Massachusetts Community Colleges Consortia Awarded $20M

BOSTON — A consortia proposal submitted collectively by the 15 community colleges in Massachusetts, led by Massasoit Community College, has been selected by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for the fourth and final round of federal funding from the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training Grant (TAACCCT).

The community colleges are advancing a comprehensive approach to addressing the training and educational needs of workers and employers statewide with a focus on articulated pathways to careers in high-growth STEM sectors (science, technology, engineering, and math, as well as advanced manufacturing and healthcare). The $20 million grant is the highest-funded of the 66 awarded in the country by the DOL.

The project, titled Guided Pathways to Success in STEM (GPSTEM), will use the national Complete College America Guided Pathways to Success model to assist eligible students in obtaining degrees and certificates in STEM fields. The model focuses on reducing the time to completion of certificates and degree programs, resulting in more students entering employment in the Commonwealth and/or transferring into baccalaureate programs to add to their credentials.

During the three-year grant period, 24 STEM degree options and 58 certificate programs will be newly created or significantly enhanced in partnership with business and industry, the Commonwealth’s workforce system, the state universities, and the University of Massachusetts. The project will also build capacity on the highly successful Career & College Navigator model the Massachusetts community colleges designed and implemented during the round-one TAACCCT grant award in 2011. An important part of the round-four initiative will focus on creating collaborative pipelines for students to seamlessly transfer to baccalaureate programs to meet industry demand in certain STEM industry areas.

“Creating key pipeline collaborations in the STEM fields in conjunction with the state universities and UMass will serve as a new model for creating comprehensive higher education and industry partnerships in the Commonwealth,” said Bill Hart, executive officer of the Mass. Community Colleges Council of Presidents.

The focus is primarily on helping TAA-eligible, unemployed and underemployed workers and veterans enter STEM programs and obtain high-skill, high-wage jobs. However, the funding to implement Complete College America’s GPS model will assist community colleges in infusing additional comprehensive student supports throughout the 15 campuses that will benefit all student populations.

“This grant will help our college better prepare students in high-growth areas such as IT, engineering technology, and science,” said Springfield Technical Community College President Ira Rubenzahl. “Working together to secure this significant federal funding is an incredible accomplishment. It’s a wonderful example of how the collaboration and partnerships between the 15 community colleges can benefit our students and the region.”