Schoolcraft College Vision Newsletter

As part of D3C3, Schoolcraft College and six other community college partners are executing plans to create systemic change that increases equitable access and enrollment for high school students and aligns academic programs to promising career paths. The community college partners are also developing regional strategies to collectively address inequitable systems. Schoolcraft College has been awarded $4.4 million in grant funds for the program. Schoolcraft will invest funds in three key areas: an Employer-led Mobility Strategy, K-12 Alignment, and Student Success. Education is the key to upward socioeconomic mobility and needs to be available and supported regardless of gender, race, income level, or age. Schoolcraft’s transformational D3C3 work will identify and remove barriers to higher education and career advancement. Schoolcraft’s goal is to increase college applications from K-12 schools through outreach efforts and to increase the racial diversity and percentage of applicants from low-income families. This funding will allow the College to expand outreach, strengthen relationships with area schools, and expand outreach to 8th through 12th graders. Schoolcraft also continues to advocate for statewide policy changes in funding for dual enrollment. A significant goal for D3C3 is to increase the State of Michigan’s postsecondary attainment rate to 60% and cut the racial equity educational attainment gap by half. Schoolcraft is committed to educating the talent required for Michigan to be the mobility industry leader. To achieve that, the College will partner with mobility stakeholders to design and implement new, relevant programs in Automotive Electronics. Schoolcraft can create programs that prepare students to go directly from the classroom to a career through these partnerships. The College has successfully done this in other sectors, including partnering with Trinity Health to address critical staffing shortages impacting healthcare providers. The support will also help Schoolcraft expand its Student Success model. The model brings together student services, academics, and enrollment services to help ensure every student has an individual pathway. As part of D3C3, Schoolcraft participated in Georgia State University’s National Institute for Student Success (NISS). NISS provided a guidebook specific to Schoolcraft to offer guidance to address institutional barriers for students, particularly underserved populations, and non-traditional-aged students.

The NISS Guidebook will lead future efforts and investments to improve student outcomes. “Students facing barriers to degree attainment deserve access to family-sustaining careers,” said Kylee Mitchell Wells, Ballmer Group’s Southeast Michigan Executive Director. “This partnership is designed to open new doors and create smoother pathways from education to career success, closing equity gaps across our Region.” “ Community colleges are Southeast Michigan’s largest and arguably most important talent development asset. Skilled talent is directly linked to economic growth and regional prosperity.”

SCHOOLCRAFT COLLEGE RECEIVES $4.4M GRANT TO BOOST ACCESS AND GRADUATION RATES, MEET EMPLOYER TALENT NEEDS

In April, the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Detroit Drives Degrees Community College Collaborative (D3C3) announced over $30 million in support from Ballmer Group and the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. The initiative is a partnership with seven Southeast Michigan community colleges, including Schoolcraft College, to ensure students have equitable educational opportunities and graduate with high-value credentials or degrees that lead to good paying, in-demand jobs with local employers, boosting the Region’s overall prosperity.

“This means so much to our students,” said Dr. Glenn Cerny, president of Schoolcraft College. “We’re thankful to have partners who recognize the value of education and how strongly community colleges support the local economy. At Schoolcraft, we’re focused on removing barriers to education so that everyone can benefit from the opportunity it creates. Support like this helps us enhance programming for current students and makes more people aware of how community colleges can help them reach their goals.”

David Egner, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation

“Community colleges are Southeast Michigan’s largest and arguably most important talent development asset. Skilled talent is directly linked to economic growth and regional prosperity,” said David Egner, President and Chief Executive

Officer of the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation. “The Detroit Drives Degrees Community College

Collaborative (D3C3) is a large-scale, strategic injection of investment in our regional community college system that has the potential to make meaningful and lasting change. We are thrilled to partner with the community college leaders, Ballmer Group, and the Detroit Regional Chamber to envision and officially launch D3C3.” D3C3 was developed out of the Chamber’s Detroit Regional Talent Compact, a 10-year equity-driven initiative to increase the Region’s postsecondary attainment rate to 60% and reduce the racial equity gap by half by 2030 – the same “60 by 30” goal later adopted by the State of Michigan.

From left to right: David Egner, President & CEO, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation; Dr. Glenn Cerny, President of Schoolcraft College; Carol Strom, Board Chair, Schoolcraft College; Kayla Roney Smith, Portfolio Manager, Ballmer Group; Susan Dundon, Program Officer, Ralph C. Wilson Jr. Foundation.

Summer 2023 | 3

2 | Schoolcraft College Foundation Newsletter