Prince William Sound Community College

Like most colleges and universities, PWSCC benefits from funding provided to us through grants from federal, state and local agencies, as well as foundations. These funds help us move beyond bare bones operations and provide us with the opportunity to pursue big goals, whether that means providing student scholarships, renovating our facilities, or starting new programs that our communities need.

US Department of Education

Title III – Alaska Native Serving Institutions Over the last several years, PWSCC has benefitted from large-scale grants from the Department of Education. The first of these, Rural Healthcare for Native Students, is a five-year grant through which our school and our students have been able to make some major strides. The purpose of the grant is to give our most rural students the opportunity to study science and health care, in preparation for high-demand healthcare jobs. This grant allowed us to turn our aging biology classroom and art room into state-of-the-art Nursing and Science labs, equipped with microscopes, mannequins and medical equipment.

But, it’s not just physical facilities that have changed as a result of Title III funding. This grant has also moved PWSCC sciences into the virtual world of Second Life. You can explore the flora and fauna of Prince William Sound on our natural history island, and you can participate in virtual biology labs in an online replica of our real-world science lab classroom. While many educational institutions have a presence in Second Life, PWSCC is currently the only one requiring both local and online students to perform virtual biology labs.

PWSCC in Second life

As a result of another grant from the US Department of Education, PWSCC was able to completely renovate our student housing. We performed safety upgrades, brought the electrical and plumbing systems up to date, and brought a fiber connection to the halls so that students can have great internet access at home. The project was completed in late fall 2010, and students are already enjoying their new space.

US Department of Agriculture

Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Serving Institutions

Our USDA grant sponsors the ACTIVE (Alaska Community Training, Instruction and Vocational Education) Program. The intent of this program is to provide incentive for rural Alaskan students to stat and continue their post-secondary education. Currently, funds pay for student tuition and housing. Students, in turn, are required to maintain a 2.0 GPA, meet with tutors on a regular basis, and complete service projects in their communities that are tied to what the students are learning about. This can help students see the impact of their education on their home communities.

State of Alaska Dept of Labor and Workforce Development

ABE – For many years now, the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development has supported Adult Basic Education programs across the state. With this assistance from the State of Alaska, PWSCC is able to offer year-round adult education classes and General Education Diploma testing. Millwright – While PWSCC has been offering Millwright classes in cooperation with Valdez High School for some time now, we were offered the chance to revamp our program and add classes for adults when we received a grant from the State of Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. This grant, along with one from the State Department of Education and Early Development (Perkins funding), have allowed us to rent our own shop space and buy new equipment in support of the Millwright program. We have been working with labor unions and employers to develop the right job skills training for the jobs available, and to create a program with a flexible enough schedule to serve both working adults and full-time students.

In addition to State and Federal grants, PWSCC benefits from local charitable giving and from foundation grants. The United Way of Valdez has been a consistent supporter of our Adult Basic Education program, and has recently begun supporting the educational programs offered by our Maxine and Jesse Whitney museum. The Last Frontier Theatre Conference also benefits each year from State Humanities funding, as well as the support of statewide and local businesses.

We are fortunate to receive support from such diverse sources, and we continue to look for ways to increase and improve our offerings to our students and the communities we serve.