Kean joins national initiative to eliminate equity gaps in education

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Kean University announced Dec. 19 it is the first university in the Garden State to join Moon Shot for Equity, a national network whose goal is to eliminate equity gaps in higher education by 2030. 

The initiative, led by Washington, D.C.-based education firm EAB, promotes 15 research-based best practices designed to remove systemic barriers at colleges and universities with the end goal of ensuring students earn a degree. 

According to EAB, about 90% of low-income, first-generation students across the nation do not graduate within six years. 

“By signing on as a vanguard institution in the Moon Shot for Equity partnership, Kean is leading the state in its commitment to taking decisive action that will reduce equity gaps and make a college degree more accessible,” Kean President Lamont Repollet said in a statement. 

How does it work? 

According to the announcement, “Moon Shot for Equity provides research-backed best practices, policies and technology proven to reduce and eliminate equity gaps to help college students achieve their goals in less time, for less money, and with better career outcomes.” 

The best practices include: 

• training leaders in effective change management; 
• providing equity-focused professional development, expanding community-based partnerships; 
• offering retention grants for students in need; 
• leveraging technology for proactive advising; 
• and fostering student belongingness. 

EAB Vice President of Partnerships Tom Sugar said that institutions that are serious about erasing equity gaps “must do the hard work required to remove systemic barriers.” 

By joining the initiative, “President Repollet and his team have made a historic and public commitment to help lead the way forward to higher rates of college completion and more successful careers for all students,” Sugar said. 

Kean – which was designated as New Jersey’s first Urban Research University in 2021 – has already earned recognition for its efforts, include being named one of the most economically and ethnically diverse national universities in the nation by U.S. News & World Report, which also ranked it among the top 50 national universities for increasing students’ social mobility. 

“Kean has always valued its diversity as a key strength for the university and our students,” said Senior Vice President for Administration Michael Salvatore. “We are proud of our record, but we know more needs to be done. By joining colleges and universities across the nation in the Moon Shot for Equity, Kean is embracing a data-driven approach so we can transform the lives of more deserving students through a world-class Kean education.”