FSC to Support Hispanic-Serving Institutions with $3M DOE Grant
To the Campus Community:
I’m pleased to announce that FSC has been awarded a five-year, $3 million grant from
the U.S. Department of Education in support of the Title V Developing Hispanic-Serving
Institutions (DHSI) Program. This is the largest federal grant in the history of the
College.
The award will support a new program entitled Education Milestones in Enrollment,
Retention, and Graduation Excellence. EMERGE is designed to create conditions and
implement strategies to address barriers that often prevent Hispanic and low-income
students from achieving their academic goals, while supporting learning, belonging,
and success for students across campus.
EMERGE uses proven, interconnected programmatic activities that promote student success.
The grant will allow the College to create an Office of First Year and Transfer Year
Experience that will be staffed with a coordinator, two academic success coaches,
and administrative support. The award will help many Farmingdale students and calls
for curricular innovations, such as implementing first-year learning communities,
replacing developmental courses in math and writing with credit-bearing co-requisite
courses, and relying on the College's Concurrent Enrollment Program (UHS) to support
college-readiness. In addition, EMERGE supports co- and extra-curricular programming
that has been a mainstay of Farmingdale's success in other areas: holistic advising
and wrap-around support services; academic tutoring and coaching in math, writing,
ELL, and other content areas; leadership, professional development, and financial
literacy coaching; summer and winter undergraduate research experiences as well as
internships, civic engagement, and applied learning opportunities. EMERGE will also
provide FTFT and transfer orientation for all FSC students and professional development
for faculty centered on learning communities and culturally responsive pedagogies.
The project will ultimately impact 1,250 students and 100 faculty. Leveraging our
recent federal designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution, EMERGE will build FSC's
support and access programs, and demonstrate our commitment to making college completion
a reality for a broader range of students.
Congratulations and thanks to Provost Laura Joseph, Associate Provost Chris Malone,
Dominic Esposito, director of Research Foundation and Sponsored Programs, and all
who were involved in preparing and submitting the proposal and securing this historic
award for Farmingdale and our students.
John Nader
President
