June 10, 2026

The Partner College Weekly

ACTION REQUIRED

Less than 2 Weeks Remaining for Scholars to Renew their Scholarship

Scholars have until Monday, June 22 to submit and complete their Renewal Form. This is a hard deadline! Scholars that do not complete their renewal will lose their scholarship! No exceptions will be made. (Graduates must also complete the Renewal Form by declining their Renewal and providing essential graduation information!).

Scholars must check the email tied to their ISTS Scholar Portal for Renewal instructions. Scholars can access the Renewal Form directly by logging into their ISTS Scholar Portal.

Here are Renewal statuses as of this morning, June 10, 2026:

Opportunity (246 total eligible)

• 27% Not Started

• 13% Not Submitted

• 7% Submitted

• 53% Completed

National (2805 total eligible)

• 41% Not Started

• 12% Not Submitted

• 4% Submitted

• 43% Completed

Tip: Scholars must track the status of their Renewal Form to ensure it transitions from “Submitted” to “Complete” – which means ISTS has verified their uploaded transcript. Incomplete Renewal Forms will not be reviewed.

Please encourage Scholars to submit their Renewal Form as soon as possible. Here is a sample email you can send your Scholars. Reminder: Please identify Scholars eligible to renew by running the "PC Scholar Report" in your ISTS PC Portal (filter on column AC “Renewal Eligibility” and select “2026-27 – Eligible to Renew”).

Reminder: Scholars that completed their Scholar Survey by June 1, complete their Renewal Form by June 22, and enroll with the scholarship this Fall are eligible to receive our special, one-time $500 Grant.

If you have any questions, please contact us at Askus@thedream.us

Confirm Mailing Address for 2026-2027 New Scholar Swag by
June 17, 2026!

We need Partner Colleges to confirm their mailing addresses by June 17, 2026 so we can ship New Scholar swag items ahead of our New Scholar Welcome event on August 6, 2026.

Instructions:

Use this link, to find your college (sorted by state).
Review the information. If the address and contact person are correct, select “updated” in column A.
If the information listed is incorrect, please edit it and then select “updated” in column A.
If you do not see your college, please add it to the end of the spreadsheet.
Online Partner Colleges can use this template to list New Scholar addresses and then upload the file to our secure Dropbox folder.

Thank you for supporting and celebrating our Scholars!

Questions: Chris.Aviles@thedream.us

Now Accepting Summer Term EVRs!

The Partner Colleges on this list can begin submitting Summer term EVRs once terms have started and classes are set. Note: Newly Awarded Scholars at these Partner Colleges are eligible for Summer funds and can be included in this EVR.

To check your Summer EVR Status, please click here.

Please make sure to read all the way through the EVR instructions or watch our 5-min tutorial video to get a refresher on the process. These resources can be found in the Program Management section of our website.

The deadline to submit the Summer EVR is July 31, 2026.

EVR Reminders:

Before submitting your Summer EVRs, please re-run your EVR to ensure any newly eligible Scholars are included.
Please name your EVR using your Partner College name, term, and year (Example, “Barry University – Summer 2026”). This helps prevent processing delays.
Complete all fields highlighted in yellow and do not modify any information in the grey cells.
All information provided should be entered for the term, not the annual year.
If a Scholar has withdrawn, but still owes tuition & fees, enter them as enrolled, include the withdrawn credits and balance owed, and note "withdrawn" in the Partner College Comments section.

MUST KNOW

Summer Partner College Housekeeping Items Launch June 15

On June 15, three Summer Partner College Housekeeping items will launch for you to complete. All three items are due by July 3, 2026.

Annual Partner College Directory Updates Action item for Primary Relationship Managers: Review your campus contacts and make any needed edits to mandatory roles, including President, Primary Relationship Manager, Scholar Advisor, Financial Aid Liaison, and Admissions Liaison, and any edits for optional roles. These contacts are essential to supporting your Scholars on campus throughout the year.
To access: You will receive a unique link to submit your updates from Chris.Aviles@thedream.us. Watch this video for instructions.
Graduation Verification Report (GVR)
Action item for Partner College Teams: Review the Ineligible Scholars for whom we do not currently have a graduation record and provide any available graduation updates.
To access: Your report will be available in the ISTS PC Portal, review the Scholars listed and submit updates. Watch the May PC Power Hour (minute 2:10 - 4:24) and review the slide deck for more details.
2026 Partner College Survey
Action item for Partner College Teams: Complete a short survey to share feedback about how partnership processes are working on your campus. Scholar Advisors, Financial Aid Advisors, and EVR contacts will also receive the survey.
To access: The survey will be sent by email from TheDream.US@qualtrics-survey.com. Watch the May PC Power Hour (minute 9:10 - 10:10) and review the slide deck for more details.

