#### U. S. Department of Education

######### Office of Postsecondary Education

######## Washington D. C. 20006-8501

#### ![](media/image1.png){width="7.125in" height="5.625in"}

#### 

#### TITLE V: THE HISPANIC SERVING INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM (84.031S)

> PROJECT ABSTRACTS FOR NEW FY 2006 GRANTEES

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

***INTRODUCTION***

***[NEW INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPING GRANTS]{.underline}***

###### 

###### ARIZONA

### Pima County Community College District - Desert Vista Campus

*Pima County Community College District - West Campus*

###### 

###### CALIFORNIA

*California State University Long Beach Foundation*

*East Los Angeles College*

*Glendale Community College*

*Long Beach City College*

*Mt. San Antonio College*

### **COLORADO**

### Colorado State University - Pueblo

### **FLORIDA**

### Miami Dade College - North Campus

### **NEW MEXICO**

### Regents of the University of New Mexico

*Regents of the University of New Mexico - Valencia County Branch*

### **NEW YORK**

### 

### Research Foundation of City University of New York - Herbert H. Lehman College

### 

###### PUERTO RICO

### Universidad Metropolitana - Bayamon

*University of Puerto Rico - Ponce*

**TEXAS**

*Lee College*

###### WASHINGTON

### Columbia Basin College

#### 

#### [NEW COOPERATIVE ARRANGEMENT GRANTS]{.underline}

###### CALIFORNIA

*Antelope Valley College*

*Los Angeles Mission College*

*Moreno Valley Campus - Riverside Community College*

*Santa Monica College*

*Taft College*

*Ventura County Community College District - Oxnard College*

*West Hills Community College District*

###### COLORADO

*Community College of Denver*

###### NEW MEXICO

*Northern New Mexico College*

###### 

###### NEW YORK

### Research Foundation of City University of New York - John Jay College

### Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology

###### PUERTO RICO

*Inter American University of Puerto Rico - Barranquitas*

*Inter American University of Puerto Rico - San German*

*Universidad Metropolitana - Jayuya*

*University of Puerto Rico - Arecibo*

*University of Puerto Rico - Carolina*

###### TEXAS

*Coastal Bend College*

#### NEW INDIVIDUAL DEVELOPMENT GRANTS

###### 

###### ARIZONA

## Pima County Community College District - Desert Vista Campus

***4905C East Broadway Boulevard, Suite 220***

***Tucson, AZ 85709***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: John Madden*

*Phone: (520) 206-5098*

*E-mail: <jmadden@pima.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$566,845*

Activity Description:

One of six branch campuses within Pima Community College, Desert Vista
serves a population that is almost 70 percent Hispanic and up to 44
percent low-income. Residents of our service area have come to depend on
our college for workforce training and education. However, in recent
years there has been a widening gap between the programs of study
offered by Desert Vista and the needs of our constituents.

Desert Vista has conducted extensive analysis of industry, community,
and student needs and has identified two academic programs with high
demand and employment potential. In addition, this analysis has
confirmed that our traditional instructional delivery methods are not
meeting the needs of our at-risk students. Thus, we submit this proposal
with a single activity targeting new program development and
diversification of instructional delivery methods.

**Title V Activity: *Expanding Educational Access Through New Program
Development and Online Course Delivery***

Funds in the amount of \$2,531,058 over five years are requested to fund
the development of the following three new degree programs at Desert
Vista:

**(1) Avionics Technology Program:** To provide students with needed
skills so that they may find employment in one of Tucson's most
successful and high-demand industries.

**(2) Bilingual Certified Nursing Assistant.** To provide limited
English proficient students with the training necessary to obtain
employment in a growing field.

**(3) On-Line Early Childhood Education and Child Development.** Convert
high- demand courses to distance-delivery offering more options to time
and place-bound students.

**Endowment Request.** A total of \$310,000 is requested in endowment
matching funds.

## Pima County Community College District - Desert West Campus

***4905C East Broadway Boulevard, Suite 220***

***Tucson, AZ 85709***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: Richard Patze*

*Phone: (520) 206-6783*

*E-mail: <rpatze@pima.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$574,955*

Activity Description:

Pima County Community College--West, one of six branch campuses of Pima
County Community College in Tucson, Arizona, serves almost 12,000
students, among whom nearly 4,000 (34 percent) are Hispanic**.** Pima
West is distinguished by its healthcare programs, and Hispanic students
comprise 23 percent of enrollees in each of its three top programs of
Associate Degree Nursing, Radiologic Technology, and Respiratory
Therapy. However, as demand for these programs increases, area hospitals
are at capacity for clinical instruction and campus laboratory space is
at maximum utilization. Currently, **413 qualified Pima West students
are waiting to enter the nursing program,** and many will have to wait
two years at our current capacities. In addition, while students at
other Arizona institutions are gaining expertise with new technology
learning resources such as patient simulators, Pima West faculty have
only the tools they have used for decades, putting our graduates at a
disadvantage when they move into the workforce.

We propose to meet the career aspirations of our Hispanic and low-income
students by **building healthcare program capacity and utilizing cost-
and time-efficient patient simulators and other instructional
technologies.** Increased capacity will lead to the increased
enrollments needed to increase institutional self-sufficiency.

**Anticipated Outcomes:**

\(1\) Curricula will reflect technological advances in the healthcare
industry for three high-demand healthcare professional programs and meet
national benchmarks.

\(2\) Healthcare programs enrollment capacity will be expanded,
increasing access to high demand jobs for Hispanics and low-income
students.

\(3\) Students in final pilot cohorts will have success rates (pass
rates and completion) higher than like control cohorts.

###### 

###### CALIFORNIA

## California State University Long Beach Foundation

***6300 State University Drive***

***Long Beach, CA 90815***

### Four-Year Public

*Project Director: Linda Tiggs Taylor*

*Phone: (562) 985-5048*

*E-mail: <lttaylor@csulb.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$574,995*

**Project Title**: **Mi Casa, Mi Universidad: Building a Culture and
Practice of Latino Student Success at California State University, Long
Beach**

California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) is a large (35,000
students), highly diverse, southern California public university that
has only recently (fall 2005) obtained Title V eligibility status.
Currently, 8663 Latino students are enrolled at CSULB, representing 25.1
percent of the Fall 2005 enrollment. The overarching goal of our program
is to move CSULB\'s culture and practice to comprehensively address both
the academic and non-academic needs of these Latino students. The
principal activities to be supported by the grant fall into three
categories: (1) improvement in advising and mentoring approaches; (2)
professional development for faculty and staff to develop more
culturally relevant advising, mentoring, and instructional strategies;
and (3) institutional research capacity building to allow us to better
measure Latino student academic progress.

Success in these activities will be measured by such indices as:
reductions in Latino students' pre-collegiate English and Mathematics
remediation rates; increases in Latino retention and graduation, and
increases in Latino student satisfaction with the CSULB campus
environment. One of the more innovative strategies (of many presented in
the proposal) we propose is to recruit, educate, and empower a cohort of
students (near-peer mentors, or *promotores de educacion)* to mentor
Latino students within the university, as well as conduct outreach to
prospective Latino students and their families. The project leadership
includes the University\'s president, two project managers with
extensive large federal grant program experience, and Latino faculty and
staff. Program evaluation will be conducted by highly proficient
internal and external evaluators.

