BATON ROUGE - Franciscan Missionaries of Our Lady University announced on Friday that it received a $2.2 million Department of Education Title III Strengthening Institutions grant to fund its Project FRANCIS initiative. 

Project FRANCIS, which stands for faithfully retaining, advancing, nurturing and cultivating indispensable students, aims to improve student success by providing support services for students enrolled in pre-clinical and clinical programs, including a summer bridge program, academic coaching, professional tutoring and peer mentoring. 

"By providing targeted support to our students, we aim to improve retention and graduation rates, ultimately benefiting our community and the healthcare industry," FranU Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr. Brian Rash said.

The university hopes to improve academic outcomes for students enrolled in the nursing program and grow undergraduate enrollment to supply the region with healthcare professionals.