From engaging near-completers to helping fulfill learner鈥檚 basic needs and supporting military caregivers, UMGC is putting its mission into action. Three recent initiatives highlight how the university is opening doors, removing barriers, and helping more learners transform their lives through education.聽
Helping Learners and Connecting Them with Critical Resources
Supported by an award from the , UMGC is helping 鈥渘ear-completers鈥 who are just a few credits short of graduation. The initiative works to identify, engage, and re-enroll learners who have paused their education for a year or more.
UMGC also partnered with Single Stop, a nonprofit offering a one-stop web platform that links students to food, housing, health care, and financial support鈥攁ll in one place.
鈥淪ingle Stop is one more step in our goal to help students focus on learning without other distractions,鈥 said Francisco Muniz, who serves as business lead of basic need initiatives in Student Support, Engagement and Belonging.
The platform allows students to be screened for eligibility across more than two dozen services, including childcare, emergency housing, tax assistance, and wellness programs.聽
For students like Bernadin Moise, who discovered the platform through her UMGC student account, Single Stop opened doors to resources she hadn鈥檛 known existed.
鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 actively seeking any specific service at the time,鈥 Moise said, noting the platform鈥檚 benefit and how it helped her find programs she didn鈥檛 know existed.
Supporting Caregivers Through Scholarships
UMGC鈥檚 Pillars of Strength scholarship program is another powerful example of the university鈥檚 mission in action, supporting the caregivers of wounded, ill, or injured service members. The Pillars of Strength Class of 2025, announced last month, includes seven caregivers鈥攁mong them, for the first time, the mother of a wounded service member. The full scholarships will help recipients pursue degrees that offer greater financial security and remove barriers to new careers and opportunities for individuals who often must put their own lives on hold to care for a friend or loved one.
Together, these initiatives reflect t 黑料社区鈥檚 unwavering commitment to building a community where belonging is more than a value鈥攊t鈥檚 a practice. By connecting students to essential resources and helping them reach their education goals, we are transforming lives and creating opportunities that ripple outward into families, workplaces, and communities.聽