Kennesaw State University has received a $2 million grant to bolster two of the University’s outreach programs – Thrive and Achieve Atlanta –  both of which help promising students achieve academic success and progress to graduation.

“At Kennesaw State, student success is our top priority, and this grant will enable us to continue to deliver on our promise to ensure that all students have equal access to a quality education and receive the support they need to be successful,” said KSU President Pamela Whitten.

Thrive is a KSU initiative designed to help students transition more easily to college while providing the support they need to help maintain the HOPE scholarship and stay on track to graduate. Thrive students have access to pre-matriculation workshops and conferences, academic advisors, graduation coaches, peer counseling, learning communities, and an academic alert tracking system. Results among the 1,000 students who have participated in the program since its founding in 2011 reveal that participants stay in college at a higher rate, have a higher average GPA, maintain HOPE at a higher rate than students in an academically and demographically matched control group, and after completing their degree program, graduates are known to give back to the program and to the institution.

Achieve Atlanta was created by the Whitehead Foundation and strives to help students from Atlanta Public Schools enroll in college and ultimately earn their degrees. In 2017, Kennesaw State became a partner institution with its first cohort class of 18 scholars. That number has grown each year, and today, there are a total of 141 Achieve Atlanta students enrolled at KSU.

This grant was awarded to KSU by The Goizueta Foundation. Established in 1992 by the late Roberto C. Goizueta, who was then CEO of The Coca-Cola Company, the Foundation challenges organizations to think about education in innovative, strategic ways as a catalyst for creating life-changing opportunities for individuals and long-term benefits for the communities in which they live and serve.