**AANAPISI Part A New Awards Abstracts**

**P031L220017 – University of Massachusetts Boston**

**University of Massachusetts Boston 2022 AANAPISI Cooperative Grant Narrative**

**AANAPISI Proud: Creating Culturally Sustaining Pathways from Community College**

**to Baccalaureate and Beyond**

AANAPISI Proud is a cooperative arrangement development grant project that will leverage the

resources and expertise based at the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMB) and Bunker Hill

Community College (BHCC) to deepen both institutions’ capacities to serve low-income, first-generation Asian American students from Chinese, Vietnamese, and Khmer communities and

other low-income students from diverse communities of metro Boston. The project will

accomplish the following three overarching goals: (1) increase the number of high-need, low-income Asian American students who transfer from BHCC to UMB, complete general education,

and graduate within 4 years; (2) develop faculty and staff capacity to design, implement and

assess culturally sustaining pedagogies in curricular, co-curricular, and work-based learning

environments; and (3) contribute to a more nuanced understanding of the experiences of Asian

American students who transfer from community college to universities through collaborative

data-sharing and asset-based outcomes assessment, and broad dissemination of findings.

We have established six outcomes to measure our progress toward achieving the project’s

overarching goals:

1. Increase the number of Asian American students who transfer from BHCC to UMB by

20% from the 2021 baseline of 66 to 79 for the 2027 entering cohort

2. Increase 4-year graduation rate of Asian American BHCC transfer students by 15%

from the 2021 baseline of 54% to 62% by 2027

3. Decrease gaps in WPR and QR completion between Asian American transfer

students and all UMB transfer students from 5% (as of 2022) for QR and 8.1% (as of

2022) for WPR to no discernable gaps in 2027

4. Increase the percentage of Asian American students participating in work-based and

experiential learning from 11% (2022 baseline) to 25% and in on-campus mental

health support by from 14% (2022 baseline) to 24% by 2027

5. Increase the long-term capacity of 78–113 faculty and staff, and administrators (6–8

on 3 design teams, 12-15 on steering committee, 60–90 receiving professional

development) to design, implement and assess culturally sustaining and asset-based

pedagogies and practice

6. Increase accessibility and public knowledge of trends and pattern in successful

community college-to-university transfer and program completion through annual

data summary reports and 1-3 applied research projects each year

Progress towards these six objectives and the two Competitive Preference Priorities – (1)

Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs and (2) Postsecondary Education

Access, Affordability, Completion, and Post-Enrollment Success – will be accomplished through

cross-institutional collaborative activities dedicated to the development and institutionalization

of culturally sustaining and asset-based (1) pathways for academic and career success, (2)

curriculum and pedagogy enhancement, and (3) data sharing and outcomes assessment. BHCC

will receive a subcontract from UMB to compensate key grant personnel (Project Co-Director

and Program Coordinator) for their time working on the AANAPISI Proud cooperative project.

**P031L220012 - Queens College CUNY**

**Queens College AANAPISI Project (QCAP)**

Queens College, City University of New York

AANAPISI Program Application FY 2022

**Abstract**

Queens College proposes the Queens College AANAPISI Project (QCAP) in order to

support the academic success, mental health, and community engagement of our significant and

diverse Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander (AANAPI) student population.

AANAPI students at Queens College (QC) are underserved and experience unique challenges

and barriers to their academic success, mental health, and community engagement. QCAP

strengthens and expands on existing student support services at QC, focusing on the specific

needs of our AANAPI students, including student-centered, culturally responsive, and culturally

sustaining academic support services, mental health support services, and experiential learning

and leadership opportunities.

To more effectively determine and meet the needs of our AANAPI student population,

QCAP proposes the following primary goals and activities: (1) to expand academic support for

AANAPI students by (1a) hiring and training tutors to work with multilingual AANAPI students,

(1b) providing faculty development focused on teaching multilingual and AANAPI students, and

(1c) facilitating the translation of important college policy and procedure documents into Asian

languages; (2) to expand mental health support for AANAPI students by (2a) providing monthly

workshops and events focused on mental health in AANAPI communities and (2b) doing

outreach to and providing support for AANAPI student groups; and (3) to expand community

engagement for AANAPI students on- and off-campus by (3a) creating an internship program

that places QC students with AANAPI community organizations and (3b) setting up a

centralized and integrated student resource center to serve as a hub for QCAP activities and

AANAPI student support services. Each of these goals and activities addresses one or both of the

Competitive Preference Priorities.

