Ramapo College was awarded a $2.22 million Strengthening Institutions Program grant by the U.S. Department of Education – an award the Mahwah-based school said will help it better serve underrepresents students in a variety of ways.
The SIP grant offers financial support to higher education institutions, helping them achieve self-sufficiency and increase their ability to serve low-income students by enhancing academic quality, improving institutional management, and strengthening financial stability.
This mission aligns with one of the key priorities at Ramapo. The school’s “Supporting Infrastructure, Creating Pathways and Ensuring Student Success at Ramapo College” project is to re-engage students who have not completed their college degrees due to COVID-19 and other challenges, which directly supports the state’s mission-critical initiative of ‘Some College, No Degree.’
The grant also will help Ramapo sustain its First-Generation Student Center, which supports students who are the first to attend college in their families navigate and access resources to alleviate institutional barriers. Almost half of the Class of 2028 students identify as first-generation, adding to the 46% of the Class of 2027 who also identified as first-gen students, underscoring the need for funds to support this population of students on their path to success.
Ramapo President Cindy Jebb obviously was thrilled.
“This meaningful award from the Department of Education is incredibly inspiring and affirming,” she said. “This award bolsters Ramapo’s capacity to deliver a transformative education to our students.
“It supports their social mobility by providing essential resources that drive retention, ensure high quality supplemental instruction, help address our state’s workforce needs, and sustain our First- Generation Student Center.”
Additional initiatives include:
- Academic advising and mentoring for first-generation students, students returning to college and other historically underserved student populations.
- Improvements in data collection and analysis to provide real-time insights about improving student success.
- Using an AI-Chatbot to provide students immediate support and connection to college resources.
- Increasing academic support for students who need review of reading, writing and mathematics skills affected by learning loss due to COVID-19.
