EXPECTED DIRECT IMPACT:
Additionally, the new tools and software for resilient services may be leveraged to support more than 3600 technical college students annually from this FIPSE grant funding.
Orangeburg-Calhoun Technical College has been designated as the Lead Institution for a Consortium comprised of three majority minority serving technical colleges located in under-served and under-resourced rural communities of lower South Carolina. The three partnering institutions have a common mission to provide quality education and promote economic development. This mission has been severely interrupted by the challenges of COVID-19. Therefore, the Consortium is seeking funding for a $1,767,896.00 grant through Institutional Resilience and Expanded Postsecondary Opportunity grants program to address these challenges. Denmark Technical College, a Historically Black College or University, and Williamsburg Technical College are the other partners in the Consortium. The three colleges serve a rural six county area. Each county contains Qualified Opportunity Zones. The proposed innovative and crucial project is called South Carolina Pathways for Rural Innovation and Dual Credit Expansion, or SC-PRIDE. All area school districts, the SC Technical College System, and the SC Department of Education are grant partners. SC-PRIDE meets the ABSOLUTE PRIORITY of the solicitation by providing infrastructure and resources for each college to ensure the resilient curriculum delivery models and online support services necessary to train a future workforce during a global pandemic.
The project’s stated goal is: To provide an innovative K-14 program of Dual Credit Pathways using resilient curriculum delivery models and online support services to introduce and transition under-represented and rural students to college and to the workforce during the continuing challenges of COVID-19. The objectives stated below will help this rural region to regain lost momentum caused by COVID-19 disruptions.
OBJECTIVES
| OBJECTIVE 1 | Expand career and technology opportunities through the redesign, development, and implementation of nine state-approved online or hybrid Career and Technology Dual Credit Pathways, consisting of four courses each (36 courses total), that will also facilitate K-12 CTE Completer status for Perkins. |
| OBJECTIVE 2 | Increase enrollment in new and existing Dual Credit Pathways through the implementation of new online tools to be used by counselors, parents, and students for career exploration, college applications, financial aid assistance, and registrations in rural and underserved communities across six counties, including Opportunity Zones, in which there is not even a public transportation system. |
| OBJECTIVE 3 | Improve course quality and substantive faculty interaction in online and hybrid courses through a comprehensive online faculty professional development program that addresses both development and delivery of the new resilient curriculum delivery models. |
| OBJECTIVE 4 | Increase CTE Pathway persistence through faculty and staff use of online communication and monitoring/advising tools to ensure student progress, provide online virtual assistance, and facilitate communication with counselors, students, and parents. |
| OBJECTIVE 5 | Provide online tools to assess the effectiveness of the courses and services the colleges are providing. |
