"When the U.S. Department of Education cited short-term workforce programs as a priority for grants from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), community college leaders celebrated. After all, many have spent decades building up these credential options, which are expected to be the main beneficiaries of the Trump administration's Workforce Pell funding. So, they were somewhat surprised when the FIPSE grant winners were announced last month and showed a number of four-year colleges and universities on the list."
"Almost half of the grants doled out, 10 out of 22, went to higher ed institutions that aren't community colleges. (Nine were four-year colleges or universities, plus Meharry Medical College, a private historically Black medical school. Michigan State University's proposal included community college partnerships, but none of the others did.) Of the four-year institutions chosen, four of them-University of Missouri, Michigan State University, Mississippi State University and University of North Dakota-boast R-1 status, the coveted Carnegie classification connoting "very high" research activity."
"David Baime, senior vice president for government relations at the American Association of Community Colleges, said community college advocates are thrilled to see ED prioritize short-term programs. At the same time, "we were a little surprised at the list of recipients, because they do not reflect the distribution of work that's being done on campuses in this area," Baime said. Community colleges have shown "deep and longstanding engagement" in developing short-term programs."
The Department of Education prioritized short-term workforce programs for FIPSE grants, prompting strong interest from community colleges that have long developed such credentials. Of the 22 grants awarded, 10 went to institutions that are not community colleges, including nine four-year colleges and Meharry Medical College. Several grant recipients are R-1 research universities, despite less historical emphasis on short-term workforce credentials. Michigan State included community college partnerships, but most four-year winners did not. Community college leaders expressed congratulations for the priority but noted surprise at the recipients given community colleges' deep, longstanding engagement in short-term program development.
Read at Inside Higher Ed | Higher Education News, Events and Jobs
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]