VGCC receives Grant to Inspire Women to Achieve
The American Association of University Women (AAUW) has awarded a $5,000 grant to Vance-Granville Community College to support a new program that will empower women to complete bachelor’s degrees. VGCC’s Campus Action Project, which is entitled “An Educated Woman, An Educated Future,” is designed to inspire women to complete a two-year degree at the community college and then successfully transfer to a four-year university. Through the project, women will attend three workshops, on the topics of “Motivation: Goals for Finishing a Four-Year Degree,” “Self-Care: Time Management, Health, Fitness and Professional Appearance,” and “Follow-Through to Completing a College Degree.”
These workshops, which will be offered free of charge, will provide guidance and information that can help students to set goals and maintain focus along the way to completing a four-year degree. Students currently attending any VGCC campus in any academic program are eligible to attend. In addition to the College Transfer program , which offers the first two years of a baccalaureate degree, several curriculum programs at VGCC have specific transfer agreements with various four-year public and private universities.
“Through this project, we hope to encourage women to not only complete their degrees here but also to take their education to the next level, in order to achieve their career goals,” said Jacquelin Heath , a longtime VGCC instructor and head of the School-Age Education Program , who is coordinating the project. “Female students often have barriers that prevent them from finishing a college degree, including family responsibilities or financial constraints. Our workshops will be designed to help women understand how to manage their studies and preserve their goal of obtaining a four-year degree.” Heath noted that during the 2012-2013 year, approximately 66% of VGCC students were female.
The Campus Action Project will work hand-in-hand with another initiative at VGCC, the Plus 50 Encore Completion Program . That program, funded by a grant from the American Association of Community Colleges, helps adults ages 50 and over to earn degrees or certificates in high-demand occupations. All female students, regardless of age, will be invited to participate in “An Educated Woman, An Educated Future.”
VGCC was one of 11 colleges across the country (and the only one in North Carolina) that recently received a grant from the American Association of University Women to support Campus Action Projects that will implement recommendations from the 2013 AAUW research report, “Women in Community College: Access to Success.” The AAUW empowers women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. The nonpartisan, nonprofit organization has more than 170,000 members and supporters across the United States, as well as 1,000 local branches and more than 800 college and university partners.
All female VGCC students are invited to the first free workshop/luncheon held as part of “An Educated Woman, An Educated Future.” The first workshop, called “Motivation: Goals for Finishing a Four-Year Degree,” had to be postponed due to weather, and will now be held on Feb. 24, 2014, at 11:30 a.m. at the VGCC Civic Center. Lunch will be provided. There is no charge for participating, but registration in advance is required.
Click here to Register: http://www.vgcc.edu/Forms/luncheonworkshop.cfm
