Bunker Hill Community College Earns Prestigious $2 Million Federal Grant
Friday, October 11, 2013
Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is one of just 39 colleges and universities across the country to receive a U.S. Department of Education Title III grant under the Strengthening Institutions Program. The $2,232,943 grant over five years will enhance a major initiative at the College that employs both technology and personal attention to promote student success in educational, career and life goals. Just one other institution of higher education in Massachusetts was among the recipients.
The grant will fund the project “From Dreams to Reality: BHCC LifeMap,” which aims to improve student engagement, achievement, persistence, retention and completion, beginning in the first semester and culminating in graduation and beyond. The project will enable 22 major academic departments in the College to redesign curriculum to embed success pathways in each study program and will support development of a comprehensive suite of services including diagnostic assessment and academic, career, financial and transfer coaching.
“This grant will allow BHCC to integrate LifeMap more effectively into our curriculum and student life with the overarching goal of establishing outcomes and developing toolkits of active teaching strategies, assignments and assessments,” said Academic Affairs and Student Services Vice President James F. Canniff, who will serve as the project director. “Services will be located in the newly designed LifeMap Commons, making this shared space the hub of a suite of unified support services both onsite and online, delivered in a holistic, coordinated approach.”
A previous Title III grant enabled Bunker Hill Community College to develop highly successful learning communities, which transformed the College’s approach to teaching and learning and resulted in an increase of 13% in the retention rate. The impact of the learning communities was recognized by the New England Board of Higher Education with a regional excellence award.
The Department of Education’s Strengthening Institutions Program helps postsecondary schools expand their capacity to serve low-income students by providing funds to improve and strengthen their academic quality, institutional management and fiscal stability, as well as build a framework to help students complete college.
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About Bunker Hill Community College
With more than 50 years of academic excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. The College offers associate degrees and certificates, early college and dual enrollment, community education, corporate training, and industry-specific training programs. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).