WORK CREDIT: First- and second-year experiences for students at Unity College in Maine might look different for incoming classes, thanks to a $291,000 grant the college received from the Davis Education Foundation. According to a press announcement, the grant money will specifically go towards funding a “comprehensive academic credentialing system and an immersive, potentially year-round, academic schedule.” That will likely include more opportunities for students to earn credit for non-academic work “not acknowledged on a traditional transcript.” “The world needs graduates who do things rather than simply know things. This is an ambitious endeavor to blend real-world work, co-curricular activities, and other learning opportunities into a seamless transition for our students,” Unity College President Melik Peter Khoury said in a prepared statement. The project costs nearly $4 million in total and will officially launch in fall 2020.
Maine's Unity College has received a $291,000 grant from the Davis Education Foundation to offer academic credit for real-world experience. The grant, which is part of an effort by the foundation and other groups to increase access to college degrees in Maine, will be used to provide students with hands-on experience at Unity, said David Davis, executive director The project costs nearly $4m and will launch in autumn 2020.