Stanly Community College (SCC) has received a Title III Strengthening Institutions Programs Grant of more than $2.2 million.

This grant will be used through September 2028 to strengthen SCC’s Guided Pathways: Career and Workforce Services initiative.

With this grant, SCC aims to implement measures to enhance student success and career readiness. Utilizing the Guided Pathways framework, the college will provide support to students from their initial enrollment, guiding them toward achieving their desired career paths.

The primary goal of the grant is to complete the guided pathways planning process, ensuring a smoother transition for students through improved onboarding processes, career assessment and ongoing career guidance during their time at SCC. Additionally, the grant will enable SCC to establish a more robust work-based learning (WBL) program, incorporating activities such as job shadows, internships and Registered Apprenticeships.

The grant will support the expansion of institutional technology to integrate career development better. This includes implementing software to streamline career services and community outreach efforts.

Further, student intake surveys provide information about the barriers to learning that community college students often face; the grant supports integrating the information into the college’s data warehouse to allow SCC to reduce those barriers for students.

The grant will also enhance professional development opportunities, focusing on providing success coach training for career integration, faculty training for effective college instruction and internal training on updated processes and software.

“We are excited about the opportunities this grant will bring to SCC and our students,” said Dr. Carmen Nunalee, vice president of student success at SCC. “By enhancing our Guided Pathways approach and strengthening our career and workforce services, we are better positioned to empower our students to achieve their academic and career goals.”

For more information about the grant, contact Nunalee at 704-991-0249 or cnunalee5201@stanly.edu.