Research on Advancing Rural Postsecondary Education

Overview

The Rural Impact Initiative ECMC Foundation launched the Rural Impact Initiative in January 2024, building on nearly a decade of existing grantmaking in rural higher education. This initiative aims to enhance the field’s understanding of the unique opportunities, assets and challenges of rural postsecondary institutions and learners and to ultimately increase rural learners’ postsecondary completion rates and enhance the capacity of organizations, institutions and systems to support rural learners.

This request for proposal (RFP) invites researchers committed to producing knowledge about rural learners and rural postsecondary institutions to apply for grants of up to three years and $450,000. ECMC Foundation expects to award up to seven grants that will begin on or after November 1, 2024. 

Research projects selected for funding through this RFP will be those that examine one of three priority areas: 

1. Priority Area One: The College Experiences of Rural Learners with Intersecting Identities 
Rural learners are not monolithic and encompass a diverse spectrum of backgrounds, experiences, and aspirations. While rural communities share common characteristics such as geographic remoteness and limited access to resources, the needs and identities of rural learners are shaped by a multitude of factors including race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, sexual orientation and ability. Acknowledging and centering this diversity is crucial for designing inclusive educational interventions that recognize and address the unique challenges and strengths of rural learners. By embracing the complexity of rural identities and experiences, practitioners and policymakers can foster environments that honor the richness of rural communities and empower all learners to thrive academically and personally. ECMC Foundation considers intersecting identities to include but not limited to rural learners who also identify as: Alaska Native, Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Native Hawaiian, or South Asian; LGBTQIA+; low-income; first-generation; over age 25; immigrants and/or undocumented. Research in this focus area should center college experiences of rural learners through the lens of both rurality and any given intersecting identity as listed above.

2. Priority Area Two: The Roles of Rural Postsecondary Institutions 
There is a clear need to better understand institutions that are located in rural communities and/or focused on serving rural learners. There are more than 1,000 rural-serving institutions and more than 500 rurally located institutions in the United States, serving more than four million learners, and there is a clear need to better understand these institutions in order to reach and support rural learners and communities. In recent years, many of these institutions have been threatened by low enrollment, possible mergers, lower financial support through state appropriations, and increases in staff turnover though oftentimes learners from rural communities are the most likely to attend these institutions. Rural postsecondary institutions, which are mostly regional comprehensive universities4 and community colleges and include several who hold status as minority serving institutions, can and do provide services that are responsive to their local cultural, geographic, and economic challenges. Moreover, these institutions are vital anchor institutions that contribute to their regions in terms of creating jobs; acting as arts and cultural centers; providing access to healthcare, broadband internet, and libraries; and valuing rural ways of life that have often been ignored by the higher education system writ large.

3. Priority Area Three: The Policies Affecting Rural Postsecondary Education 
Local, state and federal policies play a pivotal role in shaping the landscape of rural postsecondary education. Local policies may focus on funding allocations, infrastructure development, and partnerships with local industries to ensure relevance and accessibility. State governments wield significant influence over rural postsecondary education through funding mechanisms, regulatory frameworks and strategic planning initiatives. State policies often prioritize initiatives aimed at increasing college affordability, expanding access to financial aid, and promoting collaboration between institutions to maximize resources and educational opportunities. Finally, the federal government has more than 400 federal programs with targeted support for rural community and economic development, from agencies such as: Department of Education, Department of Agriculture, Department of Interior, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Labor and Department of Transportation.

These research priorities are guided by ECMC Foundation’s strategic framework and North Star as well as complementing ongoing research in rural education. By addressing these research priorities, we aim to advance knowledge, inform policy and ultimately improve outcomes for rural learners across the nation. Through collaborative efforts among researchers, policymakers, practitioners, funders and community stakeholders, we can work towards a more equitable and inclusive postsecondary education landscape that serves the needs of all learners, regardless of their geographic location. Successful projects will demonstrate how research findings inform actionable strategies for practitioners; local, state and federal policymakers; and/or intermediary partners and funders in advancing the postsecondary success of rural learners.

Eligible applicants include nonprofit organizations registered as a U.S. 501(c)(3) or a 509(a)(1), (2), or (3) of the Internal Revenue Code, state government agencies, non-profit two- and four-year institutions and systems or their affiliated and supporting foundations, and university-affiliated research centers or laboratories. Applicants may also represent partnerships between research teams and organizations, including research-practice partnerships. 

ECMC Foundation values the importance of having meaningful connections and relationships between research teams and the communities they study. Therefore, if the proposed project includes working directly with rural communities/institutions to collect data (e.g., qualitative interviews with rural students, leveraging privately held datasets from a rural institution/organization), applicants must have an existing relationship with a rural-serving or rurally located postsecondary institution or a rural community/region.

Application Process 
The application process for this call consists of two phases: Invitations for Letters of Intent (LOIs) and invitations to submit a full proposal. 

Process Timeline
July 14, 2024 Letter of Intent (LOI) due by 11:59pm PDT 
July 30, 2024 Finalists invited to submit a full proposal 
August 27, 2024 Full proposals due from applicants by 11:59pm PDT