Using academic competition to alleviate financial pressures for minority students

According to a report prepared for the Commission on National Investment for Higher Education, colleges and universities are becoming less accessible to minority students because of decreased funding. Further, the literature shows that minority students' retention problems are often tied to financial difficulties. Thus, to help increase minority students' retention rates by alleviating financial pressures, we designed an NSF funded academic program, the Sun Devil Bridge Program (SDBP), that included a competitive scholarship component. This scholarship component rewarded academic excellence, motivated students to achieve, and helped reduce economic pressures so minority students could focus on academic success.