Northeastern Illinois University has agreed to a Memorandum of Understanding with TheDream.US, an organization that provides college scholarships to highly motivated DREAMers—undocumented immigrants who were brought to the United States as children—who, without financial aid, cannot afford a college education that will enable them to participate in the American workforce.
Northeastern and TheDream.US share the goal of supporting DREAMers in excelling academically and graduating from college with career-ready degrees and skills that will enable them to join the U.S. workforce. This partnership will support highly motivated, low-income DREAMers in attending and graduating from Northeastern.
“Over the years, the number of undocumented students at Northeastern Illinois University has grown,” Northeastern President Sharon Hahs said. “We continue to welcome these students, and we are proud to partner with TheDream.US to welcome them, improve support for them and celebrate their accomplishments.”
Under the agreement, TheDream.US will develop and manage a national scholarship program for DREAMers, support the recruitment of top students to Northeastern and collaborate with Northeastern on improving persistence and degree completion.
In return, Northeastern will provide an affordable education by assisting students in accessing state, institutional and private financial aid, and target and assist DREAMers during application outreach.
Northeastern has a long history of support for undocumented students. In 2012, the University unveiled the Undocumented Students Project to ensure that Northeastern provides its undocumented students with the tools and resources they need to successfully pursue their education and to provide faculty and staff with information and resources to better assist undocumented students and their families.
