North Texas Daily

The University of North Texas at Dallas received an eight-year, $1.5 million grant to increase the success rate of Texas early college high school graduates transitioning to a four-year university and completing a bachelor’s degree.

The Greater Texas Foundation awarded UNT Dallas the grant as part of their GTF Scholars program, a statewide program that funds a network of partner institutions to achieve this goal.

“Everything that we do is all focused on student success as it relates to accessing post-secondary education, getting prepared for it  […] and then completion […] to and through,” said Sue McMillin, the foundation’s president and CEO. “Post-secondary can be many different things. It could be a certificate. It could be an associate’s degree. It could be a bachelor’s degree. It’s whatever post-secondary looks like for the student [who] is interested in pursuing that path.”

UNT Dallas and the GTF Scholars program will support ECHS graduates by providing them multi-year scholarships to attend the university and their families the tools needed to support and encourage their students.

“This opportunity is not only important for the UNT Dallas GTF Scholars, but also for their families and the communities where participants will work and serve after completing the bachelor’s degree,” said Lisa Hobson, UNT Dallas special assistant to the president for partnerships and initiatives, in a press release. “Best practices and current research about collegiate dual credit programs inform us that high school graduates with associate degrees require continued financial and instructional resources, and academic and social support. Disseminating research and providing resources for degree completion and a well-educated workforce are top priorities of Greater Texas Foundation.”

The grant money would also provide the students with programs and services like academic advising, mentoring and social engagement services.

Students in the cohort will also be able to receive additional funding aside from the scholarship from the grant, Hobson said.

“It doesn’t supplant funding — it supplements,” Hobson said.

UNT Dallas applied for the grant at the beginning of June this year and was notified in August that the university had been chosen to receive the grant, Hobson said.

“The Greater Texas Foundation submitted a request for applications and proposals, an RFA, asking institutions to submit a written proposal to receive the grant funding,” Hobson said. “Also, after the written proposal stage, there was a piece to the grant where they contacted individuals who, sort of, made it to the next round. They wanted to communicate with us specifically with questions after they noted the strength of the initial application. So, we completed that process, answering any questions that they had. […] And then the next phase was notification of receipt of the grant.”

The university took this academic year to plan their use of the grant, Hobson said. The first cohort, which includes 40 ECHS students, will begin in fall 2023.

Assistant Principal Ralph Spencer Jr. is the administrator for Sunset P-TECH, an early college high school at Sunset High School in Dallas Independent School District. Students in this program take classes at UNT Dallas during their senior year, and many continue at the university after high school graduation to earn a bachelor’s degree. He said this is in part due to the students’ comfort at the university, which makes for a smoother transition.

“Well we’ve had two graduating classes so far,” Spencer said. “From the first graduating class, I would probably say about 40 percent of those students actually ended up going to UNT Dallas […] and then, last year’s group, I would probably say about 50 percent of those students actually decided to go to UNT Dallas to continue their academic work for the bachelor’s program.”

Spencer said he “most definitely” encourages P-TECH students to apply to UNT Dallas’ scholarship program.

Image Source: UNT Dallas

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct a quote.