The Upward Bound program at the University of Central Arkansas has received its continuation award for the 2017-18 school year, its fifth year of funding in its current grant cycle. The program has likewise been awarded another five-year grant cycle beginning in September 2018.
This grant was refunded at $257,500 per year.
Upward Bound, the first of eight federal TRIO programs, is funded through the U.S. Department of Education to provide fundamental support to participants in their preparation for college entrance. It serves high school students from low-income families and high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree. The goal of Upward Bound is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education. Upward Bound projects provide instruction in math, laboratory science, composition, literature and foreign language.
“UCA received the only continuation award in the state marking the fifth year of our current program cycle,” said Michelle Hardin, director of Upward Bound at UCA. The latest Upward Bound competition was held in the fall of 2016 to award programs beginning in FY17.
Upward Bound at UCA began in 2003, at a time when grants were originally awarded for four years, and was awarded an extra year of funding due to its proposal scoring in a top percentage. Upward Bound programs at other state institutions will begin their new five-year grant cycles with the 2017 school year.
