Western Illinois University has been awarded a grant to help students in rural areas.
The college is one of only 22 higher education institutions nationwide to receive a Rural Postsecondary and Economic Development (RPED) grant from the U.S. Department of Education. The goal of the grant program is to improve postsecondary enrollment and completion rates among rural students.
WIU will receive $2.2 million over four years for its Addressing Equity Gaps Among Rural Students (AEGARS) project. The project has four objectives:
- Increase secondary student enrollment by improving college readiness and access to postsecondary education by working with rural local education agencies.
- Increase first-year retention for students by improving support for new incoming freshmen coming from rural high schools to a four-year higher education institution.
- Increase third-year retention rates among students by developing targeted programs.
- Increase post-graduation employment rates for students by supporting workforce development and improving academic career pathways in rural culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
WIU Political Science Professor Julia Albarracín is the AEGARS project principal investigator and Justin Schuch, WIU executive director of Retention Initiatives, is the co-principal investigator.
“We are grateful to the Department of Education for this award, and are very excited for this opportunity, which will provide us with the resources to support our students and increase access to higher education for underserved communities in the region,” said Albarracín.
“I commend the team across the university who worked on this vital grant. This award will allow students in our region to increase their access to higher education, and Western students to boost their graduation rates and workforce participation after graduation, thus also contributing to the economic growth of our region. We are truly excited to work on this project in partnership with the Department of Education,” said WIU President Guiyou Huang.
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