U.S. Department of Education grants Mount Wachusett Community College $874K for students’ basic needs
Photo I Courtesy of Edd Cote
All students enrolled in at least one credited class at Mount Wachusett Community College can access the school's food pantry, Marty’s Market, without needing to provide proof of income.
As Mount Wachusett Community College is experiencing record-high enrollment numbers, the Gardner school has received nearly $1 million from the U.S. Department of Education to address basic needs within its student population.
MWCC will use its $874,420 grant through the ED’s Basic Needs for Postsecondary Students Program to support the establishment of the school’s Village Project: an initiative to offer basic needs resources to underrepresented students through cross-agency collaboration, according to a Friday press release.
The grant comes as the new President Donald Trump Administration has been trying to shrink the size of the federal government and its funding programs, including proposing to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and cut off programs designed to help underrepresented groups. The moves made by the administration have caused alarm among Central Massachusetts education and health leaders, particularly over proposed cuts to the National Institutes of Health grants.
MWCC’s Village Project centers four main initiates: expanding MWCC’s food pantry; boosting health services including physical, mental, behavioral health and trauma support, particularly at the school’s Leominster campus; supporting its child watch program, affording students free childcare for two to three hours at a time; and working with community partners to identify and address gaps in services regarding housing, transportation, and technology.
The Basic Needs program is a federal initiative created with a systemic, evidence-based approach by funding institutions of higher education to address their students’ essential needs and report on practices that enhance student outcomes, according to the program’s website. Qualifying schools must address two or more of the initiative’s targeted needs, perform community needs and asset mapping for new and existing programs advancing systemic change, and implement cross-agency community-based partnerships with neighboring businesses, nonprofits, or philanthropic organizations.
“This grant represents a transformative opportunity for MWCC to strengthen our commitment to student success by addressing the fundamental needs that can hinder academic achievement,” MWCC President James Vander Hooven said in the release. “The MWCC Village Project reflects our dedication to ensuring that every student has the support they need to thrive both inside and outside the classroom.”
This past fall, MWCC recorded the largest over-the-year enrollment increase of any of Central Massachusetts state university or community college in the past decade with its headcount rising 20.28% and full-time equivalent enrollment surging 23.17%. Following a steady decline in enrollment over the past 10 years, the enrollment surge is majorly attributed to the state’s MassReconnect and MassEducate programs which afford students a free community college education.
While MWCC had already established its food bank and drop-in child watch center, the school’s most recent grant is part of a wider effort to help students remain enrolled.
“By securing this grant, MWCC joins other institutions in a national effort to support students' basic needs, enhancing their ability to succeed academically and beyond,” Jason Zelesky, MWCC vice president of student affairs and dean of students, said in the release.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare and diversity, equity, and inclusion industries.
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