The College Thriving Act would create a new, five-year, federally funded grant program administered by the Department of Education. Under the program, eligible colleges and universities could receive competitive grants to design and implement a “skills-for-success” course for all first-year students (including transfer students). The course must be low in student-to-teacher ratio and either ungraded or pass-fail, and cover topics such as building campus connections, mental wellbeing, time management, planning, coping with stress, conflict resolution, goal setting, healthy relationships, and self-care. The act outlines a multi-year rollout (preparation, pilot, and full implementation) with ongoing evaluation, culminating in a final report on outcomes and how grant funds were used. A total of $50 million is authorized for the program. The bill prioritizes institutions with higher numbers of Pell Grant-eligible students, requires detailed grant applications, and provides technical assistance to applicants. It also mandates evaluation during the pilot year and throughout implementation, so the effectiveness of the course can be measured and improvements made. The goal is to improve first-year student success and wellbeing across participating institutions.
Key Points
- 1Creates a competitive grant program to fund skills-for-success courses for all first-year students at eligible colleges and universities.
- 2Prioritizes institutions where at least 50% of students were Pell Grant eligible in the prior year; grants run for a 5-year period with the amount determined by the Secretary.
- 3Defines a skills-for-success course as ungraded or pass-fail, with a low student-to-teacher ratio, covering topics like campus resource use, mental wellbeing, time management, planning, stress coping, conflict resolution, goal setting, relationships, and self-care.
- 4Specifies a four-phase use of funds: 1) Preparation (year 1), 2) Pilot (year 2) with course and evaluation methods, 3) Implementation (years 3-5) for full rollout, and 4) ongoing evaluation to inform improvements.
- 5Requires a final 5-year report to the Secretary detailing evaluations of the course and how funds were used.