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CRETE, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's Doane College has received a $2.25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to help improve retention rates for male and minority students over the next five years.
The Lincoln Journal Star (http://bit.ly/1SiMAZZ) reports the Title III grant is one of 40 awarded to colleges and universities to help serve low-income and underrepresented groups. The college will use the funds to hire staff members dedicated to improving the retention rates at the school by 5 percent from the first year to the second year, and reducing heavy alcohol consumption on campus by 10 percent.
Associate vice president for academic affairs Kate Marley says the school will incrementally pick up the costs of personnel salaries. The college, which has campuses in Lincoln, Omaha and Grand Island, has already committed more than $540,000 funds of its own to create staff positions. Hired professionals will work with students on alcohol-related issues, survey students and mount literature-backed campaigns to reduce drinking.
To help retain minority students, Marley says there are plans to launch a mentorship and tutoring program to improve inclusiveness on campus which she says has a mostly white student population. According to the vice president, "Students of color often find it difficult to feel at home and part of the community in a predominantly white institution, which is typical nationally."
The school says that it also will work to increase retention of its graduate and professional students who enter the college with less than 30 credits.
The school will be responsible for providing the Department of Education with an annual report on its progress.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, http://www.journalstar.com
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