PORTLAND, Ore. June 7, 2021 / PRNewswire / – University Innovation Alliance, a pioneering consortium of public research universities working to improve student success, announced that the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) and North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) were selected to become the first institutions to join the consortium since its founding in 2014. The organization's expansion continues to the publication of new data showing that the founding members of the UIA have exceeded the graduation targets established during President Obama's University Opportunities Summit.
At their launch in late 2014, UIA Presidents set a goal of graduating an additional 68,000 students above their projected graduation rates over the course of 10 years, and pledged that half of those graduate students would come from low-income backgrounds. Six years later, UIA member institutions have exceeded that goal by graduating an additional 73,573 students, increasing the number of low-income graduates by 36 percent and graduates of color by 73 percent. The founding institutions are projected to graduate a total of 136,000 students by 2023, double the original target launched on the 2014 White House College Opportunity Action Day.
"The significant and twofold increase in successful graduates supported by the UIA's joint efforts reflects the power and progress that is possible when higher education shifts its silos for collaboration capable of producing creative and viable solutions for education on a large scale," said Michael Crow founding president of the University Innovation Alliance and president of Arizona State University . "Building on our knowledge and valuable lessons learned during 2020, we are excited to grow our prolific network with the help of UMBC and NC A&T, both outstanding institutions that fully understand what better educational outcomes mean for students and the future of States. United ".
As part of the Alliance's next phase of work, campuses will focus on eliminating disparities in educational outcomes based on race and ethnicity, as well as duplicating their approach to address disparities for income, generational status, gender and geography. .
- Since its founding, the Alliance has worked together to test, iterate, and scale proven student success initiatives such as predictive analytics, proactive advising, completion scholarships, student success chatbots, and new career services. , across your entire network. More recently, the Alliance published its Grant Completion Guide, based on its pilot program to provide small grants worth $ 3.6 million to help nearly 5,000 students complete their degree or remain enrolled in college.
With the Alliance's expanded approach to addressing racial gaps, comes the first addition of two like-minded institutions to the UIA.
North Carolina State Agricultural and Technical University is the nation's largest historically black public college and university (HBCU) and the largest producer of black engineering and agricultural students as well as black mathematics graduates and Statistics. A land grant, doctoral research institution and constituent campus of the system of the University of North Carolina . It is the third most productive public research university in the state, with nationally recognized strengths in STEM education. It is among the top national universities in the country in US News & World Report Ranking of Best Universities in Innovation, Undergraduate Teaching, and Social Mobility.
"We are delighted to join forces with ambitious and innovative peer institutions who share our commitment to reinvent what we do to focus on students and transform the future of higher education so that all students can succeed," said Harold L Martin, Sr. Chancellor of North Carolina A&T. "Our university has made great progress in these areas over the past decade, and we are eager to share our approaches and dialogue with others about innovation that could lead to greater success."
The University of Maryland, Baltimore County opened its doors in 1966 as a campus for students of all races. It is ranked by Times Higher Education as one of the top 10 universities in the US for social and economic impact and is the top American producer of African American graduates who then earn an M.D./Ph.D. Upon graduation, 87 percent of UMBC graduates go directly to a job, an advanced degree, or both. Of the employees, most of the students did internships or worked for their employer as students. Last year, 73 percent of students completed a paid internship and more than 3,300 students and alumni visited the Career Center for training.
"I have long admired the ambitious work of the University Innovation Alliance," said Dr. Freeman Hrabowski president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County . "Over the past two decades, we have worked tirelessly to create a culture committed to innovative teaching, relevant research, and building a supportive community to help inspire students, and we are excited to share our knowledge and tools with the UIA community ".
"As we think about the next chapter of the UIA, we reviewed the results and mission of each R1 & R2 institution in the country. A&T and UMBC immediately stood out for their leadership and demonstrated commitment to student success," said the UIA executive. Director Bridget Burns . "We look forward to learning from them and promoting an even more ambitious agenda on behalf of students. We are just getting started."
To read more about the University Innovation Alliance's work to date, visit https://theuia.org/.
About the University Innovation Alliance
The University Innovation Alliance is a national consortium of large public research universities that encompass the geographic, economic and social diversity of our country. Together, we are working to regain America's competitive economic advantage by helping more students graduate with a high-quality, affordable education. We do this by expanding participation in higher education and implementing proven programs that significantly improve graduation rates for all students, regardless of socioeconomic background. Founding members of the Alliance include: Arizona State University Georgia State University Iowa State University Michigan State University Oregon State University Purdue University The Ohio State University University of California, Riverside University of Central Florida University of Kansas and The University of Texas at Austin . For more information, visit www.theUIA.org.
SOURCE University Innovation Alliance
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