Hartford Foundation awards grants for minority students

Goal is to improve college completion rates

Recently issued grants from the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving are aimed at improving community college completion rates among low-income, minority students who have been disproportionately impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

With many students furloughed or jobless, higher education professionals were concerned incomplete degrees would skyrocket.

“Through the spring and through the summer, the Hartford Foundation washearing from some of the community colleges and other nonprofits in the area who were really saying that the situation with COVIDwas really hitting some low-income students really hard,” said Megan Burke, director of community impact granting for the foundation. “Schools going remote in many cases was sort of like a double whammy with some students who maybe had on-campus jobs to help them supplement their income and then also, not necessarily having a laptop or whatever they needed to be able to participate in class remotely.”

The foundation awarded five grants worth a total of $234,788 to Asnuntuck Community College in Enfield, Capital Community College in Hartford, Manchester Community College, Goodwin University in East Hartford and Hartford Promise, a nonprofit that provides college scholarships to city youths who meet attendance and grade criteria.

According to Community College Review, about 13% of firsttime, full-time community college students in Connecticut complete their graduation requirements within two years. Asnuntuck Community College scored a 29% completion rate, while Manchester Community College scored only 16% and Capital Community College scored just 7%.

“I think there’s some technology divide,” said Teresa Foley, interim dean of academic affairs at Asnuntuck Community College. “I think the pandemic has broadened or accentuated the differences amongst different groups in society.”

Asnuntuck plans to use its $45,485 grant to purchase 25 laptops to lend to Black and Latinx students to aid with remote learning as well to relaunch a higher education program for about 200 inmates in local correctional facilities that was put on hold due to the pandemic.

“We started the [Second Chance Pell Grant] in the fall of 2016 and we provide certificate and degree programs for students who are in four different Department of Correction facilities at the moment,” Foley said. “By getting this grant, wewereabletopurchase TVscreens and related equipment needed in order to create environments so the students can attend class remotely.”

Burke said the other grants will be tailored to students’ specific needs to help them with the challenges they face in terms of completing their degree requirements. While some students need laptops, access to Wi-Fi or tutoring sessions, others face food and housing disparities or family obligations.

“It’s really designed so that whatever those students need, it might help them just kind of get over those hurdles and continue with their classes, that they’ll be able to do so,” Burke said. “This is a program where I really feel like so many individual people’s lives are going to be changed by this so I get really excited talking about it.”