CIC/Walmart College Success Awards

A conference for the 50 selected institutions was held on July 17-19, 2011, in Washington, DC.

Read an article about the conference in the 2011 summer Independent.

The CIC/Walmart College Success Awards program is composed of two cohorts of selected institutions strengthening first-generation programs on their own campuses and working together to share lessons and insights. Institutions participating in the program were selected in two rounds of competitive applications during 2008 and 2010.

2010 CIC/Walmart CSA Winners

Thirty institutions were selected in 2010. Twenty institutions received Awards of $100,000 and ten institutions received $50,000 Awards. The ten $50,000 Awards were designated for worthy projects of a smaller scope of impact or more experimental in nature.

• View the 2010 CIC/Walmart CSA Winners, including a list of program descriptions

2008 CIC/Walmart CSA Winners

In 2008, 20 institutions were selected to receive awards of $100,000. These campus programs demonstrated the greatest promise of increasing retention of first-generation students.

• View the 2008 CIC/Walmart CSA Winners, including a list of program descrptions

​Much attention has been focused recently on higher education as a key to making the United States workforce stronger and the country more competitive in the 21st century world economy. As the federal government, philanthropic leaders, and others call for increased access to higher education, many have turned to community colleges and large public universities for solutions despite the deep budget cuts that both sectors are experiencing. Small and mid-sized private institutions are rarely mentioned in this conversation, yet unlike community colleges, they confer baccalaureate degrees; they also enroll comparable or higher percentages of lower-income and first-generation students than public institutions.

Most importantly, small and mid-sized private institutions have moved beyond a focus on access to a record of unparalleled success in retaining and graduating lower-income and first-generation students. According to the American Association of Community Colleges, more than six million students each year enroll for credit in courses offered by the nation’s community colleges. However, only 26 percent actually transfer to a four-year college. In addition, the six-year graduation rate of first-generation students at public four-year institutions is only 44 percent compared with 61 percent at private colleges and universities. In short, if we are to achieve the ambitious national goal of increased numbers of college graduates, the lessons learned from the experiences of private colleges will need to be heeded by national policymakers and others.  

If you have questions about the CIC/Walmart College Success Awards, please contact David Pollick, CIC Senior Advisor, at dpollick@cic.nche.edu, or Stephen Gibson, Director of Projects, at (202) 466-7230 or sgibson@cic.nche.edu.

Walmart College Success Award institutions have access to a community site for sharing materials and information.​

ACCESS THE COMMUNITY SITE

Need help accessing the site? Contact us at (202) 466-7230 or cic@cic.nche.edu.