We will also be launching a tracker so you can monitor your campus’s completion status and confirm that all three items have been completed by July 3, 2026. Thank you for your timely submissions for these essential action items!

Questions: Vernisa.Donaldson@thedream.us

Chicago, IL Spotlight: Fireside Conversation Recap

& June 11 CIRR Meeting

Heads Up: The Committee on Immigrant & Refugee Rights (CIRR) is hosting a meeting on Thursday, June 11^th from 10:15am-12pm CT on the Resolution Honoring 14^th Years of DACA. In-person attendance is encouraged at City Hall, 121 N Lasalle St, Council Chambers (2nd flr).

Recap: Last Thursday, we brought together civic leaders, educators, and Dreamer Alumni Thursday evening at Chicago's National Public Housing Museum to discuss how investing in Dreamers strengthens Chicago's economy and communities, while highlighting findings from its new report, “When Dreamers Rise, Our Cities Rise.”

Moderated by former U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, the conversation featured TheDream.US co-founder Don Graham, Chief Operating Officer Dr. Hyein Lee, and Dreamer alumna and Chicago attorney Patrycia Piaskowski. Together, they examined twelve years of impact data showing how Dreamers are contributing to Chicago's workforce, economy, and civic life.

SCHOLAR PROGRAMMING

The Dream Act Pt. 4: Meeting with your Members of Congress

Join us for our fourth Dream Act Advocacy Session!

TheDream.US staff will walk Scholars and Alumni through what a meeting with a U.S. Senator or U.S. Representative looks like. We will utilize breakout rooms to practice in groups, and we will also have time for a Q&A.

Tuesday, June 30

6 pm - 7 pm ET

2026-2027 New Scholar Onboarding

Next Tuesday, June 16, we will send all 2026-2027 New Scholars the third of five Scholarship Onboarding emails: Your Scholarship Community and Second Summer Office Hour.

The email invites Scholars to join our Private Facebook Group of over 7,500 Scholars and Alumni from across the country. It also encourages New Scholars to connect with their Scholar Advisors as a primary point of contact on their campus.

Register here for our first Summer Office Hour, What Your Scholarship Covers and Q&A, taking place today at 5 pm ET, 4 pm CT, 2 pm PT.

All emails will continue to be posted to our New Scholar Central.

Questions: Chris.Aviles@thedream.us

USCIS Application Fee Loans

Last week, we closed out our DACA Renewal Grants program. However, Scholars and Alumni can utilize our USCIS Application Fee Loan to pay for their DACA and TPS renewal fees!

Through our partnership with Mission Asset Fund (MAF), TheDream.US is providing zero interest, zero fee loans to help Scholars/Alum pay their USCIS application fee for a variety of change of status requests. They can request an USCIS Application Fee Loan, for green cards, citizenship, family petition, and more.

Scholars and Alum only pay back exactly what they borrow within a ten-month span, while also building their credit. Check out the details of the program on MAF’s website.

Questions? Chris.Aviles@thedream.us

1-1 Immigration Screenings for Current Scholars Available

Screenings are designed to help your Scholars understand their immigration status and any options available for adjustment. Now more than ever, it is important for your Scholars to have access to an immigration attorney they can trust. Screenings are free, confidential and will not affect their scholarship in any way.

We need your help to encourage Scholars to sign up by completing the Initial Screening Request Form. If they have already completed one of our screenings, they should not submit a new request.

Questions: Chris.Aviles@thedream.us

IN THE NEWS

Gaby Pacheco Advocates for FL Dreamers in the Miami Herald

The Florida Department of Education recently proposed students prove they are U.S. citizens or lawfully present in the country to be admitted in the state’s 28 public colleges. Gaby Pacheco, TheDream.US President and CEO, was recently featured in the Miami Herald.

“They want to shut people out from higher education,” Pacheco said. “It’s very

unfortunate, because this is not a good strategic vision for the state of Florida.” Gaby says this proposal raises questions about how far Florida is willing to go to make immigration status a condition for education. The rules, she said, could move the state from making college harder to afford for undocumented students and blocking them from entering classrooms altogether.

Let Us Know of Scholar Emergency Cases

As the first in line of contact with our Scholars on-campus, we deeply appreciate your immediate notification of a Scholar’s immigration emergency. To help us identify and determine whether TheDream.US can assist with a Scholar’s immigration case in any way, please bookmark this form. Complete the form as soon as you are aware of a Scholar that is: