COMPLETE COLLEGE AMERICA PARTNERS WITH JESSIE BALL DUPONT FUND TO IMPLEMENT COLLEGE COMPLETION STRATEGIES AT 12 INSTITUTIONS
The partnership will offer intensive workshops to increase college graduation rates among first generation and lower income students across the country.
INDIANAPOLIS – Complete College America (CCA) formalized a partnership with the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, a foundation working to create more inclusive and equitable communities, to launch the Student Success and Transformation Project to increase college completion rates at 12 institutions.
During this two-year project, higher education experts from Complete College America (CCA) will lead a select group of schools through a rigorous program designed to increase student success rates by building and enhancing support systems for first-generation and low-income students. The program begins this week and will run through Spring 2022.
“Looking at the economic and social inequities laid bare by the current pandemic and economic crisis, it is clear that colleges and universities play a pivotal role in providing the equal access to opportunity that we all seek,” said Mari Kuraishi, president of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. “We are thrilled to partner with CCA to help higher education become more inclusive by better supporting first-generation and low-income students.”
The 12 institutions that were selected are: Bridgewater College (VA), Edward Waters College (FL), Ferrum College (VA), Florida Southern College (FL), Hollins University (VA), Mary Baldwin University (VA), McDaniel College (MD), Meredith College (NC), Mississippi Valley State University (MS), Randolph College (VA), San Antonio College (TX) and Stephens College (MO).
Over the course of the joint venture, CCA will lead program design and the implementation of the student success strategies including 15 to Finish/Stay on Track and the development of Academic Maps. The institutions will become members of the National Student Clearinghouse‘s Postsecondary Data Partnership (PDP) which will facilitate an enhanced utilization of data and increase their overall data capacity. In addition to support from CCA’s team members, the selected institutions will receive intensive training on how to optimize the PDP to analyze data and identify institutional performance gaps in their current programs.
“This program is designed for institutions that are interested in and committed to implementing evidence-based strategies that lead to structural reform and transformation,” said Dr. Yolanda Watson Spiva, president of Complete College America. “Many schools are focused on supporting their first-generation students and students from low-income households, and CCA helps translate that focus into actions that truly lead to college success and completion.”
Closing equity gaps and providing a clear pathway to college completion is a fundamental part of CCA’s identity. This fall, the organization reimagined its original “Game Changer” strategies to identify which are most appropriate for each institution to create an equity-focused approach to changing culture and practice.
The Jessie Ball duPont Fund is a private foundation that works to expand access to opportunity and create inclusive growth for the people, organizations and communities that Jessie Ball duPont knew and loved. The Fund’s work focuses on increasing equitable access to opportunities and resources for members of society who have historically been excluded, and placemaking to build stronger communities where all voices are heard and valued.
