JANESVILLE - Blackhawk Technical College is one of 31 technical and community colleges in a four-state region to receive a Dash emergency grant from the Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation. The grant will help financially strapped BTC students overcome financial obstacles that might otherwise cause them to drop out.
Blackhawk has received $38,700 from Great Lakes that will enable low-income students to apply for grants to help cover expenses just beyond their means, which allows them to quickly return focus to their academic pursuits. It is part of a $1.5 million grant program from Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation has made funds available to schools in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio. Dash is based on the success of an emergency grant program that Great Lakes piloted at the 16 schools of the Wisconsin Technical College System from 2012 to 2015. More than 2,600 students received grants averaging $500 each in that time period. Of the students who received emergency grants, 73 percent either graduated or remained enrolled.
Blackhawk will begin making student emergency grants of up to $500 each in spring. Qualified expenses will be paid within 48 hours of an approved application. Students also will be referred to additional campus, community and financial literacy resources to supplement the grants, address root causes or contributing factors to the financial emergencies and further support students' persistence.
To serve greater numbers of students throughout the Great Lakes grant period and beyond, BTC will contribute matching funds during the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 academic years.
For more information or to pledge support to the BTC Foundation, contact Elizabeth Horvath, Director of Advancement and Community Relations, at 608-757-7704.
Blackhawk has received $38,700 from Great Lakes that will enable low-income students to apply for grants to help cover expenses just beyond their means, which allows them to quickly return focus to their academic pursuits. It is part of a $1.5 million grant program from Great Lakes.
The Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation has made funds available to schools in Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio. Dash is based on the success of an emergency grant program that Great Lakes piloted at the 16 schools of the Wisconsin Technical College System from 2012 to 2015. More than 2,600 students received grants averaging $500 each in that time period. Of the students who received emergency grants, 73 percent either graduated or remained enrolled.
Blackhawk will begin making student emergency grants of up to $500 each in spring. Qualified expenses will be paid within 48 hours of an approved application. Students also will be referred to additional campus, community and financial literacy resources to supplement the grants, address root causes or contributing factors to the financial emergencies and further support students' persistence.
To serve greater numbers of students throughout the Great Lakes grant period and beyond, BTC will contribute matching funds during the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 academic years.
For more information or to pledge support to the BTC Foundation, contact Elizabeth Horvath, Director of Advancement and Community Relations, at 608-757-7704.