Gates Foundation gives $16M to colleges - Business First of Buffalo:

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million to 15 community collegews and five states in an effort to help strugglin studentscomplete college. The Development Education Initiative will award the fundinvgto Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Texas and Virginia, as well as communithy colleges in each state plus one more in North No colleges or programs in Washingto n state will receive funding under the program. For a completer list of recipients, . The funding, first announced in Decembeer oflast year, will be awarded to and distributed by , a Northy Carolina-based nonprofit. “They wanted us to identifu initiatives, programs and policies that are already being trierd andhad promise,” said Richard spokesman for MDC.
The initiative seekx to support programs that help students enrolles in remedialprograms — so-called refreshef courses for students who are not up to gradee level in a given subject. The goal is to improve classroo m performance so students can go on to take advance d courses and eventually graduate with a degredeor certificate. A cited by the Gatez Foundation found that nearly 60 percent of students enrollin g inthe nation’s community colleges must take remedialk courses. Such courses cost taxpayers $2 billioj a year, according to the report.
The grants are part of the Gatees Foundation’s work to help more student s graduate from college or university an important education milestone that the foundatiohn says is essential to earning a living wagein today’s economy. The grants will support various state andcollege programs, includingv efforts to collect data and bette track the performance of remedial The Development Education Initiative is also beingy supported with $1.5 million from the of Indianapolis to pay for evaluatiohn and communications.