## East Los Angeles College (ELAC)

## 1301 Avenuenida Cesar Chavez

## Monetery Park, CA 91754

*Two-Year Public*

*Project Director: Armida Ornelas*

*Phone: (323) 265-8763*

*E-mail: <ornelasao@elac.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$574,362*

Activity Description:

ACTIVITY: **Strengthening Academic Literacy for Under-Prepared
Students**

Proposed as a comprehensive, integrated strategy to help Latino and
other multilingual students achieve academic literacy. Each part of the
Activity directly addresses institutional weaknesses that have been
identified as causal factors in student attrition. Each part is a
well-planned solution selected after thorough investigation of East Los
Angeles College\'s problems and alternative solution strategies.

*Solution One: Bridges to Academic Literacy* aims to close recognized
gaps in the way instructors teach and students learn. Institutional
research and planning has identified academic literacy and transfer
readiness as the *most significant* obstacles to access and success for
our at-risk student population. This component focuses on curriculum and
instructional methods directly linked to communication skills. Over the
five-year grant period: successful course completion by language
minority students will increase by at least 30 percent; the amount of
time students spend in remedial courses will be reduced by 15 percent;
transfer rates to B.A.-level institutions will increase by 15 percent.

*Solution Two: Strengthen Academic Literacy with Learning Communities.*
At the core of poor academic performance, we find a large body of
students who are struggling to improve communication skills, with
inadequate peer support or individual attention. The college will
address these problems by developing and institutionalizing a Learning
Communities' program\--a proven strategy for closing academic gaps and
increasing motivation for Hispanic and other students. Over the
five-year grant period, the college will introduce block scheduling to
enable entering students to take courses together; faculty will
collaborate to establish common themes across the curriculum; there will
be a 20 percent increase in rate of degree completion and transfer
(higher for cohorts in Learning Communities than college-wide averages).

*Solution Three: Supplemental Instruction, Reading/Writing Lab, and
Faculty Resources.*

Nearly 90 percent of ELAC students arrive unprepared for college-level
English, 30 percent are stalled for unreasonable lengths of time in
remedial classes, and another 30 percent drop out before attaining a
degree. Through this project, Supplemental Instruction will be delivered
to 75 percent of \"gateway\" courses with high failure rates; transition
rates from developmental to college-level English classes will increase
30 percent; and the college will increase its capacity to offer walk-in
tutoring assistance to at least 4,000 students each semester.

## Glendale Community College

## 1500 North Verdugo Road

***Glendale, CA 91208***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: Cathy Durham*

*Phone: (818) 240-1000*

*E-mail: <cdurham@glendale.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$575,000*

Activity Description:

**Project Title: Developing a Fully Supportive Learning Community for
Hispanic and Other At-Risk Students at Glendale Community College**

**One well planned evidence-based activity.** Glendale Community College
(GCC) will build on a solid foundation of accomplishments and evidence
to implement a fully-integrated, coordinated strategy now recognized to
have the most potential to improve access and success for at-risk
community college students: a comprehensive, full-service learning
community (LC) model. The LC model to be developed through this Activity
is tailored to meet the needs of GCC Hispanic students who are still not
succeeding equitably at the college. Each component of the GCC
"Academy," was selected on the basis of internal and national research
now available about what strategies work best to address institutional
weaknesses so that GCC may better meet the needs of its students. The
problem at GCC is clear: although the improvements implemented so far
have steadily improved overall student retention and persistence rates,
there has been no significant improvement in the transfer and/or degree
completion rates for Hispanic and other under-prepared students. These
students are the least likely to succeed, which is inconsistent with
GCC's mission and goals. The overarching objective of this activity is
to improve the academic success and degree completion of GCC's Hispanic
students.

**Rigorous evaluation plan with best practice experimental research
design.** One of the most important features of the GCC Academy model
will be the evaluation plan. Dr. Edward Karpp, Director of Research and
Planning at GCC, designed the plan and will work closely with Dr.
Durham, the project director, to implement it. Modeled on the highly
regarded Kingsborough College research design, the activity evaluation
will provide a thorough and valid assessment of GCC Academy impact on
the academic progress and success of affected students. The evaluation
results will provide solid evidence to inform GCC master planning.

## Long Beach City College (LBCC)

***4901 E. Carson Street***

***Long Beach, CA 90808***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: Paul J. Creason*

*Phone: (562) 938-4546*

*E-mail: <pcreason@lbcc.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$522,553*

Activity Description:

[Activity 1]{.underline}: ***Support and Knowledge Improves Latino
Learning Success (SKILLS):*** To improve student success and increase
retention by raising competency in basic and foundational skills through
institutional research and analysis of programs, professional
development, curriculum development, early intervention systems and
student support systems, supplemental instruction, and multimedia
contextual learning modules. Sample of key measures include: (a) a
complete analysis of basic skills efforts at Long Beach City College by
an outside panel of experts; (b) success in basic and foundation skills
courses will increase by 15 percent over the 2004-2005 baseline
established in this CDP; (c) Latino student success in basic and
foundation skills courses will increase by 20 percent over the 2004-2005
baseline for full-time students and 15 percent for part-time student;
(d) student persistence in basic skills courses will increase by ten
percent over the grant period; and (e) the "gap" between Latinos and
white students will decrease two percent per year in courses one-level
below transfer-level in math, reading and English at LBCC. This project
will serve a very large number of Latino students as LBCC had 8,997 in
fall 2005.

## Mt. San Antonio College

## 1100 N. Grand Avenue

***Walnut, CA 91789***

*Two-Year Public*

*Project Director: Meghan Chen*

*Phone: (909) 594-5611*

*E-mail: <mchen@mtsac.edu>*

*Award Amount*: \$570,184

Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is the largest single-campus district
of California's 109 community colleges with a total enrollment of
33,250. Currently, 44.3 percent of its students are Hispanic, 79 percent
are minority, and approximately 52 percent are first-generation college
students.

The majority of students come to Mt. SAC without the skills necessary
for academic success, and the college has failed to respond effectively
to the problem of student under-preparedness. Assessment data show that
nearly 100 percent of the student population needs remedial instruction
in English, reading, and mathematics. Hispanic students are particularly
unprepared to succeed and persist from pre-collegiate to college-level
coursework. The fact that nearly 5,000 students are on
probation/dismissal underscores the absence of a well-coordinated
academic and support services program. An antiquated and un-integrated
management information system leaves faculty and staff without the
ability to accurately track students.

The proposed project, "Addressing Acute Student Needs at Mt. San Antonio
College" has a single activity: **Improving Student Success through
Increased Support of Writing and Critical Literacy, Learning
Communities, and Expanded Student Services**.

