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# Department Awards Grants to Improve Opportunities and Outcomes for Nation's Postsecondary Students

# Department Awards Grants to Improve Opportunities and Outcomes for Nation's Postsecondary Students

January 20, 2023

**Contact:  **press@ed.gov

                                    -        
U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona today announced 38 awards totaling more than $30 million to colleges and universities from five competitive grant programs of the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), which aims to improve higher education opportunities and outcomes for students from underrepresented communities. 

"We cannot be complacent with a higher education system that leaves so many college students from diverse and underserved backgrounds without the supports and resources they need to succeed in school and, ultimately, graduate," said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. "The $30 million in grants announced today – including those of the new Postsecondary Student Success Program -- will help colleges and universities advance innovative and evidence-based strategies to better support their students and help address students' basic needs, launch affordable open textbook programs, improve campus resources for veterans, and create opportunities for youth who've struggled with violence to get their lives back on track. These investments reflect the Biden-Harris Administration's continued commitment to raising the bar for equitable outcomes in higher education and making sure students from all walks of life can thrive." 

The grants are awarded under five FIPSE programs that target critical needs in our higher education system and are described below: Postsecondary Student Success Program; Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program; Open Textbooks Pilot Program; Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success; and Transitioning Gang-Involved Youth to Higher Education Program.  
Postsecondary Student Success Program
Announced in August 2022, the Postsecondary Student Success Program is a new FIPSE grant program established by Congress in response to the Biden-Harris Administration's request for funding to address college completion issues. The Department recently received an additional $45 million in funding in the FY23 budget to expand the program to serve more students. The grants will help institutions invest in data-driven and evidence-based reforms to encourage postsecondary retention, transfer, and completion among students who are close to graduation, as well as those who temporarily withdrew from school because of challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department's first awards under this grant program total more than $4.5 million to five Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), and community colleges. 
Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program
The Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program provides grants to eligible institutions of higher education (IHEs) to address students' basic needs, including food, housing, transportation, and child care. The Department made 14 awards totaling more than $13 million to MSIs and community colleges.  
Open Textbooks Pilot Program
The Open Textbooks Pilot Program supports efforts to create new open textbooks, which are openly licensed teaching, learning, and research resources that freely reside in the public domain or have been released under a license that permits their free use, reuse, modification, and sharing with others.  By encouraging grant competition applicants to prioritize resources for courses with high enrollment and for high-demand career fields, the program aims to emphasize initiatives with the greatest potential to generate the highest level of cost savings for students. The Department awarded more than $2.5 million in new awards this fiscal year to two institutions.  
Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success Program
The Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success Program helps institutions support veteran student success by coordinating services to address their academic, financial, physical, and social needs. The Department made 15 awards for more than $8.5 million.  
Transitioning Gang-Involved Youth to Higher Education Program
Transitioning Gang-Involved Youth to Higher Education Program provides resources to IHEs for projects aimed at re-directing gang-involved youth toward postsecondary education opportunities that will lead to certification or credentials. The Department awarded a total of nearly $1 million to two institutions to support the transition of gang-involved youth to higher education. 

The FIPSE program was included in the 1972 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act to fund projects that encourage innovative reform and expand educational opportunities to historically underrepresented communities. The new grantees, listed below, reflect the diversity of America's higher education ecosystem, including HBCUs, MSIs, and community colleges. 
Postsecondary Student Success ProgramGranteeStateAwardThe Florida International University Board of TrusteesFL$975,000Passaic County Community CollegeNJ$999,963Claflin UniversitySC$1,000,000Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical CollegeSC$952,262Austin Community CollegeTX$770,764Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students ProgramGranteeStateAwardNorthwest-Shoals Community CollegeAL$950,000Broward CollegeFL$949,986Wichita State University Campus of Applied SciencesKS$950,000University of North Carolina at PembrokeNC$935,922DACC Student Development Unit (New Mexico State University- Dona Ana)NM$950,000SUNY College at Old WestburyNY$878,057University of Puerto Rico at PoncePR$948,423Northeast State Community CollegeTN$943,755Palm Beach State CollegeFL$950,000Pensacola State CollegeFL$832,390University of Houston-Clear LakeTX$949,914Cuyahoga Community College DistrictOH$939,352University of Houston-DowntownTX$943,724Phoenix CollegeAZ$929,617Open Textbooks ProgramGranteeStateAwardLoyola Marymount UniversityCA$1,533,300University of Houston - DowntownTX$1,160,037Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student SuccessGranteeStateAwardChattahoochee Valley Community CollegeAL$600,000 Iowa Lakes Community CollegeIA$587,298City Colleges of ChicagoIL$596,278Roosevelt UniversityIL$527,081Western Kentucky UniversityKY$601,069Minnesota State University MoorheadMN$453,424St. Joseph's College, New YorkNY$559,867State University of New York College at Old WestburyNY$538,307Cuyahoga Community College DistrictOH$597,745The CitadelSC$600,462Wayland Baptist UniversityTX$592,217University of Saint ThomasTX$590,107Saint Martin's UniversityWA$583,135Herzing University, LTDWI$600,962 Fresno City CollegeCA$599,986Transitioning Gang-Involved Youth to Higher Education ProgramGranteeStateAwardAllan Hancock Joint Community College DistrictCA$989,767Atlanta Technical CollegeGA$510,233   -  Tags: DisadvantagedPostsecondary EducationPress Releases
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