Loyola to participate in pathways to college grant through MICUA
The Maryland Independent College and University Association (MICUA) has been awarded a $50,000 initial grant by the Teagle Foundation to help more community college students in Maryland achieve their goal of earning a degree from a four-year college. Loyola University Maryland—a member of MICUA—will participate with other MICUA member institutions and Maryland’s 16 community colleges to create a transfer consortium and improve transfer pathways to colleges.
With a focus on students who have been historically underrepresented and underserved at institutions of higher education, the MICUA consortium will build upon existing opportunities to make transfer to Maryland independent schools from in-state community colleges as smooth and seamless as possible. Debbie Ricker, Ph.D., provost and vice president for academic affairs at Hood College, and Tony Hawkins, Ph.D., provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Frederick Community College, co-chaired the workgroup that submitted the proposal and that included Chief Academic Officers and grant writers from the MICUA campuses and the community colleges. Cindy Moore, Ph.D., associate vice president of Undergraduate Academic Affairs and Faculty Development and professor of writing at Loyola, was also a main contributor to the proposal.
“This collaborative effort is a great example of educators working together on behalf of Maryland students. Our focus is on assisting community-college students with transferring to the MICUA school that best meets their particular needs,” said Moore.
Through this grant, MICUA will create a comprehensive and coordinated mechanism for promoting transfer from Maryland community colleges to MICUA schools, and for sharing information about transfer student recruitment, support-services, and outcomes across all institutions. Beyond allowing MICUA to build a statewide structure to collaborate with community college peers, this grant will help align MICUA priorities with the priorities of the Maryland Higher Education Commission (MHEC) for transfer, as well as nationwide interest in expanding post-secondary education to all those who seek it.
“We are so grateful for this generous funding from The Teagle Foundation and the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations” said Sara Fidler, President of MICUA. “Their confidence and support will enable us to strengthen our efforts to facilitate transfer as part of the community college student’s journey toward the achievement of a baccalaureate degree. We are looking forward to getting started.”