Shepherd University receives $2.6 million grant from U.S. Department of Labor

Shepherd University has received a $2.6 million Title III Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) grant from the US Department of Labor. The funding will allow the university to establish Shepherd University ASCEND (AI-Enabled Student Success Capacity Building and Educational Navigation for Degree Completion).

According to an article on Shepherd University’s website, Dr. Jack DeRochi, who serves as the university’s provost and executive vice president for academic affairs, was quoted as saying of the funding, “This grant is transformational for everyone at Shepherd. Our Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP) did an incredible job securing this opportunity for our students.”

He went on to say of the Shepherd University ASCEND project, which this grant will fund, “ASCEND brings an integrated approach that aligns administrative modernization, academic innovation, and faculty development around our students. Using this funding, ASCEND will create opportunities to bring 21st-century technological support for students to all areas and to align their skills with what they need to be successful in the workforce of the future. We want students to be successful and have the skills necessary to meet the demands of the workforce. This funding not only allows us to continue teaching those skills but ensures we have the stability and infrastructure in place to do so in perpetuity.”

ASCEND is designed to address institutional challenges like lack of funding, gaps in retention and completion, and delayed workforce alignment response. The project will establish pathways that will improve student outcomes and strengthen capacity at an institutional level. Artificial intelligence will assist the university with automating its administrative processes and relieving burdens from administrators, opening them up to work in a more direct manner with students.

Emily Samide, who serves as the director of the Office of Sponsored Programs, said, “This is the largest university-wide programmatic grant Shepherd University has ever received, outside of congressionally directed funding. The distributions will continue over five years, with approximately $750,000 coming to Shepherd in the first year alone.”

For more information about Shepherd University, visit the school’s website.