**Introduction**

The Hispanic-Serving Institutions Division administers the Developing Hispanic–Serving Institutions (DHSI) Program which is authorized under Title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.  The purposes of the program are to expand educational opportunities for, and improve the academic attainment of, Hispanic students, and to expand and enhance the academic offerings, program quality, and institutional stability of the colleges and universities that educate the majority of Hispanic students and help large numbers of Hispanic and other low-income students complete postsecondary degrees.

In order to apply for a grant under Title V programs, an institution of higher education must have applied for and been designated as an eligible institution.  The notice announcing the FY 2019 process for designation of eligible institutions, and inviting applications for waiver of eligibility requirements, was published in the Federal Register on January 29, 2019 (84 FR 451).  In addition to basic eligibility requirements, an institution must have at least 25 percent enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent (FTE) Hispanic students at the end of the award year immediately preceding the date of application.  

The DHSI program supports many institutional activities that include:  purchase of equipment for education and research; improvement of instruction facilities (construction, maintenance, renovation); faculty and staff development; curriculum revision and development; purchase of educational materials; student support services; enhancement of administrative and funds management systems; community outreach programs; and establishment or increase of an institutional endowment fund.

Note:  The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) as amended, section 503(b) was expanded to include:  activities to improve student services, including innovative and customized instruction courses designed to help retain students and move the students into core courses; articulation agreements and student support programs designed to facilitate the transfer of students from two-year to four-year institutions; and providing education, counseling services, and financial information designed to improve the financial and economic literacy of students or their families.  The list of authorized activities in section 503(b) was also amended to use the term “distance education technologies” in place of “distance learning academic instruction capabilities.” 

The Notice Inviting Applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2019 was published in the Federal Register on May 15, 2019 (84 FR 21758).  The deadline for the transmittal of applications was July 15, 2019.  Applications for grants under the FY 2019 Developing Hispanic–Serving Institutions program grant competition were submitted electronically using Grants.gov and they were reviewed by a panel of three external grant reviewers. 

This year, 223 grant applications were received, and 43 grant awards were made. The maximum award size per grant award is $600,000 per year for a period of 5 years. Total funding for new awards was $24,695,319. Here are the abstracts for the newly funded grant projects:

**Table of Contents**

Grants are listed in “state” and “applicant name” order for each grant type.

# P031S190167 GateWay Community College, AZ

GateWay Community College, a majority-minority serving institution with a large population of part-time students, serves a diverse population of nearly 7,300 students from the Greater Phoenix area and Maricopa County, Arizona. GateWay’s proposal, *Equitable Xperience Infused Through Out (ÉXITO) GateWay: a holistic approach to foster student well-being and academic attainment*encompasses GateWay’s vision to **develop a *proactive, student-ready culture***that sets the stage for student success from the College’s first contact with a student, through graduation, and beyond. Furthermore, *éxito*in Spanish means, “success” and it is the College’s desire to support students to succeed. GateWay requests $2,967,840 over five years to improve academic attainment, especially among Hispanic and low-income populations.

*ÉXITO*GateWay proposes the following: **1.)**Increase student success and completion by enhancing the students’ academic experience and creating an environment of well-being, **2.)**Strengthen our institution’s ability to meet students where they are by creating a student-ready culture, and **3.)**Expand the College’s financial resources to address emerging needs and continue to support ongoing student success efforts. GateWay will meet these goals by implementing the following activity objectives. **Activity Obj. 1: Enhance the Student Experience**. GateWay will develop a strong understanding of culture and diversity, develop non-academic skills, and expand experiential learning opportunities. **Activity Obj. 2: Provide Holistic Support for all Students.**GateWay will develop a holistic approach to assess and address barriers to graduation. **Activity Obj. 3: Create a culture of well-being that supports all students.**GateWay will infuse strengths-based communication and positive education at all levels of the college. Finally, **Activity Obj. 4. Increase College Financial Resources.**GateWay will support an endowment to enable GateWay to be adaptable, flexible, and responsive future community needs.

# P031S190308 Pima County Community College District - Desert Vista Campus, AZ

Pima Community College is an open-admissions two-year community college serving 42,000 students at five campuses throughout Tucson, Arizona (pop. 980,000). Hispanics comprise almost half of all PCC students (45.6 percent) but make up one-third (66 percent) of the enrollment at the Desert Vista campus. The Desert Vista Campus (PCC-DV) serves 21,200 students in southwest Tucson, home to the city’s most diverse and most impoverished neighborhoods. Residents of southern Tucson are predominantly Hispanic (76.2 percent), while more than 40 percent of area families live at or below 150 percent of the poverty level (U.S. Census).

