MONROE — Blackhawk Technical College has been selected as one of six community colleges nationwide to receive a $150,000 grant from Lumina Foundation to improve and expand its digital outreach capabilities to better connect with prospective students. 

The grant will enable Blackhawk to implement a new user-friendly registration platform exclusively designed for students seeking to take non-credit courses from the college. By enhancing accessibility and streamlining the registration process, the new platform will open doors for returning adults to explore additional career options and seek new paths for personal and professional growth.

“Blackhawk is deeply grateful to Lumina Foundation for their generous support,” said Dr. Tracy Pierner, President of Blackhawk. “A new platform will provide a seamless experience for our students and ultimately expand the education opportunities available to everyone in Rock and Green counties.” 

Last year, Lumina launched The Million Dollar Community College Challenge, a national grant competition to help community colleges position their brand and marketing to gain the attention of adult learners. Nine finalists and one grand prize winner were selected. As part of that process, Lumina heard from hundreds of community colleges across the country with strong visions for improving community connections, marketing and outreach. Many of these colleges also expressed an immediate need to improve how they use social media, college websites and mobile technology to increase engagement, interest in the college, and access to information needed to make informed choices about enrollment.

“We are thrilled to provide the resources these schools need to connect with potential students,” said Mary Laphen Pope, strategy officer for community college participation at Lumina. “We intentionally focused on smaller colleges, which make up most two-year institutions. These colleges are vital to education access and economic mobility and need additional investments to bring what they have to offer to the hands of today’s students.”

The other selected colleges to receive a Lumina grant are Iowa Lakes Community College, Bismarck State College, South Piedmont Community College, Central Wyoming College and Guam Community College.