News
October 5, 2017SUNY SCCC Awarded $1.8M in United States Department of Education Title III Funds
Over the next four years, the student learning environment and student services at SUNY Schenectady County Community College will be redesigned and improved by a $1.8M U.S. Department of Education Title III grant that, among many impacts over four years, will allow the College to expand its ability to serve under-prepared students, in addition to updating and streamlining its admissions, assessment, and academic advising processes. Another key outcome will be increasing the speed at which students progress through their studies, increasing both graduation and transfer rates at SUNY SCCC.
“One of the best ways to lock in long-term local economic stability and growth for the Capital Region is to increase access and capacity at our institutions of higher learning. SUNY Schenectady County Community College is a perfect example of this.” said Rep. Paul D. Tonko, D-NY 20th District. “By focusing on skills training and professional development in areas that employers want and need, the College helps ensure that students hit the job market running and are prepared to contribute immediately.
Tonko contacted the College on October 2 to inform them of the award. “My congratulations to the SUNY SCCC leadership and faculty for this well-earned federal award. I look forward to seeing their work continue to advance the knowledge and career prospects for students in our region,” Tonko said.
This grant will help those in the lower income segments of society, least prepared to undertake college level courses, and who need on-going tutoring and academic counseling to ensure timely progress toward program completion. He added his personal congratulations to the College’s grant seeking team and those who will carry it out over the next four years, noting the dramatic impact the increase in successful college graduates will make on the economic vitality of this local region and the state.
“We’re thrilled that the Department of Education has recognized our efforts to provide academic success services and strategies for our most at-risk students. As our Strategic Plan states, Schenectady County Community College is committed to student access and success; this Title III grant gives us the additional resources we need to meet our goals,” said Dr. Steady H. Moono, President, SUNY SCCC. “This grant is a total game-changer for us, and we’re excited to get to work!”
“This grant will be transformational for the College, and will ensure SUNY SCCC can continue to provide incredible, dynamic programming for its students in the years to come, in a variety of fields,” said Ann Fleming Brown, chair, SUNY SCCC Board of Trustees.
“Congratulations to Dr. Moono and his faculty and staff for their work in earning this important award,” said Schenectady County Legislator Holly Vellano, Chair of the Committee on Education and Libraries. “The Legislature strongly believes in the transformational power of education and how important it is to prepare our students for the future, and this grant will aid in the assistance our students need to succeed and thrive at our community college.”
The U.S. Department of Education’s Title III Program is a highly-competitive grant program intended to allow public colleges and universities to make major advances, large leaps forward in curriculum, program delivery, institutional management, and fiscal stability that would not be possible using only their own funds. Under this grant, the College will 1) increase first to second year retention and completion by implementing a Success Coach model of proactive support incorporating non-cognitive assessment; 2) improve success rates in online courses through adoption and implementation of a quality rubric for online courses, comprehensive faculty professional development and redesign of developmental courses; 3) increase institutional research capacity, reporting and a culture of data-informed decision-making and 4) improving resource development capacity through a fundraising audit and development of a strategic plan.