Through these interconnected goals and activities, QCAP will serve an estimated 1,800

students over the funding period of five years. The project’s activities are supported by

up-to-date research and established best practices and are designed to work together to result in

positive impacts and outcomes for QC’s underserved AANAPI students, as well as for our

diverse low-income, immigrant, and multilingual student population overall. QCAP’s projected

outcomes include, but are not limited to, increased rates of retention for AANAPI students;

increased rates of graduation within 4 years for AANAPI students; improved grades in first-year

writing and writing-intensive courses for AANAPI students; increased numbers of AANAPI

students who are aware of and who access academic and mental health support services across

campus; increased student engagement in campus student organizations and in the community;

increased sense of belonging to and support from AANAPI and campus communities; and

increased faculty understanding of issues faced by AANAPI students and development of

culturally responsive and culturally sustaining curricular materials and pedagogical strategies.

QCAP’s robust evaluation plan will use a mixed-methods approach to collect and analyze

high-quality qualitative and quantitative data from multiple sources in order to ensure that the

project’s activities effectively work toward these impacts and outcomes.

**P031L220020 - California State University Long Beach**

ABSTRACT - ASCEND: AANAPI Student success Center & Development 

The California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) hosting at least 21% (~7,100) Asian American, Native American and Pacific Islander (AANAPI) students, introduces ASCEND: **A**ANAPI **S**tudent success **Cen**ter & **D**evelopment program to support and improve target (AANAPI and underserved) students’ success, which meets both competitive preference priority I and II. ASCEND emphasizes target groups in the field of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) due to deep-rooted discouraging evidence observed. This proposed work will complement, but not overlap, the existing CSULB-AANAPISI support part F (*Project Resilience*) and further extend the support to target individuals on a large-scale demand. The ASCEND program’s first goal is to provide academic support to AANAPI students to enhance their academic success. 

The ASCEND program’s second goal is to build a more diverse and inclusive campus setting for underserved students. ASCEND’s objectives include: **Objective 1:**Improve student graduation rates by offering academic and living expenses support (**Priority II**), **Objective 2:**Enhance student academic performance by providing near-peer-tutoring services and research experience opportunities (**Priority II**), **Objective 3:**Encourage student life-long success by integrating future-based career, professional, and leadership development workshops (**Priority II**), and **Objective 4:**Improve campus climate on diversity, equity, and inclusion via active DE&I workshops (**Priority I**). 

ASCEND will drive CSULB to achieve AANAPISI missions with (i) STEM student academic and subsistence relief fund (**Priority II**), (ii) near-peer mentoring and tutoring services (**Priority II**), (iii) career, professional, and leadership training (**Priority II**), and (iv) interactive Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion workshops and campaigns to recreate an inclusive campus setting (**Priority I).**With the ASCEND aids, about 286 students will be subsidized for their education and living expenses. The anticipated outcomes include (i) increasing STEM students’ graduation rates, (ii) enhancing students’ academic performance, (iii) enhancing internship and job acceptance rates, (iv) expanding AANAPISI student diversity, and (v) fortifying an inclusive campus setting among all parties.

**P031L220015 - San Joaquin Delta College**

**San Joaquin Delta College**

**Empowering Positive Initiatives for Change (EPIC) Program**

**Abstract**

San Joaquin Delta College (SJDC) is seeking $1.9 Million in US Department of Education funding to expand and scale up the College’s year-long, first year experience pilot program for low-income AANHPI students, “Empowering Positive Initiatives for Change” (EPIC). The goals for this expansion/scale-up project are to: (1) improve Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) representation and community-building at the institution so that students feel a sense of belonging, build and utilize leadership skills, and learn to exercise self-efficacy confidently in their respective learning journeys; (2) reduce the social stigma around mental health so that AANHPI students improve access and utilization of services to address those needs; and (3) improve AANHPI completion rates by scaling up key components of the EPIC pilot. 

