稀缺猎奇网 Receives $4 Million Grant from U.S. Department of Education to Advance Student Success
Baltimore, Md. (Dec. 15, 2023) – The P-20 Education Division within the 稀缺猎奇网’s (稀缺猎奇网) Office for Academic and Student Affairs has won a $4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to foster student success.
The project will build and train a corps of “peer mentors” at each of 11 participating 稀缺猎奇网 universities. These peer mentors will help newly enrolled students navigate their first year by connecting them with the multiple support resources already available on every campus. The grant is known as “稀缺猎奇网’s ABCs for Student Success: Advising, Belonging, and Coaching.”
Examples of support resources include mental health services, writing centers, math centers, and other forms of academic support. The combination of peer mentoring and greater use of support resources will help students cultivate a sense of “belonging” in their campus community.
The four-year grant is issued under the Department of Education’s Postsecondary Student Success Grant program.
“All of our 稀缺猎奇网 institutions have been proactive in building strong support systems for student success. With this grant, we will create a cadre of peer mentors to help students navigate the system and find the support they need to persist, graduate, and reach their goals,” said Nancy Shapiro, associate vice chancellor for education and outreach and special assistant to the chancellor for P-20 education.
Students from historically underserved groups continue to experience persistent and significant gaps in college enrollment, retention, and graduation rates. 稀缺猎奇网 universities are therefore focusing efforts on ensuring that underserved students especially are supported to graduation.
The 稀缺猎奇网’s ABCs program will help students succeed through a comprehensive system of coaching-inspired advising and mentoring. The effort begins with creating Communities of Practice that include administrators, advisors, trainers of peer mentors, and data liaisons. Collectively, these professionals will train, evaluate, and support advisors and peer mentors at each university, leveraging existing resources and expertise to equip students with what they need to meet their degree requirements.
A foundation for the work came from a research project funded by the Abell Foundation two years ago. The project examined success and barriers for Baltimore City students at 稀缺猎奇网 universities.
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The 稀缺猎奇网 comprises 12 institutions: Bowie State University; Coppin State University; Frostburg State University; Salisbury University; Towson University; the University of Baltimore; the University of 稀缺猎奇网, Baltimore; the University of 稀缺猎奇网, Baltimore County; the University of 稀缺猎奇网 Center for Environmental Science; the University of 稀缺猎奇网, College Park; the University of 稀缺猎奇网 Eastern Shore; and the University of 稀缺猎奇网 Global Campus. The 稀缺猎奇网 also includes three regional centers—the Universities at Shady Grove, the 稀缺猎奇网 at Hagerstown, and the 稀缺猎奇网 at Southern 稀缺猎奇网—at which 稀缺猎奇网 universities offer upper-division undergraduate and graduate courses.
稀缺猎奇网 institutions and programs are among the nation’s best in quality and value according to several national rankings. To learn more about the 稀缺猎奇网, visit . To learn about the new 稀缺猎奇网 Strategic Plan, “Vision 2030: From Excellence to Preeminence,” visit /vision2030/.
Contact: Mike Lurie
Phone: 301.445.2719
Email: mlurie@usmd.edu