The proposed Pathways to Hospitality Leadership project meets both purposes of the DHSI program as stated in the funding notice: 1) to expand educational opportunities for, and improve the academic attainment of, Hispanic students, and 2) to expand and enhance academic offerings, program quality, faculty quality and institutional stability of colleges that are educating the majority of Hispanic college students.

The institution’s overarching weakness stems from years of declining enrollments, which have constrained financial resources so that it is cost-prohibitive to the college to pursue the strategies proposed in the Pathways to Hospitality Leadership project.

Addressing serious deficiencies in both the curriculum and supporting learning labs and equipment identified by PCC’s Hospitality Employer Advisory Committee and external consultants, Pathways to Hospitality Leadership will implement a single, comprehensive Activity: redesign outdated and inefficient separate programs in culinary arts and hospitality management into a single integrated, industry-standard Hospitality Leadership degree program, with stackable certificates and an online option.

The single Activity has two components, or strands—a curriculum development strand and a strand focused on developing facilities and resources in support of the students and the program. We will 1) redesign the curriculum to introduce a new AAS with stackable certificates, including creating a 100 percent online option and 2) renovate and equip campus spaces into industry-standard learning labs (kitchens and hotel guest suite/front desk), while also adding student supports such as internships, targeted advising, articulation agreements and awarding credit based on Prior Learning Assessment. The curriculum redesign process will also result in merging the existing hospitality and culinary programs that operate on different PCC campuses into one program via the Center for Excellence in Hospitality and Tourism at the

Desert Vista campus.

Of the 151 students enrolled in PCC Hospitality programs in 2018, almost half (49 percent) are Hispanic. By the end of the project period, the Pathways to Hospitality Leadership project will increase the enrollment of Hispanic and other students in Hospitality programs by 200 students (Fall 2018 baseline 151).

**Competitive Preference Priority #1:**This application addresses Competitive Preference Priority #1 Expanding the number of Hispanic and other underrepresented professional students that the college can serve.

**Total Five-Year Budget Request: $2,670,490**

# P031S190274 Antelope Valley College, CA

**Project Strategies**

**Strategy 1:** New Bridge from First-Year Experience to the Second Year – Just as the bridge from high school to college should be viewed from both ends, college transition should focus not only on the First-Year Experience, but also the transition from the first to the second year of college, creating a meaningful link between the first and second year experiences.

**Strategy 2:** New Second Year Pathway – To facilitate student persistence to graduation, AVC will establish a new Second Year Pathway (SYP) program that aligns with re-vamped FYE programs and services, integrating policy and practice with nudging and support to provide a streamlined pathway to graduation.

**Strategy 3:** Strengthening Data-Informed Decision-Making – Scaling up expertise in the ability to utilize data to drive policies and procedures is critical to creating a data-driven culture that drives long-term, systemic change.

**Overall Project Goal**

Increased institutional capacity to be responsive to the needs of degree-seeking Hispanic and low-income community college students, leading to increased enrollment, persistence,

graduation, and transfer.

CDP Goals

Goal #1: Close achievement gaps in targeted measures

Goal #2: Support student transition through completion of the associate degree

Goal #3: Strengthen opportunity equity for Hispanic and low-income students

**CDP Objectives (Outcomes to be achieved by September 30, 2024)**

Objective 1: Increase by 20 percent the total number of completed associate degrees

Objective 2: Increase by 20 percent the number of completed Associate Degree Transfer degrees

Objective 3: Increase by 35 percent the number of transfers to University of California or California State University

Objective 4: Decrease by 15 percent the average units earned per completed associate degree Objective 5: Increase by 20 percent the number of completed CCCCO-approved certificates Objective 6: Increase by 10 percent the Fall-to-Spring persistence rate

Objective 7: Manage the associate degree completion equity gap experienced by Hispanic students so that overall graduation outcomes proportionately reflect Hispanic student enrollment

**Project Addresses Competitive Preference Priority (CPP) #2**

AVC’s federal loan default rate is currently at 26.9 percent and dangerously close to 30 percent which will trigger a federal audit. AVC’s Title V project aims to develop targeted student support services to improve students’ financial literacy, including: 1) Online financial wellness coaching workshops for students; 2) Faculty and staff participation in the annual Higher Education Financial Wellness program; and 3) Increase the rate of students reapplying for FAFSA after their first year using the research-based (WWC approved) and very successful method of text “nudging”.