Key characteristics of EPIC include: (1) an enhanced and well-supported learning community/cohort with an explicit sequence of courses rooted in the AANHPI experience and designed to meet degree, transfer and workforce requirements; (2) several embedded community-building activities for fostering engagement in the College and local communities; (3) a dedicated AANHPI space on campus (EPICENTER) where students can connect with one another and key staff/faulty, attend workshops, and receive career and academic supports such as tutoring and peer mentoring; (4) mental health-related workshops and activities to raise awareness, reduce the stigma and connect students with resources and services to meet their mental health needs; and (5) paid work-based learning experiences that include networking events with prospective employers, resume/application and interview preparation, and paid internships. These activities will address the FY 2022 ***Competitive Preference Priority #1: Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs***; and ***Competitive Preference Priority #2: Increasing Postsecondary Education Access, Affordability, Completion, and Post-Enrollment Success***. 

Enhanced Student Support Services will support 175 AANHPI low-income students each year, and up to 2,800 low-income AANHPI students over the course of five years.

**P031L220023 – Middlesex Community College**

**Asian American and North American Indian Pacific Islander**

**Serving Institutions Program**

***“Program for Asian American Student Advancement” (PAASA)***

**Abstract**

Middlesex Community College (MCC), located in Lowell and Bedford Massachusetts, is one of the largest community colleges in Massachusetts. The city of Lowell is the site of MCC’s primary campus in terms of enrollment as well as the number of Asian American students it serves. Asian Americans in Lowell comprise 23% of the city’s total population of 115,554, including the second largest Cambodian community in the United States. More than 15% of MCC’s credit students are Asian American, primarily Southeast Asian, and 79% of first-time, full-time students at MCC receive some form of financial aid. 

The community from which MCC Asian students originate has among the lowest income in the state and many come from families who have suffered significant hardships and trauma. Many arrived as refugees from the killing fields of Cambodia or were displaced during the war in Vietnam. Many barriers remain for re-settled families including language, access to health services and education. Over 63% of students in the Lowell Public School district are English Language Learners or whose first language is not English. 

To best serve the needs and interests of its Asian American students, MCC was initially designated as an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI) in 2015 and awarded its first AANAPISI grant in the Part F competition in 2016. MCC’s AANAPISI grant for the ***Program for Asian American Student Advancement (PAASA)***project has fundamentally changed the way that Middlesex Community College serves its Asian American, other minoritized, and low-income students. Based on an array of services that honor the cultural and community ties of the students while providing important basic supports, PAASA connects Asian American students in a pathway approach that links enrollment decisions to strategies for addressing barriers that can limit persistence and retention. 

Going forward, PAASA goals include: 

 Increase retention in college by creating Asian-American students’ sense of belonging by providing personalized support. 

 Implementation of ACE embedded tutors in English courses to support1st GEN and ELL students with writing and transition to college-level courses. 

 Develop the cultural competence among MCC faculty and staff to effectively serve Asian American, other minoritized, and low-income students. 

In addition to providing resources, case management and financial planning, MCC’s PAASA will offer Professional Development in inclusive pedagogy and improved institutional Cultural Competence. 

This project meets the Competitive Preference Priority (CPP)1, “Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs” and Competitive Preference Priority 2, “Increasing Postsecondary Education Access, Affordability, Completion, and Post-Enrollment Success.” 

CPP 1 will bring the opportunity of artistic expression through Southeast Asian dance and ceramics sessions to alleviate stress and CPP 2 will engage MCC’s robust dual enrollment network to address college affordability and promote education access.

**P031L220007 – Mt. San Antonio Community College**

Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) will lead the proposed project in collaboration with California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). Both institutions are federally designated as Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI). Disaggregated data analysis and qualitative research has led the two institutions to develop a project titled Mt. SAC Arise & CPP APIDA Student Community Collaborative Project. 

