Westchester gets largest federal grant in its history

Westchester Community College has received the largest federal grant in its history with $2.7 million (over five years) directed toward supporting students in their efforts to succeed academically and move on to careers and further education. Congresswoman Nita Lowey, ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, made the announcement today. The federal grant  was awarded through the U.S. Department of Education’s Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) Program. 

“This historic grant provides much needed resources to transform the student experience to meet the real needs of today’s learners. With this tremendous award for Caminos al Exito (Pathways to Success), we will be able to scale effective high-impact, evidence-based practices to support all students, expand academic support, modernize our approach to counseling and advising, and get students to the credentials they need for the future,” says Dr. Belinda S. Miles, President, Westchester Community College.

The grant to fund the Caminos al Exito (Pathways to Success) Program will empower our faculty and staff to support students who seek to complete their academic programs and transfer to four-year institutions or start their careers after graduation.

The grant will enable the college to:

1. Redesign the college experience, moving students from access to completion or transfer.
2. Create an Office of First Year Students providing new students with a strong start, enabling them to accelerate their progress toward graduation.
3. Put students into pathways based upon individual career or transfer interests.
4. Infuse the latest technology thereby creating high-performing and efficient systems supporting student success.

In addition to funding new initiatives, the grant will also empower faculty, staff and administrators to leverage and build upon our innovative and high impact work already underway.

The grant will assist the college as a best-in-class, high-performing higher education institution meeting the demands of the 21st century workforce. This record-breaking grant follows several significant recent investments including public and private grants: Laura and John Arnold Foundation funding for replicating CUNY’s ASAP Program for student completion; CCAMPIS support for student-parents; National Science Foundation grants for STEM students; nearly $1 million from a private donor for technology advancements; and the Westchester Community College Foundation’s recent doubling of scholarship support to $2 million annually. The Department of Education grant will help the college bring several of these efforts to scale in addition to funding new programs.