30 Nov NDUS awards mini-grants for service members, veterans
The North Dakota University System recently awarded mini-grants on behalf of the Midwest Higher Education Compact through the state’s participation in the Multistate Collaborative for Military Credit with funding from the Lumina Foundation and USA Funds.
Rebecca Ringham, Minot State University registrar, organized a statewide training event aimed at managing the educational benefits of veterans, service members and their families. The grant funds enabled Ringham to provide training on features and options available to the NDUS institutions. Nearly 40 individuals attended the training in Grand Forks Oct. 27.
Andy Heitkamp, MiSU Veterans Center director, coordinated training for faculty, administrators, and others involved in the evaluation of military training and experiences for the award of credit toward a degree. Small grant funds were used to bring in trainers to aid in the process of evaluating military training and experiences. More than 30 individuals representing public, private, and tribal colleges, as well as the National Guard and other organizations that support veterans and service members, participated in the training event at MiSU Nov. 3.
Lisa Johnson, NDUS liaison to the MCMC, said the mini-grants were something the steering committee wanted to explore.
“Originally, the mini-grants were intended to be small, campus-specific initiatives to better serve veterans, service members, and their families in their respective communities,” Johnson said. “However, when we saw the potential for statewide impact through the quality trainers that Rebecca and Andy were contacting, it was clear that the trainers’ expertise should be shared on a much broader scale. Both events were a tremendous success and well-received by participants.”