This cooperative approach will address the unique and divergent needs of APIDA students to support the academic achievement, personal development, and transfer readiness of community college APIDA students. This structure builds upon the activities that Mt. SAC has successfully initiated and scaled through previous AANAPISI grant funding, as well as the existing partnership between the two institutions to improve outcomes for transfer students. 

The project’s activities are aimed at addressing the AANAPISI Program’s competitive preference priorities of improving students’ social, emotional, academic, and career development, with a focus on underserved students by creating a positive, inclusive, and identify-safe climate, as well as increasing postsecondary access, affordability, completion, and success for underserved students. 

The institutions will implement the following strategies within four main project components: 

• Academic Development – (a) Knowledge Is Power learning community linking APIDA Studies courses with English courses; (b) curriculum development in APIDA Studies themes; (c) faculty exchanges; (d) data literacy and research skills development; (e) development of a community of learners; and (e) peer mentoring. 

• Transfer Collaboration – (a) Transfer Achievement Program Summer Academy for APIDA students; (b) targeted transfer outreach to APIDA community college students; (c) connecting underrepresented APIDA students to university resources; (d) creation of transfer pathways and resources for APIDA student-athletes; and (e) development of a data sharing plan to track transfer student outcomes and propose interventions. 

• Holistic Support – (a) mental health education, resources, and access; (b) basic needs support; (c) culturally-specific activities designed to enhance AAPI students’ awareness and pride in their cultural heritage, including Fale Fono and talking circles; and (d) efforts to enhance students’ sense of self, goal direction, and self-confidence. 

• Community Engagement – (a) professional development on culturally relevant instructional strategies, culturally sensitive service delivery, and mental health considerations of AAPI students; (b) cross-cultural collaboration on intersecting topics; (c) digital storytelling; and (d) engagement of communities through APIDA College Discovery Day, APIDA Family Education Summit, and community advisory meetings. 

The project will develop, track, and assess student outcomes throughout the project period, adjusting and improving strategies based on quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Focus groups will help the project to further refine activities to address the unique needs of APIDA students. The cooperative project will disseminate findings and model strategies to other institutions of higher education through professional conferences and other outreach activities.

**P031L220002 – University of Washington Tacoma**

**Project Abstract**

**AAPI THRIVE (Tacoma Husky Retention and Inclusive Vision of Excellence) Project**

**Institutional Profile:**The University of Washington Tacoma (UWT) is the most racially and ethnically diverse campus of the University of Washington tri-campus system. **UWT has been designated as an AANAPISI-eligible institution since 2017 and is applying as a first-time candidate for AANAPISI PART A funds to develop and enhance support for its AAPI students.**A university whose mission focuses on serving primarily urban students, most of whom are commuters, UWT was founded in 1990 and is located in historic downtown Tacoma, Washington, in Pierce County. **More than 51% of the students come via transfer**, the majority from one of five community colleges located within commuting distance. **25% percent of the University’s students are Asian American (23%) and Pacific Islander (2%)**, comprising the second largest student population at the institution and reflecting the largest growing population in the University, Pierce County, and Washington State. 

**Major Gaps in Service:**With leadership from the Office of Equity and Inclusion, the AANAPISI Development Team identified three major gaps in service to Asian American and Pacific Islander students, including: 1) disparity in retention rates between full-time, first-time in college AAPI students and transfer students, 2) severely limited faculty development in high-impact, best practices of inclusive teaching and curriculum development 3) serious lack of connection and engagement of AAPI students with the campus community. 

**P031L220021 – Berkeley City College**

**Applicant:**Berkeley Community College (lead college) is a two-year public community college located in Oakland, California, and is situated in the Greater San Francisco Bay Area. It is one of four colleges in the Peralta Community College District. Berkeley will be sub-contracting with Laney College, its sister college also located in the Peralta District. 

**AANAPISI Project**: ***Total Five-Year Request: $2,500,000.***

This proposal addresses two significant gaps in service that can present monumental barriers for AAPI and underserved students. 

