Montclair State University Receives $2.2 Million U.S. Department of Education Grant

Montclair State University will redesign and strengthen its network of support services to give students a more efficient path to a degree, thanks to a federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education.

The five-year, $2,227,640 award will be used to fund the University-wide initiative “Advising 2025: Creating a Coordinated Care Network for Student Success.” The funding is provided through the Department of Education’s Title III Part A Programs – Strengthening Institutions, which helps eligible institutions expand their ability to serve low-income students by providing funds to strengthen academic quality, institutional management and fiscal stability.

Advising 2025’s three activity areas – creating student success centers, strengthening Montclair State’s new student seminar and providing professional development – will allow the University to develop a coordinated care network that enhances communication among faculty, academic advisors, career counselors, mentoring and tutors to transform its student support system. The overarching goal will be increasing the number of students who persist to complete a bachelor’s degree at Montclair State University.

“The success of our students is the unifying mission of Montclair State University,” says Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Willard Gingerich. “This grant will allow Montclair State to further motivate student intellectual development and catch at-risk students before they fail, enabling us fully to live up to the hallmark ‘small college’ feel that has made this large University the institution of choice for generations of New Jersey families.”

The funding will allow the University to make a sweeping impact. Student Success Centers will be created and housed in each of Montclair State University’s undergraduate colleges and schools, enhancing the institution’s advising model and providing highly personalized and proactive attention to students across the University.

Montclair State’s new student seminar will also be revamped and will include new peer mentoring and financial literacy programming designed to both ease the transition to college and deliver critical financial skills for the rest of a student’s life. These initiatives will be supported by comprehensive professional development programming for faculty and staff, new staff positions and technological upgrades that provide the necessary tools to facilitate the plan.

Montclair State has already invested in the redesigned coordinated care network through the launch of Navigate, an online student success platform designed to help faculty and support areas engage with students more efficiently, for the fall 2019 semester. The platform’s predictive analytics will strengthen the University’s ability to provide targeted interventions for students and more effectively focus resources.

“This funding will allow the University to continue to advance the student success agenda outlined in its new strategic plan,” says Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education and Dean of University College David S. Hood. “Through this grant award, we will build upon recent academic innovations at Montclair State University, such as the creation of University College. This funding is becoming increasingly critical to institutions as they work to ensure more students obtain degrees in the most efficient, timely manner possible, so we are fortunate to have received this award so we can help heed the State of New Jersey’s calls to action outlined in its strategic plan for higher education.”