Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants

 
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    CFDA#

    17.261
     

    Funder Type

    Federal Government

    IT Classification

    B - Readily funds technology as part of an award

    Authority

    Employment and Training Administration (ETA)

    Summary

    The fourth round of Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants (SCC4) will increase the capacity and responsiveness of community colleges to meet the skill development needs of employers and equitably support students in obtaining good jobs in in-demand industries. Applicants will use strategies rooted in evidence and designed to build further evidence on the effectiveness of sector-based career pathways programs in leading to positive employment outcomes. These strategies will also address identified equity gaps to increase full access to educational and economic opportunity–particularly for individuals from historically underserved communities. Awarded grants will focus on accelerated learning strategies that support skill development, rapid reskilling, and employment through targeted industry sectors and career pathway approaches. These strategies will also address identified equity gaps to increase full access to educational and economic opportunity– particularly for individuals from historically underrepresented and marginalized populations and communities.


    This opportunity is built around four core elements: 1) Sector-Based Career Pathways Programs, 2) Good Jobs, Equitable Employment Outcomes, and Student Voice, 3) Strategy Options, and 4) Sustainable Systems Change.


    All those receiving an award are required to do a rigorous implementation or developmental evaluation through a qualified third-party, and this is an allowable cost of the award. In addition, applicants may opt to apply for additional evaluation funding beyond the standard grant award range to support a rigorous outcome, impact, or behavioral interventions study that assesses the effectiveness of the interventions, including whether the service delivery advances equity or other outcomes.


    Applicants may apply as individual institutions of higher education (institutions) or as part of a consortium of institutions. For both single and consortium applicants, the lead entity must be a community college that is a public institution of higher education as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act, and at which the associate degree is primarily the highest degree awarded. Consortium applicants can be organized around a state focus, a regional labor market focus, or an affinity focus, which is further described in Section III.A.1. Employers and the public workforce development system are required partners in all projects, which also encourage additional strategic partnerships to support successful employment outcomes for participants and sustainable systems change for community colleges.


    While matching funds are not required, leveraged funding and resources (including existing curricula) are strongly encouraged.

     

    History of Funding

    Round 3 Awards: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/SCC/SCC3%20Awardee%20Abstracts%20with%20Cover%20Sheet.pdf

    Round 2 Awards: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/SCC/Strengthening%20Community%20Colleges%20Training%20Grants%20Program%20Round%202%20Overview%20and%20Project%20Summaries%20of%20Grants.pdf

    Round 1 Awards: https://www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ETA/SCC/SCC%20Round%201%20Overview%20and%20Abstracts%2096.12.23.pdf

    Additional Information

    Ultimately, these grants should build the capacity of community colleges to equitably increase access to employment through educational and economic opportunity, by focusing on specific industry sectors and career pathways that will lead to skill development, rapid reskilling, and employment in quality jobs. These efforts will yield sustainable systems-level changes in education and training through collaboration between community colleges, employers and the public workforce development system that align education and training, work experiences, and industry-recognized credentials that lead to career growth.


    Grants will focus on advancing equitable employment throughout the grant program, specifically equity gaps in opportunities for credentials, and equity in employment outcomes for the participants served by the community colleges, and may also include increasing the capacity of the colleges to make sustainable shifts in how they support equitable employment.


    The Department will fund applications that address in their proposals all of the following SCC Core Elements:

    1. Core Element 1: Sector-Based Career Pathways Programs Applicants must implement a sector strategy that supports one or more career pathways programs, as described below. Due to the level of effort required to implement such a strategy, the Department encourages but does not require applicants to focus on a single industry sector. Examples of industry sectors include, but are not limited to, advanced manufacturing, information technology, healthcare, clean or renewable energy, transportation, and telecommunications or broadband infrastructure; applicants may propose other locally in-demand sectors while taking into account the good jobs emphasis in Core Element 2. Within a sector, applicants must enhance at least one career pathways program (though they may focus on more than one) to ensure that it includes the skills and credentials needed for placement in good jobs while also ensuring that the skills and credentials are provided in an equitable way.
    2. Core Element 2: Good Jobs, Equitable Employment Outcomes, and Student Voice In determining a project design for this Announcement, applicants will also need to ask themselves, Which occupations pay family-sustaining wages in the local community and lead to career progression? What are the critical equity gaps for underserved populations locally that impact employment in those occupations, as well as the education that supports employment opportunities? Why do those gaps exist? What practices, policies, rules, and processes are needed to increase our capacity to support good jobs and equitable employment for our underserved communities? What does the available evidence say about interventions that are likely to be successful at this?" Applicants will advance equity by identifying and addressing equity gaps that directly or indirectly impact labor market outcomes for locally underserved communities. Applicants are required to describe how they will incorporate student feedback loops throughout the grant to support quality career pathways development that meets the needs of students. For the purposes of this FOA, applicants must specifically focus on training for occupations that pay family-sustaining wages and provide skills and career advancement, as expressed in the seventh and eighth Good Jobs Principles:
      1. Pay. All workers are paid a stable and predictable living wage, as determined by the local area cost of living, before overtime, tips, and commissions. Workers' pay is fair, transparent, and equitable (i.e., workers with similar skills and experience are paid the same wage for the same work). Workers' wages grow commensurate with increased skills and experience.
      2. Skills and Career Advancement. Workers have equitable opportunities and tools to progress to future jobs. Workers have transparent promotion or advancement opportunities. Workers have access to high-quality occupational training, such as on-the-job training (OJT), and continuing education opportunities.
    3. Core Element 3: Strategy Options In determining a project design for this Announcement, applicants will need to ask themselves, "Which Strategy Options will enable us to achieve positive employment outcomes in good jobs and close or reduce identified equity gaps for local underserved communities?” To guide applicants in proposing project designs that aim to achieve positive employment outcomes, DOL has identified Strategy Options that evidence shows may influence career pathways program impact which fall into three high-level groupings: Employer Engagement, Comprehensive Supports, and Academic and Training Offerings. For the purposes of this FOA, the Department is emphasizing Employer Engagement and Comprehensive Supports. Applicants must select at least one strategy outlined in the FOA to undertake using grant funds. Applicants must make a clear connection between the strategies that they choose and the desired outcomes of good jobs” and equity gap reduction” in their project narrative.
    4. Core Element 4: Sustainable Systems Change In determining a project design for this Announcement, applicants will need to ask themselves, How can we ensure that the systems changes we make are institutionalized and sustained over the long term? What does the available evidence say about the strategies that will more likely lead to sustainable systems change that perpetuates solutions?” Sustainable systems change within the context of this FOA means that changes are made to policies, rules, procedures, and practices that impact sector-based career pathways program(s), to ensure equitable access to good jobs. Specifically, systems change for the purpose of equity seeks to make structural changes to the way a college operates and its culture, rather than focusing efforts on addressing perceived student deficits. Primary stakeholders in this collaboration include industry and employers, the public workforce development system, other institutions of higher education, unions, labor-management organizations, community-based organizations, and the departments and offices internal to community colleges.

