GEAR UP Program

Posted by U.S. Department of Education on April 3, 2017

The GEAR UP Program is a discretionary grant program that provides funding for academic and related support services to eligible low-income students, including students with disabilities and English learners, to help them to obtain a secondary school diploma and to prepare for and succeed in postsecondary education. Under the GEAR UP Program, the Department awards grants to two types of entities: (1) States and (2) partnerships comprised, at minimum, of institutions of higher education (IHEs) and local educational agencies (LEAs).

Background
The GEAR UP Program is a critical component of the Department’s efforts to improve college access and completion for students who have been traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education. The Department believes that GEAR UP projects can play an essential role in improving postsecondary outcomes of their participants by placing a greater emphasis on increasing readiness for success once students reach the postsecondary level. Each year, rather than being able to enroll in entry-level general education courses in subject areas such as reading
or math that are required as a part of almost any postsecondary program of study, hundreds of thousands of beginning college students are referred to noncredit-bearing ‘‘developmental’’ or ‘‘remedial’’ courses based on their
performance on a placement test or academic reference. Remedial or developmental courses are designed to bring academically underprepared students to expected competency levels for college-level work.

Deadline: April 19, 2017

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=292348