$60M Available in Federal ‘First in the World’ Grants

The U.S. Department of Education seeks applications for $60 million in First in the World (FITW) grants to support innovative approaches to boosting college attendance and completion among disadvantaged students. The 2015 grant competition, announced Friday and officially posted in today’s Federal Register, includes a $16 million set-aside for minority-serving institutions.

Applicants may apply under one of the following priorities:

  • Improving success in developmental education
  • Improving teaching and learning
  • Improving student support services
  • Developing and using assessments of learning
  • Facilitating pathways to credentialing and transfer
  • Increasing the effectiveness of financial aid
  • Implementing low-cost/high-impact strategies to improve student outcomes
  • Improving postsecondary student outcomes at minority-serving institutions
  • Systems and consortia focused on large-scale impact

The Office of Postsecondary Education will host three free webinars to preview the grants and answer applicants’ questions:

  • May 14, 3:00 p.m. EDT – FITW Development Grants
  • May 15, 3:00 p.m. EDT – FITW Validation Grants
  • May 19, 3:00 p.m. EDT – FITW Evidence and Evaluation Requirements (with the Institute of Education Sciences)

Applications will be accepted starting today and are due by June 30.

For more information and to register for the webinars, visit the First in the World (FITW) web page.


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Deborah Koolbeck

Senior Director of Government Relations, AACTE