UAPB receives $ 900,000 grant

The NCAA announced Monday it will award the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff $ 900,000, which is the maximum amount awarded from a grant that assists Division I schools as they develop programs and systems designed to increase graduation rates and ensure academic success.

The grant, known as the Accelerating Academic Success Program, is a three- year grant that will be disbursed to UAPB at $ 300,000 a year. The university will be required to match a percentage of that yearly total, which is intended to help advance the grant’s purpose.

To apply for the grant, a school must be a non- Football Bowl Subdivision Division I school in the bottom 10 percent of resources as determined by per capita institutional expenditures, athletics department funding and Pell Grant aid.

This was the third time UAPB had applied for the grant, and the university announced the total will be used to install an academic center at the J. Thomas May Field House; hire more academic counselors and tutors; purchase computer hardware and software; increase funds for a school- sponsored summer program that helps athletes transition from high school to college; and start a program that will assist athletes who need additional time to earn their degrees after their eligibility has expired.

The grant comes just four months after the athletics program received a $ 315,000 grant from the NCAA, which is being used to assist with academic support, promotions and athletics training services.