Women's College Awarded $2 Million Federal Grant

A women’s college  in Massachusetts has received a substantial financial boost from the federal government.   It will mean an overhaul of the curriculum and new services to help ensure student’s graduate.   WAMC”s Pioneer Valley Bureau Chief Paul Tuthill reports.

   Bay Path College has been awarded a  nearly $2 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education under its Title III, Strengthening Institutions Program. Bay Path, a private college  with 2300 students , was one of just 14 schools to receive a grant this year, and the only one in the  northeast. College president Carol Leary said it is the largest grant in the school’s history.

   Leary announced the grant Wednesday morning along with Congressman Richard Neal at an event attended by students, staff and faculty  in the student center on the Longmeadow  campus. Bay Path has satellite campuses in Sturbridge and Burlington Massachusetts.

   School officials said the grant will be used  to redesign the curriculum with an emphasis on integrating new technology, including smart phones and tablets to create what Provost  Melissa Morriss-Olson called “ learning on the go”

   Bay Path will also develop what it called a “Learning Commons”, a collection of academic and student support services.

   A third area where grant dollars will be spent is on  an existing leadership development program, which is a requirement for undergraduates in each of their four years.

   Nicole   Megazzini, a senior biology major at Bay Path called the grant award thrilling.

   Congressman Neal said in awarding the grant to Bay Path, the US Department of Education is looking for bold experiments that lead to breakthroughs in learning.

   This is the second large federal grant awarded to Bay Path College in less than a month. The college received almost $1 million from the Health Resources and Services Administration for a new graduate school program for physician assistant studies.