Maine’s Community Colleges win major grant to support student success

October 28, 2016

AUGUSTA, ME − The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges has been awarded an $810,000 grant from The Kresge Foundation to support the work being done at Maine’s seven community colleges to help more students achieve a college degree. The grant will enable all seven colleges to join the Achieving the Dream (ATD) network, a national initiative that aims to help more Americans achieve success in higher education.

Participation in ATD will enable the colleges to work one-on-one with national experts over the next three years, using evidence-based approaches to improving student outcomes. The award builds on a strategic focus on student success that has guided the MCCS in recent years.

In announcing the award, William F. L. Moses, managing director of The Kresge Foundation’s Education Program, noted: “Maine is poised to become a national leader in demonstrating how low-income, first generation and under-represented students can succeed in college. This award is a testament to the collaborative approach that Maine’s community colleges are taking to improve student outcomes, and it recognizes the promising work already underway across the Maine Community College System.”

MCCS President Derek Langhauser expressed his gratitude to The Kresge Foundation and to MCCS faculty and staff for their commitment to student success: “This grant will advance our colleges’ commitment to broad and equitable education reform. Our goal is to ensure that no matter where students live and go to school, they will benefit from attending a college that is strategically focused on their individual success.”

The Kresge Foundation is a $3.6 billion private, national foundation that works to expand opportunities in America’s cities through grantmaking and social investing in arts and culture, education, environment, health, human services and community development. More information is available at www.kresge.org.

The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges is dedicated to ensuring that the state’s community colleges have the resources they need to provide a high quality, affordable, and accessible college education for Maine people. More information is available at: www.maineccfoundation.org.