Alverno College Receives College Success Grant from Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation

August 9, 2013

Alverno College recently received a College Success grant in the amount of $169,149 from Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation. This grant will help 250 undergraduate students achieve success in college by helping them develop campus connections and provide resources to ensure successful completion of their program of study.

Alverno College was one of 28 organizations to receive some of the $4.5 million in College Success grant funds awarded by Great Lakes. Alverno's Promise Scholars was funded based on the support services it provides to help students overcome obstacles and help them stay in and complete college. Alverno's Promise Scholars will provide specialized services during the 2013-2014 academic year to students who are the first in their families to attend college.

“With the College Success grant, Alverno College will continue to support first generation students in the Promise Scholar Program through proactive advising, special classes, mentoring and individualized instructional services to improve retention and persistence through graduation,” said Martha Johnson, M.S., L.P.C. and Alverno's Lead Promise Scholar Advisor.

Students get the best payoff from higher education when they complete their programs of study. Students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, and those who are the first in their family to attend college often face daunting challenges to complete college. Great Lakes' College Success grant is designed to support and reward programs that give such students specialized help, such as tutoring, mentoring, intensive advising, and access to learning communities—help that's known to keep students enrolled and on track academically and socially for program completion. For the students served, earning a degree, diploma, or certificate opens the door to the many benefits of higher education.

Twenty-eight programs across Wisconsin, Minnesota and Iowa will serve more than 4,000 undergraduate students at two-year, four-year, and technical colleges during the 2013-2014 academic year, and will focus on those students with the most to gain.