PARAMUS, N.J. – Selected from more than 300 applications, U.S. Education Department officials have awarded a $2.6 million “First in the World” grant to Bergen Community College. Only six community colleges earned shares of the $60 million program developed by the Obama administration to fund projects supporting innovative teaching and learning practices, assessment and developmental education. In all, 17 colleges in 14 states received grants as part of the program, with Bergen serving as the lone New Jersey representative.
“To stand as one of only six community colleges receiving a ‘First in the World’ grant has once again placed Bergen in an elite group,” Bergen President B. Kaye Walter, Ph.D., said. “I am proud of the staff that helped deliver this award and remain excited about the grant’s prospects for supporting student success. Grants play an increasingly critical role in bridging gaps for community colleges and their students.”
Bergen and partner institution Union County College will utilize the grant to pilot the “Alternatives to Math Placement, an Unprecedented Program (AMP UP),” which will enable a research study on new approaches to math remediation. According to the Department of Education, students enrolled in remedial math classes rose from approximately one million to 2.7 million in just 10 years. As such, more than half of all U.S. community college students require remediation. The AMP UP initiative will study possible solutions for the rise in remediation by dividing 2,400 students at Bergen and Union into groups that will receive specialized support from a bridge program and increased tutoring.
The “First in the World” grant program began last year when the federal government awarded $75 million to 24 colleges. The Obama administration budgeted $200 million next year for a third round of grants under the program.
Based in Paramus, Bergen Community College (www.bergen.edu), a public two-year coeducational college, enrolls 16,000 students at locations in Paramus, the Philip J. Ciarco Jr. Learning Center in Hackensack and Bergen Community College at the Meadowlands in Lyndhurst. The College offers associate degree, certificate and continuing education programs in a variety of fields. More students graduate from Bergen than any other community college in the state.