Associated Colleges of Illinois (ACI) – Dreams to Degrees Initiative Phase II ($25,000)
Partnering with inner-city high schools, Dreams to Degrees Phase II seeks to inspire students to set college as their goal; enrich ACT prep to achieve scores of 20 or above; match students to 4-year colleges best equipped to promote success; provide sufficient financial, academic, and personal supports to achieve degree completion in 4 years. Dreams to Degrees Phase II enhances high school college readiness resources with: Professional Development to build advising skills of college counselors/teachers at partner schools; College Readiness Program with expert advice in college access/financing, academic enrichment, and experiential, campus-based learning, including ACI’s Science and Math Experience, Summer Academies, career workshops and college bus tours; College Success Program/Scholarship Program—critical financial aid, mentoring, and other services promoting degree completion for Dreams to Degrees participants enrolled at ACI colleges; and an Alumni Network to track the trajectory of and promote networking among program participants.
Michigan Colleges Foundation (MCF) – Third 90 Network ($30,000)
This project is a signature, statewide program designed to prepare minority, often first-generation high school students from urban areas to succeed in college level studies. The Third 90 Network aims to engage students in a challenging academic setting, giving them a realistic notion of college-level work, increasing awareness of STEM career options, building their social and academic network, preparing them for college success, and introducing them to the advantages and affordability of private colleges. The CIC-FIHE FOP grant will allow MCF to expand the Third 90 Network to students in four Detroit high schools. Leveraging this grant over the next three years, MCF will increase the number of participating Detroit students from 40 to 120 annually, add two additional MCF campus partners (for a total of four), and open new funding markets in Michigan’s largest metro region.
Nebraska Independent College Foundation (NICF) - 60th Anniversary First-Generation Student Initiative ($10,000)
NICF is announcing the 60th Anniversary Diamond Campaign – “A case for student empowerment.” Central to the three-year campaign will be three initiatives: 1) identify and recruit minority students, economically disadvantaged students, and first-generation students; 2) provide student financial aid; and 3) establish permanent perpetual student scholarships. As an opening project in our campaign, we are seeking to raise $160,000 to work with our member colleges to develop and implement a collaborative plan to meet these three objectives.
North Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (NCICU) – Minority Mentoring Initiative ($27,500)
This program is aimed at “connecting the dots” of access, retention, and success for minority student populations on its member college and university campuses through the implementation of mentoring programs designed specifically to address the needs of minority student populations. To support this Initiative, NCICU will leverage the infrastructure of its Independent College Access Network (ICAN), a comprehensive college access network, which has a three-year record of success in providing professional development to college access personnel as well as technical assistance to support mentoring efforts on member campuses. Through ICAN task forces, NCICU has articulated four distinctive, research-based mentoring models that campuses can select among for implementation, which offers important flexibility to address the diversity among the 20 colleges and universities NCICU anticipates would participate in the Minority Mentoring Initiative—with the potential to influence up to 700 minority students among participating institutions. |