Windward CC gets federal boost from Title III and more

Value added to the college from outside sources

Windward Community College
Contact:
Bonnie J Beatson, (808) 235-7374
Marketing & Public Relations Director, Chancellor's Office
Posted: Nov 22, 2010

 

Three separate Federal Title III grants totaling $12.5 million were awarded to Windward Community College as an institution that serves Native Hawaiian students and underserved populations. The result will be a wave of improvements and new projects aimed at improving student access and success, and increasing the educational capital of the state.
 
The three Federal Title III grants include:
 
  • The Collaboration Grant – $4.5 million (“Hulili”or “bridge”) – a joint venture between UH Mānoa and Windward CC to improve the transfer and success rates of students. The grant will provide approximately $4.5 million to increase the number of students who transfer and earn degrees at UH Mānoa. Part of the plans include establishing outreach centers for classes in Waimānalo and Kahuku as well as expanding distance learning opportunities. 
  • Strengthening Student and Institutional Engagement Grant – $4 million to increase Windward CC Pell Grant recipients and increase the diversity and number of programs offered to support students. This includes establishing a “one-stop” center where students can find a wide range of support, including tutoring and counseling services. Approximately 80 percent of this grant will support a Title III assistant, one-stop coordinator, supplemental instructor, financial aid assistant, evaluator and non-traditional counselor.
  • Construction Grant – $4 million to renovate Hale A‘o and expand the Hawaiian Studies curriculum. The grant will be used to renovate the “White House” (AKA Hale A‘o) near Windward CC’s front parking lot for a hula studio and classrooms as well as the creation of an associate in arts degree in Hawaiian Studies. It will also expand outreach to students, especially Native Hawaiian, low-income students and those from underserved communities.
“Windward Community College is extremely fortunate to have received these funds,” said Vice Chancellor of Student Services Lui Hokoana who was head of the grant-writing team.
 
“It is a very rare for an institution to receive three fully funded proposals," said Kevin Ishida, Windward CC fiscal officer . "Moreover, these grants all together will mean a huge boost of federal funds coming into our college for targeted programs over the next five years” 
 
Other grants received to support projects and services at Windward CC include:
  • $2 million – Department of Education Grant to renew and extend TRiO services over the next six years. The Federal TRiO educational outreach programs are designed to motivate and support students from disadvantaged backgrounds–low-income, first-generation college students, and students with disabilities–to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to post baccalaureate programs.
  • $290,000 – NASA New Horizons Innovation Grant supports the Aerospace Opportunities for Underrepresented Learners and Instructors project, expanding the collegeʻs STEM initiative in astronomy and astronautics at both the credit and noncredit levels.
  • $88,000 – ANA Grant (Administration for Native Americans) from the Department of Health and Human Services to assess the status of Hawaiian language in the Ko‘olau communities of O‘ahu for continuing language revitalization efforts. 

For more information, visit: http://windward.hawaii.edu