the overarching grant program goals by including three or more of the following objectives: Objective 1: Develop new and/or improve existing outreach strategies to inform and encourage near-completers to re-enroll in college. Objective 2: Enhance student support systems to include academic, financial, and/or social advising and supports that facilitate smooth reentry into the educational environment and retention through degree completion. Objective 3: Increase re-enrollment of near-completers by offering a track/plan of study which will increase the speed of completion. Objective 4: Establish and implement prior learning assessments or competency based testing to award college credit for returning adult learners. Objective 5: Develop a general studies or other type of associate or bachelor’s degree program for which students who have accumulated a high number of credits (45 or 75 credits for an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree respectively), but not necessarily the correct credits for the originally intended degree program may qualify. Objective 6: Increase re-enrollment rates of near-completers by offering new campus- based sustainable financial aid options using campus or other financial aid resources for support such as text book cost waivers and/or tuition discounts. Process for Identifying One Step Away Students A multi-step process to identify, contact, re-enroll and ultimately graduate was established based on best practices and research on the work described above. Campuses should use the steps below, which have been adapted for Maryland’s One Step Away initiative, to identify and contact institutional data systems, select students who earned 75% or more of the credits needed for their associate (generally 45 credits or more) or bachelor’s degree (generally 90 credits or more), have not been enrolled in the last 12 consecutive months, are in good academic standing (i.e. hold the minimum grade point average required for graduation), and who have not received an associate or bachelor’s degree. The resulting list may include both degree-eligible and degree-potential students. Institutions are encouraged to specifically target who may be able to complete and be included in the reported six-year graduation rates (e.g. initial enrollment in 2009-2010 academic or later). However, institutions may also include near-completers from earlier cohorts, as long as the “six-year graduation cohort” is included in outreach and recruitment efforts.
instrument(s) used. Final reports should include a participant chart if required but report the information for the full term of the grant (not just the second half of the grant). The Financial Report should be structured like the approved budget, with both a budget summary and a budget narrative (see Appendix B for forms). It must be signed by a financial officer at the institution serving as the fiscal agent. Grantees should keep records indicating how funds were expended, the total cost of project activities, the share of the cost provided from other sources (in-kind or otherwise), and any other relevant records to facilitate an effective audit; such records should be held for five (5) years after the grant ends. Any unspent grant funds should be returned with the financial report. The Narrative Report includes the results of the evaluation plan outlined in the project application and document the project outcomes. reports will: address the objectives and projected outcomes of the project, comparing those that were named in the application to the actual results and explaining how and to what extent project activities were successful in meeting project objectives and outcomes; provide any specific data metrics to date as required by the grant; include the full results of the evaluation plan (see Application Narrative, Evaluation Plan); this will include the results of the evaluation plan described in the application—and include the results and report of any evaluator paid by the grant; note where or how the project activities might be improved; and indicate the number of participants that were served if required. Include the participant table in the annual progress report form, updated for the full extent of the project, if required. Acknowledgement of Support and Disclaimer An acknowledgment of the Maryland Higher Education Commission must appear in any publication of materials based on or developed under this project. Materials must also contain the following disclaimer: “Opinions, findings, and conclusions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the Maryland Higher Education Commission, and no official endorsement should be inferred.” All media announcements and public information pertaining to activities funded by this grant program should acknowledge support of the Maryland Higher Education Commission. At such time as any article resulting from work under this grant is published in a professional journal or publication, two reprints of the publication should be sent to the Maryland Higher Education Commission Office of Outreach and Grants Management, clearly labeled with appropriate identifying information.