A $1.6 million Economic Development Administration grant to the Hocking College Energy Institute, Ohio has been announced by U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez. The Hocking College Energy Institute will be the lab where technicians in the alternative energy areas of fuel cells, wind and solar power, bio fuels, and hybrid vehicles will train.

Seminole State College has received word that it will receive more than $2.3 million in federal grant money for Upward Bound programs. A current grant was renewed for $334,873 annually for four years, and a new grant for $250,000 annually was awarded for four years to serve additional area schools.

Passaic County Community College was awarded a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education’s Upward Bound Program to serve 50 Passaic high school students next school year.
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. announced the award Thursday.
The program seeks to prepare high school students for college, and get them interested in earning a degree.
The program serves students [...]

A 75-year-old reader whose daughter-in-law is due to give birth next week wants to the best way to give $12,000 to her future grandson to start a college fund.
One of her concerns is making sure that the money goes for education expenses.
You have some options. You can write a check to the child or [...]

Upgrades at the Community Arts Center in downtown Williamsport will take place this summer as a result of a $400,000 state grant.
The Department of Community and Economic Development grant announced this month will enable the 14-year-old center to improve its sound, lighting, and heating and air-conditioning systems and replace carpet, said William J. Martin, the [...]

By unanimous vote, Oregon’s Senate has passed a bill making it easier for low- and middle-income students to pay for college.
SalemUnder the shared-responsibility model, students would have to work part time and seek the maximum federal Pell Grant funding. Parents would also be required to pitch in within their financial limits.
If that still doesn’t cover [...]

Michigan State University’s medical school celebrating a huge grant received Friday.
The Steelcase Foundation and the Frey Foundation announced they’ll each give two million dollars to the MSU College of Human Medicine. The money will help build the Secchia Center.
The first med school students should begin training here late next year.
The inaugural class of first year [...]

Southern Illinois University received a grant of nearly $400,000 from the US Department of Education. The money is going towards the Upward Bound Program. The program helps high school students from low income families pay for college. Congressman Jerry Costello hails the program as helping students of all income levels attend collage.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Monday awarded 72 community college partnerships $125 million for successfully competing under the president’s Community-Based Job Training Grants Initiative.
Edison Community College in Piqua was awarded $2.03 million to develop a comprehensive regional training network to deliver advanced manufacturing training to incumbent and dislocated workers in western Ohio.
Key partners include [...]

For years, as college costs have climbed to back-breaking levels, more families have begun socking money in tax-advantaged 529 savings plans. Now, as these 529 plans mark their 10th anniversary this year, they are fast becoming the principal way for parents and grandparents to save for college.
Why? Costs associated with the plans have dropped. Investment [...]