FIRST IN THE WORLD: The U.S. Department of Education announced a $75 million grant for colleges and universities to make tuition more affordable and improve college attainment rates. Dubbed the "First in the World Program" (FITW), the competition focuses on five "absolute" priorities, all pertaining to underrepresented, underprepared or low-income students:
- Increasing access and completion
- Increasing community college transfer rates to four-year colleges
- Increasing enrollment in STEM programs
- Reducing time to graduation
- Increasing affordability
Twenty of the $75 million will be dedicated to schools that serve minority populations. All competition details are available here; applications are due by June 30.
