What is Project Compass?
Project Compass is a Nellie Mae Education Foundation funded initiative that is being managed by the New England Resource Center for Higher Education (NERCHE). The purpose of the initiative is to help six New England public colleges better serve traditionally underserved populations.  The grant provides $100,000 for the initial planning year, and then up to $200,000/year for up to 4 years.

At Lyndon State College, our target group is first-generation, modest-income students.  About 60% of Lyndon students are the first in their families to go to college, and many of them qualify as “low-income” based on Pell-eligibility.  Students’ likelihood of being academically “at-risk” significantly increases as family income decreases, so this population is the target of our efforts.

Check out our calendar of events!

Project Compass Speaker Series

The event on January 17th gathered more than 30 faculty and staff members from Lyndon State College to learn about Project Compass and discuss the direction our planned interventions should take in the coming years.  We were pleased to learn that many of the concerns raised by the participants are ones that we are already tackling.  Participants also raised several pointed questions that will help to guide the remainder of our planning year.  Based on the success of this first World Café event, there will be an event to gather student voices in March. 

For a summary and details of the event, click here!