Project CONNECT Helping to Close the Gaps

Sam Houston State University has been informed that it will receive $880,000 during the next four years for one of several programs it is conducting in line with the state's Closing the Gaps initiative.

The money will be spent for a program that works to improve retention and graduation rates at SHSU, Montgomery College, and Tomball College as well as transfer rates from the two community colleges to four-year institutions.

The offices of U. S. Senator John Cornyn and U. S. Representative Kevin Brady notified the university of the Student Support Services (SSS) grant from the U. S. Department of Education.

The grant will provide $220,000 per year beginning in the 2005 fall semester for Project CONNECT (Creating Opportunities for Navigating and Easing Through College Transitions). The project is a partnership between the SHSU Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling, Montgomery College, and Tomball College.

Judy Christensen, project director, said that the project's students have consistently met the program's objectives at a higher rate of completion than average performances of other SSS programs across the nation. Project services during the next four years will be expanded, she said.

Currently mentoring, tutoring, advising, editing, cultural events, special workshops, and a lending textbook library are included in addition to transfer information for community college participants. A computer assisted lab and computer assisted instruction will be added to the student support menu.

"The entire staff is elated about the new award," said Christensen. "Project CONNECT is such a valuable student support tool and the program has proven to be a great asset to the Closing the Gaps initiative."
The project was funded after College of Education administrators Beverly Irby and Alice Fisher wrote a grant proposal. Kelly Stuckey is the project coordinator.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board's Closing the Gaps program is a statewide effort to substantially increase university graduation rates in Texas by the year 2015, especially among minority and first generation students. The Department of Educational Leadership and Counseling at Sam Houston State is home to many of the university's Closing the Gaps activities.

These include the Bilingual Counseling Training Grant Program, the Bilingual Principal Training Grant, Project TRIAD (Teachers and Administrators Improving Reading for Limited English Proficient Students), Project PULSE (Preparing Underrepresented Leaders in Special Education), a Department of Education Safe and Drug Free Schools Child Lures Prevention Grant with the McKay Everett Foundation, the McNair Scholars Program, and Project ELLA (English Language and Literacy Acquisition).

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SHSU Media Contact: Frank Krystyniak
April 5, 2005
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