**Gap #1**. **Severely limited mental health, emotional and social support services fail to ensure safe and welcoming spaces and culturally sensitive asset-based mindset practices to enable AAPI students to successfully pursue their educational goals**. 

**Gap #2. No pathways developed for AAPI ESOL students to transition from ESOL to CTE certificate and degree programs and ultimately to high wage jobs in the workforce.**

The **AAPI Healthy Transitions Project**came about in great part to address the mental health needs of the AAPI population represented by the colleges’ AAPI students. AAPI continue to be the targets of hate crimes, harassment, and discrimination to the point where AAPI are the demographic most likely to commit suicide and the least likely to ask for help. This project will transform the mental health services at both colleges by creating numerous opportunities for culturally responsive services in a safe, inclusive, and welcoming environment. Many of these services will also be available to underserved and disadvantaged students. 

In addition, the colleges are working together to develop transition pathways for AAPI ESOL and other ESOL students to move smoothly from ESOL classes to CTE certificate and degree programs and from program completion into the workforce. 

**Strong Personnel, Project Management, Logic Models and Evaluation Plans are included.**

**P031L220008 – Northern Marianas College**

The Proa Pathway Partnership is a collaborative effort between the Northern Marianas College

(NMC) and Portland State University (PSU) whose mission is to help Asian American and

Pacific Islander (AAPI) students successfully graduate from college and enter into meaningful

careers by providing services that will help them identify career paths in science, technology,

engineering, and mathematics (STEM), receive mentorship and guidance, and gain research

experience that aligns with their educational and career goals in preparation for their transition

into PSU.

The goals of the Proa Pathway Partnership are to empower students to identify a career path

early on, attain job skills, and gain research experience that align with their educational and

career aspirations in preparation for their transition into a four-year research university, while

providing students direct access to mental health and academic support on-campus and virtually

to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on students’ academic success. The program aims to

achieve its goals and objectives by providing strategic advising and counseling services,

mentoring support, and research training workshops, and an opportunity for students to attend a

Summer Research Academy at PSU and complete a research Gateway course to aid in their

transition. Utilizing this wraparound approach will lead to increased success in the undergraduate

and graduate levels for one of the most underserved student populations in the U.S., particularly

those of Chamorro and Carolinian native descent.

A wide education gap exists in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), as

only 17% of the adult population (composed mostly of AAPI residents) has earned a bachelor’s

degree or higher, and a majority of the students in primary and secondary education are behind

their grade levels nationally. The high poverty and unemployment rates in the CNMI make

affording and attending college difficult, which has been exacerbated by the ongoing negative

economic impacts caused by Super Typhoon Yutu in 2018 and the ongoing COVID-19

pandemic. As a tourism-based economy, the CNMI has seen a steep decline in its economic

activity, resulting in a large loss of revenue and significant funding cuts to education. As

resources to support college students have greatly diminished, the CNMI needs the Proa Pathway

Partnership to support its students in their pursuit of a college degree, and ultimately a better life.

Moreover, the Proa Pathway Partnership addresses two competitive-priority preferences by 1)

improving students’ social, emotional, and academic needs, while also 2) increasing

postsecondary education access, affordability, completion, and post-enrollment success at NMC.

**P031L220010 – San Diego City College**

San Diego City College’s AANAPISI project, ***Inclusive City Achievement Network***or ***Project***

***ICAN***, is a multipronged, evidence-based initiative to reduce equity gaps and increase the

academic success, retention, graduation, and transfer rates of Asian American and Native

American Pacific Islander (APIA) and low-income students. By implementing systemic reforms

that are equity-informed and tailored to City College’s specific needs, the activities of this

proposal, aligned with best practices and evidence-based literature, will lay the foundation for

long-term changes in how City College approaches serving its APIA and low-income students. A

$2 million program of integrated interventions and capacity building activities, Project ICAN

will increase the number of APIA and low-income students attaining postsecondary degrees and

certificates and participating in the growing regional economy, through the following strategy

and activities:

