Union Institute & University has received a two-year $86,100 Dash Emergency Grant from Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation & Affiliates to operate and maintain a student emergency aid program. Emergency grants will be integrated into Union’s overall student success strategy with the goal of improving retention and completion rates.
Union Institute & University serves students from diverse backgrounds, and a situation that might be a headache for one can be a major financial crisis for another. If a student is already struggling to make ends meet, an unexpected car repair or medical bill might cause that student to withdraw from college.
“The Dash Emergency Grant program now allows Union Institute & University to provide modest emergency grants to our students in times of greatest need,” said Dr. Jay Keehn, associate dean of Office of Student Success, whose office will oversee the program. “The grant will provide much needed assistance to our students and help them stay in school.” Union Institute & University will contribute a 10 percent match during the first year of the two-year grant cycle and a 15 percent match during the second year as part of its commitment to help students to fulfill their dreams to earn a college degree.
Union will begin accepting applications for the student emergency grants in fall 2017. A UI&U committee will review the application, and expenses up to $1,000 will be paid as quickly as possible after approval. By addressing financial distractions, Union hopes to help students refocus on their studies and continue toward graduation.
Union Institute & University is one of the first four-year colleges to receive a Dash Emergency Grant from Great Lakes and one of only two in Cincinnati. A combined $7.2 million in grants was awarded to 32 colleges in Arkansas, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, Ohio and Wisconsin.
Dash Emergency Grants for four-year colleges builds on the success two-year colleges have achieved since Great Lakes began supporting emergency grant programs in 2012. These colleges report students who receive emergency grants stay in school at better rates and graduate in larger numbers.
“We’re pleased to extend our Dash Emergency Grant to Union Institute & University and other four-year colleges to help more at-risk students overcome financial obstacles to completion,” said Richard D. George, President and Chief Executive Officer of Great Lakes.
Union Institute & University is a non-profit, regionally accredited university specializing in providing quality higher education degrees for adults nationwide. Founded in 1964, Union’s academic programs and services are the result of more than five decades of identifying and refining ways to structure and deliver education to meet the needs of adults.
Distinguished as the pioneer in adult education, Union perfected the concepts now common in higher education such as the hybrid model, a blend of online and traditional classroom instruction, interdisciplinary studies, and student centered education with socially relevant and applicable learning outcomes in its undergraduate, master’s and doctoral degree programs. The university is guided by its core mission to educate highly motivated adults who seek academic programs to engage, enlighten, and empower them to pursue professional goals and a lifetime of learning, service, and social responsibility.
Union is a national university with five academic centers located in: Ohio, Florida, California, and Vermont.
For more information about Union Institute & University, visit www.myunion.edu or call 1- 800-861-6400.