UT Receives Grant from TD Bank Foundation to Help Students Succeed

The University of Tampa has received a $250,000 grant from the TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank America's Most Convenient Bank® to develop a co-curricular experience to better support first generation and/or underrepresented students who have significant unmet financial need.

The grant enables eligible students who complete specific program requirements, which are behaviors known to contribute to overall student success, to receive additional financial support each semester over the course of four years, up to $10,000. Special consideration will be given to students from Puerto Rico and the Caribbean islands who were displaced by Hurricane Maria.

Based on student development research and UT’s experience, the identified tasks, events, workshops and activities will help the students, to be known as Crescent Scholars, achieve the following goals:

Engage in academic behaviors which promote student success,
develop a financial readiness plan,
develop a personal career strategy, and
graduate in four years with completed Spartan-Ready curriculum and identified post-graduation career options.

The program will be housed in UT’s Academic Success Center and align with its current Success Scholars Program. Lorie Kittendorf, director of Student Transition and Persistence, said she is excited to venture into this partnership with TD Charitable Foundation. “We have extensive literature outlining the student behaviors and high impact practices that lead to student success, and it’s exciting that the support of TD will allow us to package and present these practices as a program that will yield significant financial reward for students who are willing to engage at that level,” Kittendorf said.

Mike Nursey, market president of TD Bank, said education and economic development are important pillars to TD Charitable Foundation, so they are proud to partner with UT in support of its student success programming. “UT is a great institution, and we truly believe that this program will help underrepresented students achieve their academic and career goals.”

A staunch commitment to active involvement in the local community is a vital element of the TD Bank philosophy. TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank® and the TD Charitable Foundation provide support to affordable housing, financial literacy and education, and environmental initiatives, many of which focus on improving the welfare of children and families.

In addition to the four outcomes identified above, student success will be tracked and measured using the following metrics:

GPA earned (semester and cumulative),
credit hours completed (semester and cumulative),
engagement points earned (semester and cumulative), and increased engagement of the students in all aspects of the college experience.

UT also expects positive gains in students’ perceptions of academic challenge, student-faculty interaction, enriching educational experiences and supportive campus environment, as measured by the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE).

UT Provost David Stern said he is excited TD Charitable Foundation’s grant will enable UT to use financial assistance rewards to nudge students to participate in UT’s state of the art academic and co-curricular support, leading to elevated achievement and success.

“Success in college is a key to future success in life,” Stern said. “But such success can be difficult for the students this program will serve.”

The program is expected to launch with an initial cohort of 50 students during the Spring 2019 semester.

For more information, contact Kittendorf at lkittendorf@ut.edu, or (813) 257-3321.