Congresswoman Nita Lowey Announces $532,338 in New Federal Funding for Local Colleges to Assist Underserved Students 

Department of Education grants will help 415 Westchester Community College and Mercy College students complete their postsecondary education

WHITE PLAINS, NY – Congresswoman Nita Lowey (Westchester/Rockland), the Ranking Member on the House Appropriations Committee, announced a total of $532,338 in new U.S. Department of Education TRIO Student Support Services (SSS) Program funding for Westchester Community College and Mercy College to assist underserved students in the successful completion of their postsecondary education.

“Higher education can chart a student on the path to economic opportunity,” said Lowey. “I’m pleased these federal investments will help hundreds of underserved students at Westchester Community College and Mercy College fulfill their academic and career goals. As Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, I will continue working hard to protect higher education funding that makes college accessible and affordable for Lower Hudson Valley students.”

Westchester Community College (WCC) in Valhalla, NY, will receive $247,584 to implement a support services program to assist 165 first-year developmental students who are low-income, first-generation and/or disabled in completing their college programs successfully.

Services to be offered by WCC’s program will include: Individual counseling, academic advising, and coaching focused on strengthening non-cognitive skills; a series of connected activities including a Successful Start Workshop to strengthen academic behaviors and perspectives; financial aid assistance, innovative career planning assistance, and transfer assistance; tutoring; mentoring; and registration.

“Westchester Community College is delighted to be a recipient of the highly competitive TRIO Student Support Services grant,” said Westchester Community College President Dr. Belinda S. Miles. “This essential source of funding enables us to provide enhanced services to low-income, first-generation and disabled college students so they can achieve their educational goals. Students eligible to participate in this program will receive individualized counseling and coaching focused on their  personal, career and academic needs to increase their retention, graduation rates and transfer to a four-year college or university.”

Mercy College, whose main campus is in Dobbs Ferry, NY, will receive $284,754 to support 250 underserved students through a student support services program aimed at increasing the rates of retention, good academic standing, and graduation of eligible students. According to Mercy, two-thirds of the participants will be low-income and first-generation college students or individuals with disabilities; and one-third will be low-income, first-generation or individuals with disabilities. Not less than one-third of individuals with disabilities will be low-income. All students in the program will have academic need.

“These federal dollars will help Mercy College students who need a little extra personalized support to get to graduation day,” said Mercy College President Tim Hall. “The grant funds the TRIO Student Support Services program at Mercy, which serves 250 undergraduates who are low-income and first generation college students, and also those with disabilities.  The grant allows us to provide support services such as specialized freshman orientation, financial literacy, tutoring, mentoring and cultural activities.  This is a proven program that assists with retention, student academic success and graduation.  Thank you to Congresswoman Nita Lowey for helping Mercy College students succeed.”

Higher education is critical for students to meet the needs of the global and competitive workforce they will enter. That is why Congresswoman Lowey has been working to increase college access and affordability for hardworking students. She has:

• Voted for the largest investment in college financial aid since the passage of the GI bills;
• Supported cutting the interest rate on student loans in half over five years, saving borrowers thousands of dollars;
• Supported allowing students with old loans to refinance to the lower rates that new borrowers enjoy;
• Authored the DIPLOMA Act to make college tuition, fees, room and board, and books fully tax-deductible; and
• Supports increases in the maximum Pell Grant award to help financial aid keep up with rising cost of college.

Eligible Westchester Community College students may now take advantage of an extraordinary new scholarship program offered by Pace University. The scholarships, open to an unlimited number of Westchester Community College Associates Degree graduates who wish to obtain a four-year Bachelor’s degree at Pace, will allow many students to afford to continue their studies.

The initiative will provide transferring full-time students who have successfully graduated from Westchester Community College and meet eligibility requirements with an annual scholarship equal to $25,000 to be credited against Pace University’s standard full-time tuition. The program will begin with the 2015-2016 academic year. Westchester Community College graduates interested in enrolling for the fall semester may apply at any time. Transfer applications will begin to be accepted this summer.

This scholarship is designed to provide students with a solid education and access to the real-world experience critically needed upon graduation at a substantial reduction in cost. Based on the 2015-2016 rate, the scholarship will enable eligible students to offset more than 60% of the full-time cost of tuition during their first year at Pace. The scholarship is for study at Pace University’s Pleasantville Campus only and is not available for the iPace online degree program.

“This exciting new partnership will benefit our students and ultimately will have a positive effect on the local economy,” says Dr. Belinda S. Miles, President of Westchester Community College. “These students, after completing their studies at Westchester Community College, will now have the opportunity to move on to Pace and then into the workforce.”

“We are delighted to give eligible Westchester Community College graduates the opportunity to earn a 4-year Bachelor’s Degree through this innovative scholarship program,” says Pace University President Stephen J. Friedman. “Our ability to enable them to imagine new futures and advance their lives is at the core of our university motto of Opportunitas.”

The new scholarship program responds to student and industry needs, offsetting the rising cost of obtaining a 4-year degree and bridging the gap between academia and what employers want. Addressing the kind of change needed in higher education, the collaboration is a concrete response to the often prohibitive cost young people face to obtain a 4-year degree, as well as industry concerns that college students nationally are not graduating with the skills necessary to enter the workforce.

Added benefits for Pace University-Westchester Community College scholarship recipients who otherwise might depend entirely on student loans to finance a 4-year degree potentially include a smaller debt burden and a repayment term shortened by several years. The scholarship program is yet another example of Pace’s commitment to leadership in providing quality and education and positioning students for professional success. The initiative also marks the first time Pace has collaborated with a 2-year school to offer students such a unique opportunity that benefits both schools and surrounding communities.

To graduate from Westchester Community College, students must meet certain minimum performance requirements. By opening the scholarship program to Westchester Community College graduates with a minimum GPA of 3.2, Pace can substantially ensure continuing access to high quality applicants equipped with the ability to excel, succeed and ultimately graduate from Pace.

About Westchester Community College: More than just the County’s largest educational institution, it is a living, breathing part of Westchester that goes beyond the influence of a typical college and affects the lives of all who enter its doors. The faculty serve as a community of scholars for an increasingly diverse population of students. More than 13,000 credit students attend classes at the spacious 218-acre main campus in Valhalla and extension centers in Peekskill, Ossining, White Plains, Mount Vernon and Yonkers. An additional 13,000 students are enrolled in non-credit classes through SUNY’s largest Continuing Education unit.

About Pace University: Since 1906, Pace University has educated thinking professionals by providing high quality education for the professions on a firm base of liberal learning amid the advantages of the New York metropolitan area. A private university, Pace has campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, enrolling nearly 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in its Dyson College of Arts and Sciences, Lubin School of Business, College of Health Professions, School of Education, School of Law, and Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems. Visit www.pace.edu

The Middle States Commission on Higher Education has reaccredited the college. This designation is in effect for ten years.

Enjoy this video in which Westchester Community College President Belinda S. Miles surprises student Wellington Mackey with the news that he has won the nation’s largest scholarship for community college students. Mackey was selected to receive a Jack Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate Transfer Scholarship; those scholarships are the largest awards given to two-year students. He is one of 85 community college scholars to receive the award for up to $40,000 per year. This is the ninth time that one of our students has won this prestigious honor. Wellington is now going on to Yale.

President Miles was introduced to the local community on WFAS Radio. http://www.sunywcc.edu/?p=19604