Grants and Special Projects

CREATE NC: CREATE Energy National Center (Jul 2021 – Jun 2027)

Funder: National Science Foundation
School/Department: School of Engineering, Science and Math
Total amount: $7,487,597

Synopsis

The CREATE Energy Center will leverage the collective expertise of the partner institutions (College of the Canyons, Indian River State College, Central Carolina Community College, and Delaware Technical and Community College) and principal investigators to address the rapidly changing energy landscape, to develop and promote exemplary educational programming, and to advance a skilled technical workforce for the American energy sector. CREATE seeks to become the preeminent source of faculty professional development and instructional materials for energy educators, to increase the visibility of energy careers and broaden participation of underserved groups, and to build Academic, Industry, and International Partnerships to advance energy technician education.

CCAMPIS Program (Oct 2022 – Sep 2026)

Funder: Department of Education
School/Department: Early Learning Campus
Total amount: $1,236,308

Synopsis

This project will provide tuition assistance for high quality, campus-based, affordable childcare at Madison Area Technical College (Madison College) for student-families qualifying as low-income. The goals of the project are: 1) To improve low-income parenting students’ access to higher education by providing an affordable and flexible campus-based child care program; 2) to improve persistence, credential attainment, and/or successful 4-year transfer rates of low-income parenting students through support services and progress monitoring; 3) to contribute to the development of the children of participants through parent education and involvement opportunities, teacher professional development and continuous improvement of a high-quality child care program, with a particular focus on serving infants and toddlers; and 4) to support implementation of the Districtwide Childcare Roadmap, which takes a systemic, evidence-based approach to improving outcomes for low-income parenting students by increasing access to affordable childcare.

Madison College Rural High School Equivalency Program (HEP) (Jul 2021 – Jun 2026)

Funder: Department of Education
School/Department: School of Academic Advancement
Total amount: $2,052,959

Synopsis

The Madison College Rural High School Equivalency Program has the intention of helping disadvantaged, rural migrant farm workers obtain a high school credential and either enter postsecondary education, improve their employment situation, or enter military service. The program’s staffing patterns, recruitment strategies, and delivery of instruction are designed to alleviate the considerable racial/cultural, linguistic, gender, location and socioeconomic barriers that would otherwise preclude participation by the target population.

TRIO Disabilities Student Support Services (Sep 2020 – Sep 2025)

Funder: Department of Education
School/Department: Student Development and Retention Services
Total amount: $1,309,440

Synopsis

The Madison College TRIO Disabled Only SSS Program proposes to increase the retention, graduation, and transfer rates of the 100 low-income, first-generation and/or disabled students who will enroll in the project. The plan sets forth a wide array of intervention strategies that will be implemented by a team of student support professionals who have experiences similar to those of the targeted students.

TRIO Regular Student Support Services (Sep 2020 – Aug 2025)

Funder: Department of Education
School/Department: Student Development and Retention Services
Total amount: $1,309,440

Synopsis

The Madison College TRIO Regular SSS Program proposes to increase the retention, graduation, and transfer rates of the 140 low-income, first-generation and/or disabled students enrolled in the project. The plan sets forth a wide array of intervention strategies that will be implemented by a team of student support professionals who have experiences similar to those of the targeted students.

Creating Flexible Pathways to STEM Degrees (Sep 2018 – Aug 2025)

Funder: Howard Hughes Medical Institute
School/Department: School of Engineering, Science and Math
Total amount: $205,000

Synopsis

Madison College is a subawardee of UW-Madison in this grant, which aspires to create a new, collaborative way of working across institutions in the UW System to support 2- to 4-year transfer students in STEM. This partnership strives to develop, implement, and evaluate a model program to provide the academic and social support that underrepresented students in STEM need to transfer from 2- to 4-year institutions and successfully complete their Bachelor's degrees.

IDEAS (Aug 2023 – Jul 2025)

Funder: Department of State (via World Learning)
School/Department: Center for International Education
Total amount: $35,000

Synopsis

This project will expand study abroad for underrepresented students by building faculty-led study abroad programs in Kenya and Rwanda. This project has the direct support of the college president, who announced a formal “African Initiative” in Fall 2022 to grow study abroad on the continent and expand participation of African American students. The college has already established educational partners in the region and piloted virtual exchange collaboration.

