The United States Department of Education recently announced that City Colleges of Chicago is an awardee of the Department’s Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) program. Funding from the grant will help City Colleges expand our support for veteran students.
City Colleges of Chicago was awarded a grant through the Centers of Excellence for Veteran Student Success, a FIPSE program designed to helps institutions like ours support veteran students by addressing their academic, financial, physical, and social needs.
Over the next three years, the grant will support City Colleges with over $525,000 to help us welcome and accommodate veteran and military-affiliated students through targeted recruitment, continuing education offerings, and specialized workshops. City Colleges was one of 15 institutions nationwide awarded a total of $8.5 million to support veterans.
Supporting veterans and military-affiliated students is not new to City Colleges of Chicago. As part of our commitment to veteran student success, each of the seven colleges within our district has a Veterans Services Center. The centers understand the unique challenges that veterans and military-affiliated students face as they navigate college life and provide dedicated advising, one-on-one services, and a welcoming environment where veterans can meet, relax, or study.
City Colleges’ veterans-serving programs have gained national attention. In 2021, the Dixon Center for Military and Veterans Services presented City Colleges of Chicago with their inaugural Lou Lowenkron Commitment to Veterans Excellence Award in recognition of our support of veterans and their families. A year later, Harold Washington College was named a 2022 Military Times “Best for Vets” college for its commitment to military-affiliated student success. This school year, Truman College and Harold Washington earned gold-level designation from Veterans by Military Friendly Schools, and Olive-Harvey College and Malcolm X College earned silver-level designation. The awards were given for the colleges’ leading practices, effective programs, and positive outcomes for military-affiliated students.
To learn more about City Colleges’ commitment to serve those who serve, visit https://www.ccc.edu/departments/pages/veterans-services.aspx
