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Southeast Awarded $2.4M Federal Grant

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Southeast Awarded $2.4M Federal Grant

Winona and Red Wing, MN (October 26, 2026) – Minnesota State College Southeast has been awarded a $2.4 million grant to help address challenges low-income students face attending college.

The five-year Title III grant, Strengthening and Sustaining Student Success, will help the college support students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, as well as adult, online and gateway-course learners. A key focus of the grant will be to help improve retention and graduation rates for first-generation, low-income students.

Southeast's grant proposal outlined five strategies the college plans to pursue to achieve these outcomes:

  • Transform student advising

  • Redesign student onboarding

  • Innovate teaching and learning

  • Establish a Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, and

  • Create a data-informed campus culture.

The first installment of $464,000 will be used to hire a director for the grant who will also lead the new Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence, and address implementation costs associated with the advising, onboarding and data warehouse strategies. 
 
Additional funding will come to the college annually, conditional on Southeast successfully demonstrating how it has utilized the funding.

Amy Maxeiner, Vice President of Student Success, said Southeast was one of only two Minnesota colleges, and the only public institution, to receive this funding in 2026.

"At a time when funding resources for higher education are increasingly scarce, this grant will help Southeast increase our student support resources in the areas that directly lead to retention and completion," Maxeiner said.

The project specifically targets barriers affecting low-income students, adult learners, online learners and students enrolled in gateway English and math courses. The Center for Teaching and Learning Excellence will work to develop learning communities, faculty workshops, peer reviews and training opportunities focused on evidence-based instructional practices.

Over the five years, Southeast will use grant funding to build institutional capacity while improving student-success outcomes and long-term fiscal sustainability.

“This investment recognizes the strength of Southeast’s curriculum and gives us an opportunity to make it available to more students,” said interim president Derrick Lindstrom. “We believe in meeting students where they are, and this grant will provide additional resources to ensure every student has the tools and support needed to succeed.”

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