The American Talent Initiative has awarded grants to five AAU institutions to support projects “that break barriers and increase college access and success for lower-income students.” The grants will help implement programs that make it easier for community college students to transfer to four-year institutions; improve support for high school students eligible to receive Pell Grants; and enhance dual-credit options.
The University of California, Santa Cruz and Hartnell College received $250,000 from ATI to strengthen transfer pathways between the two institutions. The grant will fund the colleges’ Pathways to Success program, which, according to UC Santa Cruz Chancellor Cynthia Larive, “focuses on expanding opportunities for low-income, first-generation students, streamlining their ability to transfer to [the UC Santa Cruz] campus, earn a bachelor’s degree, and ultimately launch careers in high-demand fields.”
The Georgia Institute of Technology and Atlanta Metropolitan State College received a similar grant to expand a program that creates a guaranteed pathway for students to transfer from AMSC to Georgia Tech. “This program will foster a new generation of talented students who will make tremendous contributions to our state,” said Georgia Tech President Ángel Cabrera. Another grant to Stony Brook University will go toward the implementation of a program that will offer students dual admission to Suffolk County Community College and SBU. According to ATI, “Students will engage with SBU from the start, benefiting from paid research or internship opportunities, early access to campus life, priority registration, and comprehensive advising.”
Indiana University will use its grant to launch IUBound, “a new pipeline program designed to increase access and enrollment for Pell Grant recipients.” The program will target low-income eighth-grade students in Indiana and support them through college graduation. The program will offer services, including “college application assistance, test preparation, financial aid counseling, social enrichment, campus visits, academic tutoring, mentoring, and significant need-based aid.”
Finally, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign received a grant to launch a program that will offer “high-quality dual-credit options … in key general education subjects that are unavailable at lower-income Illinois public high schools.” The program will offer “online course content provided by UIUC faculty, taught by certified high school teachers, and at no cost to students.”
The American Talent Initiative was formed in 2016 with the ambitious goal of educating 50,000 more low-income students by 2025 at universities with graduation rates above 70%. A recent progress report by ATI showed that its members have made substantial progress toward the goal. Supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies, ATI has more than 135 member institutions, including more than 50 AAU institutions. Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber and University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Chancellor Robert Jones (who serves as AAU’s board chair) are on ATI’s steering committee.
The IDEAS (Innovation Driven by Evidence-Based Advanced Strategies) Fund grants are provided in partnership with the Aspen Institute and Ithaka S+R and funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies. Sixteen institutions in total received grants from the IDEAS Fund.
Kritika Agarwal is senior editorial officer at AAU.