Mount Wachusett CC receives $2.2M to update tech and improve programs

Photo/Grant Welker Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner

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By Timothy Doyle

Mount Wachusett Community College in Gardner received a $2,249,709 grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Title III - Strengthening Institutions Program to help improve academic readiness and workforce preparation for students.

The program distributes five-year awards to schools for whom at least 50% of students are Pell grant eligible, according to a Monday press release from MWCC.

MWCC will use the funds to update aging technological systems, move the equity imperative forward in a deliberative and intentional way, strengthen student onboarding and student support systems, improve curriculum and career alignment, and fortify student readiness and competitiveness in the workforce, according to the press release.

“The Title III grant can and will be a catalyst for transformative change within the college as we address longstanding equity issues, enhancing student-centered initiatives, and furthering our strategic goals listed in our five-year Strategic Plan,” MWCC president James Vander Hooven said in the press release. “The changes and enhancements we intend to make with this funding will not only align with MWCC’s identity, but also will be a natural extension of our identity as the region’s community college – an equity-minded, data-informed, student-centered, and fiscally responsible institution.”