NNPA Newswire
The U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced today $93 million in grant awards to 20 colleges and universities to support research and development at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and to improve completion rates for underserved students. The grants are being provided under the Research and Development Infrastructure (RDI) program and the Postsecondary Student Success Grant (PSSG) program. The RDI program provides funds to HBCUs, TCCUs, and MSIs to transform their research infrastructure, including strengthening research productivity, faculty expertise, physical infrastructure, and partnerships leading to increases in external funding.
The PSSG program aims to equitably improve postsecondary student outcomes, including retention, transfer, credit accumulation, and completion, by leveraging data and implementing, scaling, and rigorously evaluating evidence-based approaches. This funding builds on the more than $25 billion in funding to HBCUs, MSIs, and TCCUs through the Department since President Biden took office. Specifically, $7.3 billion in cumulative investments in HBCUs, $474.5 million for TCCUs, and $18.1 billion for MSIs. “The Biden-Harris Administration recognizes the urgency of this moment in higher education and that creating opportunities for students of color and other underserved students to succeed in today’s most cutting-edge fields has never mattered more,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona.
“These grant awards will help many of our nation’s most inclusive and diverse colleges and universities expand their capacity to drive research and innovation and propel more students to graduation day and fulfilling careers. This is how we Raise the Bar for college excellence and attainment in this country and close equity gaps in higher education that have no place in the 21st century.” RDI program grants are being awarded to five HBCUs, two TCCUs, three Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and a dual HSI and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institution (AANAPISI).
For HBCUs and MSIs, the grant will support institutions in increasing their level of research activity in alignment with the Carnegie Classification designations to move from the Doctoral and Professional Universities (D/PU) classification toward the Doctoral Universities with High Research Activity (R2) classification. It also will increase their classification from the Doctoral Universities with High Research Activity (R2) toward the Doctoral Universities with Very High Research Activity (R1) category. For TCCUs, the funds will support an increase in research activities, undergraduate research opportunities, faculty development, research development, and infrastructure, including physical infrastructure and human capital development. Because of their significant role in educating underserved students, including students of color, it is important for HBCUs, TCCUs, and MSIs to excel in research activity that can impact funding, faculty and student recruitment, student research opportunities, and promote diversity in graduate students and faculty at an institution. Nine institutions are receiving grants through PSSG to fund evidence-based strategies that result in improved outcomes for underserved students. The funding is being awarded to six grantees who are in the early phase and three grantees in the mid-phase/expansion phase, based upon the amount of existing research validating their effectiveness in improving student postsecondary education outcomes.
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