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Maryland College Access Challenge Grant
Program
The federally funded College
Access Challenge Grant Program (CACGP) is authorized under The
Higher Education Opportunity Act (Public Law 110-315) which was
enacted on August 14, 2008 to reauthorize and extend the Higher
Education Act of 1965. The enabling statute is found in Title
VII, Sec. 801, Part E (20 U.S.C. 1133 et seq.). The CACGP is
designed to foster partnerships among federal, state, and local
government entities and philanthropic organizations through
matching challenge grants that are aimed at increasing the
number of low income students who are prepared to enter and
succeed in postsecondary education. State award amounts are
based on a formula that considers the relative number of persons
between the ages of 5 and 17 and 15 and 44 living below the
poverty line within the state. Governor Martin O’Malley has
designated the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) as
the administering agency for the grant program in Maryland.
Maryland received $1.5 million and with its
partners provided matching funds in the amount of $750,000 for
the 2010-2012 funding cycle.
For FY 2011,
MHEC partnered with College Goal Sunday (www.collegegoalsundaymd.org/index.htm ),
the Maryland Business Round Table (www.mbrt.org),
Maryland Department of Disabilities (www.mdod.maryland.gov),
Maryland Public Television (www.mpt.org),
the University of Maryland – Maryland Institute for Minority
Achievement and Urban Education (http://www.education.umd.edu/mimaue/)
and USA Funds (www.usafunds.org)
to provide information to students and families regarding
postsecondary education and career preparation, promote
financial literacy and debt management, conduct outreach
activities to encourage college access and success, and assist
students in completing the Free Application for Federal Student
Financial Aid (FAFSA). For FY 2012, MHEC has secured
continuing partnerships with all of these except the Maryland
Institute for Minority Acheivement and Urban Education. In
addition, new partnerships with the Maryland State Department of
Education (http://www.marylandpublicschools.org)
and Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (http://www.dllr.state.md.us)
have been established.
MHEC has designated a portion of the funds to support a
competitive sub grant program called the Maryland College Access
Challenge Grant (MCACGP)– Student Persistence Program. Higher
Education institutions or partnerships between a lead higher
education institution and another non-profit are encouraged to
apply for funds to support evidence-based services and
activities designed to support the college success and
persistence of low income, underrepresented, and/or at-risk
students enrolled in Maryland higher education institutions. The
target student beneficiaries are low-income students and may
include traditional aged students, adult learners, minorities,
first-generation, ESOL and other underrepresented and/or at-risk
student groups.
Successful applicants will propose and implement academic and
student development supports and/or financial aid and financial
management activities that will increase the persistence rate
and academic good standing for the targeted populations. The
mandatory project goals are (1) increase the persistence rate of
participants compared to a control group and/or historical
trends and (2) participants will either attain or remain in good
academic standing. Successful projects will include an
evaluation plan that measures persistence against a benchmark or
control group and will track academic progress for the duration
of the project.
Grant awards range from $25,000 to a maximum of $100,000 per
institution. Successful applicants will provide matching funds
equal to at least one half of the requested federal funds and
which will constitute one third of total project budget.
For information on the security clearance process click
here.
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November 14, 2011,
our new address is 6
N. Liberty St., Baltimore, MD 21201 | Phone: (410)
767-3301 | Toll Free: (800) 974-0203
