The University of Texas at Arlington has received a grant from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU) to further its partnerships with local community organizations and businesses aimed at providing students with the skills they’ll need to successfully enter the workforce upon graduation.
“The University of Texas at Arlington prides itself on the well-rounded, marketable skills students develop at UTA, and values our industry and private partners, who are the driving the culture of innovation and growth of North Texas,” said Teik C. Lim, interim president. “We are grateful for the support of APLU and USU, and look forward to making a positive impact for more students and being able to build upon our excellence in providing workforce-ready graduates who will contribute to our communities and businesses throughout North Texas.”
“There is an extraordinary and growing demand for workers with 21st-century skills,” said Christel Perkins, deputy executive director of USU and assistant vice president at APLU. “We’re thrilled to support these public universities as they advance pathbreaking work to pilot and scale community partnerships that strengthen the pathway between college coursework and career success.”
All projects in the Collaborative Opportunity Grant program must center on a partnership between a public university and an external organization such as a business, local government, another university, a community college or a school district.
Collaborative Opportunity Grants are designed to support emerging and/or innovative university-community partnerships that transform university practices, programs, policies and culture to improve 21st-century skills in teaching, learning and transferability to the workforce. The initiatives are targeted at supporting low-income, first-time-in-college students.
Each institution receives $50,000 to collaborate, accelerate and improve implementation of the efforts. The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation supports the work.
UTA is partnering with Revature, a technology training company that provides skills training across seven high-demand areas to increase awareness about workforce demand for 21st-century skills among transfer students, support their career planning, and ensure more graduate with in-demand skills that prepare them to thrive immediately after completing their degrees. The effort will include project-based learning and employment placement to help students graduate quicker and with more relevant skills to close the skills gap for employers in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.