(Marshall, Texas) Wiley College has been selected to receive a grant from USA Funds to developĀ  and apply data tools and campus-wide practices to enhance college completion rates and career readiness of its students.Ā Wiley is one of sevenĀ colleges and universities tapped, through a competitive process that included a review of their proposals by outside evaluators, toĀ share a $2.3 million grant award to take part in USA Funds’ three-year project targeting first-generation, low-income students on minority-serving campuses. Wiley’s grant award is $350,000.Ā Other institutions selected for the project are Harris-Stowe State University,Martin University, Miami Dade College, St. Thomas University, Salish Kootenai College, and TexasĀ A&M University-Corpus Christi.

Called theĀ MSIĀ  Measuring College Value Initiative, the project’s goal is to support two-year and four-year colleges and universities in measuring the value of their programs, improving student outcomes, and developing programming that can serve as models for the higher education community as itsĀ institutionsĀ devise similar projects to increase college completion rates and boost career readiness ofĀ the students on their campuses.

ā€œTheĀ resources provided by USA Funds will undergird and strengthen our ongoing work to produce graduates who will enter the workforce ready to compete, lead and achieve their career goals,ā€ said Dr. Haywood L. Strickland, President and CEO of Wiley College. ā€œOur top priority at Wiley College isĀ furthering our legacy of excellence as the place where every student can succeed.ā€

Wiley will use the grant funding to integrate data to track and intervene strategically to promote early college success, persistence, completion, and meaningful outcomes of graduates.

ā€œAs college completion rates and employment outcomes for black, Hispanic and Native American students continue to lag, these colleges are well-positioned to improve these results, applying data-informed solutions to enhance the value they deliver to students,ā€ said Lorenzo L. Esters, USA Funds’ Vice President, Philanthropy. ā€œIf our nation is to continue to prosper, all segments of our population must be equipped with the skills to participate fully in the workforce and in the communities in which they live.ā€

As part of the initiative,Ā Wiley and all the participating colleges and universities will get help from a designated ā€œdata coach,ā€ who will assistĀ in the creation of user-friendly, customized data tools.Ā Every school will designate an ā€œinnovation group,ā€ to include its chief academic affairs officer, an institutional research staff member, a faculty representative, and one employer-partner. These innovation groups will participate in an annual meeting to share best practices and foster collaboration between leadership and faculty among the seven participating colleges and universities.

Wiley’s grant project will complement its student success initiative, including its current focus on developing guided pathways for all students, in keeping with USA Funds’ major priority to ensure ā€œcollege completion with a purpose.ā€

About Wiley College

Wiley College is a historically black,Ā primarily liberal arts institution of higher learning that was founded by the Freedman’s Aid Society in 1873 to train teachers for careers in African-American elementary and secondary schools. Today, Wiley College has a focused curriculum that includes fifteen distinct degree programs. Wiley is affiliated with the Ā United Methodist Church and the United Negro College Fund.

About USA Funds

USA Funds is a nonprofit corporation that supports Completion with a Purpose, building a more purposeful path for America’s students to and through college and on to rewarding careers and successful lives.Ā USA Funds pursues its nonprofit mission through philanthropic activities and partnerships, policy research, and programs and services that enhance preparation for, access to and success in higher education. Learn more at www.usafunds.org

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