NEW ORLEANS – The Kresge Foundation awarded the University of New Orleans (UNO) with a $75,000 grant, which will provide more students with targeted support through its partnership with College Beyond. College Beyond is New Orleans-based nonprofit whose mission is to help students get to and through college. The organization’s success coaches, who are housed on UNO’s campus, provide academic and non-academic interventions to Pell Grant recipient college students who graduated from greater New Orleans high schools. The program served 80 freshmen during the 2018 through 2019 academic year.
The Kresge grant will enable as many as 100 additional students to participate. The Kresge Foundation is a private, national foundation that works to expand opportunities in U.S. cities by investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services and community development.
“We are thankful to the Kresge Foundation for its support and we are thrilled that we will be able to include even more students in the program,” said John Nicklow, the president of the UNO. “The data show that students who have College Beyond coaches persist at a higher rate than their peers on campus. The program is working and it means we are developing more talent for our city.”
Many first-generation, Pell-eligible students face additional challenges such as transportation barriers, food insecurity, work commitments and financial hurdles. College Beyond coaches are trained to help students access community-based resources to overcome those challenges and succeed in college.
“This deepened partnership between the University of New Orleans and College Beyond reflects a thoughtful outcomes-driven approach to helping students in need overcome barriers inside and outside the classroom,” said Edward Smith, program officer at the Kresge Foundation. “By helping even more students persist and earn a degree, this partnership can advance increased social and economic mobility among talented New Orleanians.”
