The Prudential Foundation has renewed its commitment to improving the lives of students by awarding a $175,000 grant to the New Jersey Council of County Colleges in support of the New Jersey Center for Student Success.

The Prudential Foundation grant will fund College Credit Now and College Readiness Now in the spring and summer of 2017, two important intervention programs that assist at-risk high school students. The success of these efforts in previous years has shown that early interventions are crucial for preparing high school students for college, and that dual enrollment programs accelerate the time it takes for students to earn associate degrees.

College Credit Now allows eligible high school students to enroll in dual enrollment college-level courses.

College Readiness Now provides developmental instruction to at-risk high school students so that they are prepared for college-level work before entering college.

“Prudential understands the importance of providing high school students with the skills necessary to effectively complete their college degrees,” said Lata Reddy, vice president of corporate social responsibility at Prudential Financial, Inc. and president of The Prudential Foundation. “Our company’s dedication to supporting the people of our home state of New Jersey has been evident since our founding more than 140 years ago. Through this grant, we are further demonstrating our commitment to supporting state-wide community colleges with early intervention programs to better prepare and connect today’s youth to quality jobs.”

“With the Prudential Foundation’s continued support, our community colleges, in collaboration with high school partners, can do even more to develop, expand and implement programs that enable students to achieve their goals and reach their full potential,” said New Jersey Center for Student Success Executive Director Dr. Christine Harrington.

This $175,000 grant builds on the initial $200,000 grant that The Prudential Foundation awarded to the NJCCC and the Center in December 2015.

This past summer, Essex County College, with the support of the first grant, partnered with 15 Newark high schools to provide College Readiness Now to 80 11th and 12th grade students in Newark high schools. Eighty-three percent of the students successfully completed the program.

In addition, in the Fall 2016 semester, Camden County College, Ocean County College, Passaic County Community College, Union County College, and Warren County Community College partnered with 14 high schools to deliver college-level courses to 236 11th and 12th grade high school students as part of the initial Prudential Foundation grant.

New Jersey’s Center for Student Success, established in October 2012, works on behalf of the state’s 19 community colleges to more effectively assist students in achieving college completion. Grants from the Fund for New Jersey and the PSE&G Foundation helped to launch the Center. In addition to The Prudential Foundation, the Center is also funded by the Kresge Foundation, the PSE&G Foundation and the State Street Foundation, and receives programmatic support from the Office of the New Jersey Secretary of Higher Education, Jobs for the Future, the New Jersey Department of Education, the New Jersey Education Association, Kean University, and Rutgers University-Newark.

About the New Jersey Council of County Colleges
The New Jersey Council of County Colleges is the state association representing New Jersey’s 19 community colleges. As an independent, trustee-headed organization that joins the leadership of trustees and presidents, the Council is the voice of the community college sector before the state legislature and other branches of government.

About The Prudential Foundation
The Prudential Foundation is a nonprofit corporation supported by The Prudential Insurance Company of America, an insurance subsidiary of Prudential Financial Inc. of the U.S. The Prudential Foundation advocates for systemic change focused on eliminating barriers to financial and social mobility in the areas of connecting people to quality jobs, building personal assets and transforming communities. As a strategic investor, the Foundation makes long-term commitments that yield tangible results through both grants and program-related investments.