College Thriving Act

HR 1409, the College Thriving Act, authorizes $50 million in grants to fund "skills-for-success" courses for first-year college students at eligible institutions. The bill requires participating colleges to develop non-graded, low-student-to-teacher courses covering mental wellbeing, time management, conflict resolution, and campus resource connections - available to all first-year students at the start of their enrollment. Grants are awarded competitively, with priority to schools where at least half of students qualify for Pell Grants, and must be used over a 5-year period across four phases: course development (year 1), pilot testing (year 2), and full implementation with ongoing evaluation (years 3-5). The program mandates annual reporting on course implementation and outcomes to the Department of Education.