Coastline College, Golden West College, and Orange Coast College each receive highly competitive $3 million awards to expand student success, workforce development, and institutional capacity.
COSTA MESA, CA - The Coast Community College District (CCCD) announced today that all three of its colleges, Coastline College, Golden West College, and Orange Coast College, have been awarded grants through the U.S. Department of Education's Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP), a highly competitive federal initiative that supports colleges serving low-income and academically underserved students. The awards represent a combined investment of $9 million in Coast's students and communities, with each college receiving $3 million over five years from October 1, 2026, through September 30, 2031.
The Strengthening Institutions Program helps colleges build institutional capacity and become more self-sufficient by strengthening academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability. Receiving awards for all three colleges in the same application cycle is a significant achievement and reflects the Coast District's commitment to innovation, student success, and workforce preparation.
At Coastline College, the Coastline Compass: An AI-Enabled Student Success Ecosystem project will strengthen support for low-income, first-generation, first-time, full-time degree-seeking students, including working adults and online learners. The initiative includes enhanced onboarding and education planning, AI-assisted transcript review, expanded tutoring services, early alert systems, and AI literacy training for both students and employees.
"Coastline students are some of the most driven people I know," said Vincent Rodriguez, Ed.D., president of Coastline College. "Many of them are working and raising families, so they're often doing their coursework at night. This grant is about making sure they're not doing it alone. It lets us wrap support around each student, from their first counseling appointment to late-night tutoring, and reach out when they need us so they can finish something they worked hard to start."
At Golden West College, the Career Mobility Ecosystem project will align academic programs with workforce demand and help students achieve greater economic mobility. The grant will support expanded work-based learning opportunities, stronger employer partnerships, enhanced career-connected instruction, and coordinated student support services designed to improve enrollment, persistence, and completion outcomes.
"The Strengthening Institutions Program $3 million, 5-year grant will elevate how Golden West College prepares students for long-term economic mobility," says Lauren Davis Sosenko, Dean of Institutional Effectiveness and Dual Enrollment. "By expanding work-based learning, career-connected instruction, and coordinated support services, we will create a stronger pathway from education to employment. This work will help students complete their goals and ensure that a college education delivers measurable value to students and the communities we serve."
At Orange Coast College, the Opportunity, Capacity, Competitiveness - Strengthening Workforce Programs for Long-Term Fiscal Sustainability project will create a Center for Innovation and Workforce Development to serve as a hub for workforce planning, employer engagement, career services, and experiential learning. The initiative will also strengthen career education programs through employer-faculty partnerships and launch an Advanced Transportation pathway connecting students to careers in maritime, aviation, aerospace, and transportation industries.
"The program is a major investment in the future of our students as well as the economic growth of our region," said Orange Coast College President Angelica Suarez. "When we bring together faculty, employers, and other business partners, we can develop programs that reflect the needs of an ever-changing workforce, giving students direct routes from the classroom to viable, family-wage-earning jobs. The Center for Innovation and Workforce Development will increase this relationship while placing OCC at the forefront of developing and expanding emerging and high-demand sectors of employment."
Together, the three grants will strengthen student support systems, expand workforce-connected learning opportunities, enhance institutional effectiveness for students across the Coast Community College District. By securing funding for all three colleges in the same grant cycle, the district is positioned to further expand educational opportunity while meeting the workforce needs of Orange County's evolving economy.
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