    Contacts

    Matthew Carls

    Matthew Carls
    Office of Grants Management
    200 Constitution Avenue Northwest
    Washington, DC 20210
    (202) 693-3433.

    Khanh Tran

    Khanh Tran
    Office of Grants Management

    ,
     

  • Eligibility Details

    The eligible lead applicant must be a community college that is a public institution of higher education as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act and whose most common degree awarded is an associate degree. Awards made under this program will go to lead applicants that meet one of the following definitions:

    • Single Institution: A community college that is a public institution as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act, and at which the associate degree is primarily the highest degree awarded, as shown by the college's designation at https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/. A single institution lead applicant must form a Strengthening Community Colleges Training Grants Partnership (or SCC Partnership). A single institution applicant's SCC Partnership will comprise the lead applicant; the required workforce development system partner(s); the required employer partners; and any optional partners. One of the partners in the partnership must be identified as the sector convener (who may or may not be the lead applicant).
    • Institution Consortium: A lead applicant representing a consortium of institutions, as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act. The consortium lead must be a community college that is a public institution of higher education as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act, and at which the associate degree is primarily the highest degree awarded, as shown by the college's designation at https://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator/. Consortium members may include community colleges and public and private, non-profit four-year institutions, as defined in Section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act. Grants will be awarded to the lead applicant of the institution consortium, which will serve as the grantee and have overall fiscal and administrative responsibility for the grant. An institution consortium must include at least the consortium lead and one other institution, but the Department anticipates that more than two colleges will be required to accomplish the goals of the consortium, depending on the specific consortium focus. The institution consortium must partner with one or more workforce development system partners, and employer partner(s), as described below. Together the required and optional partners are referred to as a Strengthening Community Colleges (SCC) Training Grants Partnership (or SCC Partnership).

    All applicants must include in their SCC Partnership an employer partnership consisting of an industry/trade association or an employer sector consortium of at least three employers, for each proposed industry sector. The Department of Labor also strongly encourages applicants to collaborate with other partners that can support and advance the work of the SCC Partnership, such as unions or labor-management organizations, community-based organizations that provide social supports and/or wrap-around services, state-level or community college district-level entity, tribal entities, technical colleges, State Apprenticeship Agencies, federally funded programs, foundations, and philanthropic organizations.

    Deadline Details

    Applications are to be submitted by November 14, 2023. Future funding opportunities are anticipated annually.

    Award Details

    Approximately $65,000,000 will be available to fund SCC4 Program Grants. Applicants for initial consortia grants may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $5,750,000 for SCC4 program grants. Applicants for initial single institution grants may apply for a ceiling amount of up to $1,750,000 for SCC4 program grants. The minimum for both types of applicants is $1,500,000. The Department expects to award approximately 7-8 consortia grants and 6-9 single institution grants.


    This program does not require cost sharing or matching funds. Including such funds is not one of the application screening criteria and applications that include any form of cost sharing or match will not receive additional consideration during the review process. Instead, the agency considers any resources contributed to the project beyond the funds provided by the agency as leveraged resources. 


    The period of performance is 48 months.

    Related Webcasts Use the links below to view the recorded playback of these webcasts


    • Funding Classroom Technology to Empower Students and Teachers - Sponsored by Panasonic - Playback Available
    • Maximizing Technology-friendly Workforce Development Grants - Sponsored by Panasonic - Playback Available
    • Funding Data-driven Workforce Development Projects - Sponsored by NetApp - Playback Available

 

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