Thiel receives $1.8M grant

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It's the largest single grant or gift in the history of the college.

GREENVILLE, Pa. — Thiel College has been awarded a $1.8 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to enhance student advising and to redesign courses.

More than 350 applications to the Title III Strengthening Institutions Program were evaluated. Of the 34 institutions funded, Thiel is one of only five colleges in the nation to receive a perfect score on the application.

Thiel will receive $1,789,208 over the next five years in roughly equal installments. This represents the largest single grant or gift in the history of the college.

The Strengthening Institutions Program is designed to help colleges and universities by providing funds to improve and strengthen the academic quality, institutional management and fiscal stability of eligible institutions.

"The Title III grant will provide Thiel College with resources to improve retention and graduation rates by enhancing the advising component of our college experience," said Dr. Lance A. Masters, Thiel College President and CEO. "Our goal is to be more responsive to the developmental, discernment, career preparation and placement needs of our students."

Plans

Using grant resources, Thiel will develop a new Advising Center. The advising team will coordinate advising support, with special emphasis given to the activities of the first year — orientation, first year seminar, first year advising — and to increasing the effectiveness of advising and academic support. For example, advising teams will target at-risk students with early intervention strategies.

Advising coordinators will be assigned to the areas of humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. Two of these positions will be created through grant funding and one by the college. The advising coordinators will have academic backgrounds appropriate to their assigned areas. They will carry their own advising loads and will also be available to all students who have special advising needs.

In addition to enhancing the advising processes, the grant funds opportunities for faculty to engage in course redesign. A curriculum design specialist will be employed to assist in infusing new and engaging teaching strategies throughout the curriculum.

The Title III Strengthening Institutions Program is a competitive grant program established by Congress as part of the Higher Education Act of 1965 to strengthen colleges' capacities to make substantial contributions to the higher education resources of the nation.

Saturday, September 30, 2006