Dive Brief:
- More than 300 applicants vied for $60 million in First in the World Grants from the Obama administration, with the funds ultimately going to 17 institutions.
- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that nine of the 17 recipients who cumulatively earned more than $30 million were minority-serving institutions, including three historically black colleges and universities.
- Georgia State will get $9 million for a national study testing its predictive analytics work at 11 schools nationwide, including Arizona State and Ohio State.
Dive Insight:
This is the administration's second First in the World funding round. While Obama has proposed increasing the available grants to $200 million, current budget proposals out of the Republican-controlled Congress would cut the program entirely. The grants provide a way to implement and test educational innovations that lead to student success. More than half of this year’s grant money will support minority-serving institutions, helping more schools figure out how to support low-income high achievers, a topic discussed last week at the New York Times’ Schools for Tomorrow conference.