This activity focuses on five integrated components critical to
improving the success of Hispanic and other at-risk populations as they
move through Mt. SAC's educational pipeline: (1) improve writing skills
and success in development and gateway courses; (2) improve critical
literacy skills and success in developmental and gateway courses; (3)
expand learning communities in developmental English and reading; (4)
improve student services access and intensity; and (5) develop and
utilize Web integration and student tracking capabilities.

###### COLORADO

## Colorado State University - Pueblo

***2200 Bonforte Boulevard***

***Pueblo, CO 81001***

*Four-Year Public*

*Project Director: Sharon Hatton-Montoya*

*Phone: (719) 549-2225*

*E-mail: <Sharon.hattonmontoya@colostate-pueblo.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$574,655*

Activity Description:

Colorado State University - Pueblo (CSU-Pueblo) serves over 4,200
students, with **28 percent Hispanic among whom 52.8 percent are
low-income.** CSU-Pueblo attracts students from across the state, with
more than 50 percent coming from a far-flung, economically depressed,
rural service area in Southeastern Colorado, and is the **only four-year
university in southeastern Colorado.** More than **72 percent** of our
students rely on financial aid to pursue their education and only 45
percent are of "traditional" college age. Retention trends for
**first-time, full-time students** have become a major institutional
concern for CSU-Pueblo. The retention rate for first year students for
the past two years has been 59 percent (compared to 73.5 percent at
other comparable Colorado four-year colleges); rates for Hispanic
students are lower at 48 percent.

**Overarching Project Goal**: To engage students in strong linkages and
relationships with faculty, advisors, and academic resources,
specifically designed for diverse learners, leading to increased success
and retention through First-Year Learning Communities and a First-Year
Advisement Center.

**Outcomes:** (1) increase fall-to-fall retention rates for first-year
students, especially Hispanic and low-income students; (2) centralize
and make first-year advisement and academic support proactive; (3)
provide faculty with access to knowledge and resources to promote
effective teaching and learning strategies for high risk courses; and
(4) expand capabilities of and access to student information by
advisors, faculty and students to track and assess student progress.

###### FLORIDA

## Miami Dade College - North Campus

***11380 NW 27^th^ Avenue***

***Miami, FL 33167***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: Juan C Espinosa*

*Phone: (305) 237-3222*

*E-mail: <jespino1@mdc.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$574,815*

Activity Description:

One of eight branch campuses within the Miami Dade College system, North
Campus serves Miami's most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Within North
Campus' primary service area, 43.4 percent of families live in poverty,
86 percent of adults do not have a bachelor's degree, and 59 percent
speak a language other than English at home. Of North Campus' 15,000
plus students, **93 percent** are minority (**43 percent Hispanic**) and
**61 percent** are low-income.

Despite a strong dedication to students and community, and an
institutional mission grounded in the pursuit of accessible, affordable
education for a multi-cultural population, North Campus struggles to
keep pace with increasing demands on limited resources. These challenges
reached acute proportions with our science instructional resources, with
outdated, overcrowded 40-year-old laboratories that are far below
standards. Although we are completing a new Science Complex, escalating
construction costs related to recent hurricanes, have cut deeply into
our equipment budget. Also, an increasing number of students enter our
doors under-prepared for college-level science courses, while our
faculty's instructional methods are unresponsive to those students'
diverse cultural learning styles.

Thus, we submit this Title V proposal requesting \$2,866,693 for a
single Activity, ***Retooling Science to Increase Student Success***,
which will provide: (1) new laboratory instrumentation, science library
resources, and a math lab; (2) faculty development to address the
diverse learning styles of students and the effective use of
instructional technology; and (3) outreach to local high school
students.

###### NEW MEXICO

## Regents of the University of New Mexico - Office of Sponsored Projects

***MSCO5 3370***

***Albuquerque, NM 87131***

### Four-Year Public

*Project Director: Jennifer Gomez-Chavez*

*Phone: (505) 277-5321*

*E-mail: <jengomez@unm.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$544,199*

Activity Description:

The University of New Mexico requests funding to implement the Improving
Campus Climate for Hispanic Students project. This project is comprised
of two major components:

**1. Faculty/Staff Development and Engagement** -- The university will
expand current faculty development practices to include educational
sessions focused on student-centered, culturally appropriate
instructional methods that will have a positive impact on students. In
addition, the University will enhance the role of the Provost's
Committee on Advisement to include the development of advisement
standards, advisement training and implementation evaluations. This
component will also include faculty/staff training with the Multiple
Academic Pathways for Students (MAPS) project to encourage familiarity
with and usage of this valuable tool in the classroom.

**2. Student Development and Engagement** -- This component of the
project focuses on student development and engagement through the
implementation of the Supplemental Instruction (SI) Program, the Peer
Mentoring (PM) Program and MAPS. Each of these activities is designed to
provide the maximum support to university students throughout their
educational careers. SI will provide academic tutoring support in the
classroom, PM will provide mentoring, social, cultural and academic
support in and out of the classroom, and MAPS will provide students with
a tool to navigate the academic, social, and cultural support programs
available on campus through live interface.

The university believes that through the implementation of these two
components the Improving Campus Climate for Hispanic Students project
will be successful in providing quality services that positively impact
the retention rate of first-year college students to the second year,
and the sixth year graduation rate.

## Regents of the University of New Mexico - Valencia County Branch

***1 University of New Mexico***

***Albuquerque, NM 87131***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: Reinaldo Garcia*

*Phone: (505) 925-8601*

*E-mail: <rgarcia@unm.edu>*

### Award Amount: \$500,136

Activity Description:

[Developmental Teaching and Learning Center]{.underline}

**Goal:** To significantly increase developmental course success rates
and improve persistence of low-income, Hispanic students, many of who
are older, working, and single parents. We propose to increase the
success rate of developmental students taking two or more remedial
courses to at least 75 percent and persistence to 60 percent. The
component for our activity is the creation of Developmental Learning
Communities in the Developmental Teaching and Learning Center.

###### NEW YORK

## Research Foundation of City University of New York - Lehman College

***250 Bedford Park Boulevard West***

***Bronx, NY 10468***

### Four-Year Private

### Project Director: Paul Kreuzer

*Phone: (718) 960-8339*

*E-mail: <paul.kreuzer@lehman.cuny.edu>*

### Award Amount: \$575,000

Activity Description:

An analysis of student attrition at Lehman College CUNY between the
lower and upper divisions revealed a high failure rate in mathematics
preparatory and content gateway courses in accounting, math, biology and
chemistry. To improve student persistence and graduation, Lehman must
improve student success in these gateway courses. The result of a year
long planning process, The Improving Student Transition to The Upper
Division Project has three primary goals: (1) Improve passing rates (C
or better grades) in targeted Gateway Courses after each supplemental
instruction period over the baseline rates established in 2003-2004; (2)
Improve persistence rates of freshmen into their fifth semester and
transfer students into their second year over the 2003-2004 baseline;
and (3) Improve graduation rates for freshmen and transfer students over
the same baseline year.

