News Release
January 12, 2004
Nine public Indiana campuses receive funding to improve college retention
Lumina Foundation awards $866,500 to regional sites
Indianapolis—When it comes to student success in higher education, the first year is critical. According to ACT, Inc. research, 60 percent of students at public institutions fail to complete degrees within five years; half of these students leave college during or just after their freshman year.
To help improve student retention and degree attainment at nine Indiana campuses, Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation for Education has granted a total of $866,500 to programs designed to ensure student success during the critical first years of college. Regional campuses of Indiana University and Purdue University and the University of Southern Indiana have been awarded a share of the total funding as part of Lumina Foundation's President's Fund for Student Success in the First and Second Years of College program. Grants were awarded to IU East, IU Kokomo, IU Northwest, Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne, IU South Bend, IU Southeast, Purdue Calumet, Purdue North Central and USI.
The objectives of the President's Fund grants are to increase the number of students in special population groups who enter college, improve retention rates for underrepresented students, and create a learning network among institutions facing similar challenges.
"Many students hit a variety of academic, financial and social roadblocks on their way to graduation," said Martha D. Lamkin, president and CEO of Lumina Foundation. "We aim to help these nine campuses provide innovative programs that allow students to navigate the sometimes bumpy road of the freshman and sophomore years."
Lumina Foundation invited the state's public baccalaureate and master's-level institutions to apply for grants to support programs that address the needs of students who face the greatest obstacles to degree attainment. These students may be low-income, first-generation college students, students of color or adult learners.
Below are profiles of the nine grant recipients and their programs.
Indiana University East (Richmond) will use its $71,100 grant to implement a transitional seminar program for freshmen who are part of the Twenty-first Century Scholars Program, Indiana's financial aid program that works to raise the educational aspirations of low-and moderate-income students and families. The program will provide students with the basic tools needed to succeed in college.
Indiana University Kokomo also plans to implement a program to ensure the success of all entering Twenty-first Century Scholars with a $100,000 grant. Incoming freshmen will participate in a six-week seminar before they start their first semester to familiarize themselves with the campus and its culture and acquire the skills they will need to succeed.
Indiana University Northwest (Gary) plans to use its $100,000 grant to support its Critical Literacy Program, which offers underprepared students support services and supplemental curricula to address retention and graduation barriers. Specifically, the university will provide tutors to work with students to improve performance in entry-level math and science courses.
Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne will use its $100,000 grant to improve retention rates among underrepresented students through its First Year Experience program. Freshmen will participate in study skills workshops, computer training and academic and career advising.
Indiana University South Bend will use a $99,500 grant to attract and retain more Hispanic and African-American students, whose enrollment and retention numbers were lower than expected from 2002 to 2003.
Indiana University Southeast (New Albany) plans to use its $100,000 grant to support the Access to Success program, which focuses on peer-to-peer activities to help Twenty-first Century Scholars, minority students and adult learners make a successful transition to college. The program will provide social and academic support to students who are most at risk of dropping out.
Purdue University Calumet (Hammond) will form partnerships with high schools in Hammond, Gary and East Chicago to help underrepresented students make the transition to college. Using a $100,000 grant, the university will start a 2+4 program that focuses on two-year courses that qualify students to move to a four-year program. The university hopes to see a 35 percent to 60 percent increase in admissions among underrepresented students at targeted high schools and an increase in graduation rates between 11 percent and 40 percent.
Purdue University North Central (Westville) will use a $95,900 grant to expand student services for inmates participating in the Correctional Facilities Educational Program at Westville and Lakeside prisons. Student inmates will receive additional academic and career counseling and improved tutoring programs in English and math.
University of Southern Indiana (Evansville) has developed a multi-faceted program, Project Electronic-Advice for a Great Learning Experience (Project e-AGLE), which provides mini-lessons for students and parents to support student success during the first year of college. The university's $100,000 grant will allow all first-year students and parents to participate in the program. The program goal is to increase student retention from 62 percent to 70 percent between the first and second years of college.
Lumina Foundation for Education, a private, independent foundation, strives to help people achieve their potential by expanding access and success in education beyond high school. Through research, grants for innovative programs and communication initiatives, Lumina Foundation addresses issues surrounding access and success—particularly among underserved student groups, including adult learners. The Foundation bases its mission on the belief that post-secondary 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 Susan Conner at sconner@luminafoundation.org or 317.951.5490.
