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CTE Grant Application Guide

FY26 Applications are due Friday, March 21, 2025

Strong Workforce and Perkins V funds support Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs at Palomar College with a focus on:

  • Developing new programs and enhancing existing ones
  • Increasing student recruitment and improving completion rates for certificates and degrees
  • Aligning curriculum with industry standards to better prepare students for serving the needs of underserved populations

Note: If awarded Perkins funding, applicants will be required to provide additional program information for approval.

Application Guidelines

Applicants Can Apply For:

  • CTE Program Development – Developing, expanding, or updating CTE programs to improve career training, meet industry standards, or assist underserved students
  • Equipment & Supplies – Purchasing new equipment and supplies
  • Professional Development – Funding for faculty/staff to attend relevant training events
  • Marketing & Outreach – Promoting CTE programs
  • Temporary Staffing/Consultants – Hiring temporary staff/consultants for marketing or specialized expertise

Applicants Cannot Apply For:

  • General Fund Expenses – Items typically covered by the college’s general fund
  • Small Projects (< $1,000) – Projects under $1,000 should be part of department budget requests
  • Conference Fees/Travel – For non-CTE programs
  • Personal Use Items – For personal instructional use (apply for Lottery Funds)
  • Ongoing Marketing – General/repeated marketing events (e.g., annual career events) are ineligible
  • Additional Ineligible Items – Including food (except for events), alcohol, individual memberships, swag, gift cards, etc.

Ensure the application budget is complete and accurate by scheduling an appointment with the Grants Administration Team (cteegrants@palomar.edu).

  • Include All Estimates/Quotes – All quotes should include the following (if documentation is lacking, provide a narrative for estimated costs such as large renovations without a vendor quote):
    • vendor contact information
    • fees
    • shipping
    • taxes
    • warranties
  • Verify Project Completion Timeline – Ensure project or equipment delivery is confirmed before the end of the academic year, allowing for potential shipping delays.
  • Confirm Hiring Timeline – Ensure personnel/consultants can be onboarded and project work is completed by year-end.

Applications Involving Equipment Purchases that Exceed $114,000 may be subject to the bidding process. The Purchasing Department will need to be involved which may take up to 6-9 months to complete.

**Before submission, faculty should review/discuss the applications with the departmental dean.**

Once completed, send the following to cteegrants@palomar.edu

  • Application
  • Budget
  • Quotes
  • LMI
  • Current Advisory Committee Minutes

If Application is Funded

Be prepared to:

  • Provide updates to the Sr. Grants Administrative Specialist for quarterly reporting
  • Monthly meetings with Grants Team (as needed)

Scoring Criteria is based on the following:

  1. Contextual Clarity – Clearly explains the proposed plan within the broader context of the program, institution, and industry/community.
  2. Needs Assessment – Identifies and addresses the relevant needs of the program/department, including potential challenges to the proposed solution (e.g., supply chain issues).
  3. Objective Support – Describes how the objectives (e.g., equipment purchases, consultant hiring, professional development) will advance the plan or program.
  4. Alignment with Regional Priorities – Shows how activities and objectives align with regional sectors and priorities.
  5. Student Success Impact – Details how objectives will improve one or more student success metrics.
  6. Target Group Identification – Clearly identifies the target groups and outlines how they will be supported.
  7. Documentation of Need – Provides documentation that justifies the investment (e.g., LMI report, Advisory Committee notes, employer support letters).

Application Review Process

FY26 CTE Grant Application

When saving the completed application, please use the following naming convention: FYXX_Program_LastName_ProjectName (Example: FY26_GIS_Cheung_Drone Tech)

CTE Grant Application Budget Template

When saving the completed budget template, please use the following naming convention: FYXX_Program_LastName_BDGT_ProjectName (Example: FY26_GIS_Cheung_BDGT_Drone Tech)

Labor Market Briefs – San Diego & Imperial (Preferred)

Center of Excellence for Labor Market Research

TOPSCode

Occupation List

Regional Priorities

Taking into account the region’s Labor Market Information (LMI), demographic trends, the needs of SDI students, and the progress of community colleges’ Strong Workforce Program (SWP), the SDI Regional Collaborative (RC) has identified five key regional priorities. These priorities will guide the collaborative efforts in supporting the colleges to achieve the region’s SWP objectives.

  1. To better prepare the region’s prospective students for college through outreach, alignment, and acceleration
  2. To better onboard and support students in their education and prepare them for the workforce and launch of their careers
  3. To involve employers in students’ preparation for the workforce and provide opportunities through aligned curricula, career exploration, WBL experiences, and job placement toward increasing students’ socioeconomic mobility
  4. To ensure that colleges have data-based resources to make informed programmatic decisions that equitably benefit students and create opportunities for them while supporting regional continuous improvement
  5. To increase awareness throughout the region of the San Diego and Imperial community colleges and Career Education programs

For additional details or to view the complete 4-year Regional Plan, click here