Guided by research on best practices, the project staff will: (1)
develop a manual of advisement protocols that utilize placement scores
(based on the ACT COMPASS mathematics test) and appropriate course
pre-requisites; (2) provide in-service training and implement a program
of SI within math preparatory and Gateway Courses; (3) implement best
practices in laboratory pedagogy using state-of-the-art equipment; and
(4) raise \$575,000 in matching endowment funds.

The project will use internal and external evaluators to perform
comprehensive formative and summative evaluation procedures to measure
the effectiveness of the strategies implemented to improve student
success in mathematics preparatory and Gateway Courses and as a result
improve persistence and graduation rates.

PUERTO RICO

Universidad Metropolitana - Bayamon

P.O. Box 278

Bayamon, PR 00960

Four-Year Private

Project Director: Zaida Vega-Lugo

Phone: (787) 766-1717

E-mail: [**zvega@suagm.edu**](mailto:zvega@suagm.edu)

Award Amount: \$573,135

Activity Description:

[Activity 1]{.underline}: ***Development of a First Year College and
Enhancement of Upper-Division Programs with Improved Support Services***
is built upon our commitment to solve the following problems identified
in the CDP: (1) Under preparedness of entering students and of upper
division students and the need for remediation at both lower and upper
divisions; (2) deficient academic management infrastructure; (3)
insufficient and disjointed academic and student support services; and
(4) a lack of a strong faculty and staff development initiative to
foster academic preparedness, retention and graduation of low income
students.

The Activity has four interrelated components: (1) Creation of a
Freshman Year College; (2) Enhancement of Upper-Division Academic
Programs; (3) Improvement of Academic and Personal Support Services; and
(4) Establishment of a Faculty Development Center and an Academic
Assessment Unit. This activity will cost \$2,430,296 over five years.
Samples of key measures include: Increase undergraduate retention rate
to 76.4 percent by 2011 from baseline year 2005 of 66.4 percent;
increase Freshman mastery of basic skills of English and Spanish to 80
percent passing rate by 2011 from baseline year 2005 of 68 percent in
English and 64 percent in Spanish and Mathematics to 67 percent from
baseline year 2005 of 47 percent; improve upper division students'
achievement in mathematical reasoning, communication skills (reading and
writing), and technology readiness to 75 percent passing rate by 2011;
improve the institution's teaching and assessment effectiveness and
support services.

***University of Puerto Rico - Ponce***

***P.O. Box 7186***

***2151 Santiago de los Caballeros Avenue***

***Ponce, PR 00732***

*Four-Year Public*

*Project Director: Rosario E Rios de Torres*

*Phone: (787) 844-8181*

*E-mail: <rrios@uprp.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$575,000*

Activity Description:

**Activity I: Strengthening Learning and Teaching Strategies and
Practices for a New Generation of Learners**

Through this **U.S. Department of Education Title V, Hispanic-Serving
institutions project proposal, University of Puerto Rico -- Ponce**
intends to create a challenging and cultural academic environment within
its campus by targeting the services actually provided by the **AAC
Librar**y. Being closed during three consecutive years since 2003, and
traced its opening for late 2006 / early 2007, the **AAC Library** is
seen as a cultural campus icon designated to provide access to
authoritative knowledge, now proposed by enhancing its' digital
services, as a response to today's academic world. Flexibility and
training are seen as pivotal sources on behalf of students academic
progress, and retention, and faculty academic development for enhancing
the learning and teaching practices, fundamentally for the incoming
freshmen population who faces numerous stressful situations while
striving through their first year college life adjustment period.

As stated by Ron Bleed (EDUCAUSE, 2006) there are "three types of true
gold: twenty-first century hybrid courses, learning spaces, and
literacy." This project intends to target these main issues by
strengthening **AAC Librar**y digital access; providing **tutoring and
mentoring services**; and **training faculty and students** for working
with the "true gold" resources brought to a new generation of learners
and a committed faculty in favor of students' academic progress,
retention, and success.

###### TEXAS

## Lee College

## P.O. Box 818

***Baytown, TX 77522***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: Anne Dickens*

*Phone: (281) 425-6501*

*E-mail: <adickens@lee.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$495,276*

Activity Description:

Lee College, a comprehensive community college in Baytown, Texas, seeks
Title V funds to increase student progress to graduation and transfer.
Although it has many academic, institutional management and fiscal
stability strengths, the college has spent two and a half years
identifying five major weaknesses or problems. It needs to provide
additional, more organized, academic support for student success;
improve its developmental programs, especially in math; increase student
success in courses delivered online; improve the quality of its data and
data analysis; and building enrollment which will increase the funds
available from tuition and from the state of Texas. Although these
weaknesses exist in the overall college community, they are particularly
dire for Hispanic and other low-income students.

To meet these needs, the college has one activity with five goals; each
goal has several measurable objectives to reach that goal. Those goals
will be accomplished by a variety of activities that provide direct
academic support in a Student Success Center. Two bridge programs, one
for students recently graduated and the other for adults, and a
co-enrollment college algebra course are designed to jump start college
success. Other direct services to students include improving success in
online courses through better orientation and an early warning system.

Other services include robust professional development and course design
support for faculty. The entire college will be served by a complete
overhaul of its data system and a consultant to work on improving data
analysis and reporting skills for faculty and administrators. As the
first four goals achieve their targets, the fifth goal of increased
revenues will be met through increased tuition and fees and increased
state support.

## WASHINGTON

## Columbia Basin College (CBC)

***2600 North 20^th^ Avenue***

***Pasco, WA 99301***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: Marisela Mendoza*

*Phone: (509) 547-0511*

*E-mail: <mmendoza@columbiabasin.edu>*

### Award Amount: \$574,237

Activity Description:

**Activity: Strengthening Student Success: Strengthening Instructional
Programs and Improving Assessment & Advisement Systems.**

High failure and attrition rates are the result of curricular,
advising/assessment, academic support and fiscal deficiencies, including
ineffective developmental education, inadequate reinforcement of basic
skills in gateway courses, faculty unprepared to address increasingly
diverse and at-risk student needs, and low-capacity advising and
information systems. The proposed activity develops effective,
competency-based developmental instruction with Academic and Achievement
Center support and the reinforcement of basic skills in gateway courses.
In addition, we will create a comprehensive assessment and advisement
system supported by new Student Information System capacities. Improved
student success and retention will increase enrollment-based revenues to
fund the ongoing incorporation of new practices and improvements into
CBC operations.

