The Alpha Scholars got the alpha dollars

The name of the scholarship is based on WCC’s mascot, Alpha. | Washtenaw Community College.

by RUBY GO
Staff Writer

WCC’s new Alpha Scholars program is being funded by a $1.4 million grant awarded by the U.S Department of Education.

The grant, titled Strengthening the Institution, was awarded to WCC during summer 2020, according to Ashley Wisniewski, the director of advising and success coaching. It will be awarded through September 2025.

“Fortunately, one of the main goals of the grant is to provide schools with money and resources to set in motion some initiatives that are maintainable after the funding is gone. We weren’t looking to create some program that we wouldn’t be able to sustain,” Wisniewski said.

The Alpha Scholars program centers around success coaching and career development opportunities and is open to all full-time first year students at WCC, and previously dual-enrolled students are also eligible. Students at Washtenaw Technical Middle College, the high school at WCC, are not currently eligible. The deadline to apply is Oct. 15.

One thing that the grant funding is able to help provide for Alpha Scholars is “block scheduling,” according to Wisniewski. Block scheduling is when the curriculum of two classes is blended together. A block class that is running this fall is an English course combined with a criminal justice course.

“The faculty are working very closely together to make this a unique experience for the students,” Wisniewski said.

Priority technology pickup is another benefit of being an Alpha Scholar; members were granted first access to laptops and hotspots being loaned out by the Library and Computer Commons. Additionally, Alpha Scholars get priority registration. Registration for Winter 2022 opens on Oct. 13.

Prior to receiving the grant, plans were already underway to increase success coaching opportunities for students. During the first round of awarding, WCC was denied the grant, but that wouldn’t have stopped those plans from unfolding, according to Wisniewski.

“We felt that these initiatives were so important that we were going to figure out how to fund them anyway,” Wisniewski said.

WCC was awarded the grant the second time around, which allowed for the creation of a fun name for the program, but most of the planning had already been done beforehand.

There are currently 147 students enrolled in the Alpha Scholars program, according to Wisniewski. The goal was to have 150 students within the first year, and with more students expressing interest in the program, Wisniewski expects to exceed that number.

“One of the things we love is that we have this ‘wolfpack.’ With this program, you don’t have to be a ‘lone wolf,’ and you’ll be able to make some long lasting connections,” Wisniewski said.

To learn more about becoming an Alpha Scholar, email alphascholars@wccnet.edu.