UMass Amherst Receives $1.5 Million Grant to Assist in Expansion of Student Success Programs and Initiatives Across Campus

The Office of the Provost has announced that the university has received a two-year, $1.5 million grant for a multi-component project that supports student success-focused programs and initiatives across campus addressing critical transitional steps that have historically posed challenges for students. <_o3a_p>

Farshid Hajir, senior vice provost and dean of undergraduate education, has been named principal investigator and leads the overall project, which involves four student success programs and initiatives across the UMass Amherst campus, including the Institute for Diversity Sciences. Collectively, the programs address critical steps and challenges that many students, especially those from underrepresented groups, might encounter during their education journey from college entry to graduation and career readiness.<_o3a_p>

"This substantial grant serves to further support and expand UMass Amherst's current programming and resources dedicated to ensuring the success of all our students," said Fouad Abd-El-Khalick, provost and senior vice chancellor for academic affairs. "I am deeply appreciative of senior vice provost Farshid Hajir's vision and leadership. The innovative programs bolstered by the grant serve to prepare students for graduation, as well as provide them a holistic foundation which will benefit them for a lifetime."<_o3a_p>

The project, funded by an anonymous private foundation, also includes research and evaluation to track student outcomes and assess each program's progress and efficacy.<_o3a_p>

"We would love for every student to earn their undergraduate degree within four years, and the university has had a very good trajectory over the last 10 years to improve graduation rates," Hajir said. "When this foundation first approached us, via the UMass Amherst Foundation, we created this proposal and said, 'Here are the latest innovations we're working on,' and after their review and site visit, they supported the whole package. We're grateful that these programs can advance and enhance the experience of more students across campus with this support."<_o3a_p>

The proposal, "Promoting Success for Historically Underrepresented Students at UMass Amherst: An Integrated Approach to Build Student Skills, Strengthen Relationships, and Reduce Barriers to Navigating University Culture," was prepared by Hajir and four administrative leaders who lead the program initiatives outlined in the project. Those initiatives promote areas of academic success coaching, financial literacy and education, career readiness and leadership development.<_o3a_p>

The student success programs and initiatives include:<_o3a_p>

• Transition the Academic Success Coaching pilot program, launched in 2023, to a fully functioning initiative and expand to serve more students who are experiencing academic distress with confidence, resilience and goal-setting skills. By hiring a full-time professional academic success coach who will be supported by a graduate assistant and a cohort of peer academic coaches, the program is projected to serve 700-800 students per year. Lin Tang, executive director of the Learning Resource Center (LRC) and the Office of Undergraduate Research and Studies (OURS), will lead this effort.
  
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• Provide financial education and personal money management opportunities to all UMass Amherst undergraduate and graduate students through the purchase of iGrad, an online financial literacy platform designed for higher education institutions, undergraduate and graduate students and their families to plan for college and develop good money habits. Carolyn Bassett, associate provost for Student Success, will lead this effort.
  
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• Expand Clifton Strengths Finder, a self-assessment tool administered by certified advisors to help students identify and understand their individual strengths for career development, by providing financial assistance for Clifton Strengths certifications for each college and school on campus.
  
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• Expand a pilot program that enabled Pell Grant-eligible students in STEM fields to participate in paid summer internships and experiential learning opportunities. Cheryl Brooks, associate provost for Career and Professional Development, will lead this effort and the Clifton Strengths initiative.
  
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• Assess the impacts of two programs on community college transfer students' mental health and well-being, professional development, and success at UMass Amherst by conducting rigorous research on student outcomes across time. This research will be led by the Institute of Diversity Sciences whose inaugural director, Nilanjana Dasgupta, is also provost professor in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences. One of the programs being conducted is in partnership with faculty at the Harvard Kennedy School.<_o3a_p>

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