Pacific Launches Inclusive Support Program for Undergraduates After Being Awarded a $1.2 Million Federal Grant

Pacific University is embarking on a concerted effort to improve retention, promote science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education and provide tailored academic support to undergraduate students, especially first-generation, low-income and minority students.

The coordinated initiative, called Supporting Inclusive Success, is funded by a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) program. The Pacific program aims to close equity gaps in academic performance, retention rates, and six-year graduation rates for underrepresented students.

Pacific will support inclusive student success by introducing tailored support prior to enrollment, enhancing first-year development of academic, dispositional, and financial strengths, implementing four-year STEM career advising, developing more inclusive curriculum practices, and providing equipment for expanding capacity in STEM education at Pacific. The program launches Oct. 1.

“Every student accepted at Pacific has what it takes to succeed, but sometimes challenges inherent to the experience can feel overwhelming,” said Lisa Carstens, Pacific’s vice provost for academic affairs, who led a team that wrote the grant application. “This grant will enable Pacific to expand programming designed to help students not only find their paths but also get the support they need to persist all the way to the finish line.”

Pacific was the first university in Oregon to be designated an AANAPISI by the federal education agency, after it applied for the designation for the 2017-2018 academic year. It has applied for the designation each year and received its first grant under the program this year.