Lumina Foundation Awards Grants to Nine Indiana Schools
InsideIndianaBusiness.com Report
1/31/2007 9:53:53 AM
The Lumina Foundation for Education in Indianapolis has awarded grants to nine Indiana colleges and universities to help increase the graduation rates of low-income students. The grants are aimed at students involved in the Twenty-first Century Scholars program. Among the schools receiving grants were the University of Evansville, Indiana University South Bend and Ivy Tech-Fort Wayne.
Source: Inside INdiana Business
Press Release
Indianapolis – A total of nine Indiana college campuses will use grants amounting to $855,100 to increase graduation rates among their low-income students.
The grants, from Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation for Education, are aimed at boosting the success rates of students in the state-funded Twenty-first Century Scholars program. The program began in 1990 to improve academic preparation and college access among Indiana’s low-income teens. The two-year grants range in size from $79,000 to $100,000.
“While the Twenty-first Century Scholars program has done great work to get Indiana high school students into college, these grants will help these campuses focus on how to increase the graduation rates for these Scholars who face significant barriers to graduation,” said Martha Lamkin, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation.
The Twenty-first Century Scholars program, which provides qualifying low-income students with pre-college support services and the promise of full in-state tuition, has been cited nationally for its contributions to increasing college access among low-income students. Scholars must fulfill a pledge to be good citizens and qualify for admission into an Indiana college or university.
In 1986, four years before the Scholars program began, Indiana ranked 40th among states in the percentage of high school graduates who went on to college. By 2004, the state’s ranking had climbed to 18th. However, several assessments of the program have since shown that too many Scholars are leaving school early. A Lumina-funded study released last year showed that four years after high school, 50.1 percent of students who took the Scholars pledge as eighth-graders had withdrawn from college without earning a degree compared to 35-39.2 percent of students who received other types of aid or no aid.
Over the past few years, representatives from dozens of Indiana colleges and universities have met to discuss student-retention issues. A smaller working group, called the Twenty-first Century Scholars Postsecondary Support Network and led by Drew Koch, Director of Student Access, Transition and Success Programs at Purdue University, and Scott Evenbeck, Dean at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, convened to specifically address success rates among Twenty-first Century Scholars.
This group, faced with research showing that Scholars were persisting at lower-than-expected rates when compared to all students, recommended action to reverse that trend. Last July, in response to that recommendation, Lumina Foundation created the Twenty-first Century Scholars Success program, asking Indiana colleges and universities to submit proposals for programs designed to increase Scholars’ persistence and graduation rates.
The primary goal of each Success program is to support Twenty-first Century Scholars’ retention and graduation; each campus also has set specific goals. In announcing these grants, Lamkin said, “These colleges and universities recognize that financial aid is a necessary but insufficient stimulus for student success.” The range of grant activities demonstrates a commitment to helping these students through a variety of academic supports and student services, as follows:
Calumet College of Saint Joseph ($84,300)
Calumet College will expand current support programs for academically underprepared students to all Scholar students. Programs include educational planning, study skills, seminars, tutoring, mentoring, career exploration, enrichment activities, financial-aid assistance and counseling. This grant will serve all Scholars at Calumet, which averages approximately 30 new Scholars each year.
Indiana State University ($99,700)
Indiana State will provide support to entering freshmen and transferring Scholars by increasing parental involvement, engaging students, providing on-campus employment opportunities and recognizing Scholars’ achievement. ISU currently has 392 Scholar students, 135 of whom are first-year or transfer students.
Indiana University Bloomington ($79,000)
Indiana University will address barriers to completion of postsecondary education for Scholars addressing a variety of student needs. This toolkit for success will offer interventions that will help students stay in school and graduate. While all 1,086 current Scholars at IU will benefit from these programs, the primary focus will be on those who most need academic support.
Indiana University South Bend ($100,000)
Indiana University South Bend will use this grant to support the Making the Academic Connections program, which includes a leadership academy, academic skills workshops, tutoring, career development and community engagement. In Spring 2006, 312 Scholars attended IUSB. This grant will benefit all of those Scholars while focusing especially on those struggling academically.
Indiana University Southeast ($100,000)
Indiana University Southeast staff will implement wraparound services that include a focus on academic preparation, campus engagement, leadership development and family support. Staff will engage students in a variety of activities designed to boost grade-point averages, increase persistence rates and, ultimately, increase graduation and transfer rates. Last year, IUSE served 270 Scholars.
Ivy Tech Fort Wayne ($100,000)
Ivy Tech Fort Wayne’s Twenty-first Century Scholar students will participate in mentoring, tutoring, cultural activities and workshops. They will work to recruit students into existing services, facilitate second-year retention, and promote graduation with an associate’s degree or transfer into a four-year institution. Ivy Tech Fort Wayne currently enrolls 92 Scholar students; this grant will focus on 88 of them who are not participating in the existing college success programs.
Ivy Tech Region 1 – Gary, East Chicago, Michigan City and Valparaiso ($94,800)
Ivy Tech Region 1 and two of the four campuses it represents will use this grant for academic preparation, personal development, financial literacy, faculty mentoring and peer tutoring as strategies to support Scholar students. This grant will pilot these activities at the Gary and Valparaiso campuses and will serve approximately 70 students.
Purdue University ($100,000)
Purdue will better coordinate existing campus programs and create new interventions for Scholars. Staff members will increase participation of Scholars in existing retention programs, such as learning communities and bridge programs. Purdue also will incorporate a new mentoring program and help tie together all campus retention services. Last year, Purdue served 826 scholars.
University of Evansville ($97,300)
University of Evansville will help its Scholars pursue a degree by introducing a faculty mentoring program, orienting students to campus, offering study skills workshops, creating learning teams, exposing students to cultural events and engaging Scholars in leadership activities. This grant will support academic and social programs for more than 300 Scholars during the two-year grant period.
About Lumina Foundation
Lumina Foundation for Education, an Indianapolis-based, private, independent foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access and success in education beyond high school. Through grants for research, innovation, communication and evaluation, as well as policy education and leadership development, Lumina Foundation addresses issues that affect access and educational attainment among all students, particularly underserved student groups, including adult learners. The Foundation bases its mission on the belief that postsecondary education remains one of the most beneficial investments that individuals can make in themselves and that society can make in its people. For more information contact Dollyne Sherman at 317.951.5493 or Dianna Boyce at 317-951-5116.
Source: Lumina Education
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