UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis and the UC Office of the President are among recipients of 66 federal grants aimed at improving academic preparedness in at-risk student populations. The grants, totalling $177.4 million, are part of the Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) program.

UC Santa Cruz' Educational Partnership Center has been awarded two partnership grants to serve students in Pajaro Valley and South Monterey County. The grants will fund the university's outreach to local underserved students and amount to a little over $2.3 million annually across both grants and close to $14 million dollars across six years. UC Davis also received a partnership grant for $1.8 million annually. UCOP was granted a state award yielding $5 million in year one.

Both partnership and state grants are competitive six- or seven-year matching grant programs that target entire grades of students, partner with local organizations and businesses, and include matching local contributions and in-kind services. Grantees serve an entire group of students, usually beginning no later than seventh grade, and follow them throughout high school. State grants also include both a required activities component and a scholarship component.

"We know innovative programs like GEAR UP that intervene early can make all the difference in whether young people go to college," said Arne Duncan, U.S. Secretary of Education. "These grants provide the mentoring, support and financial aid that will give thousands of students a greater opportunity to achieve success in postsecondary education."