February 20, 2023 – Millikin University was recently awarded a $124,285 grant from Illinois Governor JB Pritzker and the Illinois Board of Higher Education IBHE through the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) II program.
These funds will be used to provide academic and social-emotional learning support for students most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, especially Black, Latino, low-income, first-generation, working adult, and rural students.
Grants to public institutions were allocated using a formula to ensure equitable distribution, and grants were awarded to non-public institutions, like Millikin, through a competitive application process.
Millikin intends to use the grant funds to expand its Excellence Developed Through Growth & Experience (EDGE) Program. First-year students selected to be part of the EDGE Program move to campus early, prior to New Student Welcome Week in early August, and receive a unique opportunity to get a jump-start on their year by learning about the academic demands of college, connecting with faculty and building a strong support system.
The expanded program, EDGE Plus, will be a new five-week summer bridge experience to serve 30 low-income, first-generation and underrepresented students to foster their academic success, despite challenges that have been exacerbated by COVID-19.
“I have always wanted to extend the EDGE Program that currently starts a few weeks before school every fall. We have great success in the current program, but I am excited to see how much growth and success students can learn before school starts with a five-week course,” Millikin Dean of Academic Support Services Carrie Pierson said. “This grant will allow us to provide much more college prep for first-year students to help ensure they are off to a fantastic start to their college careers.”
EDGE Plus students will take courses taught by full-time, tenure-track Millikin faculty in areas critical to college success, including writing, reading, research, math, ethical reasoning, scientific methods and life skills.
Since receiving confirmation of the grant, Millikin’s Center for Academic and Professional Performance (CAPP) has been hard at work with the admissions team to qualify Millikin-admitted students for the expanded five-week bridge program that will begin directly after the Summer Orientation dates in June.
