One Step Away Grant Program

Institutions are encouraged to target near-completers who may be able to graduate within the institutions reported six-year graduation rates (i.e. initial enrollment in 2015-2016 academic year). Institutions may also include near-completers from earlier initial enrollment years, as long as the “six-year graduation cohort” is not excluded from the outreach and recruitment efforts. 

One Step Away provides funds to institutions to identify, contact, re-enroll and graduate stop-out and drop-out students who:

1. Have completed at least 75% of the credits required to earn an associate or bachelor’s degree, or have received enough credits for an associate or bachelor’s degree but have not been awarded the degree;
2. Are in good academic standing; and
3. Have dropped-out or stopped-out for at least 12 consecutive months. 

Proposals must address the overarching grant program goals by including three of the following objectives:

• Objective 1: Develop new or improve existing outreach strategies to inform and encourage near-completers to re-enroll in college.
• Objective 2: Enhance student support systems to include academic, financial, and/or social advising that facilitate smooth re-entry into the educational environment and retention through degree completion.
• Objective 3: Increase re-enrollment rates of near-completers by offering a track/plan of study to increase the speed of completion.
• Objective 4: Establish and implement prior learning assessments or competency-based testing to award college credit for returning adult learners.
• Objective 5: Develop general studies or another type of associate or bachelor’s degree program for which students who have accumulated 45 or 90 credits for an associate’s or a bachelor’s degree, respectively but not necessarily the correct credits for the initially intended degree program may qualify.
• Objective 6: Increase re-enrollment rates of near-completers by offering new campus-based sustainable financial aid options using campus or other financial aid resources for support such as textbook waivers and tuition discounts. 

For details about fundable activities, https://mhec.maryland.gov/institutions_training/Documents/RFP%20OSA%20FY2023.pdf#page=8.