AIC receives quarter million dollar grant to help students
SPRINGFIELD--First generation college students will have a better chance of succeeding thanks to a grant received by American International College. The college has been awarded $265,000 to establish The Center for Academic Success, designed to improve student success through seamless advising and integrated academic support services.
Gregory T. Schmutte, vice president for academic affairs at AIC, said the grant will go a long way to helping AIC students, many of whom are low income and first generation college students. "Student-faculty relationships, known to be essential to student engagement and student success, are especially critical when the students come from backgrounds in which higher education is not common, as is characteristic of 40 percent of AIC's students."
The grant was received from the Davis Educational Foundation of Falmouth, Maine, established by Stanton and Elisabeth Davis, after Mr. Davis' retirement as chairman of Shaw's Supermarkets, Inc.
The goal of this project is to integrate academic support services and to provide advising that is developmental, accurate, and demonstrably effective in helping students grow in their ability to take responsibility and effectively manage their academic and professional lives. The five components to the academic success plan are: advising, career development, teaching, academic support and curriculum.
"With the funding, a new position, Director of Academic Success (DAS), will be established," Schmutte said. The director will be responsible for managing the academic advising processes for AIC's traditional program students and to provide a unified advising structure."
Schmutte said there will also be a restructuring to coordinate Student Support Services, the Academic Resource Center and Career Services to ensure seamless, comprehensive advising with integrated career development and academic support.
Career development will be threaded through the entire AIC experience, beginning with the development of self-understanding and exploration of first year students and carrying through to support of job search, application to graduate school, and transition beyond graduation," he said.
The faculty will be a integral part of the new program, according to Schmutte. "We'll use the resources needed to support and extend the impact of the advisors' efforts, including a major overhaul of the advising handbook, attend the National Academic Advising Association Conference (NACADA), and create faculty training curriculum and materials."
Another part of the program will focus on educating students regarding the role of the advisor. "Students sometimes view the advisor as a bureaucratic roadblock to be evaded or as a decision maker with all the authority and responsibility in the relationship. These common student misconceptions frequently impede the potential effectiveness of advisors," he said.
For more information, contact the AIC Office of Public Relations at (413) 205-3231.
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