McGuire Family Foundation Grant Launches Partnership for Student Access and Success
The College of Liberal Arts is proud to be a partner in a pathbreaking initiative that will create higher education opportunities for economically disadvantaged young people in the state of Minnesota.
Photo by Mitch Kezar
The initiative is funded by the William W. and Nadine M. McGuire Family Foundation, which has pledged up to $10 million in grants to help students with significant financial need prepare for college, gain access to the school of their choice, and succeed in college.
The grants—to be made to Admission Possible, LearningWorks at Blake, and the University of Minnesota—create an innovative collaborative model for student access and success that puts the pieces together in powerful new ways.
The McGuire Foundation grant will leverage state, federal, and University monies to help fund up to 90 percent of the cost of attendance for students with the greatest financial need. CLA will play a leadership role in establishing programs to facilitate students’ successful transition to the University and to ensure their academic success at every stage of their academic development.
Components of the strategy include:
- a one-week residential transition program for students during the summer before their freshman year;
- integrated learning experiences designed to forge a deeper connection with faculty and with other students;
- a high level of academic guidance, including intensive and frequent interaction with academic advisers and faculty mentors.
CLA also plans to expand its current partnerships with elementary and secondary schools and to become more heavily involved in the early intervention efforts spearheaded by Admission Possible, Learning Works, and other similar programs.
This spring, CLA will work with the McGuire Family Foundation to convene a conference to broaden and advance the conversations about new models to ensure access to higher education spurred by the McGuire initiative.
The grants are expression of the McGuires’ deep conviction that providing access to higher education is critical to the future of Minnesota. The McGuire grants will help move the University forward on its commitment to access for students regardless of financial means.
Links:
- UMN news: News Release, 2/10/06
- For more information about the grant: University of Minnesota Foundation
- Admission Possible
- LearningWorks at Blake