#### NEW COOPERATIVE ARRANGEMENT GRANTS

##### CALIFORNIA

## Antelope Valley College

***3401 West Avenue K***

***Lancaster, CA 93536***

*Two-Year Public*

*Project Director: Christos Valiotis*

*Phone: (661) 722-6422*

*E-mail: <cvaliotis@avc.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$699,938*

Activity Description:

Antelope Valley College (AVC) will expand its partnership with the
California State University Fresno and Bakersfield AVC branch campuses
to develop a single activity, "***Opening Pathways to College Degrees
for Hispanic Students: A Comprehensive and Collaborative Approach"***
designed to increase the numbers of engineers, teachers and business
professionals in the valley area. The proposed project will build upon
several major initiatives already in progress and will develop the
infrastructure necessary to provide seamless, supportive pathways to
university degrees in engineering, education, and business. These three
majors were selected as the focus of the project not only because there
are critical shortages of qualified professionals in these fields but
also because Hispanics (a large proportion of the local population) are
underrepresented in teaching, engineering, and professional business
positions. The activity has [three components]{.underline}: (1)
Broadening Access to AVC through Community Outreach and High School
Bridge Programs; (2) Providing a More Accessible, Seamless, and
Supportive Pathway to Baccalaureate Degree Completion; and (3)
Evaluating and Sustaining the Degree Pathways. This project activity
will increase the [institutional capacity at the three partner
institutions]{.underline} to attract Hispanic and other low-income
underrepresented students to teaching, business, and engineering careers
and increase the numbers of Hispanic and other low-income
underrepresented students who succeed at AVC and then transfer to CSU to
become teachers or business professionals.

## Los Angeles Mission College

***13356 Eldridge Avenue***

***Sylmar, CA 91342***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: Young-Ji Lee*

*Phone: (818) 364-7629*

### E-mail: <leey@lamission.edu>

*Award Amount: \$699,742*

Activity Description:

***Los Angeles Mission College* (Mission**), the lead institution, is a
public two-year institution serving 7,579 students of whom 68 percent
are Hispanic. Mission serves high numbers of academically under-prepared
Hispanic students, has the lowest transfer rate of all the Los Angeles
community colleges and one of the lowest in the state. ***Loyola
Marymount University (LMU) - School of Education (SOE*)** is a private
four-year university with a strong teacher preparation program and
undergraduate student population of 5,419. Hispanic enrollment in
teacher education is 35 percent. LMU must strengthen its services to
graduate and prepare more Hispanic and minority teachers.

**Strengthen Transfer of Hispanic Students and Hispanic Teacher
Education:** This Cooperative Arrangement proposal includes: (1) the
development of articulation agreements; (2) strengthening of student
services to increase the numbers of students completing teaching
degrees; (3) strengthening programs and processes; and (4)
implementation of technology projects to meet state initiatives.

**Key measures of success** include: (a) increased articulation
agreements; (b) increased retention and transfer rates from Mission; (c)
increased Hispanic enrollment in teacher education at LMU; (d) revised
curriculum and the ability to track student data electronically; and (e)
an increase in student and faculty technology usage and applications to
teaching.

## Moreno Valley Campus - Riverside Community College

***16130 Lasselle Street***

***Moreno Valley, CA 92551***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: Maureen Chavez*

*Phone: (951) 571-6259*

*E-mail: <Maureen.chavez@rcc.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$669,095*

Activity Description:

Moreno Valley Campus of Riverside Community College District (RCCD)
located in southern California will serve as the lead institution and
has established partnerships with Norco Campus of RCCD (Norco), and the
University of California, Riverside (UCR) to effectively and efficiently
implement an HSI Title V Cooperative grant.

Moreno Valley's grant has a single integrated activity that represents
an aggressive approach to the project's goal of improving student
learning and student success. Building on research and literature
(Jacobsen, 2000; Cummins 2000 & Cejda, 2001, et al) including best
practices, we will refine, expand, integrate and institutionalize a
series of pilot projects that will better address the academic needs of
our students with a focus on Hispanics and low-income, first-generation
students and achieve the desired outcomes. The project also creates a
Center for Faculty Development to assist faculty and related staff to
develop more appropriate strategies and methodologies in and out of the
classroom to increase student learning and success. Finally, the grant
will create a process that will identify and support increased numbers
of students, especially low- income and Hispanic students, to seek
careers in community college teaching. A core aspect of this project
will be to utilize the expertise available through UCR's California
Community College Collaborative (C4) in improving the quality of student
learning in community colleges.

This grant will address the question: How to effectively engage faculty
and students in new teaching and learning strategies that results in
increases in the key measures of student persistence, transfer and
graduation rates; significantly increased student success with revised
curriculums in ESL and math; and a well-structured and fully functioning
faculty development center.

***Santa Monica College***

***1900 Pico Boulevard***

***Santa Monica, CA 90405***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: Laurie McQuay-Peninger*

*Phone: (310) 434-3718*

### E-mail: <mcquay-peninger_laurel@smc.edu>

*Award Amount: \$700,000*

Activity Description:

Santa Monica College (SMC) and El Camino College (ECC), both two-year
community colleges serving Los Angeles County in California, are
submitting the proposed Title V Cooperative project, Supporting Student
Success in Pre-Transfer Mathematics, to improve student success in
developmental math courses, which currently indicate that one of every
two students will fail in math. This activity includes three primary
components: (1) Transforming the Culture of Mathematics through Course
Cohorts (led by ECC); (2) Improving Supplemental Instruction in
Pre-Collegiate Mathematics---A Pre-Service Teaching Experience (SMC and
ECC will work together to implement this component); and (3) Creating a
Pre-Collegiate Level Math Center *and* Developing Math/English Learning
Communities facilitated through this center (led by SMC).

Component One will serve as the foundation through which the partnering
colleges develop and implement the other two components. Through course
cohorts, small groups of faculty who teach the same course work together
to identify, develop, and implement strategies for improving student
success in the targeted course. After a thorough analysis of other
successful projects, the colleges believe that supplemental instruction,
the effective use of technology, and learning communities are three
research-based best practices for improving student success in math. The
faculty cohorts will utilize these strategies, as well as other methods
outlined in the project narrative, to improve student success in
pre-collegiate math by 25 percent over the five-year period.

Each institution will receive \$300,000 per year to implement this
activity, with \$100,000 per year allocated to administer the grant and
facilitate communication and coordination between the two institutions.

## Taft College

## 29 Emmons Park Drive

***Taft, CA 93268***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: Abel Nunez*

*Phone: (661) 673-7715*

*E-mail: <anunez@taft.org>*

*Award Amount: \$694,725*

Activity Description:

Title: **Increasing Student Success and Transfer in Math & Science
Programs**

Shared problems include: very low student transfer rates; low
performance in math and science pre-requisites and transferable courses;
limited faculty development; and antiquated labs and classroom
environments.

Part 1: Improve Student Transfer - The project will set up a Virtual
Transfer Center and

strengthen support systems for transfers. Taft will host and share the
Web portal and evaluation database, improving the cost effectiveness of
the project.

Part 2: Improve Student Learning Outcomes - Faculty in math and science
programs will develop new teaching, learning and assessment approaches.
They will pilot these with students in classrooms or labs, supported by
Supplemental Instruction. Ultimately, thousands of students will benefit
as the methods and supports expand to all math/science sections and
other programs.

Part 3: Improve Labs and Classrooms (supports Parts 1 and 2) - New lab
equipment and smart classrooms will support the extensive development
work in Part 2.

