BRADFORD, Pa. — The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has received a five-year, $2.6 million federal grant aimed at boosting students’ success from their first days on campus.

The U.S. Department of Education announced the grant on its website Monday. It was awarded through the Departments of Education and Labor’s Title III Strengthening Institutions Program.

The grant will fund Project ACHIEVE, an initiative to build a more integrated first-year experience while also expanding hands-on, workforce-ready learning opportunities and helping faculty adapt their teaching methods to better serve today’s students.

“In combination with Pitt’s new Regional Campus Tuition Pledge, this grant is poised to make Pitt-Bradford a leader in providing unequaled access to higher education for students of all income levels,” said Richard Esch, president of Pitt-Bradford. The tuition pledge grants free tuition to qualifying Pennsylvania students with a family adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less.

Project ACHIEVE will implement proven methods of helping students from lower-income families achieve college success. Carrying out those methods will require several new positions across campus, including staff dedicated to faculty teaching support, math tutoring, first-year programming and experiential learning, along with a program director to oversee day-to-day operations of the grant.

In addition to funding positions that work directly with students, Project ACHIEVE will invest in training for faculty and staff to keep pace with a landscape rapidly changing because of the use of artificial intelligence and the lingering developmental effects on students who did not attend school in-person during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dr. David Fitz, interim assistant dean of academic success and advising, is the grant’s principal investigator. He said interactive teaching methods — including group discussions, hands-on learning and the use of technology — are proven to help first-year students succeed. By giving students a solid academic foundation, the university hopes to keep more of them enrolled from one year to the next.

Retention is a critical piece of Pitt-Bradford’s enrollment plan, as the number of college-age students continues to decline across the Northeast and Midwest.

“This grant could be a game changer for this institution, positioning Pitt-Bradford to compete for the next 20 years in an increasingly crowded higher education landscape,” Fitz said.

Esch struck a similar note, but pointed to who stands to benefit, “This grant is meant to be transformational not just for Pitt-Bradford, but for all of our students and region we serve.”

It wouldn’t be the first time a Title III grant proved transformational for Pitt-Bradford. In the 1980s, a seven-year, $2.68 million grant allowed Pitt-Bradford to establish a computing and telecommunications office and purchase computers for two student labs and offices on campus; added seven four-year science and math degrees as well as new concentrations in business and communications; established an academic center; and created an outreach program.

The Project ACHIEVE grant began Oct. 1.