FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                             

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Eastern and Western Connecticut State Universities Among Six in New England to Receive Grant to Increase Graduates from Underrepresented Populations

Multi-year, regional effort will promote success of underrepresented students  

Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic and Western Connecticut State University in Danbury have been named recipients of $100,000 grants from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation to participate in the foundation’s Project Compass, a program designed to help increase the number of young people from underrepresented populations who graduate with four-year degrees. 

Eastern and Western, universities of the Connecticut State University System, are two of only six universities from throughout New England selected to participate in the initiative.  The universities will each be awarded an initial grant of $100,000 to support a year of planning and capacity building.

“This designation by the Nellie Mae Education Foundation reflects the tremendous dedication of these universities and the entire Connecticut State University System to the development of effective ways to attract and retain students from underrepresented communities,” said Connecticut State University System Chancellor David G. Carter.  “These efforts are critical to Connecticut’s future, for students, our workforce, and our economic well-being.”

The Project Compass initiative will serve students from various populations who are currently underrepresented on New England college campuses -- including first-generation immigrant students, urban students of color and rural low-income learners. The initiative will support innovative institutional programs and strategies that strive to eliminate achievement gaps and significantly increase academic success, retention and graduation rates. The initiative is being launched at a time when college retention is a major issue in higher education, especially for low-income students and students of color, who are the fastest-growing segments of New England’s population. 

At Eastern, the project team will develop a multivariate statistical model to refine information about its identified cohort of underserved students (low-income, minority and first-generation undergraduates). Using focus groups, the team will then collect and analyze new data about these students’ needs to develop a targeted, comprehensive support services delivery strategy to help increase retention and graduation rates.

“We will use these funds to support initiatives in our new Strategic Plan that are designed to improve the retention and graduation rates of underrepresented students, including the development of a comprehensive, stage-based advising program for all Eastern students,” said Eastern President Elsa M. Nuñez.

Western's initiative under the grant is called “Project IMPACT,” which stands for Improving Minority Paths to Achievement through Community Transformation, and aims to help attract, retain and graduate Latino students, especially from the Danbury area.

To achieve Western's objectives with Project IMPACT, a committee of approximately 25 people was formed called a "Community of Practice" to move the initiative forward. The group includes faculty and staff as well as members of the Danbury community, including those from Hispanic organizations and the local school district.

“Our effectiveness in educating students from underrepresented groups should be measured by their academic success, not just by access to our curriculum," said Western President James Schmotter. “Project Compass will enable us to partner even more purposefully with local community organizations to achieve this goal.”

“With Project Compass, we’re continuing the foundation’s longstanding commitment to college success for underserved students,” said Nellie Mae Education Foundation President and CEO Nicholas Donohue.  “We’re excited to work with Western and Eastern Connecticut State Universities and hope that, in doing so, we can help inspire and nurture the type of bold thinking around postsecondary education that will be necessary if we want to ensure that the majority of all learners acquire the skills needed to succeed in the 21st century.” 

“This is a very prestigious foundation that has historically assisted universities address the needs of underserved minority students and first generation students. These populations are very important to our universities and our state, and we share Nellie Mae’s priority to strengthen efforts to attract and retain these young people,” said Lawrence D. McHugh, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Connecticut State University System. “We are grateful for the opportunity to work closely with the organizations and individuals who will be involved in these important initiatives.”

Four other public colleges from around New England have also been chosen to join Eastern and Western in the foundation’s new initiative: Bridgewater State College (Bridgewater, MA); Lyndon State College (Lyndonville, VT); the University of Massachusetts, Boston; and the University of Maine, Presque Isle.

The initiative will be organized into two phases. The first phase will fund the six institutions for a planning and capacity-building year. During the second phase, the foundation will award up to four years of annual implementation grants of $150,000 - $200,000.  The second phase grants are contingent upon the institutions’ yearly progress on objectives developed during the planning year.

The new initiative will be administrated by the New England Resource Center for Higher Education (NERCHE) at the University of Massachusetts Boston.  It will create a learning community of colleges and universities that will measurably improve academic outcomes for underrepresented students, while at the same time change institutional policies and practices to sustain and expand those efforts.

“NERCHE looks forward to working with these six campuses to shape institutional responses that increase the retention and academic success of underrepresented students,” said John Saltmarsh, director of NERCHE. “The foundation’s investment in Project Compass is critically important for exploring and creating effective models for institutional change.”

For more information on Project Compass, please visit www.nmefdn.org

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The Nellie Mae Education Foundation is the largest philanthropic organization in New England that focuses exclusively on promoting access, quality and effectiveness of education. Established in 1998, the Nellie Mae Education Foundation provides grants and other support to education programs in the region designed to improve underserved students' academic achievement and access to higher education. The Nellie Mae Education Foundation also funds research that examines critical educational opportunity issues. For more information on the Nellie Mae Education Foundation’s current work, visit www.nmefdn.org.

The New England Resource Center for Higher Education (NERCHE) is a center for inquiry, research and policy. NERCHE supports administrators, faculty and staff across the region in becoming more effective practitioners and leaders as they navigate the complexities of institutional innovation and change. NERCHE focuses on higher education institutions as complex workplaces. NERCHE’s research projects, programs, and activities draw upon the practitioner perspective to improve practice and to inform and influence policy, moving from the local to regional and national levels. For more information, visit www.nerche.org

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