FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Heritage University joins national initiative to boost college completion rates 

Toppenish, Wash. – Heritage University has joined the Complete College America’s (CCA) “Complete College Accelerator,” an ambitious nationwide initiative to improve student success and close gaps in college access and completion. Heritage University is one of 80 colleges and universities from eleven states to join in this effort.

Complete College America is a national, non-profit organization whose mission is to raise postsecondary attainment in the United States. It selected eleven state partners, including the Washington Student Achievement Council (whose membership includes Heritage University) to join the first Complete College Accelerator cohort. Using funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Intermediaries for Scale (IFS) Initiative, CCA will work with the eleven state agencies over the next four years to implement research-based practices geared to dramatically increase college completion on a statewide scale.

“This initiative, dedicated to empowering students to realize their dreams of higher education and degree attainment, will be groundbreaking,” declared Dr. Andrew Sund, President of Heritage University. “The Complete College Accelerator program will significantly enhance our strategies to ensure students are not only successful in their college journey but also excel in their careers. Using funding from the national grant program, Heritage University will work with the Complete College Accelerator program to conduct assessments of institutional performance, build data capacity, and develop and implement strategies to improve student outcomes.”

“While persistence and retention are finally returning to pre-pandemic levels at both two-year and four-year institutions, there are troubling gaps in access, completion, and career outcomes that continue to persist for students from underserved communities,” said Yolanda Watson Spiva, Ph.D., president of CCA. “As institutions and economies continue to shift following the pandemic, acting now is critical to long-term success. Through the Complete College Accelerator, these eleven states and more than eighty participating institutions will build their capacity to scale, implement, and sustain evidence-based practices that improve college completion rates for all students.”

To learn more about Complete College America and Complete College Accelerator, visit completecollege.org. For more information, contact Davidson Mance, media relations coordinator at (509) 969-6084 or mance_d@heritage.edu.

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