EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - There are many bumps in the road to social and economic mobility in the U.S., and 11 large research universities are taking steps to level one of them.
Michigan State University and 10 other schools have launched a program they say seeks to boost the graduation rates for students from low-income families or from groups that are historically underrepresented among college graduates.
Last week, the University Innovation Alliance announced it's raised $5.7 million from six major funders.
The project follows universities' experience with the challenges of getting students who are the first in their families to get a higher education to complete their studies.
Michigan State President Lou Anna Simon says education's a "key to social mobility in an increasingly knowledge-based economy."
