05/09/11 The Marshall County Community Foundation has provided Ancilla College a grant in the amount of $20,300 to help launch the ADEPT (Assistive Developmentally-Enhanced Program and Technology) Initiative, the College announced on Thursday.
The ADEPT Initiative will increase services for remedial education classes in Ancilla College’s math and writing lab. It will also increase service for Ancilla College students who need supplemental instruction and tutoring.
“Through our ADEPT Initiative, notebook computers will be available in our remedial classes and in Ancilla’s math and writing labs,” said Dr. Joanna F. Blount. “Students in remedial math courses will benefit from computers equipped with Hawkes Learning software. Last year, Morehead Community College in Kentucky experienced a 41 percent increase in student graduation after passing developmental math courses with Hawkes.”
The ADEPT Initiative will also partner with Marshall County Workforce Development and the Plymouth School Corporation to work with GED students ready to enter remedial college courses by offering on-site college-level placement testing at the GED educational site.
Ancilla staff will also be available to work with students and the College will host quarterly orientations to assist GED students with college readiness information including financial aid workshops, library research and writing workshops.
“The grant application prepared by Ancilla was very well written, addressed an economic development need within our county, contained significant donated resources by the requesting organization, and involved collaboration with another existing local not-for-profit, Adult Basic Education,” said Jennifer Maddox, President and CEO of the Marshall County Community Foundation. “Based on feedback from the Marshall County community, the Foundation has placed economic development as one of our top priorities and we are excited to sponsor the inception of the ADEPT program to meet that need.”
The ADEPT Initiative is aimed at improving student success both in college courses and in their future careers. A recent study by Indiana’s Chamber of Commerce reported that the shift from an industrial to high-tech knowledge economy means more than 1.5 million Hoosier adults need additional education and training.
In Marshall County alone, that translates into some 20,000 residents needing more education and higher level skills. Furthermore, the Chamber found more than a million Hoosiers are underprepared to do any kind of college-level work.
Ancilla College is a Catholic, two-year, co-educational, liberal arts college in Donaldson, Indiana sponsored by the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ.
