Ford and Markle Foundations Support National Alliance To Increase College Graduation Rates
Eleven large research institutions, including Michigan State University, have come together across state and conference lines to increase the rate at which students from low-income and underrepresented backgrounds graduate from college.
The effort is receiving $5.7 million in funding support from six major funders.
At a forum today in Washington, D.C., with presidents and provosts representing all 11 universities, as well as major funders, in attendance, the University Innovation Alliance outlined its mission of increasing the number of students who stay in college and graduate within six years, regardless of where they are within the socioeconomic spectrum.
MSU’s contribution to the alliance will be sharing and scaling its Neighborhood initiative, which was launched in 2010 to enhance student engagement and success.
“There is no question now that educational attainment is key to social mobility in an increasingly knowledge-based economy,” said MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon. “We have the will, the tools and the critical mass to finally begin to breach a persistent barrier to delivering the promise of opportunity to all our students, no matter what their family or geographic circumstances.”
The alliance will develop and test new initiatives, share data and create a ‘playbook’ of best practices across its members and beyond, aspiring to invigorate efforts in all colleges and universities to produce a better-educated workforce...