When controlled for income, African American students at HBCUs are 33% more likely to graduate than at comparable non-HBCUs. The mechanism is belonging, identity affirmation, and relational support. These are the exact EI subscales College Edge measures and develops.
Request Partnership InformationThe raw 6-year HBCU graduation rate is 32%. At first glance, that looks like an institutional performance issue. It is not. It is a measurement issue.
HBCUs enroll dramatically higher concentrations of Pell Grant recipients, first-generation students, and students from lower-income families. When researchers controlled for these factors in the Gordon et al. (2021) study, African American students at HBCUs were 33% more likely to graduate than African American students at institutions with similar characteristics.
The success mechanism is belonging, faculty-student relationships, peer community, and cultural identity affirmation. These are EI mechanisms. College Edge brings the clinical instrument that measures and develops these exact competencies.
Source: Gordon et al. 2021; Inside Higher Ed 2023; NSCRC 2024
SSS grantees are actively seeking evidence-based retention interventions. College Edge aligns precisely with the SSS mandate.
The Strengthening HBCUs program provides flexible institutional capacity-building funds. College Edge qualifies as a student support and completion-focused intervention.
Federal Gaining Early Awareness grants follow students from middle school through the first year of college. Persist Advantage enrollments are within GEAR UP mission scope.
North Carolina's UNC System, Tennessee's Drive to 55, Georgia's Complete College Georgia, and South Carolina's Commission on Higher Education all hold state completion-focused funding.
North Carolina and South Carolina focus. Historically funds college access and completion programs for underserved students.
Southeast focus with strong commitment to economic mobility and college completion. Aligned with TGG regional positioning.
A 20-minute call is enough to map the right entry point, whether that is a Persist Advantage cohort for enrolled students, a pre-college program, or a grant-funded institutional program.
Request Partnership Information"Technical competence may open the door to leadership, but emotional intelligence determines whether a leader can sustain trust, influence people, and guide an organization effectively. Dr. Thurman's message underscores that leadership development is not a one-time event but a continuous process."
An institutional partnership with TGG gives your students access to The Persist Method, the EQ-grounded approach to persistence developed by Dr. Tremayne Thurman, OTD. Your campus partnership can integrate any combination of the rungs below, from the free book chapter for incoming students to a full Workshop engagement for faculty and staff.
The book. A clinical and personal field guide to persistence by Dr. Tremayne Thurman, OTD. Free Chapter 1 available now. Full book launches Summer 2026. Bulk orders available for incoming cohorts.
Get Chapter 1 Free →The companion workbook. Practical exercises and EQ-grounded prompts that turn the book into daily practice. Suitable for first-year seminar adoption.
The self-paced course. Twelve modules, video lessons from Dr. Thurman, OTD, and downloadable practice tools. Licensable for institutional LMS integration.
Twelve-week curriculum from Chapter 9. Adoptable as a pre-college bridge for incoming first-year students.
Six-week summer bridge for incoming students. EQ-i 2.0, DISC profile, 1:1 debrief with Dr. Thurman, OTD, and weekly community call. Pairs with summer bridge programming.
Twelve-month engagement for enrolled students. Three coaching sessions, Communication Mapping debrief, persistence action plan. Aligns with TRIO SSS deliverables.
Premium twelve-month engagement for priority cohorts. Six coaching sessions, Summer Bridge included, transition plan, fall check-in, parent partnership.
The institutional engagement. Half-day, full-day, and multi-day programs for faculty, staff, student affairs teams, and student leaders on your campus. Grant fundable.
For staff, counselors, and faculty who want to deliver The Persist Method on your campus year-round under TGG licensing.
A 20-minute call maps the right entry point for your institution, whether that is a single cohort pilot, a multi-year retention partnership, or a grant-funded campus-wide engagement.