Morgan State Awarded $700K in Grant Funding

Morgan State University has announced the award of a three-year, $716,700 grant from Lumina Foundation to support the university’s HBCU  Student Success Project; a proactive effort to implement strategies that can increase completion rates while improving outcomes for historically underserved students.

Bolstering Retention and Graduation

The project, which was designed to extend positive steps already taken by Morgan State University, will utilize data drawn from a comprehensive student analytic system to improve academic, financial, and social supports. It also includes technical assistance and evaluation support for Morgan State University.

Morgan State University is one of three prominent HBCUs, and it is the only public university among those selected to be awarded grants, totaling more than $1.5 million. The other HBCU participants are Dillard University and Howard University.

“We are fortunate to have this opportunity to expand our relationship with Lumina Foundation, by being selected as one of the standout HBCUs participating in this student success project,” said Morgan State University President David Wilson. “Bringing this initiative to Morgan complements current efforts underway, and serves to enhance our recent success with improved retention and graduation rates.”

“In spring 2016, we launched Morgan’s 50 by 25 Campaign as a university-wide effort to increase graduation rates at Morgan to 50% by the year 2025. With Lumina’s support over the next three years, we are hoping to improve student retention by 4% while significantly increasing on-time and six-year completion rates on the road to that goal,” Wilson said.

Targeting At-Risk Students

The HBCU Student Success Project supports targeted work to close attainment gaps between various student groups on campus, specifically to increase the academic success of those who are Pell-eligible.

Morgan will implement a predictive analytics solution that will identify at-risk students. Once those students have been identified, Morgan will use interventions, such as proactive academic advising and experiential learning opportunities, to ensure that each student remains on a positive track toward success.

Another strategic component involves the implementation of a second-year experience program.

“Lumina Foundation is pleased to support Morgan State University in its efforts to improve student outcomes,” said Danette Howard, Lumina’s chief strategy officer and senior vice president, in a statement.

“Morgan State University will concentrate, over the next three years, to utilize improved student data to not only increase student persistence and completion, but also to eliminate attainment gaps for Pell-eligible students. Morgan State University has developed a comprehensive plan to reach these outcomes. We are very excited to see the results and learn from their work.”

For more, go to Morgan State’s website.