A $3 million U.S. Dept. of Education grant to CCNY will increase the number of students graduating with work-ready skills.
CiPASS-ExL, an interdisciplinary program at The City College of New York focusing on experiential learning, is the recipient of a $3 million five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to boost the number of Hispanic and low-income graduates leaving CCNY with work-ready skills and connections to employers. Harlem-based CCNY is designated a Hispanic Serving Institution of Higher Education by the DOE.
The acronym for “City College initiative to Promote the Academic Success of Students - Experiential Learning,” CiPASS-ExL is the creation of four CCNY units: the Grove School of Engineering; the School of Education; the Division of Science; and the Career and Professional Development Institute (CPDI).
With the DOE funding, CiPASS-ExL will scale up select programs providing experiential learning to CCNY students via on and off campus internships. The idea is to expose a much larger population to disciplines in high demand sectors of the New York economy, said Jorge E. Gonzalez, Presidential Professor at CCNY and CiPASS-ExL head.
Specific goals include:
- Creation of programs and opportunities to connect students with employers and explore careers earlier in their trajectories;
- Expansion of internship and experiential learning opportunities in growth areas and industries via a specified pathway;
- Development of the internal infrastructure to support expanded experiential learning, internship opportunities and tracking metrics; and
- Improvement in the retention and employability of students by working with industry and employers to align majors and skill development with current and future opportunities.
“These project goals will have measurable and significant outcomes such as at least 400 students placed in internships, 1000 students participating in career readiness and engagement workshops, relationships developed with more than 50 new employers, and curricular revision of at least five majors based on industry advisement,” said Gonzalez.
The big picture, he added, is to provide experiential learning opportunities to the maximum possible number of students from all disciplines, and ideally ensure that each CCNY student graduates after participating in at least one paid internship.
About the City College of New York
Since 1847, The City College of New York has provided a high-quality and affordable education to generations of New Yorkers in a wide variety of disciplines. CCNY embraces its position at the forefront of social change. It is ranked #1 by the Harvard-based Opportunity Insights out of 369 selective public colleges in the United States on the overall mobility index. This measure reflects both access and outcomes, representing the likelihood that a student at CCNY can move up two or more income quintiles. In addition, the Center for World University Rankings places CCNY in the top 1.8% of universities worldwide in terms of academic excellence. Labor analytics firm Emsi puts at $1.9 billion CCNY’s annual economic impact on the regional economy (5 boroughs and 5 adjacent counties) and quantifies the “for dollar” return on investment to students, taxpayers and society. At City College, more than 16,000 students pursue undergraduate and graduate degrees in eight schools and divisions, driven by significant funded research, creativity and scholarship. CCNY is as diverse, dynamic and visionary as New York City itself. View CCNY Media Kit.