College of Saint Benedict selected to receive $100,000 Wal-Mart College Success Award

ST. JOSEPH, Minn – The College of Saint Benedict (CSB) has been selected by the Council of Independent Colleges (CIC) to receive the Wal-Mart College Success Award, a $100,000 grant to help build on CSB’s demonstrated successes in enrolling, retaining and graduating first-generation college students.

CSB was one of only 20 colleges (of 217 applicants) selected through a highly competitive application process to receive the award, which is intended to help institutions that are already deeply committed to the education of first-generation students. Of the 20 winners, the College of Saint Scholastica was the only other Minnesota school to receive a grant.

“I am grateful to Wal-Mart for recognizing the importance of having first-generation students succeed in college,” said MaryAnn Baenninger, president of CSB. “We are proud of the efforts we have made to welcome these students to our campus and this grant will certainly help us continue and enhance our efforts.”

The college uses a variety of approaches that have proven successful in the college’s Intercultural Leadership, Education and Development Fellowship program in increasing the retention of first-generation students. The program offers increased opportunities for students to interact with each other and with faculty members outside the classroom. Financial support is provided to encourage students to participate in research projects, internships, study abroad, learning through hands-on experience and community service during vacation periods. In addition, workshops assist first-generation students in addressing problems with financial aid, personal budgeting, time management, note-taking, study skills and stress management. The college has created a newsletter for families so that they are aware of their students’ activities and will be in a better position to provide them valuable support and encouragement.

“CIC was delighted that 217 institutions - more than a third of its membership - applied for the grants. More importantly, we were amazed at the outstanding quality of their programs - truly a testament to the efforts of private colleges to ensure the success of first-generation students,” said CIC President Richard Ekman in announcing the awards. “These awards will help strengthen those programs and also provide recognition that their work is important.”

“Wal-Mart is proud to support programs that enable first generation students to succeed in college,” said Margaret McKenna, president of the Wal-Mart Foundation. “Wal-Mart’s partnership with CIC identifies institutions committed to the success of first generation students and will help identify and share effective programs.”

Nationwide, at all colleges and universities, only 24 percent of first-generation students succeed in earning a bachelor’s degree compared with 68 percent of students whose parents received a bachelor’s degree.¹ The colleges that have been selected for the Wal-Mart College Success Awards have developed programs that result in higher percentages of graduates among their first-generation college students than the national average, and many graduate first-generation students at the same rate as all other students. 

The Wal-Mart College Success Awards program is administered by the Council of Independent Colleges, an association of more than 580 independent, liberal arts colleges and universities and higher education affiliates and organizations. These awards are made possible through a generous grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation, which supports initiatives focused on enhancing opportunities in education, job skills training, sustainability and health.

For more information about the Wal-Mart College Success Awards and the programs of the 20 winners, visit the CIC website at www.cic.edu/projects_services/walmart_college_success.asp.

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[1] Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, Fourth Follow-up, Postsecondary Education Transcript Study, 2000.