# P031S190202 Cabrillo Community College District, CA

**Cabrillo / CSFMB’S Partnership to Strengthen Transfer Pathways**

***Cabrillo College***(Aptos, California) is a comprehensive, public two-year community college serving Santa Cruz County with the main campus at Aptos and a Center at Watsonville. The Hispanic enrollment (45 percent) has increased in the last five years by nine percentage points. The College serves high-need students from the Pajaro Valley, such as Watsonville where families struggle with persistent poverty and low educational levels.

Cabrillo College in partnership with California State University at Monterey Bay (CSUMB) will implement transfer pathway reform in order to help students to transition more seamlessly from the 2-year college to the 4-year transfer destination, to complete their educational goals, and to close equity gaps in retention and graduation. The proposed project focuses on: 1) creating clear academic & career pathways through faculty collaboration around 2+2 program alignment; 2) expanding inclusive, peer-based student support that helps Latinx and Low-income students develop a sense of belonging on campus. **Implementation Strategies:**The project will: 1) establish ‘Institutes of Learning’ to enable Cabrillo / CSUMB faculty-to-faculty conversations and professional development (PD); 2) establish a governance structure for transfer pathway alignment work; 3) create Cabrillo/CSUMB 2+2 program maps for 20 degree programs; 4) pilot programmatic improvements in five transfer pathways: Computer Science, Business, Accounting, Kinesiology, and Agriculture/Horticulture; 5) pilot a new peer learning support model at Cabrillo in gateway courses in collaboration with CSUMB’s Cooperative Learning Center; 6) pilot a new cohort advising model; 7) expand students connections, outreach, and orientation activities at CSUMB to address Cabrillo transfer student needs; 8) expand joint professional development between Cabrillo and CSUMB faculty and staff; and 9) increase financial aid services to student subpopulations needing further assistance.

**Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP)**

**G1**: Increase persistence, transfer, & degree completion by creating clear career & academic pathways. **G2**: Develop a high-impact, cost-effective cross-institutional partnership for program alignment, professional development, and student support. **G3**: Close achievement gaps in gateway courses through relevant peer-based learning and advising. **G4**: Increase the number of students served by Financial Aid through meaningful, peer-based, inclusive outreach efforts.

**Objectives**

By September 2024, 1) the percentage of Cabrillo’s transfer students who persist will increase by four percent points (Obj. 1.1); 2) increase the percentage of Cabrillo’s students who transfer to CSUMB by 20 percent (Obj 1.2); 3) increase the one-year retention rate from 84 percent to 89 percent (Obj. 1.3); 4) increase the two-year cumulative graduation rate of Cabrillo transfer students at CSUMB from 46 percent to 50 percent (Obj. 1.4); 5) increase the number of degrees awarded (Associate’s, Bachelor’s) for students by 10 percent (Obj. 1.5); 6) reduce the total number of units that Cabrillo students take by an average of four units per program (Obj. 2.1); 7) at least five programs involved in project have established procedures for ongoing collaborative efforts (Obj. 2.2); 8) the success rate for Cabrillo’s Latinx students will increase by 10 percentage points in gateway courses (Obj. 3); 9) reduce the number of rejected financial aid applications at Cabrillo by 20 percentage points (Obj. 4.1); 10) increase the number of Cabrillo students who receive a Pell grant from 17 percent to 22 percent (Obj. 4.2).

The Title V Project addresses the **Competitive Preference Priority 2** (*to instruct in the knowledge of higher education financing and repayment*) by introducing text nudging and technology improvements to remind students of financial aid deadlines and to expand financial aid services. The goal is to increase the number of students served by financial aid.

# **P031S190275 Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, Inc., CA**

**Goals**: The project seeks to eliminate the equity gap between high school and college Hispanic/Latino students and other under-served students through realizing the following goals:

*Goal 1*: Increase access for local area Hispanic/Latino students to California State Polytechnic University at Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona).

*Goal 2*: Increase persistence and four-year and six-year graduation rates for Cal Poly Pomona Hispanic/Latino students.

**Outcomes/Contributions**: The project will deploy the following components to achieve notable increases in Hispanic/Latino enrollment, course completion, persistence, and graduation, as well as beneficial change in faculty engagement with students and pedagogy methods:

a) High school and community college student access/outreach workshops, financial literacy training, campus visits, and counseling;

b) System transitions support (from high school to college; from community college to Cal Poly Pomona; from first year to second year at Cal Poly Pomona). Support will include summer math bridge, redesigned coursework, financial literacy education, holistic advising, peer and professional support and mentoring, and a chatbot;

c) Faculty engagement (training in effective mathematics education and equity-minded pedagogy methods).

