Curious about Virginia Western’s Title III grant? Our grant narrative might have been 55 pages long, but we were able to boil main points down to one page. You can download the summary as a PDF and print, or find the overview below (updated as of March 2021): Get REAL One Sheet SummaryDownload Get REAL (Refocus Education on Adult Learners), 2020 to 2025 What: A 5-year, $1.8-million grant from the U.S. Department of Education Title III Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP). VWCC President Dr. Robert H. Sandel calls it the “holy grail” of community college grants. Purpose: To better serve and model stronger pathways to employment for the region’s adult learners (age 20 and older) – the new majority in higher education – especially adults from low-income backgrounds and students of color. VWCC data (2018-19): Average age: 25 / 54% adult learners / 82% of all students attend part-time Project director: Dr. Milan Hayward, Vice President of the School of Corporate and Career Training National education reform organizations Achieving the Dream (ATD) and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL) will provide data coaching, professional development, and expertise in the adult-learner space. Personnel to be hired (updated March 2021): Activity… Continue Reading Summary: Get REAL (Refocus Education on Adult Learners)Read More
I only remember two things from my first day of college: What I was wearing, and meeting Sophia. And I only recall my outfit — a risky combo of black skirt with tan tights — because Sophia joked about it months later. Our “integrative studies” program at George Mason University was a pretty radical cohort model: All of us — maybe 200? — entered GMU as the first graduating class of New Century College. During our freshman year, all 200 of us gathered for the big welcome speeches and other significant lectures. But most of our time was spent in groups of 50, 25, or 5 for intense mini-mesters. We were assigned to these small learning communities within the gigantic commuter college, which is probably why I never imagined transferring. Interdisciplinary group work and experiential learning were at the heart of NCC, which is now known as the School of Integrative Studies. Sophia was in my first group of five during the fall semester, and we quickly bonded over prom disaster stories and the realization that we both wore black-choker necklaces for our senior photos. We just … clicked. She was a first-gen college student from a first-gen Greek family who… Continue Reading Are we a relationship-rich college?Read More
I’ve been following the snow buzz very closely this week, as this “wintry intrigue” may interfere with the Improv for Teaching and Learning workshop we have been planning for almost a year. The Zoom workshop is currently scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. Friday, Jan. 8, and it’s open to all faculty and staff. I’m tempted to further emphasize the fun factor with extra !!!!!, but it’s starting to feel like I’m selling enforced fun, which is …. never fun. So I will just say this workshop is nothing to be scared of … and it could change your life. No bigs. I have even created a link to automagically add it to your Outlook calendar, because we should all be formally scheduling our joyful, life-changing moments. And if we are snowed out, welp, we’ll just have to roll with it and reschedule, which is exactly what improv helps us do: Roll with the inevitable hiccups of life with more creativity and grace and less cussing. In the meantime — while I’m obsessively refreshing the WDBJ weather maps — please enjoy this 10-minute TEDx talk, which is highly recommended by Ami Trowell, who will be facilitating our workshop. I explain… Continue Reading Friday will be fun! (Even if it doesn’t snow)Read More
About Shelley
Shelley Lyons is glad to be back on campus as she is a Virginia Western alum, and has served as the Administrative Officer for Grants Administration at Virginia Western since early 2022. Prior to VWCC, her career focus was within the Human Services and Arts fields. She wrote her first grant in 1996 on a whim and has continued to plan and learn since that time. She most enjoys seeing a well-planned project come to fruition, where funder, project manager and beneficiaries can all feel success and see impact.
Recent Posts
- Why Try An LOI? May 10, 2024
- Grant Nerds Unite! March 12, 2024
- The Power of Collaboration November 17, 2023
- Time to Innovate October 4, 2023
- How to tackle grant season? August 14, 2023