Endicott College Awarded Prestigious U.S. Department of Education Grant for New Center for Residential Student Parent Programs

Endicott College, a leader in furthering programs for single parents in higher education, announced it has received a unique grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), a unit of the U.S. Department of Education. Valued at $495,000 over three years and beginning October 1, 2014, this grant will fund activities at the newly established Center for Residential Student Parent Programs, located at Endicott College. The Center will serve as a national hub for single-parent programs, including partnerships with colleges and universities across the country, and for the related evaluation, research and policy advocacy efforts surrounding them.

FIPSE grants are awarded to organizations focused on improving postsecondary educational opportunities through innovative educational reform ideas. The Center for Residential Student Parent Programs will use FIPSE funds to build and sustain a robust national network of programs and institutions targeting supports for low-income, single-parent students. The Center has already begun building an expert advisory board and collaborating with institutions serving single-parent students from across the country.

"This grant represents many years of hard work, patience, and networking on a national scale," said Endicott College president Dr. Richard Wylie. "To see it come through is not only a feeling of satisfaction, but also excitement. Endicott, as well as myself personally, has a broad commitment to expanding the dialogue on supporting single, low-income student parents, and I am so proud to be a part of work that will further this important initiative across the nation. Through the hard work of so many dedicated people, these types of programs continue to help single parents get the education they need to succeed, and it's a huge step to have those programs supported by the U.S. Department of Education."

The Center for Residential Student Parent Programs is not the first initiative at Endicott College established to benefit parents seeking post-secondary education. Endicott founded its groundbreaking residential single parent program Keys to Degrees: Educating Two-Generations Together in 1993.