NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Tennessee Board of Regents says it will invest a $2 million grant received from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation into programs that will help increase graduation rates, especially among first-generation and low-income students.

According to The Tennessean, the board said in a statement Monday that the grant would help expand and improve services offered at schools. The board includes the state's 46 public colleges that aren't part of the University of Tennessee system.

In a statement, TBR Chancellor John Morgan says the money will go toward workshops and training that will encourage faculty and staff across the system to make the most of existing programs.

Each program that the funding will support was developed around Gov. Bill Haslam's Drive to 55 initiative, aimed to increase the number of college graduates in the state.

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