Rio Salado College is one of seventeen colleges nationwide to receive the “First in the World Grant” from the U.S. Department of Education. With the $2.6 million they received, they plan create an innovative program for students to follow that will offer support and planning as they work toward degrees.
“We are going to be developing a kind of wrap around system for students,” Shannon McCarty, Dean of Instruction Academic Affairs said. “They will be enrolled in a student success seminar which will provide a student success coach.”
McCarty says Rio Salado’s goal is to help the students who might feel intimidated by the college process, build their confidence, and help get them on a path to earn their degree as soon as they enroll.
The program does require incoming students be motivated, eligible for a Pell Grant, and committed to seeking a degree with Rio Salado College. The program is scheduled to be in place by January 2016.