The Consortium partners with several local organizations such as the Hanover Theatre for the Performing Arts, the Shrewsbury Street Merchants Association, and the Worcester Cultural Coalition to help promote events geared towards college students.
Consortium Awarded Funding from Mass. Board of Higher Ed.
Release Date:
August 8, 2007 Worcester, MA – The Colleges of Worcester Consortium, Inc. has been awarded funding from the Massachusetts Board of Higher Education’s Ronald E. McNair Reserve for fiscal year 2008 and 2009.
The award, which is made for a two-year cycle, will help support the Consortium’s Careers Plus program at Worcester Technical High School (WTHS). Careers Plus provides comprehensive postsecondary access services tailored to the specific needs of approximately 160 students in grades 9-12 at WTHS. The funding provides for a full-time education advisor at WTHS. Services provided to students include career advisement, academic support services, and preparation for postsecondary programs. Also included are field trips to colleges and universities, admissions assistance, and financial aid information and application assistance.
The total two-year award of $43,281 is a 25 percent increase from the McNair Reserve funding the Consortium received in 2005. In total, 66 proposals, requesting over $3.5 million were submitted from public and private colleges and universities this year according to an announcement from Clantha McCurdy, vice chancellor, Office of Student Financial Assistance. The Consortium’s Careers Plus program has consistently been funded with this award since the early 1990s.
“We’re extremely pleased that we will be able to continue to offer these vital services to a high-need yet high-potential student group,” said Pamela Boisvert, vice president for higher education access services at the Consortium. “In today’s global economy, some form of postsecondary education or training is vital if an individual is to become self-sufficient and a contributing member of the region’s economy. These students represent our future.”
In addition to Careers Plus, the Consortium also operates the higher education access programs Educational Talent Search and GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) within the Worcester Public Schools. Ninety-five percent of the 12th grade students involved in the three programs applied to college this year. The Consortium also operates the Kids to College program, working with sixth-graders in targeted central Massachusetts communities.
Among the colleges and universities that have recently accepted Careers Plus, Educational Talent Search, and GEAR UP students are Yale University, the University of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth College, Boston College, Boston University, Temple University, Northeastern University, and all 10 of the Consortium institutions that confer traditional undergraduate degrees.