Kresge Foundation News

Report: Michigan needs nearly 800,000 more postsecondary credentials to hit 2025 goal

kajahnke — Tue, 01 Dec 2015 16:28:01 +0000

Kresge supports report, plan to boost numbers of degrees, certificates

Tue, 12/01/2015

The Michigan Postsecondary Credential Attainment Workgroup released a report and website that detail how the state can move toward a better educated workforce and ensure that 60 percent of adult residents have a post-secondary credential by 2025.

Jobs for the Future opens RFP for Student Success Centers in up to 4 new states

wkheron — Mon, 31 Aug 2015 15:01:18 +0000

Backed by Kresge and Gates foundations, centers will promote community college persistence and completion.

Mon, 08/31/2015

The national workforce development and education nonprofit Jobs for the Future today is launching a request for proposals to create up to four new statewide Student Success Centers to improve community college persistence and completion.

Fostering Success Michigan breaks down hurdles to postsecondary education

mwhitney — Wed, 22 Apr 2015 19:03:44 +0000

Kresge-backed initiative promotes supports for students who’ve been in foster care.

Wed, 04/22/2015

Brittany Bartkowiak endured three lonely years in college before she finally felt she belonged.

2015 Aspen Prize names Florida’s Santa Fe College as high-achieving example among community colleges

mwhitney — Wed, 18 Mar 2015 17:20:07 +0000

Prize winner and other high-performing schools are recognized for high graduation/transfer rates and other key measures.

Wed, 03/18/2015

Santa Fe College in Gainesville, Fla., is the winner of the 2015 Aspen Prize for Community College Excellence, a national recognition of achievement and performance among America’s community colleges. The prize includes a $800,000 award.

The award was presented at a ceremony at the National Press Club in Washington on Wednesday.

‘The Other College Guide’ takes a fresh approach to guiding students to success

mwhitney — Wed, 04 Mar 2015 20:13:03 +0000

New Kresge-supported book aims to demystify the process of choosing and applying to college, especially for middle-class and low-income youth.

Wed, 03/04/2015

High school students determined to find a college that will improve their lives – not simply saddle them with debt – now have a powerful new resource: “The Other College Guide.”

Technology can boost student success at community colleges, report says

JAMcGovern — Mon, 16 Feb 2015 21:52:44 +0000

‘Community College Online’ recommends flexible options in addition to traditional classroom courses.

Thu, 02/19/2015

Community colleges stand as the only or the last chance for millions of students, but too few of those students actually earn a post-secondary credential. Of students who started a public, two-year college in 2006, only about 36 percent had obtained a credential by 2012.

Leading South African educator seeks to change lives as his was changed

wkheron — Mon, 15 Dec 2014 20:01:59 +0000

Brian O’Connell Visiting African Scholar Fund will expose UWC students to black scholars from around the world.

Thu, 01/15/2015

The Atlantic Philanthropies and Kresge announced today a joint investment of $500,000 (R5,726,100) to establish The Brian O’Connell Visiting African Scholar Fund. The fund will bring visiting scholars and scientists of African descent to the University of the Western Cape in South Africa.

Kresge awards $2.9 million to improve data analysis at South African universities

wkheron — Thu, 06 Nov 2014 21:34:31 +0000

Awards to 4 universities and a higher education institute aim to foster student success.

Thu, 11/06/2014

The Kresge Foundation has awarded $2.9 million to four South African universities and an education institute to improve student success through improved data analysis.

Akron receives $1 million Talent Dividend prize for increase in college graduates

mwhitney — Wed, 29 Oct 2014 15:22:42 +0000

Kresge-funded prize brought 57 cities into competition; increase in grads linked to stronger regional local economies and higher earnings.

Wed, 10/29/2014

Akron, Ohio, has been awarded a $1 million prize for increasing the number of residents receiving college degrees by 20.2 percent over four years, the largest increase among 57 cities participating in the Talent Dividend, a national project to increase college-attainment rates.

The Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education, which coordinated Akron’s efforts, accepted the award Wednesday in Washington, D.C. The council advocates for higher education and develops partnerships across the business and higher-education communities.

State of the South report highlights challenges and solutions to youth economic mobility

JAMcGovern — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 12:44:01 +0000

Kresge-supported study finds severe problems despite strong city economies.

Wed, 10/22/2014

Southern cities such as Raleigh, Charlotte, Nashville and Atlanta may be thriving, but they fail to help their youth up the economic and social ladders, according to a new report. The report also says this problem is worse in the South than in other regions of the nation.

