Finger Lakes Community College has been awarded a $2.25 million federal grant to strengthen support for first-year students, with new academic coaches, a first-year experience coordinator, and redesigned courses on the way as early as spring 2025.
Ryan McCabe, Associate Vice President of Academic Technology and High Impact Practices at FLCC, joined the FLX Morning Podcast to discuss the five-year Strengthening Institutions Grant from the U.S. Department of Education — a competitive award that will provide roughly $450,000 per year to the college.
McCabe said the grant builds on momentum already established through programs like SUNY ASAP, which introduced academic coaching at FLCC. The new funding will allow the college to hire two additional academic coaches, giving every incoming student a dedicated point of contact. “For a lot of first-year students, especially if they’re first generation, one of the key indicators of success is that they have a person they can rely on,” McCabe said.
A new full-time First Year Experience Coordinator will also be hired to help students navigate everything from financial aid to tutoring resources — and to address barriers that often go unspoken, including food insecurity and transportation challenges. McCabe noted that while non-traditional students face some unique hurdles, the gap between traditional and adult learners is narrowing, with more students of all ages juggling significant work and family responsibilities.
The grant will also fund a specialist dedicated to redesigning entry-level courses using Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles — an approach aimed at making courses accessible from the start, regardless of a student’s background or disability. Rather than requiring students to request accommodations like closed captioning or accessible classroom spaces, those features would be built in by default. “We’re going to create a ground level that is just the minimum required — any student can walk in the door and be ready to go,” McCabe said.
Hiring for all three positions is expected to begin soon, with McCabe expressing hope that academic coaches could be in place for the spring 2025 semester. The UDL specialist and first-year experience coordinator are expected to have their greatest impact beginning in the 2025-2026 academic year. For more information about programs at FLCC, visit flcc.edu.