Bay Path Awarded $1.7 Million Grant from U.S. Department of Education
Bay Path was one of only 62 institutions selected nationwide for funding.
In October 2021, Bay Path University was awarded a $1.7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Institutional Resilience and Expanded Postsecondary Opportunity (IREPO) program for Learning for the 21st Century: A More Affordable and Flexible Path to Education and Career Success.”
The two-year grant will focus on online course design/redesign to incorporate best practices; integration of early career exploration through Bay Path’s Guided Pathways program; and the design and implementation of a dual enrollment program with local high-need school systems.
The IREPO program is designed to help institutions of higher education emerge from the Coronavirus pandemic more resilient and expand educational opportunities for students. As institutions across the nation scrambled to address the shifting environment for teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, the need and ensuing demand for instructional design and technology implementation for online courses was and still remains high.
Of particular note, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a disproportionately negative impact on low-income women – the student population Bay Path University primarily serves. With this grant, Bay Path University will be able to leverage its award-winning innovative higher education platform, known as Social Online Universal Learning (SOUL), to amplify our model for higher education that offers more flexibly and affordability to low-income undergraduate student populations, as well as adults seeking a degree that will fit their work/home lifestyle.
"This grant signifies the extraordinary work of our faculty and staff in service of our students, and our resilience as an institution in the face of COVID-19. Building on our capacity for innovation, this funding will allow our Bay Path community to implement best practices ensuring the success the students as learners and citizens," said Maura Devlin, Ph.D., dean of institutional effectiveness and accreditation.