New university alliance aims to improve college completion for low-income, first-generation students

JAMcGovern — Wed, 17 Sep 2014 18:04:56 +0000

Supported by philanthropy, 11 public universities pledge to collaborate and share ideas, successful programs.

Wed, 09/17/2014

In an effort to ensure more low-income students earn college degrees, 11 major public research institutions have formed an alliance that will test and share proven innovations.

The founding members of the University Innovation Alliance have raised – and will match – $5.7 million from a group of foundations and charitable organizations. That funding will support the development of a national “playbook” to improve the retention and graduate rates for low-income and first-generation college students.

Presentation detailing grant opportunity for South African universities now available

wkheron — Tue, 01 Jul 2014 15:40:49 +0000

Webinar material explains effort to strengthen data analysis to foster student success.

Mon, 06/30/2014

More than two dozen South African educators participated in a recent Kresge Foundation webinar explaining Siyaphumelela (“We Succeed”), a grant opportunity for South African public universities interested in improving their capacity to analyze data related to student success.

Report concludes systemic change needed to improve college degree attainment at South African universities

mwhitney — Wed, 21 May 2014 20:30:59 +0000

Kresge-funded study by Inyathelo finds graduation rates ‘marginally better’ than under apartheid

Wed, 05/21/2014

Only about half of South African students entering college graduate, and only a little more than one-fourth of all students finish in the minimum period of time, according to recent research. Furthermore, the legacy of apartheid is apparent, with only 10 percent of black students entering college and less than 5 percent completing degrees.

Report shows rising student debt for college undercuts path to middle class

wkheron — Thu, 03 Apr 2014 16:36:43 +0000

Average costs top one-third median family income in many states

Thu, 04/03/2014

Higher education in the United States has become a debt-for-diplomas system in which most students borrow increasing amounts and colleges increasingly use tuition revenue to balance their books.

New statistics to buttress that case are in a recent report by the public-policy organization Dēmos, “The Great Cost Shift Continues: State Higher Education Funding After the Recession.”

An innovative online writing lab at Excelsior College boosts student skills and grades in pilot study

wkheron — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 22:31:37 +0000

Kresge-funded tool now open to public and being used on other campuses.

Mon, 03/17/2014

College students’ writing skills significantly improve through use of Excelsior College’s new Online Writing Lab, or OWL, a nationwide pilot study shows.

Students at Excelsior and five partner colleges in the stu

New Student Success Centers to boost community college efforts to help students earn credentials

wkheron — Mon, 10 Mar 2014 22:07:37 +0000

Kresge-funded centers in California, Connecticut and New Jersey make for a 7-state network working for access and college completion.

Mon, 03/10/2014

While individual community colleges explore new ways to foster student success, a growing initiative is adapting those efforts into statewide programs to attack the knotted problems of student access, retention and graduation.

Through newly created statewide “Student Success Centers,” community colleges are better coordinating these success-focused initiatives. Usually organized through a state community college association these centers have staffs, budgets and advisory boards that create, implement, connect and promote programs and policies.

Surprise: You've earned a college credential

JAMcGovern — Wed, 26 Feb 2014 20:23:20 +0000

Kresge-backed Project Win-Win mines college records to find unsuspecting graduates.

Wed, 02/26/2014

When he stopped taking classes at Northwestern Michigan College, Kulin Froelich knew a single math class stood between him and an associate’s degree.

Like many adult students, the 29-year-old had sporadically attended several schools intending to piece together his transcripts for a degree. But working as a chef in a resort town, raising his toddler son, trying to buy a house and planning a wedding had kept him busy and away from academics the last few years.

That missing math class just wasn’t his top priority.

Study finds for-profit colleges have strengths, but cost questions are raised

wkheron — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 21:19:04 +0000

Public Agenda research, backed by Kresge, polls students and employers.

Mon, 02/10/2014

Many students and employers remain unconvinced about the value of a for-profit college education, according to new research from Public Agenda. Although for-profit students are largely satisfied with the quality of their schools, many consider the financial burden of these schools high, and it is unclear to them whether that cost will pay off.

Kresge commits to new higher education efforts at White House summit

JAMcGovern — Wed, 15 Jan 2014 20:20:04 +0000

Foundation's Education Program helps students reach college and complete degree.

Wed, 01/15/2014

At a White House summit on higher education, Kresge joined with other philanthropic, public- and private-sector partners in committing to new efforts to help low-income students reach college and ensure they succeed once they get there.