Broward College Receives $2 Million in U.S. Department of Education and National Science Foundation Grants to Bolster Program

Fort Lauderdale, FL (Thursday, September 15, 2016) – Broward College is the recent recipient of two federal grants that will further educational opportunities at the school. The U.S. Department of Education’s TRIO Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) Grant will total $1.18 million over the next five years, while the National Science Foundation’s Scholarship Targeting Recruitment of Individuals for Degrees in Environmental Science (STRIDES) provides $941,265 in funding.

Educational Opportunity Centers are one of eight federal grant programs collectively known as the Federal TRIO Programs. TRIO programs identify and provide services for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds. They help low-income individuals, first-generation college students, and individuals with disabilities progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post-baccalaureate programs.

Project ENROLL (Educational Network for Readiness and Opportunities for Lifelong Learning), the EOC at Broward College, will target communities near each of the three main campuses that have low enrollment of residents who have completed postsecondary education. The grant program also includes a mobile unit outfitted with technologies that Broward College will lease, or purchase, through the grant to conduct outreach and complete admissions and financial aid applications directly in the community. Staffed by a project director and an outreach coordinator, the program has a goal of reaching 1,000 residents during the next five years. 

“We always are looking for ways to raise awareness for education among Broward County residents,” said J. David Armstrong, president of Broward College. “One of the most important goals in this year’s Strategic Plan is to increase enrollment in postsecondary education and training programs, and project ENROLL will help us make this goal a reality.”

The National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) grant program awarded Broward College $941,265 to fund the College’s Scholarships Targeting Recruitment of Individuals for Degrees in Environmental Science (STRIDES) program. The purpose of the program is to research effective strategies to recruit, retain, and graduate students from Broward College’s 2+2 Environmental Science Program. The program offers an experiential learning curriculum which combines general cognitive and workplace knowledge with applied science and industry-specific skills. The five-year STRIDES program will select 30 high-ability, low-income students recruited from one of three cohorts chosen to participate in a new bachelor’s degree program which has BioSecurity as one focus.  Students will complete an internship, or a research project as part of the program.

“The STRIDES program investigates solutions to some of the challenges to success that our students face,” said Dr. David Serrano, associate professor and program manager of the Environmental Science programs at Broward College, and principal investigator for the S-STEM grant. “Our students experience time and financial issues that too often hamper or delay successful completion of their goals. We will be evaluating which success and support strategies best work for our population of students so that they may efficiently enter the workforce as quality employees.” 

For more information on Broward College, its outstanding faculty, and current course offerings please visit www.broward.edu.