***Ventura County Community College District - Oxnard College***

***4000 South Rose Avenue***

***Oxnard, CA 93033***

*Two-Year* *Public*

*Project Director: Steve Hall*

### Phone: (805) 986-5803

*E-mail: <shall@vcccd.net>*

*Award Amount: \$700,000*

Activity Description:

Oxnard College (OC), the lead college, is a public, two-year
Hispanic-Serving institution located in Oxnard, California. The two
cooperative partners are California State University Channel Islands
(CSUCI) in Camarillo, California, and the University of California,
Santa Barbara (UCSB), in Santa Barbara, California. All are located
northwest of Los Angeles.

This mutually-beneficial single-activity Title V Cooperative project,
Opening and Improving the Inter-Segmental Pipeline for Hispanic Students
to Degree Completion through Cooperative Effort, focuses on
institutional development in jointly-identified key areas critical to
the success of OC's under-prepared Hispanic students who have academic
and career goals involving transfer to CSUCI and UCSB.

Following evidence-based best practices, this project will strengthen
OC's developmental/basic skills and gateway courses as the basis for
student success in subsequent coursework, resulting in a more
coordinated, comprehensive approach to success that:
combines/coordinates outreach strategies that lead to increased interest
in and preparation of high school graduates for college enrollment;
improves learning by addressing prioritized problems involving
articulated curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment through strategies such
as learning communities; recognizes and measures the value of curricular
and co-curricular integration in removing major obstacles to transfer;
and develops inter-segmental tracking capability to support the
evaluation of continuous improvement. Project objectives are directly
responsive to Title V key performance measures. Projected outcomes
include increased student engagement, intra- and inter-institutional
collaboration, student retention/persistence, student academic
preparedness for upper division study, graduation/transfer rates, and
applications and admissions from targeted feeder high schools; and
decreased rates of placement of entering high school students into
developmental/basic skills courses.

###### 

###### *West Hills Community College District*

## 9900 Cody Street

***Coalinga, CA 93210***

### Two-Year Public

*Project Director: Carole Goldsmith*

*Phone: (559) 934-2131*

*E-mail: <carolegoldsmith@westhillscollege.com>*

*Award Amount: \$650,000*

West Hills College-Coalinga and University of California Merced propose
to collaborate in an Educational Partnership designed to address the
needs of **Hispanic and low-income** students in California\'s Central
Valley by offering academic support centers, tutorial assistance and
faculty leadership. The Partnership's overriding **Goal** is to
establish academic support programs that work because they are carefully
planned and implemented, then rigorously evaluated.  Our operational
definition of a successful program is one that consistently and directly
improves student achievement or, as an indirect effect, one that
strengthens personal and social values related to the academic success
of underserved students.

West Hills College-Coalinga, one of University of California (UC)
Merced's feeder community colleges, serves a large Hispanic student
population (57.2 percent) who live in isolated, agricultural and rural
communities where only 4 percent of the population holds any type of
college degree.

UC Merced is the tenth and newest campus in the University of California
system and is the only public research university in California's
Central Valley. The student's are representative of regional
demographics, 33 percent are Hispanic. UC Merced is one of only three
research universities in the nation with this large a Hispanic student
body.

West Hills College-Coalinga and UC Merced both propose to
**Contribute**: (1) faculty led academic support centers; (2)
supplemental instruction; (3) faculty collaboration and presentations;
(4) academically prepared tutors; and (5) summer bridge activities.

West Hills College Coalinga proposes to establish an Endowment Fund, add
library books and resources, and update an obsolete information
technology server system.

###### COLORADO

## 

***Community College of Denver***

***Campus Box 250, P.O. Box 173363***

***Denver, CO 80217***

*Two-Year Public*

### Project Director: Rafael Rodriguez

*Phone: (303) 556-2425*

*E-mail: <Rafael.Rodriguez@ccd.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$699,880*

Activity Description:

**Community College of Denver (CCD),** the lead institution, and
**University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center (UCD)**
propose the **Denver Transfer Initiative,** a cooperative project to
improve rates of CCD student transfer to and graduation from UCD**. CCD
and UCD** share a campus in downtown Denver, over half of whose
populations are minorities and 35 percent are Hispanic. Especially among
Hispanics, Denver residents' levels of e**ducational attainment and
incomes are low**, as are **expectations among many CCD students:** only
31 percent declare an intent to transfer and 29 percent to earn
associate degrees compared to 53 percent and 59 percent nationally, and
**only 8 percent of CCD transfer-oriented students actually transfer to
UCD.** With upper-division course failure rates as high as 59 percent,
**only 31 percent who transfer** earn bachelor's degrees within three
years.

To increase transfer-oriented students' goal achievement, CCD and UCD
propose to create a Transfer Success Center, a joint instructional
support facility housing services including career / educational
planning, tutoring, financial aid assistance, and links to UCD support
programs.

Students will be served by case managers and ambassadors, peer "learning
coaches," in a case management model with progress tracked through a
Student Transfer / Tracking System. The project will create
developmental, transfer, liberal arts, business, and technology Learning
Communities at CCD and UCD. Finally, Faculty Academies targeting
effective instructional techniques and technologies will involve CCD and
UCD full-time and adjunct faculty each year.

CCD served 14,368 students in fall 2005, **8,046 of whom were minority**
and **3,879 were**

**Hispanic.** Of UCD's 7,491 students in fall 2005, **2,023 were
minority** and **899 were Hispanic.**

###### NEW MEXICO

## Northern New Mexico College

***921 Paseo de Onate***

***Espanola, NM***

*Two-Year* *Public*

*Project Director: David Trujillo*

*Phone: (505) 747-2116*

*E-mail: <dtrujillo@nnmc.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$698,293*

Activity Description:

This proposed Title V Cooperative Arrangement project, ***"Increasing
Access and Ensuring Quality Academic Opportunities for Northern New
Mexico,"*** combines the efforts of University of New Mexico at Taos
(UNM- a two-year community college), Northern New Mexico College (NNMC-
a rapidly evolving regional four-year college); and New Mexico Highlands
University (NMHU- a comprehensive regional university with some graduate
programs). Together, these three historic HSIs will address barriers of
geography, distance and under-funded K-16 educational systems that keep
northern New Mexico's communities and residents from having access to
quality postsecondary opportunities.

The Title V project will build upon the strengths of all three
institutions, which will share expertise and resources, conduct joint
planning and continuous improvement efforts, and focus Title V and
institutional resources on "gaps" in the region's secondary to graduate
school pipeline. The project will have six campus-specific and
partnership-wide components: a College and Career Preparation Bridge
Program for low-income secondary students; a comprehensive effort to
increasing the partner's distance education capacity and effectiveness,
including the implementation of online/distant student services;
developmental studies enhancements to better prepare students for
baccalaureate and graduate level study; four new programs (three
baccalaureate and one PhD) in critical areas; and long-term efforts to
align transfer and student success practices and to conduct joint
planning.

The project will have measurable and significant outcomes in three
areas: (1) increases in the numbers of Hispanics and other students
enrolling in and succeeding in two year and four year programs at NNMC,
NMHU and UNM-Taos; (2) increases in the number of distance education
courses (online and ITV) available to students across northern New
Mexico, and increases in the capacity of faculty to develop distance
education courses and teach effectively in distance modes; and (3)
increases in the retention, success and graduation rates of students at
NNMC, NMHU and UNM-Taos via our implementation of effective student
services, developmental instruction, and other retention strategies.

