Featured Post from Georgia Southern University

Georgia Southern awarded $600,000 to lower equity gaps, increase graduation rates for low-income students

Jun 3, 2024

3 min


Students at Georgia Southern University now have even more opportunities to excel with the help of two new grants from the National Institute for Student Success (NISS) at Georgia State University totaling up to $600,000.


The first is a $500,000 Acceleration Grant that will be distributed to Georgia Southern over the next two years to cover start-up costs for critical implementation steps of an ambitious program that further catalyzes Georgia Southern’s student success outcomes.


“As Georgia Southern’s Fall 2024 enrollment continues to increase at record levels through freshman applications and admits, we are pleased to partner with the National Institute for Student Success to reinforce our commitment to providing exceptional student experiences and support that nurtures future leaders and global citizens,” stated Alejandra C. Sosa Pieroni, Ed.D., executive vice president, Division of Enrollment, Marketing and Student Success. “We are steadfast in our commitment to providing comprehensive, coordinated and differentiated student care to ensure every one of our students achieves their educational goals.”


Funding through the Acceleration Grant will contribute to Georgia Southern’s existing initiatives to improve graduation rates and student success outcomes through the adoption of a suite of innovative, evidence-based programs. These programs, which deploy tools such as predictive analytics, AI technology, CRM platform, and big data to deliver personalized support to students, have been shown to help universities increase their graduation rates by 50% or more and to reduce discrepancies in graduation rates significantly.



The second NISS award to Georgia Southern is the Keep HOPE Alive grant, which offers $100,000 across one year to support students who have lost the HOPE Scholarship as they work to regain eligibility.


“We are enthusiastic about our partnership with Georgia Southern and working to deploy strategies that will contribute to substantive improvement in student outcomes,” said Timothy M. Renick, Ph.D., NISS executive director.


Housed at Georgia State University, the NISS Acceleration Grants have been awarded to partner institutions that have completed a rigorous diagnostic analysis and have demonstrated a commitment to addressing structural and institutional barriers to the success of their students.


Georgia Southern is a member of the second cohort to receive support from the NISS Accelerator Grant program, which launched in 2022.


Unique to the Accelerator Grant program is up to three years of implementation coaching, webinars, meetings with expert practitioners and online resources provided by the NISS to support each awardee in implementing the new programs. The NISS coaching model is built on more than a decade of experience at Georgia State University developing and disseminating new approaches to student success that include predictive-analytics-based advising, AI-enhanced chatbots, and data-informed models for distributing financial aid.


“These programs have helped Georgia State University increase its graduation rates for its bachelor’s students by 70% and its associate’s students by 300%,” according to Renick. “Black, Hispanic and low-income students now graduate from Georgia State at or above the rate of the student body overall.”


The Acceleration Grant program will advance the NISS goal of producing 500,000 additional college graduates across its partner institutions over the next decade.



Interested in learning more about this programming at Georgia Southern University or to arrange an interview with Alejandra Sosa Pieroni simply contact Georgia Southern's Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.

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3 min

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“See a gap, fill a gap.” That’s how Jeffrey Klibert, Ph.D., associate director of clinical training in Georgia Southern University’s Doctor of Psychology (PsyD), described the inspiration behind a project designed to extend behavioral health services in rural areas. Filling gaps is something Klibert said has always been a challenge in behavioral health care. This challenge became steeper in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. “When COVID hit, we saw some really alarming rates of people seeking services, and there just weren’t enough providers to meet that need,” Klibert said. “We saw waitlists that were six months, eight months, sometimes a year long.” Waitlists of this length are a common occurrence in Georgia’s rural areas, where resources are scarce and reported health outcomes are among the worst in the state. Klibert, along with colleagues Lindsey Stone, Ph.D., and Thresha Yancey, Ph.D., and students, is working to improve the situation across 14 rural counties in Georgia, thanks to the renewal of a research and training grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration. Stone and Yancey will supervise the trainees, while Klibert will oversee the entire program. The grant enables quantitative and qualitative research to increase access to behavioral health care in rural areas, while also providing Georgia Southern’s fourth-year PsyD students with hands-on training through local care providers. The ultimate goal is to develop more efficient and effective models for interprofessional, team-based care in areas of the state where it is most needed. “Everybody sees the need. We just need the glue to link everybody together,” Klibert said. “That’s what the program is trying to be. It’s trying to build those bridges to create a more comprehensive system of care.” Students will provide a range of services in collaboration with local care providers, including psychological assessments and therapy for individuals and families. Alex Cudd, a fourth-year PsyD student who joined the program in August, calls the experience “invaluable” and hopes to join the 94% of program alumni who currently provide care in rural settings. “In just a few months, I’ve learned so much about providing well-rounded care,” Cudd said. “I know I’ll carry this training into my career.” CarePartners of Georgia (CPGA), a resiliency- and recovery-based behavioral health agency serving Bulloch, Candler and Emanuel counties, is among the local providers partnering with Georgia Southern. “All the interns we’ve had from Georgia Southern understand the concept of recovery, are trauma-informed and very effective at delivering services,” said CPGA CEO David Crooke. “It’s been mutually beneficial. We are helping them further their education, and they quickly become important members of our team due to the breadth and depth of their knowledge.” Klibert notes that the grant’s initial four-year term brought significant improvements in local healthcare networks and enhanced communication between providers, something he sees as an investment in lasting success. “We’re doing some exciting stuff, but at the end of the day, we are very aware of making sure what we’re doing sticks and that we have the resources to continue care after the grant ends,” Klibert said. Looking to know more about Georgia Southern University's Doctor of Psychology Program or arrange an interview with Jeffrey Klibert — simply contact Georgia Southern's Director of Communications Jennifer Wise at jwise@georgiasouthern.edu to arrange an interview today.

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