In December 2021, the Abell Foundation provided a grant to the University System of Maryland (USM) to support the Nurturing Excellence for Undergraduate Success (NEXUS) research project. NEXUS sought to address two related questions: 1) what steps can be taken to increase the retention and graduation rates for Baltimore City Public School students at USM institutions and 2) how can we improve college readiness for more Maryland students? The NEXUS project worked to identify best practices to support City Schools students at risk of dropping out of USM institutions with the goal of positively impacting enrollment, retention, and graduation rates.
The NEXUS project published its findings in 2023, which led to several important outcomes for Baltimore City students moving to and through college. First, the University of Maryland Board of Regents elevated Baltimore City students as a key demographic for monitoring, particularly as it pertains to college persistence and graduation rates. Second, USM submitted the NEXUS project’s findings to the U.S. Department of Education, resulting in a $4 million grant for USM to implement the study’s key findings, including establishing a peer advising structure and programs with an increased emphasis on student belonging.
Following announcement of the grant award, teams from each USM institution gathered at Bowie State University for the first ever Student Success Summit. Attended by nearly 300 student affairs professionals working to improve college persistence on their campuses, the daylong summit provided a platform to share results from the NEXUS project, introduce the federal grant dollars slated for rollout at each of the 12 USM universities, and elevate innovative practices to increase undergraduate persistence. The USM Student Success Summit will be followed up with a much larger gathering in fall 2024. This convening, which will be sponsored by the Maryland Higher Education Commission, will focus on the importance of student retention at higher education institutions across the state.