CLOUT Program

COMMUNITY AND CORPORATE OUTREACH
External Activities, Partnerships and Projects

CLOUT PROGRAM
Computers • Literacy • Opportunity • University • Technology

The Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems continues to forge partnerships with community and corporate entities. The CLOUT program, which is currently in its seventeenth year, assists unemployed parents and displaced workers in preparing to enter or return to the workforce. In 2007, the CLOUT Program continued to offer both credit-bearing and not-for-credit employment-directed programs at the Graduate Center and Midtown Center.

  • In Westchester, our seventeen year partnership with Westchester County Department of Social Services (DSS) continues to be a success with the Certificate in Personal Computer Applications for the Workplace Professional program. The students must be receiving TANF (Temporary Aid to Needy Families) and have children.
  • The Certificate in Personal Computer Applications for the Workplace Professional is a one-year, 18 credit, full-time program beginning with a combination of not-for-credit seminars and credit-bearing courses, culminating in a 280-hour internship.
  • The Associate Degree in Applied Information Technology (AS) continued this year and is designed to serve graduates of the certificate program who earned a minimum 2.5 GPA and are employed full time. Students will earn 40 credits in liberal arts and Technology Systems over four semesters. In addition, the 280-hour internship, which was completed during the certificate program, is converted into six credits toward the 64-credit degree.
  • A new part-time offering which began in the 2007-2008 academic year, The Workplace Professional Skills Enhancement program, provides the opportunity for participants to earn 3 credits in technology systems courses and, at the same time, build their foundation skills in the College Success Skills Seminars. Students work to improve on their basic skills in order to be eligible for better employment opportunities.
  • CLOUT's comprehensive support services include tutoring, counseling, parenting skills, student performance review, employment preparation, and job search, and use of all university services and facilities including computer labs, e-mail, and libraries.
  • Mastercard, Inc. and Ciba Specialty, Inc. sponsored the Back to School Clothes for Kids program for 60 children of our students with brand new clothing, book bags, and supplies prior to the opening of the school year in September.
  • During the Holiday Season, members of the Pace University community supported the CLOUT Holiday Wish List. Ninety-three children of our students were sponsored by a Pace employee or friends of Pace and received holiday gifts such as educational toys, books, and clothing.
  • In New York City, two divisions within the Seidenberg School partnered with the City of New York, Parks and Recreation Department, to offer training in technology at the Midtown Center on Fifth Avenue -- The CLOUT Program and the Pace Computer Learning Center (PCLC). The CLOUT Program offered an administrative training certificate to assist employees of the Parks and Recreation department who are part of the Parks Opportunity Program (POP). The participants engaged in one hundred hours of training in customer service, business communications, and Microsoft Office., which provided them with the skills needed to secure employment as an administrative assistant.
  • Pace University is a member of The Education and Work Consortium, a unique collaboration between two private institutions ( Metropolitan College of New York and Pace University ) and one public institution ( Medgar Evers College of the City University of New York ). The Welfare to Careers Project (WTCP) is a nationally replicable program developed by the Consortium that links college education to work experience and career training, with the ultimate aim of permanently lifting the working poor out of poverty.
  • WTCP serves 197 students, who are TANF eligible, and enroll at Medgar Evers College or Metropolitan College of New York to obtain a baccalaureate degree. To facilitate the dissemination of information and to collect the requisite data that supports the success of the project, Pace University's Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems developed a research study, database, and Web site. The purpose of the study is to determine if education in the form of a baccalaureate degree concomitant with comprehensive career counseling leads to a higher standard of living and ultimately moves participants out of poverty. The study will also ascertain if particular programs are more effective than others. Since the Welfare to Careers Project has been designed to provide comprehensive support to participants in the form of career counselors and academic support specialists, the study will also measure the effectiveness of these services.


The CLOUT Program received funding from the following primary sources:

  • Westchester County Department of Social Services renewed funding in the amount of $769,366 for the academic year 2007-2008 to provide education and training through the Certificate Program, Workplace Professional Skills Enhancement Program, and Associate Degree Program to various populations on or formerly on public assistance.
  • The Education and Work Consortium renewed funding in the amount of $40,000 from January 2007-December 2007 to support the implementation of the Welfare to Careers Project Research and Database Design.
  • The Independence Community Foundation supported the CLOUT Program with a grant of $5,000, the final year of a five year $25,000 grant.
  • Dr. V. Sadagopan provided CLOUT with a generous donation towards the Student Assemblies and the Alice V. Feeley Awards.