Bowie State University News January 29, 2020 · Gates Foundation Funds Student Success Initiative Benefiting Bowie State AASCU Pilot Program That Includes BSU Receives $2.5 Million Grant 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<https://bowiestate.edu/about/news/2019/initiative-advances-student-success-at-bowie-state.php> 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 building 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 constituent 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." SANDRA M. PHOENIX HBCU Library Alliance Executive Director Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library 111 James P. Brawley Drive SW Atlanta GA 30314 404-978-2118 (office) 404-702-5854 (cell) http://www.hbculibraries.org<http://www.hbculibraries.org/> sphoenix@hbculibraries.org<mailto:sphoenix@hbculibraries.org> Honor the ancestors, honor the children and those yet to come. Building Capacity for Humanities Special Collections at HBCUs - Become an ally and partner with us to protect, preserve and share a more authentic record of American history. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/humanities-2019.html for more information. Follow this link http://hbculibraries.org/ and click on the Donate Now button to invest in this project. Your support is appreciated. Follow us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/hbculibraryalliance1/ and Twitter at https://twitter.com/HBCULibAlliance Check out "PULSE!" The HBCU Library Alliance's News Source! - https://hbculibraryalliance.wordpress.com/