APLU & USU Release Guide on Effective Completion Grant Practices

APLU and the Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU) this week released a report outlining key components of effective completion grant programs. Completion grants provide small amounts of funding to students with demonstrated need during the last leg of their academic journey.

Such programs have grown in popularity over the past decade as institutions seek to meet students’ unmet financial need and boost college completion. Drawing on the experience and impact of completion grant programs of several institutions, APLU and USU released the report to highlight current completion grant practices at urban and open-access institutions, provide considerations for implementing completion grant programs, and demonstrate the need for ongoing study of completion grant programs and improving their impact.

The guide covers recommendations for: effective partnerships and institutional alignment; data-informed approaches; award eligibility and disbursement; and student-centered implementation. The report also showcases examples of completion grant programs at APLU-USU member institutions.