The United States Department of Education unveiled a $2 billion initiative that will deliver funds to two-year and community college programs across the United States.

According to a statement from the U.S. Department of Education, the new grant program is called the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and Training Grants Program.

TAACCT will provide colleges that display innovative strategies to prepare students for participating in the workforce and a global economy with grant money, the statement said.

The introduction of TAACCT follows a similar grant program called the American Graduation Initiative, said Sara Gast, spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Education.

Gast said the AGI was a $12 billion dollar grant program proposed to allocate money to community colleges, but it fell through in 2010.

Individual colleges can earn to as much as 2.5 to 5 million dollars with TAACCT, and the TAACCT will award a total of $2 billion dollars to community colleges nationally over a four-year time period, the statement said.

The new monetary policy is part of a larger plan by the current Obama administration to expand upper level education to more Americans than ever before, the statement said.

“We are continuously trying to reach the president’s goal to lead the world with the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020, and this is a part of our efforts,” Gast said.

She explained that the policy is a goal of the U.S. Department of Education’s to increase the ability of Americans to achieve higher lever degrees, certificates and credentials to improve chances for employment.

Allen Phelps, director of the Wisconsin Center on Education and Work, said the TAACCT could have lasting effects on two-year campuses across the state if successfully applied in the University of Wisconsin System.

“I’m confident that some colleges will step up to the challenge of implementing and documenting the effectiveness of new approaches to teaching the technical, academic, and career management skills needed by the growing number of Wisconsin’s displaced workers,” Phelps said.

UW Colleges spokesperson Howard Cosgrove said UW Colleges has not decided whether or not to apply for a grant through TAACCT yet.