Nebraska Methodist College Awarded $1.3 Million Upward Bound Grant

The Nebraska Methodist College Upward Bound Program has been awarded a $1,287,500 grant by the U.S. Department of Education. This is the third Upward Bound grant for Nebraska Methodist College (NMC), which will receive $257,500 each year for five years.

Through the grant, NMC serves eligible students at Burke High School, providing after-school tutoring at the St. Luke United Methodist Church Teen Center, mentoring, ACT prep, financial literacy training and college application and enrollment assistance. In addition, NMC hosts a six-week summer program with instruction in the core academic areas and electives, as well as a summer bridge program for graduating seniors to take college credit.

The program provides opportunities for participants to succeed in their precollege performance and ultimately in their higher education pursuits. Upward Bound serves: high school students from low-income families; and high school students from families in which neither parent holds a bachelor's degree.

The goal of NMC Upward Bound is to increase the rates at which participants from the Omaha area complete high school and enroll in and graduate from post-secondary education programs. NMC served 61 students during the 2016-17 school year, and 100 percent of the program's seniors were accepted and will enroll in college this fall. Since receiving its first Upward Bound grant in 2007, NMC has served a total of more than 550 students.