The project's overall five-year budget of \$3,475,539 is split evenly
among the three partner institutions, with less than 3 percent of the
budget allocated to project management (\$104,308 over five years).
Predominantly, Title V funds will support personnel (55.2 percent) and
fringe benefits (16.4 percent). The five-year budget also includes
travel at 2.6 percent, equipment (distance education) at 7.9 percent,
supplies (largely software and library materials for new programs) at
9.7 percent, and other budget items at 7.6 percent of the total.

###### NEW YORK

## Research Foundation of City University of New York - John Jay College

## 899 Tenth Avenue

***New York, NY 10019***

*Four-Year* *Public*

*Project Director: Anthony Carpi*

*Phone: (212) 237-8944*

### E-mail: <acarpi@jjay.cuny.edu>

*Award Amount: \$699,418*

Activity Description:

The proposed cooperative arrangement between John Jay College (JJC) of
the City University of New York (CUNY) and Queensborough Community
College (QCC) of CUNY will develop the capacity to address recognized
cross-institutional needs in retention and graduation rates of Hispanic
students in the sciences and among non-native English speaking (NNES)
students. This represents a coherent and comprehensive set of
developmental tasks that are based on the most recent educational
literature and our history of success. This proposal has two activities.

Activity I, Developmental Work in Science, will: (1) create pathways to
success for students from disadvantaged pre-college environments; and
(2) prepare young scientists of the highest caliber for post-graduate
study. Toward these objectives, the proposed tasks include:
incorporating the process of discovery in the freshman science courses
through curricular changes and Web-based enhancements, expanding
mentoring and advisement services to students, fostering the
articulation of QCC students to JJC, and providing a capstone
undergraduate research experience. Key measurable outcomes include: (a)
a 15 percent reduction in freshman failure rates; (b) a ten percent
increase in transfer rates from QCC; and (c) a ten percent increase in
graduation rates and the number of students who go on to post-graduate
education.

Activity II, Academic Support for NNES students, will: (1) develop an
online system of tutoring services and linguistically-graded
instructional and advisement modules; and (2) complement it with tutor-
and faculty-training initiatives that focus on the language and cultural
features of NNES students. Toward these objectives, the proposed tasks
include: developing asynchronous tutoring facilities and Web modules for
NNES students in disciplines including science; and developing tutor and
faculty training modules. Key measurable outcomes include: (a) a ten
percent increase in CUNY Proficiency Exam scores of NNES Hispanic
students; and (b) a ten percent increase in the performance of NNES
Hispanic students in writing intensive disciplines.

These activities will be integrated into the operating structure of the
institutions and will improve the long-term stability at both colleges.

## 

***Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology***

***86-01 23^rd^ Avenue***

***Flushing, NY 11369***

*Four-Year* *Public*

*Project Director: Kalliopi Koutsoutis*

*Phone: (718) 429-6600*

*E-mail: <kallikoutsoutis@vaughn.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$700,000*

Activity Description:

Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology (Vaughn) and Metropolitan
College of New York (MCNY), both urban, Hispanic-serving institutions
located in the greater New York City area, are logical partners for this
project which is directly related to the development plans and critical
needs of both institutions. Through this cooperative project, Vaughn and
MCNY will build on their complementary strengths to address serious
problems in common impeding their development as mission-driven
institutions committed to improving the educational and career
opportunities for Hispanic and other low-income students.

Vaughn and MCNY will develop a new pathway to teaching modeled on best
practice that will significantly strengthen both colleges, and is
tailored to the needs of their Hispanic students, through the following
strategies: (1) establishing an **early readiness awareness outreach**
framework for teacher preparation which is consistent with national best
practice for Hispanics and other underrepresented students; (2)
establishing **an accessible and effective math and science teacher
education pathway for Vaughn and MCNY** students so they may
successfully complete an M.S. in Education on schedule and pass all New
York State certification exams; and (3) developing **comprehensive and
coordinated student support services and an accessible delivery system**
which provides the same level of support to all students (on-campus,
off-campus and hybrid learners).

**Key Performance Measure:** Strengthen both institutions' curriculum,
instruction and student services in order to increase the number of
students who complete degrees at both institutions, qualify for
admittance to the MCNY M.S. in Education program, graduate from the M.S.
program, and pass all New York state teaching certification exams on
schedule.

**PUERTO RICO**

## Inter American University of Puerto Rico - Barranquitas

## P.O. Box 36255

***San Juan, PR 00936***

*Four-Year* *Public*

*Project Director: Norma Aviles*

*Phone: (787) 857-3600*

*E-mail: <naviles@br.inter.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$629,802*

Activity Description:

Inter American University of Puerto Rico--Barranquitas Campus
(IU-BARRANQUITAS) and Inter American University of Puerto Rico.--Arecibo
Campus (IU-ARECIBO) propose "*Enhancing Student Opportunities Through
Technology and Research Based Assessment"* a project comprised of two
activities geared to improving their ability to provide high-quality
educational experiences to their Hispanic student populations.

*Activity I: Enhance student opportunities through technology and
resources.* IU-BARRANQUITAS and IU-ARECIBO recognize that distance
education courses are important tools they can use to better serve
current and prospective students. They can serve to overcome schedule
constraints through time-shifting, to overcome geographical /
topographical constraints through remote access, and to cost-effectively
expand academic offerings by enabling course-swapping between
geographically separated institutions. The institutions will greatly
improve and expand their academic programs, with emphasis on their
Teacher Education Program. The institutions also recognize the benefits
of integrating technology into classroom instruction. Professional
development provided to faculty through this activity will encourage a
more effective and frequent use of instructional multi-media tools in
classroom settings. Activity funds will be used to secure equipment
needed to support this integration.

*Activity II: Establish offices of research and assessment to manage
student outcomes.* IU-BARRANQUITAS and IU-ARECIBO will each establish an
office of research and assessment to serve urgent needs for
mission-critical data. As resources for these new units, the
institutions will stabilize (or replace, if necessary) and integrate
(within each institution) their numerous disparate and incompatible data
systems. This activity will focus on developing systematic assessment
and performance-based learning and to promote the continuous improvement
in student services.

## Inter American University of Puerto Rico - San German

***P.O. Box 36255***

***San Juan, PR 00683***

### Four-Year Public

*Project Director: Zulma Quiones*

*Phone: (787) 892-5131*

*E-mail: <zquino@sg.inter.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$677,335*

Activity Description:

**[Activity 1]{.underline}:** "**Build campus retention through the
CLC's mentoring/advisement program; creation of a campus learning
community; acquisition of equipment for strengthening instruction and
student support services**." Increase retention and success while
improving the campus environment by: creating a campus learning
community through the development of CLC's for teaching, learning,
mentoring, training and development of a community of achievement; and
acquiring equipment for strengthening student, administrative and
academic programs. Budget: \$3,027,858 for five years**.**

[**Goal 1:** Strengthen the mentoring /advising /learning services by
developing **CLC's** to train faculty, staff and students in models of
learning, teaching, advising, life skills and improvement
strategies]{.underline}. To strengthen the campus environment by
re-engineering the learning advising, mentoring processes, through the
creation of learning communities and a service culture organization, by
focusing on faculty involvement---a must for retention and staff
involvement. In addition the CLC's will serve as development center.

