The U.S. Department of Education recently awarded millions of dollars in Student Support Services (SSS) program grants to several community colleges. The grants are meant to help colleges provide opportunities for academic development, assist students with basic college requirements and motivate students to complete college.
Five colleges in the Wisconsin Technical College System received grants, including Moraine Park Technical College, which will use its five-year, $1.3 million grant to help students who are low-income, first-generation to college and/or have a learning disability through the EDGE at Moraine Park program. The EDGE program provides academic advising, financial aid and scholarship resources, cultural events, skills development and tutoring to help students stay on track – all at no cost to students.
This is the third consecutive grant received for Moraine Park’s EDGE program.
In Texas, Lone Star College (LSC) received five SSS grants for five campuses totaling $6.5 million.
“One of the goals of the grant is to foster an institutional climate supportive of the success of students who are traditionally underrepresented in postsecondary education,” said LSC Chancellor Stephen Head. “It also works toward improving the financial and economic literacy of students.”
At El Paso Community College (EPCC), a $707,647 five-year grant will allow the college to serve an additional 600 students each year. The SSS program has helped first-generation students at EPCC for more than 30 years.
Hillsborough Community College (HCC) in Florida received a grant of nearly $1.9 million. HCC received its first SSS grant in 1974. For 46 years, the program has served more than 8,000 students and boasts a high graduation rate. Over the last five years, students in the college’s SSS program were awarded $352,938 in scholarships.
California
San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) will expand its work to eliminate financial barriers for students using a $299,925 grant from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians (San Manuel). The funds support the Valley-Bound Commitment Program, a student success program created to help low-income students attend college.
Since Valley-Bound’s inception in 2008, it has served more than 1,700 students. San Manuel has contributed nearly $2 million dollars to support the program over the past 12 years.
“It has been amazing to see the students become successful professionals and role models within their communities. The program provided families the excitement of having their child in college; it also motivated the parents to enroll in classes at SBVC,“ said Carmen Rodriguez, SBVC dean of student equity and success. “The beauty of this program is the opportunity to help not only the student, but also the entire family.”
The new funds are used to purchase student textbooks, pay full-time enrollment fees, finance student scholarships and buy school supplies – including laptops – and graduation regalia. Additionally, the grant supports the hiring of four additional part-time adjunct counselors to help Valley-Bound students with academic planning.
Florida
Tallahassee Community College (TCC) this month received three new donations totaling $275,000.
The TCC Foundation worked with David Gilbert and Kathy Gilbert to establish the Justin Dousa-Valdez endowed program fund. The fund honors their son Justin Dousa-Valdez, a TCC alumnus, who passed away last year after a long struggle with mental illness. His parents said it’s an opportunity to assist others dealing with mental health issues.
“When someone has a debilitating disease and is unable to work, it’s really tough to have good self-esteem, to feel like you are contributing to society and accomplishing something,” said Kathy Gilbert. “Justin’s academic accomplishments at TCC gave him a big boost to his self-esteem. He was so proud of his academic accomplishments there. His instructors were very kind and understanding with him and this meant a lot to Justin.”
TCC also received an anonymous gift of $250,000 to create a Sopchoppy Scholarship. The scholarship will provide tuition assistance to residents of Sopchoppy who plan to attend the college.
In addition, the Tallahassee Police Department contributed $10,000 to support the New Start Scholarship Fund, which focuses on increasing crime and drug prevention and safe neighborhoods by mentoring youths in the juvenile justice system.
Maryland
College of Southern Maryland (CSM) students at the Center for Trades and Energy Training (CTET) will benefit from the Mote Management Company’s donation of a large commercial roof-top heating ventilation and air conditioning unit that will be used for hands-on training.
Massachusetts
Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) launched the Career Pathways Impact Project (CPIP) this past year with a $250,000 investment from JPMorgan Chase. CPIP equips traditionally underserved students with the skills required to navigate the labor market, workplace culture and develop a better understanding of career pathways.
The college will integrate the newly developed Ethnographies of Work (EoW) curriculum into a pilot of courses with a goal of offering an ethnographic and sociological approach to career development.
“The Ethnographies of Work framework advances the social mobility and equity for our students,” said BHCC President Pam Eddinger.
Holyoke Community College will use a five-year, $1 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to provide scholarships to students majoring in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. Eligible students can receive scholarships of up to $6,500 a year toward tuition and fees.
Selected students selected will become part of HCC’s STEM Scholars 2.0 Program, which launched in 2015 after HCC received its first five-year STEM grant from NSF.
“The grant not only provides significant money to students for college but will enable us to focus on culturally relevant practices in STEM that will help us work toward equity in education for all members of our community,” said Ileana Vasu, professor of math and coordinator of HCC’s STEM Scholars program.
New York
Bronx Community College’s (BCC’s) Future Now program has received a $465,000 grant from the Robin Hood Foundation. This is the 13th year that Robin Hood has supported Future Now, which was founded in 1998 at BCC to promote the educational and vocational development of young adults residing in the Bronx.
The program offers free high school equivalency exam preparation and vocational training classes, student counseling and career exploration, along with college preparation and enrollment services to students ages 17 to 24. Among the goals of the new grant are to enroll 250 participants in high school equivalency exam preparation courses and enroll 90 new students in associate-degree programs.
Elsewhere in New York, Finger Lakes Community College (FLCC) has received $141,000 in National Science Foundation grants to study methods for extracting mushroom sugars with therapeutic properties in partnership with Empire Medicinals.
FLCC faculty and students will collaborate with the company to find the best way to produce complex polysaccharides, or sugars, from mycelium, the fibrous root-like parts of mushrooms.
“This is a great opportunity for students to work with an industry partner and learn how to set up experiments,” said FLCC professor James Hewlett, coordinator of the college’s biotechnology program. “For the college, it could lead to more partnerships and long-term partnerships with industry.”
The grants will enable FLCC to conduct experiments and pay four to five students as undergraduate researchers. In addition, FLCC scientists plan to learn from members of the Funguschain consortium in Europe, a global leader in developing products from mushroom byproducts.
North Carolina
Forsyth Technical Community College has received two grants from Duke Energy for registered apprenticeship programs. Last fall, the utility gave the college $200,000, and earlier this summer Duke awarded $50,000 to support apprenticeships and pre-apprenticeship programs through the two-year Learn and Earn Apprenticeship program (LEAP@ForsythTech).
“In order for our community to thrive, we must work together to fill jobs with skilled employees,” said Forsyth Tech President Janet Spriggs. Through LEAP@ForsythTech, “students get on-the-job training while in school, giving them new insight in what they are learning in class. This program is giving underemployed or unemployed individuals an opportunity for a rewarding career.”
Texas
Lamar Institute of Technology recently upgraded its process operating unit with the help of $1.1 million in donated equipment from Emerson and local partner Scallon Controls. The equipment helped modernize the three-story ethylene-glycol distillation separation unit that’s used in training process operating technology students.
“One of the things our students and their future employers value most is real-world experience,” said LIT President Lonnie Howard. “Emerson’s donation will provide that experience, helping us send our students out into the world with more confidence and more knowledge than ever, making them highly sought-after assets to employers.”
Hargrove Engineers and Constructors donated time for the planning phase.
