KEYSER, WV -- West Virginia University Potomac State College will expand its capacity to serve the Mountain State’s low-income rural students using a $1.75 million grant awarded by the U.S. Department of Education; the Title III Strengthening Institutions Program will be funded over the next five years.
Potomac State College is one of 28 colleges nationwide to receive a federal grant award to focus on:
- increasing student engagement and persistence through investing in course evaluation and redesign.
- implementing a centralized and proactive academic advising center.
- providing career services to improve student outcomes.
- growing diversity programming to assist in creating a sustainable, inclusive environment focused on recruitment and retention of minority and low-income rural students.
- establishing an endowment fund to address students’ lack of financial resources.
The funding also will enable PSC to hire a Title III Director to implement the project, an Assessment Director, a Career Services Specialist, a Diversity Specialist, and two Academic Advisors.
The purpose of SIP is to help eligible institutions of higher education to improve their academic programs, institutional management, and fiscal stability to increase their self-sufficiency. In this year’s competition, DOE was especially interested in programs that will support students through various services that will enable students to remain engaged through degree completion.
“This is excellent news and a great opportunity for the College to address critical needs for the enhanced success of our students,” s PSC President Jennifer Orlikoff said.
The plan is for the program to be up and running with the new positions filled by the start of the spring 2022 semester.
- WVU PSC -