IUP's Hawks SOAR (Student Opportunity for Achievement and Readiness) Title III Grant Program pursues a multipronged approach to meet its goals:
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Improve retention and persistence rates for our Pell-eligible, first-generation, and underrepresented minority students.
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Improve institutional structures and campus culture to be more proactive and responsive to the diverse needs of students.
The program is funded in part by the . It includes several initiatives:
- courses offer professional development opportunities for faculty and staff. 88 faculty and staff members earned the "Fostering a Culture of Belonging" microcredential in 2024.
- The Summer Bridge Program helps new students maximize their time, tuition, and fees by starting their academic work three weeks before their first semester begins.
- Title III Navigators provide individualized assistance to students on every detail that contributes to student success.
- Title III Graduate Assistants work one-on-one with probationary students on creating and implementing their academic recovery plan.
- IUP Advise training for faculty and staff ensures that our learning community has access to up-to-date, contextualized information to help our students succeed.
- Life Design (informed by ) staff and faculty training and selected Life Design infused curricula are beginning to transform and further enhance IUP's learning and working environment for students, faculty, and staff.
- The Collaboration between the Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and the University College centers on improving students' academic success, especially in courses with traditionally high DFWN-grade percentages.