US Department of Education Funds Grant for Briar Cliff’s Talent Search Program

October 4, 2021

Briar Cliff University recently received a grant from the US Department of Education to fund the University’s Talent Search Program. The grant will be in the amount of $520,984 for the first budget period, which is the 2021-22 academic year. The grant is expected to be awarded annually for five years resulting in a total of $2,604,920 in support. The purpose of the grant is to allow Briar Cliff’s Talent Search Program to identify and assist individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds who have the potential to succeed in higher education. 

Using the grant, Briar Cliff University will provide services to 1,000 economically and educationally disadvantaged students attending the targeted middle and high schools in Sioux City, Iowa, and South Sioux City, Nebraska. The program encourages participants to graduate from high school and continue on to complete their postsecondary education. The goal of Talent Search is to increase the number of youth from disadvantaged backgrounds who complete high school and enroll in and complete their postsecondary education.

Services provided to Talent Search participants include: educational and career counseling; tutoring; mentoring; academic coaching; cultural enrichment activities; social and emotional skills building; preparation for college entrance tests; assistance in completing financial aid and college admissions; and other wrap around services designed to assist low-income and potential first-generation students to complete high school, enroll and graduate from college.

The Talent Search program was initially established at Briar Cliff University in 1990.