Walmart
College Success Awards
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Walmart College Success AwardsThis initiative will support 30 competitively selected CIC member colleges and universities with a first-generation student enrollment of at least 30 percent that wish to extend, deepen, or strengthen efforts to help first-generation students succeed in college. These funds will be used over a two-year period for projects that are likely to increase the retention and graduation rates of first-generation students. Awards of $100,000 will be awarded to the 20 institutions with programs that show the greatest promise of increasing retention of the largest number of first-generation students. Ten $50,000 awards will be designated for worthy projects that have a smaller scope of impact or are more experimental in nature. The newly selected 30 institutions and the 20 initial College Success Award recipients (selected in June 2008) will work together as a network to assist first-generation college students, learn from one another, and serve as models for other colleges and universities. This will be accomplished through a three-day conference in 2011 and through online networking and other activities. Funding also will support the production of a final publication on best practices from both cohorts, to be disseminated at the end of the grant period in 2013. Funder: Walmart Foundation Program Status: Proposals for the 2010 Walmart College Success Awards are now being accepted. Please see the application guidelines for more detailed information. The application deadline is February 12, 2010.
Rationale for the Initiative: 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. 2009 Walmart College Sucess Awards Conference Independent Newsletter Articles: Press Release If you have questions about the Walmart College Success Awards, please contact Sarah Stoycos, CIC director of programs, at (202) 466-7230 or sstoycos@cic.nche.edu.
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