US Education Department grants over $40 Million to Improve College Completion Rates for Underserved Students

The US government has announced a whopping amount of funding to help increase the college completion rates for underserved students.

Under the Postsecondary Student Success Grant (PSSG) program, the Education Department of the US has announced over $40 million for underserved students to improve their college completion rates. It has been granted to seven grantees.

The U.S. Under Secretary of Education, James Kvaal said, “Across the country, colleges and universities are rejecting the old idea that weeding out students was a sign of quality, and instead they are taking responsibility for all of their students’ success. These awards will not only help find new ways to help students graduate; they will help change expectations.”

The grantees include - California State University, Fresno Foundation which received an amount of $7,959,963, Center for Collaborative Education - $8,000,000, New York Institute of Technology - $2,763,820, Research Foundation for The Suny - Albany - $3,998,852, Portland State University (PSU) - $7,823,199, Jarvis Christian University - $3,418,794, and University of Texas at San Antonio - $7,299,868.

Out of the seven grantees who received awards, four grantees are in the mid-phase/expansion phase and three are in the early phase.

Details of Awards

The amount aims to improve postsecondary student outcomes including transfer, retention, completion and credit accumulation by scaling, implementing and rigorously evaluating evidence-based approaches and by leveraging data.

As per the latest data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, currently, only 62% of students are graduating within six years. Over the past decade, the national rate has increased by 7 percentage which reflects that the government's new approaches are helping scores of students earn college degrees.

"The Department also published the final rule for the Postsecondary Student Success Grant program.  The rulemaking sets up priorities, requirements, definitions and selection criterion that could be used in future competitions for this funding. The Final Rule sets three tiers of evidence standards that can be used – from Demonstrates a Rationale/Promising to Moderate to Strong – to ensure that grantees’ projects are based on evidence and designed and implemented to have an impact on increasing student completion.  There is also a priority that aligns with the Department’s recognition of the important role college-to-career pathways and supports play in student success," reads the government statement.

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