[**Goal** **2:** Strengthen the processes through the use of technology;
train faculty/administrative staff in teaching, learning, and serving
methods; identify materials for improvement; and increase access to
information]{.underline}. This activity will strengthen academic
programs and service processes by providing additional technology in
already established laboratories and by creating new external Smart
Classrooms. Project activities are expected to increase retention rates
(currently at 70 percent/SG; 65.18 percent AA) by at least 15 percent
and improve services.

## Universidad Metropolitana - Jayuya

***P.O. Box 1527***

***Jayuya, PR 00664***

### Four-Year Private

### Project Director: Maria I. Delgado

*Phone: (787) 766-1717*

*E-mail: <um_mdelgado@suagm.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$557,799*

Activity Description:

Activity 1: \$3,365,373 over five years - **Development of Learning
Communities to Improve Achievement of Teacher Preparation Students on
the State Certification Examination**.

This cooperative project proposes to collaboratively address the
implementation of a project to impact teacher preparation students with:

1.  curriculum revision in both general and professional education
    courses;

2.  the establishment of information resources and support for mobile
    technologies;

3.  implementation of a faculty development program in Teacher
    Preparation; and

4.  Local Area Network (LAN) enhancement and technology infrastructure.

This capacity-building activity will be integrated by the following
strategic actions: Curriculum development to increase undergraduate and
graduate offerings, e- and Web-enhanced courses, e-learning student and
faculty competencies, e-pedagogy training, online faculty and student's
research competencies, network development and enhancements, I/T
facilities and infrastructure developments, I/T staff technology
competencies. These actions are geared at fostering Hispanic student's
access to quality higher education, retention and graduation over a
five-year span.

***University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo***

***P.O. Box 4010***

***Arecibo, PR 00614***

*Four-Year Public*

*Project Director: Philippe Scott*

*Phone: (787) 815-0000*

*E-mail: <upra@pscott.org>*

*Award Amount: \$699,999*

Activity Description:

University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo Campus (UPRA) and Humacao Campus
(UPRH)

Cooperative Agreement.

Activity Title: **Collaboration through Technology Initiatives to
Enhance Academic, student and Library Support Services.** The total
amount requested is \$3.5 million over the five-year period. Goals and
objectives shared by the partner institutions are addressed, which will
enhance student learning outcomes in academic programs; make curricular
reforms / renovation through infusion of technology; strengthen library
resources by providing online services and information literacy support;
and upgrade their campus-wide technology infrastructure.

Sample of Key Measures: The graduation and persistence rates of students
participating in the tutoring and mentoring programs will increment five
percent on an annual basis after the second year; targeted students
passing rates in gatekeeper/bottleneck courses will be five percent
higher than similar cohorts in previous years not impacted; a minimum of
40 percent of all faculty members will have acquired technology skills
and integrated technology initiatives into the curriculum by the end of
the grant period; online tutorials on gateway/bottleneck courses and
information literacy will be developed and used by at least 400 students
annually; 100 percent of the students and faculty will have enhanced
remote access to the library's new electronic journals; and by the end
of the fifth year, facilities to house student and faculty centers for
academic and student support services will have been constructed, and
classrooms renovated to incorporate electronic capabilities. To sustain
this technology-supported learning initiative, continuous assessment at
all levels will be implemented in order to ensure achieving shared Title
V outcomes of Hispanic students' access to quality higher education
opportunities and academic success.

***University of Puerto Rico at Carolina***

***P.O. Box 4800***

***Carolina, PR 00984***

*Four-Year Public*

*Project Director: Maria del Pilar Toral*

*Phone: (787) 257-0000*

*E-mail: <ptoral@adistancia.net>*

*Award Amount: \$699,997*

Activity Description:

**Activity Title: Improving Student Learning Outcomes Through Extensive
Assessment, Faculty Development, and Improvement of Library and
Telecommunications Infrastructure.**

This activity includes four components: **(1)** Development and
implementation of an institutional and student-learning assessment plan;
(**2)** Enhancement of faculty's skills in integrating e-Portfolio and
Web logs to assess the teaching-learning process at the course and
program levels; (**3)** Development of a Digital Library to improve the
availability of information resources; and (**4)** Improvement of the
technological, telecommunications, and television infrastructure and
resources.

The expected outcomes include: (a) create the infrastructure and
training for implementing the Assessment Management System centralized
database (baseline=0); (b) increase to 75 the number of faculty and
staff (25) participating in institutional and student-learning
assessment activities; (c) increase to 75 the number of faculty
integrating e-Portfolio and web logs as assessment tools in the
teaching/learning process (baseline=0); (d) increase to 500 the number
of students in partner institutions using e-Portfolio as an assessment
tool of their academic progress and achievement in their respective
programs (baseline=0); (e) increase by 100 percent the availability of
online services and library resources (reserve and audiovisual) in a
digital format (baseline=0); (f) increase to 40 (baseline=0) the number
of faculty integrating information literacy in the teaching/learning
process; (g) increase partner institutions' student's information
literacy skills; and (h) Increase and improve partner institutions'
technological and telecommunications infrastructure and resources by 90
percent (baseline=10 percent).

Through these key components, the institutions expect to achieve the
ultimate goal of this

activity: Hispanic students' academic excellence.

###### TEXAS

## 

## Coastal Bend College

***3800 Charco Road***

***Beeville, TX 78102***

*Two-Year* *Public*

*Project Director: Alma Adamez*

*Phone: (361) 354-2268*

*E-mail: <adamez@coastalbend.edu>*

*Award Amount: \$700,000*

Activity Description:

***Improving Hispanic Attainment in South Texas: Building Community
Among the High School, the Community College, and the University*** is a
cooperative arrangement between Coastal Bend College (CBC) and the
University of Houston -- Victoria (UHV).

The project will provide needed services and programs aimed at keeping
the educational pipeline open to Hispanics, low-income and traditionally
under-represented students who attempt a baccalaureate degree. Goals of
the project include: (1) expanding outreach, admissions, and retention
capacities; (2) increasing student persistence and transfer rates; (3)
building distance learning capacities; and (4) increasing educational
attainment up to the bachelor's degree level.

The project has three components. Component I focuses on outreach to six
high schools, a summer student success "boot camp," and a first-year
experience. The first year experience includes providing (1) pairings of
English and psychology courses to improve writing skills while exploring
the Mexican-American experience; (2) counseling sessions; (3) university
visits; and (4) mentoring with community leaders. Component II focuses
on building community between CBC and UHV professionals by improving the
distance learning infrastructure and by providing joint faculty
training. The training will lead to three levels of distance learning
certification. Component III consists of an online mentoring program
that will build community between UHV and CBC students thus closing the
transition gap from the community college to the university.

November 6, 2006