Gates Foundation Funds Student Success Initiative Benefiting Bowie State

AASCU Pilot Program That Includes BSU Receives $2.5 Million Grant

MEDIA CONTACTS: 
Damita Chambers (Bowie State University), dchambers@bowiestate.edu, 301-832-2628 mobile
Kellee Edmonds (AASCU), edmondsk@aascu.org, 202-478-4662 

(BOWIE, Md.) – Student success efforts at Bowie State University will get a boost from a $2.5 million, two-year Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation grant to accelerate a pilot initiative, targeting low-income students, students of color and first-generation college students.

Through the Center for Student Success, launched in 2019 by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), Bowie State is one of five institutions helping AASCU to refine and validate its emerging strategies to increase student outcomes for member institutions. The program aims to provide a framework for academic transformation and a peer learning community among AASCU’s network of nearly 400 public colleges, universities and systems.

AASCU is one of only 12 organizations to receive the Gates Foundation’s Intermediaries for Scale grant.

At Bowie State, faculty and staff have engaged with AASCU on buidling the components and strategies of the Center for Student Success pilot, including the development of an institutional transformation assessment, focused on leadership and culture, policy, strategic finance, institutional research and information technology. The core BSU program team is now working to prioritize the university’s student success initiatives for development and implementation, based on the needs identified in the assessment. The BSU team has chosen to focus on developing a shared definition of student success as a priority project.

“We need to have an organizational definition of student success. We need to hear the voices of all of our campus constiuent groups to create this definition and move forward together. Then, we would always have that definition as the barometer to guide in our work and future change and improvement,” said Monica Turner, BSU’s initiative coordinator and director of the BSU TRiO support program for first-generation college students. “Once we craft an idea of what it means to be successful as a student and as an institution, we can make changes that are in alignment to that definition.”

With the new grant, AASCU will focus on four key goals:

• increasing awareness of successful and promising transformation strategies among campus leaders and communities
• informing key campus-level decisions about change options and strategies and supporting decision-makers
• supporting transformation by providing guidance and resources for adopting and adapting, implementing, evaluating and sustaining changes in policy and practice
• building connections across colleges and universities and other supporting organizations to accelerate and streamline learning and sharing of promising practices

“AASCU has consistently embraced the transformational power of our state colleges and universities. Aligned with our new strategic plan and by harnessing our members’ collective knowledge, this opportunity will support AASCU’s commitment to effectively address the needs of our diverse student populations, particularly low-income, first-generation, students of color, and/or working adults,” said AASCU President Dr. Mildred García. “Not all postsecondary institutions have the resources to begin the structured transformation process necessary to narrow achievement gaps for current and future generations of students. Our institutions are transforming students and their families and graduating engaged citizens for our global democratic society. We are honored to have been selected to participate in this important work.” 

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About Bowie State University
Bowie State University (BSU) is an important higher education access portal for qualified persons from diverse academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, seeking a high-quality and affordable public comprehensive university. The university places special emphasis on the science, technology, cybersecurity, teacher education, business, and nursing disciplines within the context of a liberal arts education. For more information about BSU, visit bowiestate.edu.

About the American Association of State Colleges and Universities
The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) is a Washington, D.C.-based higher education association of nearly 400 public colleges, universities, and systems whose members share a learning- and teaching-centered culture, a historic commitment to underserved student populations, and a dedication to research and creativity that advances their regions’ economic progress and cultural development. These are institutions Delivering America’s Promise of Opportunities for All.