The University of Illinois Springfield will be receiving more funds to help attract and retain students. The five-year Strengthening Institutions Program Grant from the U-S Department of Education will provide $2.25 million to implement more high-impact practices, which are teaching and learning practices that improve college retention, graduation rates, and career prospects – especially for the underserved.

UIS reports that it currently offers many HIPs in the form of undergraduate research opportunities, internships, capstone courses and projects, collaborative assignments, writing-intensive courses and global-, service- and community-based learning.   The new grant funding will be used to improve, expand, track and better understand the outcomes of HIPs.

The grant will also help create new HIPs, including learning communities for online students and on-campus juniors and seniors. Shared learning experiences and financial literacy education will complement first year seminars in addition to collaborative internship opportunities through internal and external partners.

Chancellor Janet Gooch says the grant will be instrumental in helping more first-generation, low-income and historically marginalized students achieve their degrees. In August, UIS announced an 11% increase in enrollment for Fall Semester 2023…with more first-year, online and graduate students enrolling in classes.