‘NMC proactive in pursuit of grants, additional funds’

Faced with scant local government support, the Northern Marianas College is diligently pursuing additional funds and resources, with several applications for federal grants filed this month and last.

At a Board of Regents meeting last week, NMC president Dr. Sharon Y. Hart commended faculty and staff for the hours they put in applying for grants amidst deadlines between the end of June and the first of July.

“We had three significant grants that had to go in. We had different individuals leading the different grants and faculty coming in. It was a major, major endeavor,” Hart said.

According to Amanda Allen, NMC’S distance learning coordinator and accreditation liaison officer, the grant that looks “most promising” is from the U.S. Department of Education’s GEAR UP program.

The GEAR UP program is designed to increase the number of low-income students who are prepared to enter college by providing states six-year grants to assist financially challenged high schools in preparing students for college, including grants for colleges to provide low-income students with scholarships, according to the USDOE website.

If the grant is approved, NMC would receive $1.8 million, Allen said.

Another grant that NMC applied for is the First in the World Program. According to the USDOE, grants are competitive and are awarded to innovative higher education institutions dedicated to increasing college access, affordability, and completion for underrepresented and low-income students.

Allen noted the college would get about $4 million if the grant is awarded them.

Hart said the college continues to work hard for additional funds and resources despite its many challenges.

“We are trying to be very proactive out there,” she said.

One challenge is that some programs made eligible for other U.S. territories and districts like Puerto Rico and Washington D.C. are not made eligible for the Commonwealth, she said.

Hart said she has been “extremely vocal” about this exclusion in meetings with USDOE officials.

One program that NMC is ineligible for is the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Career Training grant.

“We in the Pacific are not eligible for the TAACCT grant,” Hart said.

She noted that Hawaii institutions received a total of $28 million from the program, making them the No. 1 recipient of the grant in the last three years.

“And here we sit and we can’t even apply,” Hart said, adding that the college continues to raise this issue with UDOE officials.

Hart thanked her staff for their hard work in applying for the grants.

“We had conference calls at 4:00 in the morning so we could be involved in these conversations and get these grants out right,” Hart said.