Miami – Miami Dade College (MDC) has been awarded nearly $13 million in major grants this week for important STEM programs and groundbreaking approaches in student support and instruction, as it continues to be creative and assertive in resource development activities.
Four campuses – Hialeah, InterAmerican, Wolfson and Kendall – are the recipients of the combined amount of nearly $10 million in Title V grants and the college received nearly $3 million through the First in the World (FITW) program, a federal grant initiative designed to drive innovation and keep higher education within reach of all Americans.
“We all know that innovation can take many forms and as a key part of the Administration’s goal to promote college access and affordability, the First in the World program and others aim to support a wide range of innovation to improve student outcomes,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “We are pleased to support these educational leaders who are driving exciting innovations to achieve those goals.”
“We are grateful for these critical grants that also serve as affirmation of the innovative things MDC is championing in our community,” stated MDC’s President Dr. Eduardo J. Padrón. “This funding expands our reach in a region that desperately needs more educational opportunities.”
With the Title V grant funding, MDC’s Hialeah Campus is poised to dramatically impact the postsecondary completion of students by implementing the Science Student Access and Success (SSAS) project. The SSAS project will establish a Professional Development Institute to design, develop, and deliver high-impact pedagogical practices focused on active, experiential learning in lectures and discovery-based laboratories for students taking College Algebra, Anatomy and Physiology, Health Sciences Chemistry, and non-majors Biology. Additional components include customized curricula steeped in these methodologies.
MDC’s Wolfson Campus will implement ARCOS (Accelerate, Retain, Complete with Opportunities and Support). ARCOS will serve 600 students enrolled in STEM disciplines with the goal of improving retention, progression, and completion rates among Hispanic and other low-income, high-need students.
The Kendall Campus at MDC is implementing the project STEM Talent Opportunity Priority (STEM TOP) to address underrepresented Hispanics in STEM disciplines. To form a STEM TOP experience, the Campus will implement three main activities: (1) Peer-Led Tutoring (PLTL), (2) STEM Undergraduate Research – PRISM (Program Research in Involved, Science and Math); and (3) SCSE – Stem Center for Student Engagement.
The InterAmerican Campus of Miami Dade College will establish the Institute of Teaching and Learning. The project is designed to improve retention, progression, and completion rates among Hispanic and other low-income students by training faculty to implement three research-based, student-centered pedagogies known to improve academic success for diverse student populations: Peer-Led Team Learning, Differentiated Instruction, and Process-Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning.
Finally, the goal of FITW initiative is to increase completion of mathematics courses that currently are a major barrier to students’ progression. Approximately 97% of students who enroll in these courses are underrepresented or low income. MDC will implement and evaluate the effectiveness of a revised Intermediate Algebra course that integrates contextualized and remedial instruction with current Mathematics topics. This is the Obama Administration’s second round of FITW Grants.
ADVERTISEMENT