**STRATEGY 1**: Establish a strong APIA Learning Community of Practice that aggressively

works toward addressing disproportionate impacts on APIA and low-income groups through a

comprehensive, culturally responsive approach to student success

Project ICAN’s objectives include:

**1. Enrollment:**There will be a 10% increase in the number of AANAPI and low-income

full-time, degree-seeking undergraduate students enrolled at San Diego City College

**2. Persistence to Graduation**: The percentage of AANAPI City College students who are

awarded a degree or certificate will increase 25%

**3. Student Support Utilization:**There is a cumulative increase in the number of students

who participate in grant-funded student support services, including tutoring, peer-led

supplemental instruction, and other resources at ICAN Center from 200 to 600 per year.

**4. Retention & Persistence**There is a cumulative increase in students targeted from APIA

groups who annually participate in APIA-focused academic learning communities from 0 to

100 per year.

**5. Professional Development:**80 faculty and staff over a baseline of 0 will be trained in

academic, financial, and culturally inclusive approaches to inquiry, teaching and learning that

address the needs of APIA, low-income and disproportionately impacted students.

These strategies and their sub-activities satisfy both **Competitive Preference Priorities**(CCP)

through meeting student social, emotional, and academic needs (CPP 1) and by focusing on

increasing post-secondary education access, affordability, completion, and post-enrollment

success (CCP 2).

**P031L220006 – San Francisco State University**

San Francisco State University and San Mateo County Community College District

**Title:**Access, Relevance, and Community for Transfer Students (ARC) 

San Francisco State University (SFSU) and the three community colleges of San Mateo County Community College District (SMCCCD): Cañada College, College of San Mateo, and Skyline College, propose a cooperative arrangement development grant project. The four partnering institutions are AANAPISI institutions located in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, California Metropolitan Statistical Area and share a history of partnership. 

**Purpose and Overview:**SFSU and the SMCCCD colleges submit the proposal under the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving Institutions Program (AANAPISI) 84.031L – Part A to expand their institutional capacity to address an equity gap in college access, persistence, transfer, and completion. The ARC project aims to create an accessible and welcoming community for underserved AANAPI and low-income transfer students, strengthen transfer enrollment pathways from SMCCCD colleges, and integrate career-focused learning experiences. 

Working together, the four institutions will implement a comprehensive set of supports including peer mentoring; faculty workshops and learning communities (LCs); student support communities and LCs; transfer-related events, workshops, and visits to SFSU; and establishing a central SFSU contact for transfer students enrolled in ARC LCs. The project will also address institutional barriers that impede student success and institutionalize learning between the community college and university spaces through a cross-college data sharing model and Annual Learning Institute. 

By developing and implementing evidence-based practices for student success, ARC is designed to achieve the following measurable outcomes: 80% of students who participate in SMCCCD communities and 80% of students in SFSU LCs report increased engagement, sense of belonging and community (annual); 80% of students who participate in SMCCCD transfer support programming report increased knowledge of transfer process (annual); increase persistence of FTFT SMCCCD degree-seeking undergraduates with declared intent to transfer by 5% (Y5); increase transfer enrollment of underserved AANAPI and LI students 15% above baseline (annual); Increase four- and six-year graduation rates of FTFT degree-seeking undergraduates by 1% (annual); 100% of faculty participating in professional development and LCs report increased skills and knowledge to support social-emotional health, wellness, and career readiness (SFSU); and 100% of faculty participating in Annual Learning Institute report increased skills to share knowledge and data 

The proposal responds to **CPP 1**Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs: creating a positive, inclusive, and identity-safe climate by fostering a sense of belonging, implementing evidence-based practices for advancing success for underserved students, and providing evidence-based professional development opportunities. The proposal also responds to **CPP 2**Increasing Postsecondary Access, Affordability, Completion, and Post-Enrollment Success by creating clearer transfer pathways for students between institutions and establishing cross-college knowledge and data sharing models.

