National Institute for Student Success Receives $2.5 Million Grant from Ballmer Group

ATLANTA—Georgia State University’s National Institute for Student Success (NISS) received a $2.5 million grant from Ballmer Group to support the design and delivery of an effective dissemination model for the institute’s services. This project will aid colleges and universities in the implementation of proven NISS systems for addressing equity gaps and increasing college access and completion.

Through a systematic, data-driven and collaborative process, the NISS helps colleges and universities identify and address institutional barriers to equity and college completion.

Ballmer Group’s grant will facilitate the delivery of both low- and high-touch NISS services, including, comprehensive diagnostic services, one-on-one and cohort-based implementation support and technical assistance.

“The NISS is proud to partner with Ballmer Group in our collective effort to remove systemic barriers to college success and social mobility,” said Timothy Renick, executive director of the National Institute for Student Success. “Ballmer Group’s generous grant increases the NISS’ capacity to help higher ed institutions implement proven student success systems that result in equitable college outcomes for students from all backgrounds.”

Built on the systems, interventions and approaches that have made Georgia State a national model for student success, the NISS projects that its work will help produce almost 600,000 additional college graduates in its first 10 years. These same efforts have moved Georgia State into the top one percent of U.S. universities in social mobility rankings measuring student movement from the bottom 20 percent of annual household incomes into the upper 50 percent fifteen years later.

Ballmer Group, founded in 2015, works as both a regional and national funder committed to improving economic mobility for children and families in the United States by supporting leaders and organizations with a track record of reshaping opportunities and reducing systemic inequalities.

“NISS has shown us that there is a proven method to achieve more equitable college success rates - by removing and dismantling institutional barriers,” said Loren Harris, executive director of national impact of Ballmer Group. “We are proud to support NISS’ work with more colleges and universities, so that substantially more students graduate on time with degrees that equip them for post-college success.”

Explore Ballmer Group’s commitment to and efforts in improving economic opportunity and mobility for all at ballmergroup.org.

Learn more about the NISS mission and services at niss.gsu.edu.