Excerpt from the Inside Higher Education
If you had $10,000 to make a change to your college campus for student success, how would you apply the funding? That’s the question Wright State University community members are presented with each spring in the application for the Students First Fund.
The fund, managed by the Wright State University Foundation, distributes funds annually to individuals or groups who want to make an impact in student success work—including student thriving, retention and graduation. Projects over the past seven years have targeted student mental health and well-being, academic achievement or sense of belonging, as well as equipment needed for campus activities.
The impetus for the initiative is to foster a campus culture of innovation for student success at the Ohio public research institution, truly placing students at the start of new ideas and putting money behind it.
The fund: The Students First Fund began in 2019 as the brainchild of the Wright State Foundation board, says Bill Shepard, vice president for advancement, as a way to enhance student success.
Any student, faculty or staff member at Wright State is eligible to apply for the Students First Fund. In their application, community members complete a budget worksheet and answer questions including the challenge addressed by the project, students served and measures of effectiveness.
The ideal project is a unique approach to assisting students as they progress toward completion that is self-sustaining within two years.