**P031L220022 – Evergreen Valley College**

Abstract: Asian Pacific Islander Resources for Excellence plus Powerful Leadership and Learning for Unified Success (ASPIRE+PLLUS) 

The need for the Asian Pacific Islander Resources for Excellence plus Powerful Leadership and Learning for Unified Success (ASPIRE+PLLUS) project aims to enhance and scale up the direct activities to mitigate the COVID aftermath of the anti-Asian culture climate towards AANAPI community, especially for AANAPI students studying, living and working in Silicon Valley. The COVID aftermath that have and are impacting our AANAPI students include, but not limited to, decline in family income, increase need of student emergency funds to pay for the cost of education and/or basic needs, technology access, and mental health and wellness access. Due to the intensified need of our AANAPI students, EVC is initiating a collaborative approach by connecting all resources from academic affairs and student affairs to rebuild and restore the sense of hope and belonging to our AANAPI students, faculty, and staff. 

This collaborative partnership across campus and community propelled the creation of ASPIRE+PLLUS. The ASPIRE+PLLUS program aims to addresses the following improvement areas or the areas of need: workshops, academic counseling, and mental health/wellness sessions for AANAPI and AANAPI LGBTQ+ students; digital literacy for English as a Second Language (ESL) learners; academic mentors and industry career mentor sessions for AANAPI students; conduct training of staff to develop awareness and approaches for anti-racism, decrease the propagation of the model minority myth, and increase awareness against Asian Hate. 

The ASPIRE+PLLUS project will contribute to research, policy, and practice through the outcomes data to disseminate as best practice for academic support and social support for AANAPI students’ experience after COVID-19 and Anti-Asian Hate; more specifically, how the awareness and knowledge of mental health and wellness as a key resource to support the success of AANAPI target subgroups of Southeast Asian American and Pacific Islander students towards educational attainment that will sustain a higher level of employability. In addition, the intersection of AANAPI LGBTQ+ students and the services provided will contribute to practice of support to continuously provide a sense of belonging at the institution. Through the dissemination in conference presentations, research articles, and/or workshops, Project ASPIRE+PLLUS will contribute towards a more supportive ecosystem needed for of AANAPI students to be successful in higher education institutions. 

The ASPIRE+PLLUS project addresses both of this round’s Competitive Preference Priorities, and a rationale for each are attached as separate PDFs under “Other Attachments Form/optional”.

**P031L220003 – Irvine Valley College**

*Competitive Preference Priority I:*ELEVATE will use multiple evidence-based practices to foster belonging and inclusion among students and engage in professional development to foster an inclusive school climate and an asset-based mindset for faculty and staff. 

*Competitive Preference Priority 2:*ELEVATE will increase postsecondary education access, affordability, completion, and post-enrollment success via implementation of student success programs that integrate multiple comprehensive and evidence-based services or initiatives*.*

Irvine Valley College (IVC) is a public two-year community college in Irvine, California that enrolls 13,195 students in credit programs. The California Community Colleges system, in addition to IVC specifically, serves a highly diverse population that has historically experienced significant gaps in academic achievement. Over 43% of IVC’s students are Asian American, Native American, and Pacific Islander (AANAPI), of which 43% experience poverty - the largest group of students from low-income households by volume. 

IVC proposes to serve 300 students through the Equitable Learning Experience Valuing Achievement, Transfer Empowering Asian American Pacific Island project (“ELEVATE”). AANAPI students served are impacted by: poverty, low academic attainment, status as a first-generation college student, mental health, and/or marginalization due to LGBTQ+ identification. Based on co-occurrence of these traits, we anticipate that AANAPI sub-populations will include Vietnamese, Filipino, Cambodian, Laotian, and Samoan students. 

ELEVATE programming will largely take place at our Center for Asian American Native American Pacific Islanders (CAANAPI), a dedicated space on campus. Program includes: *Academic:*1) Individualized counseling with wraparound services; 2) Peer and Faculty Mentors; 3) Academic workshops and tutoring; 4) Learning Community cohort: Linked courses; 5) Three specialized certificate tracks; 6) Summer Bridge; 7) Work-based learning experiences; 8) STEM support and development; *Health and Wellness:*9) Mental health services; 10) Campus inclusivity training and events. *Financial Support:*11) Financial support (textbook/laptop loan, enrollment fees, work study). Programming will be delivered by ELEVATE staff. 

