12 Colleges and Universities Strengthening K-16 Student Success Through Community Collaborations
The Association of Public Land-grant Universities (APLU) and the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU) have awarded 12 public universities $50,000 each in Collaborative Opportunity Grants to scale up existing partnerships with public and private community stakeholders.
Using the funding, the campuses will expand their work in five priority investment areas: “engaging faculty, rethinking financial aid, leveraging community assets, engaging employers and workforce organizations, and integrating and strengthening K–16 systems, according to the announcement.
The following universities were awarded Collaborative Opportunity Grants:
- California State University, Fresno for assembling a K–16 team to strengthen pathways between high school and college-level math;
- California State University, Northridge for its Bridge to the Future Scholarship program, which works with Canoga Park High School to improve enrollment and retention to the university by providing tuition-free access and mentorship to participating high school students;
- California State University, Los Angeles for its transfer student program run in partnership with nearby East Los Angeles College;
- Cleveland State University for teaming up with College Now, a community organization that assists college dropouts with obtaining their degree;
- Fort Valley State University, which is working with external partners to overhaul its volunteer center;
- Georgia State University for examining the climate of social justice and its impact on students;
- The University of California, Riverside, which is working with the local Riverside Unified School District to boost community-based internships, research and service learning opportunities for students;
- San Jose State University for partnering with two local high schools to deliver summer school math courses and mentorship opportunities to students, while helping to bring down remediation rates for incoming students;
- The University of Maryland, Baltimore County for working with Baltimore City Public Schools to create a pipeline from kindergarten to college for city students;
- The University of Memphis, which is working with West Tennessee Healthcare to help adult learners obtain their degree faster by using adaptive, experimental learning;
- The University of South Alabama, which is collaborating with three nearby community colleges to improve the transfer student process; and
- The University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee for creating a seminar with Milwaukee Public Schools for first-year students attending the university.
Later this summer, representatives from the 12 institutions will convene in the nation’s capitol to collaborate on initiatives, the announcement states.