Greenville Technical College is part of The Hope Center for College, Community and Justice’s first #RealCollege Institutional Capacity-Building Cohort (ICBC), which includes 27 institutions of higher education across the country.
The program is designed to assist colleges and universities in retaining students who need food and housing supports and who were made more vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cohort will utilize data from The Hope Center’s evidence-based research studies to empower institutions in assisting these students. The cohort will create an ecosystem for developing solutions to complex problems, empowering leaders to impact organizational change and to build connections with other colleges. Member institutions will increase their capacity for assessment, analysis, and social support systems for students as they also strengthen partnerships with organizations in the community that can help students move forward.
The cohort begins this month and extends through May 2022, with learning modules focused on assessment, support, driving state and federal policy and advocacy, and supporting the basic needs ecosystem. Sessions, attended by administrators, staff, faculty, and students, will offer deep analysis of The Hope Center’s research and annual surveys, which are the nation’s largest and longest-standing rigorous assessment of students’ basic needs.
“This important project builds on two rounds of RealCollege surveys that we have conducted at Greenville Technical College before and during the pandemic,” said Dr. Larry Miller, vice president of learning and workforce development. “Knowing the challenges our students currently face has deepened our commitment to addressing barriers to student success. As a member of the cohort, we will explore and incorporate best practices for assisting students with food, housing, and hidden challenges of degree completion.”