Section A. IVC’s program proposes to make a substantial contribution to the success of our underserved AANAPI students. All services are informed by current research on effective interventions in higher education. We seek to narrow and eventually eliminate gaps in course success, degree/certificate attainment, transfer rate, and career placement; and increase counseling services for our economically disadvantaged AANAPI students. 

IVC has the requisite expertise and infrastructure to leverage existing resources to augment the grant to address the needs of our growing AANAPI population. This blending of available funding will allow the college to more fully support our low-income, first-generation, academically at-risk AANAPI population.

**P031L220004 – Century College**

Century College, a public community and technical college in Saint Paul, Minnesota, serves

20,000 credit and non-credit students annually. About 17% of Century students are Asian

American or Pacific Islander (AAPI), most from low-income Southeast Asian families

historically underrepresented on college campuses. Century College offers nine academic

pathways and over 150-degree, diploma, and certificate programs that prepare students for

employment in dozens of different career fields. However, the number of AAPI students who

declare a major or earn credentials in Business and Human Services programs that provide a

pathway to well-paying, high-demand careers is disproportionately low because AAPI students

at Century face a range of academic, financial, and personal barriers to success and the College

has numerous institutional gaps and weakness that prevent faculty and staff from effectively

supporting AAPI students’ success. 

Century requests $1,775,135 in funding over five years to: 1) increase the number

and percentage of AAPI students who earn credentials in Business and Human Services

academic pathways that lead to family-supporting jobs and 2) increase the College’s capacity

to meet the mental health and culturally responsive identity needs of AAPI students in ways that will increase their engagement in and completion of their postsecondary studies.

To achieve these goals, Century’s AANAPISI Program will provide programming that

addresses the specific needs of AAPI and other low-income students, including: 1) culturally and

linguistically-relevant outreach and career counseling to connect students with career

pathways; 2) culturally- and linguistically-relevant advising, wraparound supports, and tutoring

to help students succeed in their courses; 3) activities focused on Southeast Asian culture and

languages to deepen students’ connection to college; 4) partnerships with local CBOs and high

schools that serve AAPI communities to expand awareness of and AAPI students’ success and to

provide them with community-based mental health supports programs; and 5) training for faculty

and staff around culturally relevant and mental health concerns of AAPI students to help them

more effectively engage and teach AAPI students and students from other underserved

communities.

**P031L220011 – Virgina Commonwealth University**

**Abstract: You First at VCU AAPI Cohort:**

**A multi-pronged, evidence-based design to increase belonging, academic success, retention,**

**and graduation of AAPI, first-generation, and/or low-income students.**

Virginia Commonwealth University proposes the expansion of its You First at VCU

First-Generation Student Success and Research Center with the goal of increasing the

university’s capacity to support disadvantaged AAPI students through culturally competent

student programming, student support and engagement, and faculty development and research.

Research and institutional data point to amplified and intersecting barriers for first-generation

and/or low-income AAPI students to access and maximize higher education opportunities. These

barriers have resulted in gaps in sense of belonging, utilization of mental health resources,

academic performance, retention, and graduation.

To improve outcomes for disadvantaged AAPI students, establish sustainable and

scalable programming, and bolster research targeting AAPI student experiences, VCU seeks to

pursue the following objectives: A.) proactively destigmatize mental health care and encourage a

culture and community of support; B.) nurture a sense of community and belonging among

AAPI students, and narrow achievement gaps caused by intersecting barriers; and C.) expand

existing faculty development and research opportunities to focus on raising awareness of and

providing culturally responsive support to AAPI students. Objectives will be achieved through

interrelated student and faculty services, including student peer mentoring, targeted mental

health support and student peer health educators, an AAPI cohort in a student summer bridge

program, a faculty summer institute, faculty research grants, and a faculty learning community.

VCU’s proposed project addresses competitive preference priority one by meeting

students’ social, emotional, and academic needs.