Workforce Innovation Grant (WIG) Child Care & Training (Dec 2021 – Jun 2025)

Funder: DWD-WEDC
School/Department: Early Learning Campus
Total amount: $2,875,000

Synopsis

This project aspires to overcome the inequitable outcomes of the COVID-19 pandemic on our communities. The adverse effects of the pandemic to health and well-being and economic stability and mobility have been born disproportionately by our communities of color, low-income individuals, and working families. By combining avenues to access workforce training with improved access to high-quality childcare, not just by our students but by all in our communities, we are positioned to support pandemic recovery and our communities' long-term economic and social success. This project will capitalize on Madison College's success in collaborating with external organizations and meeting workforce needs. The childcare roadmap provides a unique and innovative opportunity to connect childcare support organizations with childcare providers to build relationships that support this project and the ongoing change and improvements to the childcare landscape moving forward. In conjunction with the roadmap, we will leverage our existing relationships with employers and regional partners to educate more childcare professionals. This pipeline is a critical piece of the childcare expansion landscape that is often overlooked. We will provide access to targeted industries throughout our region, including advanced manufacturing, health care, and information technology by a) developing and participating in consortiums of employers and community-based organizations to increase awareness and access among diverse populations and needs; and b) providing support to student-parents accessing this training through the college's student-parent navigator. The student-parent navigator will support students to ensure their family has what it needs to allow the student to complete their programs.

AMRDC: Collaborative Research: Antarctic Meteorological Research and Data Center (Jul 2020 – May 2025)

Funder: National Science Foundation
School/Department: School of Engineering, Science and Math
Total amount: $841,119

Synopsis

The Antarctic Meteorological Research and Data Center (AMRDC) project will create an Antarctic meteorological observational data repository and archive system based on an open source platform to manage data from submission to end-user retrieval. The new archival system will host both currently available datasets and campaign meteorological datasets deposited by other Antarctic investigators. Both real-time meteorological data and archive data from the repository (e.g. Antarctic composite satellite imagery, AWS observations, etc.) will be accessible on a newly constructed website. The project will engage undergraduate and graduate students in order to provide them with meaningful experiences that can translate to any science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career path. Project participants and students will be involved in case studies, climatology reporting and development of white papers on related topics. This project also calls for the establishment of an AMRDC Advisory Board (AAB) to provide guidance and advice on Antarctic meteorological matters, including the AMRDC as well as other USAP Antarctic meteorological enterprise-wide issues.

CREATE ESC: Energy Storage Certifications (Oct 2021 – Sep 2024)

Funder: National Science Foundation
School/Department: School of Engineering, Science and Math
Total amount: $744,987

Synopsis

In this project, the CREATE Energy Center is partnering with the Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA) and the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) to create a new industry recognized Energy Storage Certification credential. This project will build upon the draft Job Task Analysis previously developed by CREATE and MREA and will apply it as the framework to develop and launch a new Certification in Energy Storage Technology. The process will involve a comprehensive industry survey to validate the JTA, organization of a committee of energy storage subject matter experts to develop certification criteria and to write questions for a comprehensive certification exam, and psychometric data analysis to ensure the rigor and accuracy of exam questions and cutoff scores. The proposed Energy Storage Certification will be ANSI accredited and will become the uniform standards of practice for the residential and small commercial renewable energy industry. This will also form the backbone for curricula to be developed by CREATE, MREA and other education providers to prepare students to earn the new Energy Storage Certification, which will be administered by NABCEP.

Wisconsin Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation - WiscAMP Scholars (Sep 2019 – Aug 2024)

Funder: National Science Foundation
School/Department: School of Engineering, Science and Math
Total amount: $125,000

Synopsis

The goal of this program is to facilitate the successful retention and transfer of underrepresented minority students into STEM majors at four-year institutions by providing learning and professional experiences that enrich their lives. The program provides students with a generous stipend in addition to the standard financial aid package prepared by the college. This reduces financial pressures, therefore allowing students to attend college full time and to engage more fully with their campus community. The program pairs each scholar with a faculty mentor who provides support and guidance to help the scholar successfully complete the program. The faculty mentor also guides their mentee in selecting and applying to at least two four-year institutions. Finally, the program provides funding for scholars, the PI and the Co-PI to travel to and attend the Louis Stokes Midwest Center for Excellence (LSMCE) Conference, providing scholars with the opportunity to connect with other underrepresented minority students pursuing STEM degrees from academic institutions across the Midwest.

