29 August 2011

August10, 2011 – Lansing, MI – The Michigan College Access Network (MCAN) is pleased to announce Jackson Community College (JCC), Lake Michigan College (LMC), and North Central Michigan College (NCMC) have each received a College Completion Innovation Grant to scale and institutionalize current interventions that support student success.

The College Completion Innovation Grant is a three-year grant program that supports current Achieving the Dream community colleges in Michigan that have identified interventions through data collection and analysis that support student success.  Each community college will each receive $150,000 over a three-year period.

Grant recipients were asked to identify at least one research-proven student success intervention to bring to scale and/or institutionalize.  Jackson Community College will use its grant funding to scale up Supplemental Instruction, an academic assistance program that utilizes peer-assisted study sessions.  JCC plans to expand Supplemental Instruction by adding other high-risk courses and by adding built-in mandatory in-class Supplemental Instruction to some math sections.

Lake Michigan College will use its grant funding to scale up and institutionalize its New Student Advising initiative through the addition of services including new student orientation, faculty training for advising, and enhanced career planning and transfer services. This initiative is expected to significantly increase student persistence, degree completion, and successful post-graduation outcomes, both for students going on for baccalaureate degrees and for those entering the workforce.

North Central Michigan College will use its grant funding to scale up its First Year Experience (Student Success) course to all students whose test results indicate a need for developmental work in English or Math, and to students in area high schools, through the CharEm College Access Alliance, who want to prepare for the challenges of a college experience prior to enrollment at a college or university..

“Providing support initiatives for students, particularly low-income and first-generation students as they prepare for and enter college, is critical to ensuring their success in earning a credential or degree,” said Brandy Johnson, executive director of the Michigan College Access Network. 

Currently, 35.6 percent of Michigan’s 25 to 64 year olds possess at least an associate’s degree, ranking Michigan 33^rd among all states. Michigan’s rate lags behind the national average of 37.9 percent. It is MCAN’s goal to increase Michigan’s postsecondary educational attainment rate to 60 percent by the year 2025.

About Michigan College Access Network

As the leader in the state’s college access movement, MCAN’s mission is to dramatically increase Michigan’s college participation and completion rates, particularly among low-income and first-generation college students of all ages.  MCAN also supports two statewide college access initiatives: MichiganCAP, a one-stop-shop for students to plan, apply and pay for college at www.michigancap.org, and KnowHow2GOMichigan, a public awareness campaign designed to encourage and prepare low-income students and their families to take the necessary steps toward college (www.knowhow2gomichigan.org).  

For more information, visit www.micollegeaccess.org. You can also find MCAN on Facebook at www.facebook.com/micollegeaccess.

About Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count

Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count is a multi-year national initiative to improve student success at community colleges. Seventeen of Michigan’s twenty-eight community colleges participate in the Achieving the Dream Initiative. For more information, visit www.achievingthedream.org.