PCC to Use $2.9M Grant to Update Tech, Teaching

By AARON MACKEY

Pima Community College’s Downtown campus will update classrooms and revise teaching techniques to keep pace with a younger, technology-driven student body, under a new grant.

Using the $2.9 million federal grant, officials at the campus hope to cut down on attrition rates and academic failures they see each year when nearly 9,000 students attend classes.

The five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education includes money to purchase new classroom computers, technology upgrades and software that can track student progress.

In addition to the technology, a large portion of the grant will be used to train faculty in new learning techniques, as the needs of PCC students have changed, says information provided for the college’s board of governors’ meeting Wednesday.

Nearly three-fourths of the students who attend the Downtown campus are under 29, and 30 percent of the student body is Hispanic, PCC figures show.

“Without culturally appropriate instruction, curriculum and support that respond to 21st- century learning needs, these students are at risk of not completing their educational goals and are at a disadvantage as they attempt to move into the work force,” says a summary prepared for the board.

* Contact reporter Aaron Mackey at 807-8012 or at amackey@azstarnet.com.

Originally published by AARON MACKEY, ARIZONA DAILY STAR.

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