Education Department officials visit VCU to hear about innovations in closing equity gaps and supporting transfer students

By Brian McNeill

Senior officials from the U.S. Department of Education visited Virginia Commonwealth University on Friday to hear how VCU is innovating to close equity gaps and improve higher education access and student success, particularly among transfer and STEM students.

"We're doing some uncommon things here, and it's making an impact," said Hernan Bucheli, Ed.D., interim vice president for Strategic Enrollment Management and Student Success, describing how VCU outpaces the national average in first- and second-year student retention rate, the six-year graduation rate and graduation rates for Pell Grant recipients, Black males, Hispanic males and more.

The Education Department officials - Nasser Paydar, Ph.D., assistant secretary for postsecondary education, and Amy Loyd, Ed.D., assistant secretary for career, technical and adult education - first visited Reynolds Community College and then VCU's new STEM Building.

"We spent a part of the morning at Reynolds Community College and heard from students how powerful their vision for their future was, because their next step was VCU," Loyd said. "Across the board, from one to the next, whether it was nursing or engineering or business, they saw a future in their next step in coming here" to VCU.

After meeting with VCU President Michael Rao, Ph.D., the officials participated in several roundtable discussion with university leaders, faculty and students about how VCU and Virginia support the success of all students, including those who transfer.

Paydar and Loyd heard about student success initiatives such as major maps, which combine academic and strategic career planning to allow students to create individualized success plans that support academic and professional goals; and VCU's Science Hub, which is part of the Campus Learning Center - it seeks to break down barriers to academic success in STEM, increase outside-of-class learning and build a sense of community among STEM students, faculty and staff.

In a roundtable discussion on Transfer Pathways and Success, they heard from faculty and students about transfer major maps, which serve Virginia community college students who plan to transfer to VCU. The transfer maps are meant to prepare community college students for the academic challenges at VCU and help them graduate on time with minimal debt and loss of transfer credit, and with a plan for a future after graduation.

Paydar and Loyd also heard about the VCU HHMI Excellence Program, in which VCU, Brightpoint Community College and Reynolds Community College collaborate to increase the use of inclusive methods of teaching in STEM classes, build the administrative infrastructure for transfer students and enhance institutional climate to promote student success. And they heard about the Mellon Pathways to the Arts and Humanities Program, which supports and guides students during their studies at Brightpoint or Reynolds and as they transfer to VCU.

Bob Pryor, a senior political science major and Navy veteran, transferred to VCU from Reynolds and was supported by the Pathways to VCU program. He now serves as a peer mentor in the program.

"I felt very, very supported in my journey through Reynolds to VCU," he said. "And that was a major motivation for me. I gained so much value out of it. That was one of the reasons that I decided to come up here and become a mentor to kind of help bring others up behind me."

Finally, the Education Department officials participated in a roundtable discussion with students and faculty about the Men of Color Initiative, which works to provide a holistic and inclusive experience at VCU that encompasses curricular, co-curricular, mentorship and community-building opportunities to attract, engage and retain undergraduate Black males and Latinos but is accessible to all students.

Xavier Lewis, a sophomore biology major, described how the student organization Developing Men of Color provided him with clarity for his career goals.

"I came to VCU and was kind of lost, like walking in the dark, but I was able to home in on dentistry. So now instead of a four-year plan at VCU through my undergraduate, I'll actually be here for eight years moving into dental school," Lewis said.

He added that programs like the Men of Color Initiative underscore how VCU supports student success and closing equity gaps.

"You can only smile about it," Lewis said. "It's a beautiful thing to see my peers, myself, getting these opportunities and elevating ourselves and really being able to succeed in an environment where we typically don't."

Paydar and Loyd said they valued the opportunity to learn about how VCU is achieving results in supporting students.

"What we love about VCU is that there are so many pathways to education here," Paydar said. "We are delighted that we had the opportunity to learn from you, and we want to congratulate you for changing people's lives."

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