Bloomington Leader

IU Northwest receives $3 million grant to increase retention and graduation rates, foster sense of community

In the last two years, the campus has received $8 million in funding due to its Hispanic Serving Institution designation

Indiana University Northwest was recently awarded a $3 million grant from the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) Program at the U.S. Department of Education (ED). The award will be distributed to IU Northwest at $600,000 per year for the next five years.

INVEST (INspiring, Valuing, and Empowering Success Together) has three primary goals—improving retention and graduation rates; enhancing instruction; and building a culture of student success through strong leadership—delivered through three strategic components:

Student success interventions: Implementing programs, including a summer bridge course, a financial literacy module, and career exploration resources, to support students who experience lower levels of student success.

Academic and student service investments: Developing active learning classrooms, creating a Student Success Center to integrate support services, and establishing an Office of Student Success to build a culture of success and assessment.

Professional development: Building faculty and staff excellence through professional development and resources to improve teaching and learning that optimizes student outcomes.

“I am ecstatic about IU Northwest’s $3 million award from the U.S. Department of Education Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions program,” said Chancellor Ken Iwama. “This grant truly symbolizes the power of our Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) designation, our value as one the most diverse campuses in the state, and our historic mission in supporting success and opportunity for all IU Northwest students.”

The project was developed by a cross-campus team of faculty and administrators, including Principal Investigator (PI) Dr. Cynthia O’Dell, Dr. Dorothy Frink, Dr. Mark Hoyert, Dr. Crystal Shannon, Dr. Kris Huysken, Natalie Vega-Finn and Sandra McMullen.

A commitment to our community

IU Northwest was eligible to apply for this grant—and others— because of its designation as an HSI by ED. The campus has a unique advantage in accessing this funding as it is the only public, comprehensive institution of higher education in Indiana with this designation. The most diverse of all IU campuses, IU Northwest’s student body is 27 percent Hispanic and 18 percent African American.

“Over the last two academic years, IU Northwest has been fortunate to receive $8 million in federal grants; funding that has led us to bold projects, like the creation of a STEM Resource Center, increased collaboration with Ivy Tech Community College, additional undergraduate research opportunities, and so much more,” Iwama added.

“This funding furthers our goal of building a campus that is committed to meeting the academic and professional needs for all students, especially Hispanic students, and students in need of financial support to attend college. And as an IU regional campus, that is precisely our role.”

Original source can be found here.