The Council of Independent Colleges and the Wal-Mart Foundation announced the winners of the new Wal-Mart College Success Awards in July. Through the awards program, 20 CIC member colleges and universities, selected through a highly competitive application process, will receive $100,000 grants to help build on programs that support first-generation students.

The Wal-Mart Foundation awarded CIC a $2.266 million grant in February to establish and implement the College Success Awards. Each recipient institution has demonstrated success in enrolling, retaining, and graduating first-generation college students. The Wal-Mart Foundation grant will support the continued success and development of the programs offered as well as the preparation of a printed volume that will serve as a compendium of “best practices” in recruiting and successfully educating first-generation students.

The programs offered at these 20 institutions represent the wide range of approaches to working with first-generation students. Some institutions focus on the unique needs of a particular subset of first-generation students, such as Hispanic students, commuter students, transfer students from community colleges, or students pursuing a teaching career. A number of the award recipients offer transitional summer programs for incoming students that help prepare them for college-level work and life away from home. Others provide services such as mentoring, tutoring, and career development as well as scholarships and stipends to help ensure success for first-generation students.

“The outstanding quality of these programs is truly a testament to the efforts of small private colleges to ensure the success of first-generation students,” said CIC President Richard Ekman in announcing the awards. “It’s not surprising that more than one third of CIC’s members applied for a College Success Award. CIC institutions have extraordinary success rates in serving these students. For example, the graduation rate of first-generation students at private institutions is 61 percent versus only 44 percent at public institutions.”

“Wal-Mart is proud to support programs that enable first-generation students to succeed in college,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation. “Wal-Mart’s partnership with CIC identifies institutions committed to the success of first-generation students and will help identify and share effective programs.”

At all colleges and universities nationwide, only 24 percent of first-generation students succeed in earning a bachelor’s degree compared with 68 percent of students whose parents received a bachelor’s degree. The Wal-Mart College Success Award winners have developed programs that result in higher percentages of graduates among their first-generation college students than the national average. Many of the award recipients already graduate first-generation students at the same rate as all other students.

The list of recepients for the Wal-Mart College Success Awards includes: Adrian College (MI), Bay Path College (MA), Bellarmine University (KY), California Lutheran University, Carroll University (WI), College of Idaho, College of Mount Saint Vincent (NY), College of Saint Benedict (MN), College of St. Scholastica (MN), Florida Memorial University, Illinois College, Juniata College (PA), Kalamazoo College (MI), Lesley University (MA), Manchester College (IN), North Central College (IL), Ripon College (WI), St. Edward’s University (TX), Wartburg College (IA), and Wiley College (TX).

More information about the Wal-Mart College Success Awards is available here.