Spokane Community College has been awarded $2,046,471 over five years to support college initiatives devoted to increasing student success and completion. The grant, entitled the EPIC Project: to Engage, Prepare and Intrusively Advise Students to Completion is part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Title III, Strengthening Institutions Program.
SCC will use the funds to establish an effective advising program focused on five key student momentum points and an online student advising system; implement a required college success course for new students which will result in the development of an educational plan for each student; enhance tutoring services with a CRLA certified tutor training program; and increase faculty-student engagement through the development of a Teaching and Learning Center (TLC). The TLC will support SCC faculty in improving student success and engagement in the classroom. Two high impact strategies the TLC will focus on are learning communities and the I-BEST instructional model which imbeds basic skills instruction into workforce courses and programs.
The U.S. Department of Education program helps higher education institutions expand capacity to serve low-income students. The majority of SCC students are low-income (63 percent) and first-generation college students (65 percent). The overall goals of the EPIC Project are to establish high-impact interventions around each step in a student’s journey to successful completion of their college degree and ultimately their long-time educational plan – whether that be transfer to a four-year institution or workforce training that leads to gainful employment.
“SCC offers an opportunity for students to build a better future for themselves and their families. However, oftentimes students need extra support as they strive to complete their college certificates or degrees,” said SCC President Dr. D. Ryan Carstens. “This grant will strengthen our current support efforts to help our students be more successful in completing their academic goals.”
This is the second Title III grant received by the Community Colleges of Spokane, as Spokane Falls Community College received a Department of Education Title III grant in 2006. For more information, contact the Community Colleges of Spokane Grants and Sponsored Research Office 509-434-5160.
SCC is one of the largest community colleges in the state and serves more than 20,000 students every year. SCC has provided college transfer, career-technical and adult basic educational opportunities to hundreds of thousands of students in Eastern Washington since 1963. The main campus is located in Spokane, but there are centers in Colville, Newport, Republic, Ione and Inchelium.
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