Mercy College Receives Third Title V Grant

Mercy College has been awarded its third competitive Title V grant from the U.S. Department of Education for Promoting Post-baccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPHOA). This five-year, $2.6 million grant will focus on providing graduate students with individualized, integrated services that will significantly improve their academic success, building on Mercy College’s revolutionary Personalized Achievement Contract (PACT) program available to undergraduate students.

“At Mercy College, our primary focus is on student success. We are very pleased to have been awarded this grant to support graduate student academic achievement. Modeled upon our highly successful undergraduate PACT program, this new program will provide our graduate students with individualized services throughout their college experience that will support them toward reaching their goals of attaining a graduate degree,” says Mercy College President Dr. Kimberly R. Cline.

“This Title V grant is an important step towards providing graduate students at Mercy College with the tools needed to succeed in this ever-changing world,” U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) says. “Mercy College has always been dedicated to providing their students with the best possible education and enhancing the lives of those who attend this world-class institution. By investing our federal dollars in these kinds of grants, we ensure the absolute best in education for students across New York State and the entire country.”

"Our institutions of higher education serve as gateways for opportunities for students to achieve success and contribute to the vitality of our communities. I am extremely pleased that Mercy College has made the expansion of access to higher education such a priority," New York State Senator Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D/WF - 35th District) says. "The awarding of this grant helps to affirm Mercy's commitment to providing greater opportunities for increasing numbers of students to achieve their academic goals, and I am so pleased that so many members of our community will benefit from this award."

The grant will support the establishment of new scholarships and programming that will prepare students for rewarding, in-demand careers in education and health sciences. Students will benefit from workshops developing discipline-specific writing and research skills; from the creation of new online learning experiences; and from building an electronic portfolio of their accomplishments. New graduate student centers will be created to build peer interactions and put learning tools directly in the hands of graduate students. Additionally, funding will provide opportunities for Mercy’s graduate faculty, including strategies for enhancing Web 2.0 learning and the use of e-portfolios in their work with students.

About the PACT program

Mercy College’s breakthrough Personalized Achievement Contract (PACT) program is a one-of-its kind in the U.S. The PACT breaks down traditional institutional silos and provides students with personal, customized and ongoing attention and planning to ensure success during their college careers and beyond. PACT mentors are engaged with students on an individual basis ─ from registration through graduation ─ as a single source of support across all aspects of their college experience, including admissions, academic and career advisement, financial services, general student life and personal/professional development. The program has experienced tremendous growth. From a beta group of 50 first-time, full-time freshmen in spring 2009, to more than 500 enrolled in the fall 2009 incoming class, the program now offers more than half of the first-time, full-time freshmen class one-on-one professional mentoring unlike any other college in the nation.

About Mercy College

Mercy College is a private, nonprofit institution founded in 1950, providing motivated students with the opportunity to earn degrees in more than 90 undergraduate and graduate programs within five schools: Business, Education, Health and Natural Science, Social and Behavioral Science, and Liberal Arts. An engaging and personalized learning experience is offered at the main campus in Dobbs Ferry, as well as campuses in the Bronx, Manhattan, Yorktown Heights and White Plains. www.mercy.edu 877-MERCY-GO