St. Cloud State has a new tool to support degree-completion.
Through 2019, a $420,000 grant from Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates will help at-risk students overcome financial obstacles.
The grant is part of a $7.2 million Dash Emergency Grant program that awarded similar amounts to 32 four-year colleges in six states, including seven Minnesota schools.
In its 50th year, Madison-based Great Lakes guarantees and services student loans. Since 2006, Great Lakes has committed more than $200 million in grant funding to promote higher education access and completion for students of color, low-income students and first-generation students.
St. Cloud State will contribute $50,000, bringing the financial-obstacles fund to $470,000, according to Chee Moua-Yang, associate director of international student and scholar services.
The grant will be administered by Multicultural Student Services (MSS), in cooperation with the Financial Aid Office and the Office of Strategy, Planning and Effectiveness.
One-time grants of up to $1,000 will be awarded, according to Shawn Kakuk, who heads the Multicultural Tutoring Program for MSS.
“Those eligible for the grant are students with an Estimated Family Contribution, as defined by their FAFSA, of less than $7,000,” said Kakuk. Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form college students use to apply for financial aid, including loans, grants and work-study employment.
Students who receive emergency grants stay in school at better rates and graduate in larger numbers, according to Great Lakes officials. Great Lakes has helped two-year colleges build emergency grant programs since 2012.
St. Cloud State has earned multiple Great Lakes grants, including these:
- $300,000 in 2013 to provide practices, engagement and interventions that facilitate academic success with first-year students
- $200,000 in 2014 to enhance a survey assessment tool used by Multicultural Student Services to identify at-risk students, in cooperation with faculty
- $205,510 in 2014 to improve the math skills of low-income and ethnic-minority high school students, in cooperation with St. Cloud Area School District 742 and St. Cloud Technical and Community College
