University Innovation Alliance grows to 17 schools, lands important philanthropic investment

Coalition adds seven new member institutions, receives $2.9 million

PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 16, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The University Innovation Alliance (UIA), a multi-university laboratory working to improve student success, announced today that it has received $2.9 million in funding to support the next phase of its mission.

The funding will help the alliance grow to 17 campuses, adding seven new member universities.

"Over the past decade, the UIA has been able to serve tens of thousands of students across the country, by working alongside each other to find, test and scale the innovations that help students succeed," said Bridget Burns, founding CEO of the UIA. "We're excited to expand our reach, and our learnings, with the addition of seven institutions who share our deep commitment to holding ourselves accountable to the students we serve. Our latest philanthropic partners will enable us to think even more ambitiously as we chart out the next decade."

The major philanthropic contribution is from ECMC Foundation, Frederick A. Deluca Foundation, the Kresge Foundation, Axim Collaborative, Lumina Foundation, and Carnegie Corporation of New York. 

Following a rigorous review process vetting all large public R1 and R2 universities across the American higher education system, the UIA has welcomed the following seven higher education institutions into the alliance since 2021. Many of these institutions have already begun implementing data driven student success initiatives, driving campus-wide change, and delivering results at scale:

• University at Buffalo
• University of New Mexico
• The University of Utah
• University of Colorado Denver
• University of Massachusetts Amherst
• Virginia Commonwealth University
• University of Illinois Chicago 

In adding the new members, the 17 institutions in the University Innovation Alliance now combine to serve nearly 630,000 enrolled undergraduates, including about 185,000 Pell-grant recipients -- which makes up nearly 8 percent of Pell-grant recipients in the four-year public sector of schools.

Over the last decade, the UIA has doubled its initial goal to award 68,000 undergraduate degrees, which was unveiled at the White House College Opportunity Day of Action in 2014. The alliance has helped to increase the number of graduates completing their degrees across the institutions by 27%, as well as graduates of color by 89% and low-income graduates by 41%.

The UIA has rolled out 11 multi-campus initiatives including an academic recovery project to help address high DFW rates, the integration of predictive analytics to inform college advising, the adoption of AI chatbots to address summer melt in the college enrollment process, and college completion grants that eliminate financial barriers to graduation.

"The growth of the University Innovation Alliance is a testament to the transformative impact of collaboration across higher education," said Michael Crow, founding chair of the University Innovation Alliance and president of Arizona State University. "With the addition of these seven innovative institutions, we are reinforcing our commitment to create scalable solutions that improve student outcomes nationwide."

"This new support empowers us to double down on our mission, ensuring that more students, no matter the family they are born into or the neighborhood they grew up in, can achieve their full potential in life," Crow added.

This October, the UIA will host its National Summit, convening student success teams from institutions across the country to learn, share, and explore innovative ideas and solutions to transform higher education and drive student success. Registration is limited, and more information can be found here.

About the University Innovation Alliance:
The University Innovation Alliance is a national consortium of large public research universities spanning the geographic, economic and social diversity of our country. Together, we are working to regain America's economic competitive edge by helping more students graduate with a high-quality and affordable education. We do this by broadening participation in higher education and implementing proven programs that significantly improve graduation rates for all students regardless of socioeconomic background. The Alliance's 17 current members are Arizona State University, Georgia State University, Iowa State University, Michigan State University, North Carolina A&T State University, Oregon State University, Purdue University, University at Buffalo, University of California, Riverside, University of Central Florida, University of Colorado Denver, University of Illinois Chicago, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of New Mexico, University of Utah, and Virginia Commonwealth University. For more information, visit www.theUIA.org. 

SOURCE University Innovation Alliance