**Population to Be Served**: Hispanic/Latino Cal Poly Pomona students and local area high school and community college students (1,500 students) with an emphasis on academically underprepared students; Cal Poly Pomona faculty (75 faculty members).

**Theoretical and Conceptual Background**: The project interventions are modeled on successful experimental design summer bridge and student engagement initiatives reviewed in What Works Clearinghouse as well as equity-minded pedagogy theory.

**Research Questions**: What is the effect of the program interventions on faculty outcomes? What is the effect of the program interventions on student outcomes?

**Study Design**: The project will be evaluated using a sequential explanatory mixed method quasi- experimental design, in which a combination of qualitative and quantitative indicators will be used to answer implementation and outcome evaluation questions. The evaluation has three components: a) an analysis of implementation and outcomes for all program participants; b) a randomized control trial; and c) a quasi-experimental design to assess effects of different faculty professional development approaches.

# P031S190253 California State University, Dominguez Hills Foundation, CA

After a comprehensive needs assessment, CSUDH will create Transfer to Success (TTS) to provide transfer students, particularly Hispanic and low-income transfer students, with support services that assist them in earning a degree more quickly and moving into graduate school, a teaching credential program or career. In fall 2018, transfer students were 56 percent of all CSUDH undergraduates and 59 percent of incoming undergraduates. While CSUDH has greatly enhanced support services for first-time freshmen, assistance for community-college transfer students is not as developed. CSUDH’s student profile is unique in the CSU system for its high percentages of first-generation (74 percent would be first in family to earn a degree), low-income (61 percent Pell) students from underrepresented groups (76 percent). These risk factors are associated with low college completion rates. Only 36 percent of CSUDH transfer students graduate in two years, and their two-year persistence lags the Cal State University system overall.

**Goal 1**: Increase the number of Hispanic students attaining bachelor’s degrees.

Key Activities: Increase support services for transfer students at CSUDH so they mirror those for first-time freshmen. Services, e.g., proactive advising, pre-semester bridge, are supported by research and best practices. Training in high-impact practices for faculty who teach high-enrollment, upper-division, bottleneck courses will reduce the percentage of students who receive Ds, Fs or withdraw.

**Goal 2**: Increase the percentage of Hispanic students receiving master’s degrees and postbaccalaureate teacher credentials. (**Competitive Preference Priority 1**)

Key Activities: Improve career and graduate-school advising; increase number of students aware of opportunities in research, internships, careers and graduate school; and recruit students early into CSUDH’s teaching credential program.

**Goal 3**: Increase collaboration with community colleges to facilitate transfers and prepare students to complete their bachelor’s degrees.

Key Activities: Train community college advisors with CSUDH faculty advisors. Include community-college faculty in HIP training with CSUDH faculty. Increase advising resources from CSUDH experts for community college students seeking to transfer to CUSDH.

Expected Outcomes: TTS will improve graduation and persistence for CSUDH’s largely underrepresented transfer students; increase graduate degrees and postbaccalaureate teaching credentials earned by Hispanic students; and increase the number of students who transfer to CSUDH from three community colleges.

# P031S190332 CSU, Chico Research Foundation, CA

California State University, Chico (CSU, Chico) is a regional comprehensive university with more than 16,400 undergraduate students of which 34 percent are Hispanic and 45 percent are low-income. The university is also home to almost 1,100 postbaccalaureate students, of which only 20.6 percent are Hispanic, and 14 percent are low-income. The goal of *Adelante: A Postbaccalaureate Pipeline Project*is to increase the number of Hispanic and low-income students pursuing and attaining their graduate degrees and teaching credentials through a well-coordinated network of academic support programs designed to raise GPAs, retention, and graduation rates, and research and writing skills that facilitate students’ aspirations and transitions to graduate school.

*Adelante’s*multi-initiative program encourages students to *dream big but plan accordingly*. The first initiative is designed to help students develop a pathway plan and the means to achieve it through enhanced academic support from their sophomore year to the completion of their graduate degree and beyond. This includes a faculty/graduate student mentoring, tutoring, and advising program in hubs of 10 students and individually; courses and workshops to foster personal growth, leadership skills, and financial literacy; a faculty-mentored research program; and dedicated writing and research commons. The second initiative strengthens and diversifies our postbaccalaureate programs through (1) an extensive outreach plan that connects Hispanic and low-income students with faculty and graduate students from similar backgrounds; (2) revised curriculum and program options that are more closely aligned with the educational interests of non-feeder majors (i.e., those without corresponding master’s program); and 3) support of faculty in developing inclusive and equity-minded practices in teaching, mentoring, and advising.

