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<\/source><\/picture>Oral Roberts University, a private Evangelical school in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been awarded a historic grant of more than $2.2 million by the U.S. Department of Education to help its growing population of at-risk students triggered in part by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent lockdowns.<\/p>\n
The award, which was acknowledged as the largest academic grant in the school\u2019s history, came from the DOE\u2019s Strengthening Institutions Program<\/a>\u00a0and is expected to be disbursed over five years, the university announced Wednesday<\/a>, and ORU President William M. Wilson said he was \u201cthrilled.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe deeply appreciate this generous Department of Education grant and the arduous efforts of our faculty in applying. The funds we receive over the coming years will help ORU take our programs and services for at-risk students to a new level. We are thrilled to expand our resources, and the results will change the trajectory of students\u2019 lives,\u201d Wilson said.<\/p>\n Among the listed goals of the grant are improving the six-year graduation rate, increasing the minority and Pell-eligible six-year graduation rate, and expanding academic support for at-risk students.<\/p>\n University Provost Kathaleen Reid-Martinez said in a statement that the at-risk student crisis is one of the \u201cbiggest challenges\u201d in higher education in the wake of the pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are very fortunate at ORU that leadership recognized the post-pandemic challenges impacting so many students. It\u2019s very encouraging that the Department of Education saw the value in our grant application and in our approaches to helping students fulfill their goals and dreams,\u201d Martinez said in a statement.<\/p>\n Officials at the university explained that while institutions of higher learning have long been serving at-risk students like first-generation college students, transfer students, and international students, they have seen an increase in that population of students who have been falling behind academically due to Pandemic Learning Loss along with social, emotional, and financial challenges.<\/p>\n The Lumina Foundation-Gallup State of Higher Education 2022 study <\/a>published in March, showed that some four in 10 students enrolled in a post-secondary education program considered \u201cstopping out\u201d in the past six months and the most commonly cited reason was \u201cemotional stress.\u201d The survey, which was conducted Oct. 26 to Nov. 17, 2022, included more than 12,000 U.S. adults aged 18 to 59 who have a high school degree\/diploma or equivalent and have not yet completed an associate or bachelor\u2019s degree.<\/p>\n Some 3,949 were enrolled in an associate or bachelor\u2019s degree program, 2,059 were enrolled in a certificate or certification program, 3,004 had some college experience but no degree and are not enrolled, while 3,003 individuals have never enrolled in higher education.<\/p>\n \u201cRegardless of the causes, findings from Stressed Out and Stopping Out: The Mental Health Crisis in Higher Education<\/em> underscore the urgency of the issue by highlighting the frequency with which college students \u2014 particularly those in bachelor\u2019s programs \u2014 report experiencing emotional stress and the extent to which issues related to mental health dominate students\u2019 reasons for potentially stopping their\u00a0coursework,\u201d researchers noted.<\/p>\n Another survey published last month by Gallup showed that the majority of college students reported feeling stress and worry the previous day, while significant minorities reported experiencing loneliness and sadness.<\/p>\n \u201cThis grant is a game-changer for ORU. It will provide resources to support students, including those facing barriers to obtaining their degree,\u201d said Kim Boyd, assistant to the provost who oversees many of ORU\u2019s grant activities. \u201cFaculty will participate in grant-sponsored professional development activities that focus on mentorship and advisement, and professors will benefit by applying teaching strategies that engage students.\u201d<\/p>\n Contact: leonardo.blair@christianpost.com<\/a> Follow Leonardo Blair on Twitter: @leoblair<\/a> Follow Leonardo Blair on Facebook: LeoBlairChristianPost<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Join thousands of others to get the FREEDOM POST<\/strong> newsletter for free, sent twice a week from The Christian Post.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.christianpost.com\/images\/cache\/image\/14\/32\/143253_w_760_570.webp\")
<\/source><\/picture>Free<\/span> Religious Freedom Updates<\/h2>\n