Program (KC Scholars) was launched in 2016 to help low-and modest-income students in the six-county Kansas City metropolitan area enroll in and complete higher education and, ultimately, to strengthen the regional economy. The program targets students from 128 high schools and adults who are returning to college, and it seeks to reduce racial and ethnic gaps in higher education access and completion.

This is the first of two reports by the WestEd evaluation team that coincide with the Kansas City Scholars program’s fifth year of operation. This report explores the characteristics of students who have applied to and have been accepted by the KC Scholars program. It also examines the extent that KC Scholars applicant pools and awardee cohorts have changed over time.

Findings in this report show that the KC Scholars program appears to be reaching the students targeted by the program’s three components: Traditional, Adult Learner, and College Savings.