The U.S. Department of Education (ED) awarded $4.5 million in Postsecondary Student Success Grant (PSSG) Program to five institutions in January, including APLU member Florida International University (FIU). These five grants represent the first awards under this new program, announced in August 2022.

FIU received funding for its Scaling Completion Initiative, which will provide outreach, coaching, and financial assistance to students at risk of dropping out or to those who stopped out with over 90 credits during COVID. The initiative will employ rigorous evaluation methods to produce evidence about effective practices for scaling. The majority of FIU students (76 percent) are historically underserved students of color.

In December, Congress appropriated an additional $45 million in funding for the PSSG program for Fiscal Year 2023.  ED shared that the next round of awards would continue to support institutions advance student success and completion, specifically to “help institutions invest in data-driven and evidence-based reforms to encourage postsecondary retention, transfer, and completion among students who are close to graduation, as well as those who temporarily withdrew from school because of challenges faced during the COVID-19 pandemic” (see ED announcement).

APLU will provide guidance to its members to help them apply for funding once additional information from ED becomes available this summer.