Lyndon State College has received a $200,000 grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to help more of the College’s first-generation students become the first in their families to receive a college degree.
The grant represents an initial implementation award for the College, which will be eligible for renewed awards for up to four years in order to implement nine strategies focused on increasing the success rates of its first-in-family college students from modest-income backgrounds.
The strategies were developed with the support of a $100,000 planning grant that the Foundation awarded last year. The nine strategies include:
- Developing a comprehensive data management system Expanding and strengthening the support network available to first-in-family, modest income (FFMI) students
- Redesigning curriculum to better serve the needs of FFMI students
- Strengthening community and high school outreach efforts to encourage more FFMI students to consider college as a viable next step beyond high school
Professional development of faculty and staff has also been a primary focus of the College’s Project Compass initiative. With the support of the planning grant, the College was able to bring to campus a speaker series comprised of the nation’s leading thinkers in higher education such as Syracuse University’s Vincent Tinto, Indiana University’s George Kuh, the Policy Center on the First Year of College’s Betsy Barefoot and assessment consultant Peggy Maki. This year, the College has continued its Project Compass speaker series with Tufts University’s Robert J. Sternberg, a second visit from Betsy Barefoot, and specialists in differentiated pedagogy from Landmark College.
Project Compass is a foundation-funded initiative managed by its intermediary, the New England Resource Center for Higher Education (NERCHE). NERCHE is a center for inquiry, research and policy. NERCHE supports administrators, faculty and staff across the region in becoming more effective practitioners and leaders as they navigate the complexities of institutional innovation and change.