The Indianapolis-based Lumina Foundation has announced grants totaling nearly $2 million to five historically Black colleges and universities in North Carolina and five other partners committed to benefitting adult students of color.

Each university will receive $175,000 over the next twenty-two months to implement changes that remove institutional barriers and establish new or expand existing efforts to assist Black adult students, while additional Lumina funding will support technical assistance, consultants, and evaluation. Recipients include Elizabeth City State University, which will work to develop Adult-Centered Student Services geared toward comprehensive supports such as life and career planning, technology support, and the creation of a living-learning community for adults; Fayetteville State University, which will use data to improve student outcomes such as credit accumulation, retention, and graduation rates for adults by improving credit transfer for military students and adults coming from community colleges; Johnson C. Smith University, which aims to create an integrated campus services environment that is adult-learner friendly; Shaw University, which will revise credit for prior learning policies at the university to remove barriers and reduce the time needed to complete a degree; and Winston-Salem State University, which will launch a degree completion program tailored for adults with services that enhance academic outcomes, professional development, and personal growth.

"We are excited to partner with this group of HBCUs on accelerating their success strategies for Black adults," said Lumina strategy director for student success Jasmine Haywood. "With longstanding histories of serving Black adults, we know that our collaboration with these leading HBCUs will ensure that they are essential to helping their state meet its goal of two million North Carolinians achieving college degrees or other quality credentials beyond a high school diploma by 2030."