DANVERS — North Shore Community College and Salem State University have won a boatload of state cash to help students stay afloat academically, as the state looks to improve its public higher education system.
The local schools are among 18 public campuses to win state Performance Incentive Fund grants designed to boost graduation rates and spur innovation on campus.
North Shore Community College will get $145,000 for a new academic/career mapping initiative, and Salem State University will get $218,000 to beef up student counseling and create communities on campus where students, some of whom may be struggling, study the same subject matter and live and learn in the same area in a residence hall.
The programs are aimed in part at helping low-income, first-generation students succeed in college.
"It's all about looking at education training from a student's view, rather than an institution's view," Wayne Burton, president of North Shore Community College, said of the new plan for mapping courses and timelines that students will need to meet to graduate.
The college has come up with streamlined and simple diagrams that students can follow to their career goals. The maps have the same visual appeal as "metro maps," Burton said.
"We actually have been doing this for a while for under-prepared adults," said Burton, who said the idea is being expanded this to undergraduates. These career maps also come with information about salaries a student can make in a given profession, plus information about related job titles and benefits, and whether the job is hot or not.
The money will pay for staff to work with students.
Salem State University's award — one of the largest given out — will help create "campus living-learning communities," something that is being implemented this semester.
"I think it will have a real impact on student success," Provost Kristin Esterberg said in a statement.
The school has already created two "neighborhood communities," one for students studying education and one for psychology students. Both are in Marsh Hall, the newest residence hall, located on the Central Campus.
The communities have lounges and study rooms, and faculty mentors from each academic department who will also take part in social and academic programs. Students will be tracked over the next four years.
Funding will also be available for programming on the weekend, given that 80 percent of Salem State's freshmen live on campus, and 33 percent of undergraduates also live there. These could include community service trips and expanding the hours of athletic facilities over the weekend.
The money will also support services such as peer mentoring and weekly academic counseling.
Esterberg said peer mentoring involves students who have taken a certain course and done very well who can help students who may be struggling.
"The move to expand that is really a wonderful thing for us," Esterberg said.
Staff writer Ethan Forman can be reached at 978-338-2673, by email at eforman@salemnews.com or on Twitter @DanverSalemNews.
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