TITLE III GRANT WILL PROVIDE NEARLY $2.2 MILLION FOR ENHANCED STUDENT SERVICES AND FACULTY DEVELOPMENT AT BLACK HILLS STATE UNIVERSITY

Black Hills State University has been awarded a five-year, $2,160,701 Title III Institutional Strengthening Grant to enhance student services and provide targeted faculty development. The grant will support the University’s strategic enrollment goals to increase student success and graduation rates through professional advising and coaching, faculty professional development, and enhanced student support systems.

Title III Grants are awarded by the U.S. Department of Education to institutions of higher education to help them “become self-sufficient and expand their capacity to serve low-income students by providing funds to improve and strengthen the academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability of eligible institutions.”

According to Dr. John Allred, Vice President for Enrollment Management who will serve as the Project Director for the Title III Grant, BHSU developed the Title III Grant proposal at the same time the University was finalizing its Strategic Enrollment Plan.

“Many, if not most of the initiatives and resource needs identified in the Strategic Enrollment Plan were included in the Title III grant request,” Allred said. “Thus, the grant will, to a large extent, fund the implementation of our Strategic Enrollment Plan.”

Student initiatives will focus on providing enhanced academic advising, mentoring, and student supports. BHSU will use the funding to transition from its current hybrid advising model, which provides professional advising for first- and second-year students who then transition to faculty advisors their third and fourth years in school, to a professional advising model that will provide each student with a single professional advisor/coach throughout all of their years at the University.

“Research has shown that this improved and comprehensive professional advising or coaching model benefits students greatly,” Dr. Pam Carriveau, Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, said. “Not only do students have one point of contact with whom they build a close relationship, faculty members then have the time to devote to mentoring students and connecting them with internships, research opportunities, networking, and other career building efforts.”

Additional mentoring and support services are also under development to help students who are at the highest risk of dropping out. BHSU plans to launch a peer mentoring program to help at-risk students navigate their first two years of college. As an additional commitment to its American Indian student population, the University will enhance its current Center for American Indian Studies by providing for targeted advising and related cultural supports. The University will also expand its financial literacy services to help students with budgeting and financial aid advising, and it will build tutoring into courses in which students frequently struggle.

Other initiatives will focus on methods to increase the number of students engaged in internships or other work-based learning opportunities. This will build upon BHSU’s renewed focus and dedication to offer expanded career services to its students as well as work with community businesses and organizations to address significant workforce needs.

Targeted professional development opportunities for faculty and a focus on high impact practices will provide faculty members with the skills and training they need to further engage and support students at BHSU.

According to Allred, significant collaboration across campus between faculty, staff and administration led to BHSU being awarded this grant and will continue to be vital as the University works towards the goals outlined. Seven additional positions will be hired through the grant to spearhead key initiatives. These include a Director for the new Center for Faculty Innovation, a High Impact Practice Coordinator, two Professional Advisors in the Student Success Center, one part-time Professional Advisor in the Center for American Indian Studies, one part-time Internship Coordinator, and one graduate assistant who will oversee the financial literacy programming.

BHSU last received a Title III grant in 1983. At that time funds were primarily used to improve infrastructure, especially bringing new technology into the classroom.