Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation has announced grants totaling $4.2 million in support of college-readiness programs operated by nine colleges and community-based organizations in Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

Established in 2012, the College Ready grants initiative provides two years of extracurricular instruction and services through established programs to meet the needs of students on the cusp of college readiness. With the funding, the programs are expected to identify more than eight hundred high school students entering their junior year testing below but within striking distance of math and literacy benchmarks.

"One of the most daunting barriers to college completion is 'the leaking pipeline' of developmental education," said Great Lakes president and CEO Richard D. George. "The goal of our College Ready grant is to learn whether and how two full years of extra support and instruction can move even more students closer to college readiness — before they arrive on campus. Doing so will do more than allow these students to bypass developmental education; it will prepare them to successfully tackle the math and English classes needed for their degrees."

For a list of grant recipients, visit the Great Lakes website.