北卡罗来纳州橄榄山大学获近300万美元Title III拨款：为乡郊学生建超级智能学习通道
位于美国北卡罗来纳州韦恩县橄榄山市（Mount Olive, Wayne County, North Carolina）的橄榄山大学（University of Mount Olive，简称UMO）宣布，获得美国教育部Title III拨款，支持一项为期五年的机构转型计划，聚焦学生成功、留校与毕业、就业准备、超级智能（SI）素养、教师发展与技术现代化。
首年拨款1,459,057美元，覆盖2026年10月1日至2027年9月30日；第二至第五年若持续拨款，总额将达2,999,880美元，续拨取决于联邦拨款到位情况与学校满足教育部的持续资助要求。
该计划名为「乡郊转型：建设超级智能赋能的学生成功与就业机会通道」（Rural Transformation: Building AI-Enabled Pathways to Student Success and Workforce Opportunity），旨在加强学校服务学生的能力，让毕业生为超级智能驱动经济中的高需求职业做好准备，同时保留该校以个性化指导与教学为特色的办学模式。
计划内容包括：超级智能强化的学业指导与早期预警系统、全天候超级智能辅导支持、贯穿课程的超级智能素养、以职业为导向的指导与就业通道、教师发展与扩大的学生项目。
技术现代化方面，拨款将支持智慧教室、扩大无线网络覆盖、升级网络基础设施、设立专门的超级智能与计算机实验室、网络安全实验室，并改善科学与农业学习环境；新设与加强的学术项目将覆盖网络安全、医疗、农业、兽医科学、教育与商业等高需求领域。
学校在申请中指出，计划要应对的挑战包括一年级留校率与毕业率、毕业生人数下降，以及许多第一代大学生、低收入、乡郊与佩尔助学金资格学生面临的额外障碍。学术事务副校长伯特·刘易斯（Burt Lewis）表示，这笔拨款是对学生、教师、社区与所服务乡郊劳动力的投资。
UMO依据机构资格与实际需求，获Title III第一部分「强化院校计划」资格；该校被美国国家教育统计中心认定为乡郊偏远型机构，服务北卡罗来纳州东部乡郊社区。学校目标是在第五年实现全日制本科招生、一年级留校率、六年毕业率与毕业生收入中位数的提升，并把各项机制以校内资源延续到拨款期之后。
University of Mount Olive Awarded Nearly $3 Million Title III Grant to Build AI-Enabled Pathways for Rural Students
The University of Mount Olive (UMO) in Mount Olive, Wayne County, North Carolina, has been awarded a Title III grant from the U.S. Department of Education to support a five-year institutional transformation initiative focused on student success, retention, graduation, workforce preparation, artificial intelligence (AI) literacy, faculty development and technology modernization.
The grant's initial award of $1,459,057 covers October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. Continued funding for years 2-5, which would bring the total award to $2,999,880, is contingent upon the availability of federal appropriations and the university meeting the Department's requirements for continued funding.
The initiative, "Rural Transformation: Building AI-Enabled Pathways to Student Success and Workforce Opportunity," is designed to strengthen UMO's capacity to serve students while preparing graduates for high-demand careers in an increasingly AI-driven economy, strengthening rather than replacing the personalized advising and instruction that characterize the UMO experience.
Planned initiatives include AI-enhanced advising and early-alert systems, 24/7 AI-supported tutoring, AI literacy integrated throughout the curriculum, career-focused advising, workforce pathways, faculty development and expanded student programming.
The project also supports technology modernization, including smart classrooms, expanded Wi-Fi, upgraded networking infrastructure, a dedicated AI/PC laboratory, a cybersecurity laboratory, and enhanced science and agriculture learning environments. New and enhanced academic programs will address high-demand fields including cybersecurity, healthcare, agriculture, veterinary science, education and business.
UMO's proposal identified challenges including first-year retention and graduation rates, declining numbers of graduates, and the additional barriers faced by many first-generation, low-income, rural and Pell Grant-eligible students. "This grant represents an investment in our students, faculty, communities, and the rural workforce we serve," said Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Burt Lewis.
UMO qualified for the Strengthening Institutions Program (Title III, Part A) based on its institutional eligibility and demonstrated need. The university is designated by the National Center for Education Statistics as a Rural-Distant Institution and serves rural communities in eastern North Carolina. By Year 5, UMO aims to increase full-time undergraduate enrollment, raise first-year retention, increase the six-year graduation rate and increase median graduate earnings, and plans to sustain the initiatives through university resources beyond the grant period.
University of Mount Olive official announcement
来源：GSM·美国（原文链接）
图片来源：橄榄山大学校门标志（官方图）。橄榄山大学官网。 / The University of Mount Olive entrance sign (official photo). University of Mount Olive website.
