UMSV Awarded $3 Million Title III Grant to Strengthen Student Success
9/29/2026
Federal Grant Will Expand Academic Support, Career Readiness, Technology, and Institutional Capacity
The University of Mount Saint Vincent is proud to share that it has been awarded a $3 million Title III Strengthening Institutions Program grant from the U.S. Department of Education (and administered by the Department of Labor), providing significant new resources to advance student success, strengthen academic and career support, and invest in the University’s long-term institutional capacity.
The funding, which will be distributed over five years, will support a comprehensive initiative focused on improving retention and degree completion—particularly among Pell Grant-eligible students—while expanding workforce development opportunities, strengthening academic advising and tutoring, and leveraging artificial intelligence and data to provide students with more proactive, personalized support.
“This extraordinary investment affirms both the work already underway at the Mount and our vision for what student success can and should look like in the years ahead,” said President Susan R. Burns, PhD. “Our students come to us with tremendous talent, ambition, and promise. Our responsibility is to ensure that they have the resources, relationships, and opportunities they need to not simply to access a college education, but to persist, graduate, and move confidently into lives and careers of purpose. This grant gives us the opportunity to strengthen that promise across the entire University while continuing to meet learners when, where, and how they need us.”
Nearly half of all UMSV undergraduate students receive Pell Grants, and the University’s Title III proposal was developed following a comprehensive examination of student outcomes, academic programs, institutional operations, and financial capacity. That process identified opportunities to build upon successful existing programs while addressing barriers that can affect persistence and timely degree completion.
And at the center of our five-year initiative is an effort to make student support more proactive, coordinated, and accessible.
Mount Saint Vincent will strengthen support in foundational courses through embedding tutoring in the first-year writing course, ENGL 110; enhancing training for First-Year Experience instructors and peer leaders; expanding advisor professional development; and building AI-supported tutoring in courses where students have historically encountered greater academic challenges. These investments are designed to identify students who may need additional assistance earlier in their academic journeys and connect them with resources before challenges become barriers to persistence.
The grant will also help the Mount expand the ways technology and artificial intelligence are used to support students. Plans include the development of AI tools for tutoring, advising, career education, and other student services—as well as a centralized data environment that will better integrate together University systems. These investments will allow faculty and staff to develop a more complete understanding of student needs and provide timely, coordinated support to prevent attrition.
Importantly, the initiatives supported through UMSV’s Title III grant connect academic success with preparation for life beyond graduation. Title III funding will support the continued implementation and expansion of the Braven Career and Leadership Accelerator, along with internships, mentoring, networking, career readiness programming, employer partnerships, and other work-based learning experiences. The initiative is intended to introduce students to career pathways earlier in their college experience while expanding access to career services for in-seat, hybrid, and online learners alike.
“From the beginning, we approached this proposal by asking a fundamental question: what investments can we make today that will have a lasting impact on both our students and on the University?” said Associate Vice President for External Relations Daniel Regan, EdD, who coordinated the grant writing and preparation. “The collaboration of stakeholders across the University resulted in a comprehensive plan that brings together academic support, advising, technology, career readiness, data, and long-term institutional sustainability. This $3 million award will enable us to scale practices that we know work, introduce new tools and approaches where they can make a meaningful difference, and build capacity that will remain at the Mount well beyond the five-year grant period.”
The grant will also support new personnel dedicated to student success, including a lead faculty/course director for ENG 110, an academic support specialist focused on the responsible and effective use of AI, and a student persistence coordinator focused on retention, academic progression, and degree completion. Upperclassmen will also serve as peer tutors in sections of ENG 110.
Beyond direct student support, the award represents an investment in the University’s future. Nearly one-sixth of the total grant award designated for UMSV’s institutional endowment, accompanied by a strategy to strengthen private support and long-term financial sustainability.
The Mount has established measurable goals for the five-year project, including increasing undergraduate retention and improving four- and six-year degree attainment. Particular attention will be paid to narrowing gaps in degree completion between Pell-eligible and non-Pell students.
The grant project will be led by Vice Provost and Dean of the Undergraduate College Gabrielle Occhiogrosso, EdD, who will serve as project director, working alongside colleagues across Academic Affairs, Strategic Enrollment and Retention, Information Technology, Academic Advising, and Advancement, among others. The project was intentionally designed to integrate its work into UMSV’s existing organizational structure so that successful initiatives can be sustained beyond the five-year federal funding period.
Ultimately, this Title III award advances a goal that has long been central to the Mount’s mission: ensuring that access to an exceptional higher education is accompanied by the support necessary for students to succeed.
From the classroom to the workplace—and from a student’s first semester through the moment they cross the Commencement stage—this investment will help Mount Saint Vincent continue building pathways that allow every learner to move All Ways Forward.
About the University of Mount Saint Vincent
Founded in 1847 by the Sisters of Charity, the University of Mount Saint Vincent offers a nationally recognized liberal arts education and a select array of professional fields of study on a landmark campus overlooking the Hudson River. Committed to the education of the whole person, and enriched by the unparalleled cultural, educational, and career opportunities of New York City, the University equips students with the knowledge, skills, and experiences necessary for lives of achievement, professional accomplishment, and leadership in the 21st century.