Listen to this articleFarmingdale State College was awarded a five-year, $3 million U.S. Department of Education grant, the largest federal grant the college ever received.
The grant, under the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions program, will support the development of a new Farmingdale State program, Education Milestones in Enrollment, Retention, and Graduation Excellence (EMERGE). The new program is designed to address barriers that often prevent Hispanic and other low-income students from achieving their academic goals.
“As a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution, Farmingdale has its pulse on what is needed to support student success and the creation of EMERGE will further our impact,” Laura Joseph, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at the college, said in a news release about the grant.
“This funding will greatly influence our work to address barriers that prevent students from achieving their academic goals,” Joseph added.
EMERGE aims to leverage strategies that the college says have been proven to promote student success. This grant will support the creation of an Office of First Year and Transfer Year Experience on campus and to enable curricular innovation in support of improved college readiness. In addition, EMERGE will support co- and extracurricular programming that the college says have had a positive impact at the college.
The project can potentially impact as many as 1,250 students and 100 faculty. With the college’s recent federal designation as a Hispanic-Serving Institution and eligibility for funding under the Title V program, EMERGE is designed to build on Farmingdale State’s support and access programs and demonstrate the college’s commitment to making degree completion a reality for a broader range of students.
“The EMERGE award represents the remarkable and essential work that is underway campus-wide to grow opportunities and success for our students while emphasizing our standing as a focused Hispanic-Serving Institution,” Robert Prezant, president of Farmingdale State, said in the news release. “This grant is a game-changer that will enable us to expand and enhance our already high-quality programs that support our growing Hispanic student population.”
