JCTC receives $2.24 million federal grant to bolster student success initiatives

LOUISVILLE, KY -- Jefferson Community and Technical College has been awarded a prestigious U.S. Department of Education Title III grant for $2,241,719 million. The grants were announced earlier this month.

The grant request, A Comprehensive Approach to Improve Student Success Outcomes at Jefferson Community and Technical College, will provide the college with nearly $450,000 a year over five years.

Among its many benefits, the Title III grant will provide faculty and staff with the resources to explore innovative instructional strategies and best practices, as well as provide resources to revise high demand/high enrollment courses that have significant failure rates. It will help with redesign of gateway or entry-level courses and with identifying alternative math and career pathways.

The college also will use the funding to fully support a new advising initiative called Start to Finish.

Start to Finish was designed to strengthen student support services through a holistic student tracking system, high touch intrusive advising, an early alert system, and eLearning modules. The process begins in orientation, moves through the First Year Experience course required for first-time freshmen and continues until graduation.

The Title III program, perhaps the most competitive of all federal grants, helps eligible colleges and universities expand their capacity to serve low-income students by providing funds to improve and strengthen the institution's academic quality, and improve institutional management and fiscal stability.

This award is tremendous good news for Jefferson, said Dr. G. Gwendolyn Joseph, interim President. It also is timely as we enter a time of significant change that will shape the college for at least a decade.

The college recently appointed Dr. Ty Handy as the college's next president, following the retirement of long-time president Dr. Tony Newberry. Handy officially takes the post January 1. The college also is in the process of developing a new six-year strategic plan.

Receiving this grant is a direct result of the efforts of faculty and staff at the college through Achieving the Dream, Joseph said. Like Achieving the Dream, everyone at the college will have an opportunity to make a difference in student success.

The college became an Achieving the Dream institution in 2011 by demonstrating a commitment to improving student outcomes. AtD recently awarded Jefferson Leader College status following the success of multiple retention initiatives, such as the mandatory First Year Experience course, implemented since 2011.