Upward Bound, a federally funded program hosted at NDSU, received notification from U.S. Sen. Kent Conrad’s office that it will remain a grantee with funding of $1.25 million through 2017. The program serves income-eligible, first-generation high school students in Fargo and West Fargo Public Schools who are preparing to enroll in post-secondary education.
The U.S. Department of Education holds a grant competition every five years for funding new or existing programs. In February, Kris Mickelson, director of Upward Bound at NDSU, submitted one of more than 1,500 applications the U.S. Department of Education received. A total of 780 applicants received grantee notifications for continued funding.
Upward Bound serves high school students from low-income families and from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor’s degree. The program’s goal is to increase the rate at which participants complete secondary education and enroll in and graduate from institutions of postsecondary education.
Upward Bound is one of eight programs through the Department of Education known as TRIO. NDSU hosts four programs within the Division of Student Affairs: Student Support Services, McNair Scholars Program, Veterans Upward Bound and Upward Bound, which has been hosted at NDSU since 1967. The programs provide one-on-one tutoring, academic advising, preparation classes, research opportunities, ACT preparation, Free Application for Federal Student Aid completion and other services at no cost to participants. Upward Bound also provides instruction in math, laboratory science, composition, literature and foreign language.
NDSU is recognized as one of the nation's top 108 public and private universities by the Carnegie Commission on Higher Education.