Washington Campus Compact awarded $100,000 grant for degree-completion efforts

Washington Campus Compact (WACC) will receive $100,000 from the College Spark Washington Foundation in Seattle to partner with five colleges to assess a strategy to increase the percentage of low-income students completing degree programs.

The Graduation Project will enroll work-study college students in Students in Service, a part-time AmeriCorps program that allows students to volunteer between 300-900 hours to receive an education voucher to pay tuition and/loans. Graduation Project students will participate in learning communities, individualized advising, leadership training and reflection activities, along with community service.

“The Graduation Project utilizes bold and innovative strategies that incorporate service, leadership training, learning communities, and academic support aimed at helping work-study students complete their college degrees,” said Jennifer Dorr, executive director of Washington Campus Compact. “We intend to demonstrate and evaluate effective strategies that support students’ progress toward graduation.”

College partners participating in the project are Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Northwest Indian College and Western Washington University in Bellingham, Walla Walla Community College in Walla Walla and Whitworth University in Spokane.

Established in 1992 and hosted at Western Washington University, WACC is committed to providing meaningful experiences for students to become active, engaged leaders in their communities, furthering the civic and public purposes of higher education, and strengthening communities. WACC has 42 college and university members throughout Washington, Idaho and Alaska. It is an affiliate state office of Campus Compact, a national organization comprised of more than 1,100 colleges and universities committed to the civic and public purposes of higher education.