Grant Opportunities

Division of Student Affairs Grants

First-Generation Student Success Grant

West Virginia public two-and four-year colleges and universities, or research corporations thereof, may apply for First-Generation Student Success Grants to sponsor comprehensive projects which must meaningfully encompass each of the following categories:
- Implementation of extraordinary campus-based initiatives, events, services, or supports designed to address the unique needs of First-Generation college students and bridge gaps in cultural capital, thereby promoting positive educational outcomes for First-Generation college students;
- Implementation of events, initiatives, or services committed to supporting recruitment and/or retention of First-Generation students on college campuses within West Virginia;
- Development or enhancement of research, evaluation, assessment and data collection strategies and practices for the purpose of improving institutional First-Generation initiatives and/or increasing institutional buy-in.
Maximum single award amount: $25,000
Application Deadline: Friday, July 11, 2025, by 5:00 p.m.
View details on RFP
Required budget sheet to be included with proposal submission

First Year Campus Engagement Grant

West Virginia public two-and four-year colleges and universities, or research corporations thereof, may apply for First Year Campus Engagement Grants to sponsor comprehensive projects which aim to ease the transition to university life and foster a sense of belonging for students new to the institution. These programs often combine academic support with social and personal development opportunities. Key components may include orientation programs, first year seminars, mentoring, and opportunities to connect with the broader campus community. The targeted outcomes of this First Year Campus Engagement program should include increased student retention, improved academic performance, enhanced sense of belonging, greater student success, and positive impact on student well-being.

Implementation of extraordinary campus-based initiatives, events, services, or supports designed to address the unique challenges that students, new to your institution, face upon their first year of enrollment;
Implementation of events, initiatives, or services committed to supporting student engagement and involvement across the campus community;
Implementation of events, initiatives, or services aimed at increasing academic achievement and retention for first year students;
Development or enhancement of research, evaluation, assessment and data collection strategies and practices for the purpose of measuring outcomes for first year students who participated in grant programming.
Maximum single award amount: $25,000
Application Deadline: Friday, July 25, 2025, by 5:00 PM
View details on RFP
Required budget sheet to be included with proposal submission

Division of Health Sciences

Workforce and Campus Mental Health Impact Grants- Electronic Health Record Stipend- Round 2

This funding opportunity will support student mental health and campus counseling centers by providing campuses with an Electronic Health Record System (EHR). Funding will be provided to campus counseling centers that do not currently have an Electronic Health Record System (EHR).
Funding will be awarded to help provide increased HIPAA and confidentiality regulations and standards and streamline student scheduling of appointments and session documentation.
The applicant institution will not receive funds but will complete a Memorandum of Understanding with the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, who will include the institution in a statewide contract with the selected vendor and pay for the service on the school’s behalf for a one-year period.
View details on the RFA
Application deadline: June 30, 2025, by 5:00 p.m.

Campus Mental Health Impact Grant-Counseling and Crisis System Grant Opportunity

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission was awarded Congressionally Directed Spending Funds, administered through a Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration grant to grow West Virginia’s Behavioral Health Workforce Education Initiative. The state of West Virginia awarded the Commission matching funds for this grant to support the growth of the West Virginia workforce through supporting student mental health at West Virginia’s 2-year and 4-year colleges and universities. This opportunity is made available through matching funds.
This funding opportunity supports student mental health by providing public 2-year and 4-year campuses across the state with a 24/7 mental health support help and line, virtual counseling services, and virtual wellness workshops for students. This opportunity is available after providing eight institutions with these services as a one-year pilot program during the 2024-2025 academic year. This is helping to support the behavioral health workforce at West Virginia’s higher education institutions and supports the mental health of the future workforce, and the students attending college in the state. Data and research show that such programs can be beneficial to higher education students in helping to provide additional mental health, crisis, and counseling support for students in addition to the campus mental health counseling centers. All public two and four-year institutions can opt in to a one-year agreement.
The Commission will contract with BetterMynd, a vendor selected through the state of West Virginia’s bidding process. The vendor’s services will support mental health on eligible campuses represented by successful applicants. Services to be provided include student access to a 24/7 mental health help support line, virtual counseling services, and access to wellness workshops. The participating institutions will not receive funds directly.
Application deadline: Monday, June 30, 2025, by 5:00 p.m.
To opt-in, please review the attached agreement and acknowledgement. Choose the services the institution will opt into and sign the agreement. Please email the agreement back to Candace D. Layne, Behavioral Health Program Specialist at candace.layne@wvhepc.edu by Monday, June 30th.
After opting in schools will be contacted by the middle of July to begin implementation and onboarding of services.

The West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission was awarded funds from the West Virginia Perinatal Partnership to develop and execute grant opportunities for behavioral health training programs to integrate training to prepare graduates to provide mental health care to pregnant and postpartum persons. This opportunity is made available through those funds and has been expanded to health science academic programs for a second round. Round 2 of funding is open to the following academic programs: nursing, physician assistant, public health, pharmacy, peer support specialists, physical therapy, and dietetics.

Three $7,000.00 awards will be available through the second round of funding.

Maternal Mental Health Grant- Round 2

Applications and agreements submitted under this opportunity will meet the following goals:

Increase knowledge of health science and medical students on the topic of perinatal/maternal mental health.
Create and expand curriculum to increase student skills in the delivery of health services to the pregnant and postpartum population and better understand the behavioral health of the pregnant, postpartum, perinatal population.
Provide internship stipends to incentivize student placements in maternal health, wellness, and mental health field experiences.
Offer training required for students to qualify for the Perinatal Mental Health Certification available through Postpartum Support International (or an equivalent nationally recognized certification) to increase the marketability of graduates and help fill critical shortages in West Virginia.
Offer guest lectures from Postpartum Support International-West Virginia Chapter within current courses. Guest lectures have already been developed, and health science health programs can identify specific lectures to include in academic programming. The Commission will provide information and connect with the PSI- WV Chapter.
View Details on the RFA
Application deadline: Monday, July 28, 2025, by 5:00 p.m.

If you have any questions please contact Candace Layne, Behavioral Health Program Specialist at candace.layne@wvhepc.edu