Pilot programs to increase college persistence and success

From the amounts appropriated under subsection (i), the Secretary is authorized to award grants in accordance with this section, on a competitive basis, to eligible institutions to enable the institutions to develop programs to increase the persistence and success of low-income college students. An eligible institution seeking a grant under this section shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. An eligible institution may submit an application to receive a grant under subsection (c) or (d) or both. Each eligible institution seeking a grant under this section shall agree to participate in the evaluation described in subsection (f). In awarding grants for the program under subsection (d), the Secretary shall give priority to applications submitted by eligible institutions that propose to replicate policies and practices that have proven effective in increasing persistence and degree completion by low-income students or students in need of developmental education. In this subsection: The term “eligible institution” means an institution of higher education, as defined in section 1001 of this title, that provides a one- or two-year program of study leading to a degree or certificate. The term “eligible student” means a student who— The Secretary shall award grants under this subsection to eligible institutions to enable such institutions to provide additional monetary and nonmonetary support to eligible students to enable the eligible students to maintain enrollment and complete degree or certificate programs. Each eligible institution receiving a grant under this subsection shall use the grant funds— Grant funds provided under this subsection may be used— Each scholarship awarded under this subsection shall— be paid, for each of the two semesters, in increments of— An eligible institution may award an eligible student not more than two scholarships under this subsection. Each eligible institution receiving a grant under this subsection shall use the grant funds to provide students at the institution with a counseling staff dedicated to students participating in the program under this subsection. Each such counselor shall— The counseling services provided under this subsection shall be available to participating students during the daytime and evening hours. In this subsection, the term “eligible institution” means an institution of higher education in which, during the three-year period preceding the year in which the institution is applying for a grant under this subsection, an average of not less than 50 percent of the institution’s entering first-year students are assessed as needing developmental courses to bring reading, writing, or mathematics skills up to college level. In this subsection, the term “eligible student” means a student who— The Secretary shall award grants under this subsection to eligible institutions in an amount equal to $1,500 multiplied by the number of students the institution selects to participate in the program in such year. An institution shall not select more than 200 students to participate in the program under this subsection during such year. An eligible institution that receives a grant under this subsection shall use the grant funds to assign a student success coach to each first-year student participating in the program to provide intensive career and academic advising, ongoing personal help in navigating college services (such as financial aid and registration), and assistance in connecting to community resources that can help students overcome family and personal challenges to success. Student success coaches— An eligible institution that receives a grant under this subsection may use the grant funds to provide services and program innovations for students participating in the program, including the following: Each institution participating in the program under this subsection shall provide a non-Federal share of 25 percent of the amount of the grant to carry out the activities of the program. The non-Federal share under this subsection may be provided in cash or in kind. The Secretary may award a grant under subsection (c) or (d) of this section for a period of five years. From the funds appropriated under this section, the Secretary shall enter into a contract with one or more private, nonprofit entities to provide technical assistance to grantees and to conduct the evaluations required under paragraph (3). The evaluations required under paragraph (3) shall be conducted by entities that are capable of designing and carrying out independent evaluations that identify the impact of the activities carried out by eligible institutions under this section on improving persistence and success of student participants under this section. The Secretary shall conduct an evaluation of the impact of the persistence and success grant programs as follows: The evaluation of the program under subsection (c) shall be conducted using a random assignment research design with the following requirements: Students will be assigned randomly to two groups, which will consist of— Eligible institutions receiving a grant to carry out the program under subsection (d) shall work with the evaluator to track persistence and completion outcomes for students in such program, specifically the proportion of these students who take and complete developmental education courses, the proportion who take and complete college-level coursework, and the proportion who complete certificates and degrees. The data shall be broken down by gender, race, ethnicity, and age and the evaluator shall assist institutions in analyzing these data to compare program participants to comparable nonparticipants, using statistical techniques to control for differences in the groups. The Secretary shall— Funds made available under this section shall be used to supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, and local funds available to the institution to carrying out the activities described in subsections (c) and (d). There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2009 and each of the five succeeding fiscal years. The Secretary may use not more than two percent of the amounts appropriated to provide the technical assistance and conduct the evaluations required under subsection (f).