City of Fort Lauderdale Celebrates New Post-Secondary Education Opportunities Under Broward UP™

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (July 16, 2020) – Residents across the City of Fort Lauderdale will now have improved access to post-secondary programs and certifications through a recent partnership between the city and Broward College through Broward UP. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was overwhelmingly supported by the Fort Lauderdale City Commission on July 7, 2020. Broward UP, the UP meaning "unlimited potential," is a community-centric approach that aims to raise education access and attainment levels and drive economic mobility across Broward County. 

Through the partnership, Broward College will work with the City of Fort Lauderdale to provide residents with direct support through: 

• On-site and remote programs and certifications 
• Workshops on financial literacy, college readiness, and career development 
• Entrepreneurial programming and the development of an internship program for the City of Fort Lauderdale 
• Access strategy for City of Fort Lauderdale employees to earn Broward College degrees and certifications 

“I’m pleased that the City of Fort Lauderdale has joined Broward College’s Broward UP. This collaborative effort will expand access to education in our community,” said Fort Lauderdale Mayor Dean J. Trantalis. “Broward UP creates new opportunities for residents to access workforce training, college and career readiness services, and entrepreneurial support. These are critically important offerings, particularly in light of the rising level of unemployment that has resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.”  

Broward UP serves to remove barriers, improve lives through post-secondary attainment, and build partnerships to help every person realize their Unlimited Potential. While Broward County's unemployment rate pre-COVID-19 was approximately three percent, it soared to more than 10 percent in some cities. Since the beginning of the pandemic, countywide unemployment has risen to more than 14 percent, and Broward UP zip codes likely now have more than 25 percent unemployment. 

In response to this disparity, Broward UP has three primary goals: increase college access and attendance, improve degree and certificate attainment, and holistically raise economic mobility. The College is currently providing non-credit certificate-based courses online and in select neighborhoods at no cost to residents thereby eliminating obstacles to education such as transportation, expenses of college tuition, and technology. Each new partner location will offer courses that allow participants to increase their workforce skills through certificates in Microsoft Excel, Process Improvement, Project Management, and industry certifications in Healthcare, Supply Chain Management, and Information Technology. 

"We are already seeing the impact in our Broward UP communities," said Broward College President Gregory Adam Haile, J.D. "Thanks to Mayor Trantalis and Commissioners Heather Moraitis, Steven Glassman, Robert McKinzie and Ben Sorensen for joining our efforts to eliminate the barriers to higher education that many Fort Lauderdale residents face. Broward UP is about busting myths around college and who is capable of achieving a college education, while bringing equitable higher education opportunities to those with a will to succeed." 

The City of Fort Lauderdale is the ninth municipality to join Broward UP. Other municipal partners are Pompano Beach, Lauderdale Lakes, West Park, Hollywood, Tamarac, North Lauderdale, Miramar, and Lauderhill.  

                                                                                  -BC-