CREATE RC (Jul 2020 – Jun 2024)

Funder: National Science Foundation
School/Department: School of Engineering, Science and Math
Total amount: $1,055,284

Synopsis

The CREATE Resource Center will help others to develop, promote, grow, and advance robust academic programs to provide the renewable energy industry with a skilled technical workforce. The goal of the CREATE Resource Center is to advance the field of renewable energy by supporting two-year college renewable energy programs.

WorkSmart Training Navigator (Jul 2023 – Jun 2024)

Funder: Workforce Development Board
School/Department: Career and Employment Services
Total amount: $426,376

Synopsis

This project strives to serve new and continuing WIOA Adult and Dislocated Worker participants in service or follow-up phases through the Madison Area Technical College campuses and to provide staffing consistent with the proposed model

CCCI: Crisis as Catalyst for Change and Innovation (Jun 2021 – May 2024)

Funder: National Science Foundation
School/Department: Office of the Provost
Total amount: $13,496

Synopsis

The proposed large-scale targeted research will contribute systematic, empirical evidence on instructional changes and innovations in advanced technological education (ATE) that have been implemented in response to COVID-19, and yield new knowledge about the emerging and enduring impacts of these innovations on ATE. Empirical evidence generated by this project will present actionable knowledge to inform research and innovation in ATE, in and beyond Wisconsin. For ATE leaders and educators, this project will provide a comprehensive view of COVID-19-spurred change and innovation, pinpointing elements of teaching as well as faculty and student supports that need to be reinforced or adjusted, both during and after times of crisis.

Epic MegaGrants-Immersive Curricula Department (Jan 2021 – Dec 2023)

Funder: Epic Games
School/Department: School of Technologies and Trades
Total amount: $50,000

Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education Institutional Resiliency and Expanded Postsecondary Opportunity Project (Aug 2021 – Oct 2023)

Funder: Department of Education
School/Department: Strategic Academic Initiatives
Total amount: $1,496,996

Synopsis

This project proposes a coordinated plan to significantly address current instructional technology gaps related to the impacts of COVID-19 while at the same time builds operational capacity to deliver quality instruction more flexibly in the future. Further, the project puts forth a multi-layered approach to expand dual enrollment opportunities in ways that greatly expand access to high school student populations for whom current course offerings are inadequate or inaccessible.

CARES Title III Project (Oct 2017 – Sep 2023)

Funder: Department of Education
School/Department: Strategic Integrations and Initiatives
Total amount: $3,000,000

Synopsis

The overarching goal of Madison College’s proposed Title III SIP project is to establish a systematic process to assist students to confirm their career goals and educational plan, and support their efficient progression to degree-credit courses, credential completion and/or transfer.

Madison Manufacturing Camps (Jun – Aug 2023)

Funder: Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs
School/Department: Regional Campuses
Total amount: $11,000

Fort Atkinson Manufacturing Camps (Jul – Aug 2023)

Funder: Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs
School/Department: Regional Campuses
Total amount: $3,500

Portage Manufacturing Camps (Jul – Aug 2023)

Funder: Nuts, Bolts & Thingamajigs
School/Department: Regional Campuses
Total amount: $3,500

Lumina Million Dollar Community College Challenge (Jan – Jul 2023)

Funder: Lumina Foundation
School/Department: Marketing
Total amount: $100,000

Synopsis

The aim of this grant is to perform both broad and targeted outreach to prospective adult learners; provide one-to-one support to all incoming adult learners to support degree progression or transfer; and expand adult learners’ awareness of and access to internal and external sources of assistance to support the holistic (e.g. financial, personal, and/or wellbeing) needs of students and their families. This will lead to more adult learners attaining professional certifications, educational credentials, or degrees that will lead to better jobs, higher pay, and increased equity.