About Title III

Spelman College receives Title III funding from the U.S. Department of Education -- specifically funds from the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) program. The program includes two grants, FUTURE Act and HBCU B. This program is designed to assist institutions of higher education with becoming self-sufficient and developing their capacity to serve low-income students by providing funds to improve and strengthen the academic quality, institutional management, student services and outcomes and fiscal stability of eligible institutions.

The Title III Program at Spelman College reports to the Office of the President and manages all Title III funding awarded to the College from the U.S. Department of Education. This includes providing programmatic and fiscal oversight of the activities supported by this federal funding. These responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

• Assisting with proposal applications, budget preparation, mid-year and
  end of-year performance reports
  
  
• Providing technical support and training for Activity Directors and staff
  
  
• Ensuring the College maintains compliance with all federal regulations
  
  
• Determining if budget requests are allowable, allocable and reasonable
  
  
• Monitoring and approving expenditures according to Federal and College
  policies and regulations
  
  
• Preparing and submitting interim and annual performance reports
  
  
• Ensure that Time and Effort Reports are completed monthly

The Title III Program is funded under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended by the Higher Education Amendments of 1986 (and subsequent amendments), Pub. L. 99-498, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986, Pub. L. 99-509, and the Higher Education Technical Amendments Act of 1987, Pub. L. 100-50. Further amendments appear in Pub. L. 100-369; The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA), Pub. L. 110-315 reauthorized the HEA of 1965.

---

Dr. Thigpen was appointed Director of Title III on December 1, 2022.  She previously served as executive director of Title III and Sponsored Programs at Hinds Community College, Utica Campus. Before that, she served as assistant director of the Title III Programs at Jackson State University, where she provided grant administration, technical assistance, and financial management of multiple government-related grant programs. 

As director of Title III, Dr. Thigpen is responsible for monitoring the effective implementation of the programmatic and fiscal activities of the Title III grants awarded to Spelman College.  Among her duties, she coordinates and monitors program activities to facilitate the maximum utilization of resources, assists in the determination of institutional needs in relation to the College’s mission, and provides leadership in the establishment of progress indicators and means for monitoring the performance of each program.   

Dr. Thigpen received her doctorate in Educational Administration and Supervision from Jackson State University, with a concentration in Higher Education.  Her office is located in the Milligan Building, Room 2001.