UMass Dartmouth’s Academic Resource Center has received a $2.35 million federal grant to support services for business and STEM students as well as Pell Grant recipients, according to a Sept. 2 press release from the university.

The five-year grant will help provide services to students of underrepresented populations and first-generation, low-income, or disabled students.

“The Academic Resource Center strives to provide excellent tutorial and academic support services, including academic counseling, advising, and tutoring, to students enrolled at UMass Dartmouth,” said Assistant Vice Chancellor for Student Success Carol Spencer-Monteiro.

One of 22 programs that received funding in Massachusetts, the ARC attained a perfect score in the current grant competition, according to the release.

Last academic year, the center received nearly 8,000 visits and supported more than 1,400 students through its outreach counselor, STEM Learning Lab, and Writing and Reading Center services. Nearly 70 percent of those students were from underrepresented populations. 

STEM Learning Lab director John Fernandes commented, “In addition to helping students in their classes, tutors often improve their GPAs through their constant review of course materials, thus helping them to maintain a firm understanding of the foundation material necessary to succeed in all their upper-level courses and prepare for graduate studies and employment.”

Students also benefit financially through the ARC's Grant Aid Award, a $900 Pell supplement awarded to 60 students every year.

The grant comes from the federal TRiO program, which aims to help students overcome class, social, and cultural barriers to higher education.

It is the sixth-largest grant UMass Dartmouth has received to enhance students’ academic success.