# P031S190320 Fresno City College, CA

Fresno City College (FCC) is a fully accredited California two-year college located in the heart of the state’s Central Valley. As a Hispanic Serving Institution with an enrollment of more than 36,000 students, FCC requests a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to implement its ***Redefining Student Ready***program. This program is designed to ensure organization-level preparation to be ‘student ready’ in implementation of support and success strategies for students. Via professional development for faculty and staff, coordinated implementation of student services to reach and support targeted student populations, and innovative communication strategies; *FCC seeks to turn the tables on a philosophy that says students are solely responsible for their own “readiness” and instead ensure the college engages in updates to be “ready” to support outcomes for Hispanic and low-income students.*

**ACTIVITY: REDEFINING STUDY READY ($3,000,000 over five years)**Strategies will increase the number of Hispanic and low-income students that enroll, complete transfer-level math and English, and succeed to meet the requirements for certificate/degree and/or transfer to a four-year university within two to three years. *Project outcomes include a 20 percent increase in the number of students who enroll with a student educational plan, a 30 percent increase in enrollment in transfer level math and English, and a 40 percent increase in the number of certificates and degrees confirmed.*

· **Component One: Outreach and Enrollment Strategies**to increase the enrollment, Guided Pathways success, and financial literacy preparation for Hispanic and low-income students through enhanced first year experience strategies.

· **Component Two**: **Completion and Retention Strategies**to increase course success and progression in transfer level math and English, and to improve the time to completion for Degree/Certificate and Transfer through intrusive coaching and mentoring, financial literacy and professional development.

· **Component Three: Sustainability and Engagement**to improve cultural pedagogy, course alignment to Guided Pathways and Vision for Success goals and sustain financial responsibility for underrepresented and low-income students through enhanced and supported Professional Development activities and Instructional Design support.

# P031S190114 La Sierra University, CA

**Project Title**: GPS for G2G: Guided Pathways to Success (GPS) for Hispanic and Low-

Income Students, from Gateway to Graduation(G2G)

**Target Area**: Increase the number of Hispanic and low-income students who have access to and complete articulated STEM degree and career opportunities in the Inland Empire of southern California that is one of the most diverse in the nation, where poverty is high, and

educational attainment is low.

**Goals: G1**: Close academic achievement gaps; **G2**: Expand focus on persistence to include the development or redesign of instructional programs and support strategies; **G3**: Strengthen college capacity for improved equity outcomes.

**Objectives**: **O1**: Increase by 15 percent the number of Hispanic and low-income full-time STEM degree-seeking undergraduate students enrolled; **O2**: Increase by 10 points the percentage of Hispanic and low-income first-time, full-time STEM field degree-seeking undergraduate students who were in their first year of postsecondary enrollment in the previous year and are enrolled in the current year who remain in a STEM degree/ credential program; **O3**: Increase by 15 points the percentage of Hispanic and low-income first-time, full-time degree-seeking undergraduate students graduating within six years of enrollment with a STEM degree; **O4**: Increase by 15 points the number of STEM transfers from local community colleges (w/equitable representation of Hispanics); **O5**: Increase by 15 points the percentage of Hispanic and low-income STEM major transfer students from Riverside Community College District (RCCD) and other community colleges on track to complete a STEM degree within three years from their transfer date; **O6**: Increase by 20 points the percentage of Hispanic and low-income students who participated in grant-supported services or programs and completed a degree or credential.

**Strategies/Outputs**: Strengthened articulation program with RCCD and local high schools; Summer Bridge program for incoming freshmen and transfer students; Curriculum reform and learning space renovation in all STEM areas; High Impact Practices for improved learning; Integrated student support services.

**Services to be Provided/Activities to be Conducted**: LSU’s Guided Pathways to Success- From Gateway to Graduation program will be designed according to the recommendations of Complete College America’s GPS program and will serve as LSU’s first model guided pathway. Development of the pathway services will be linked to instructional improvements in gateway STEM courses including supplemental instruction, learning assistants, incorporation of High Impact Practices, personalized student coaching, summer bridge, effective early alert, and financial literacy workshops.

**Competitive Preference Priority 2**: A well designed correlational study will be one of the activities of this project following the encouraging results observed by Castleman and Page (2014). The “nudging” intervention uses a widely adopted texting app to encourage students to refile their FAFSA application at the end of their first year. This study is contained in the What Works Clearinghouse as one of the studies that meet the moderate evidence standards.

# P031S190163 Long Beach Community College District, CA

Long Beach City College (LBCC) is one of the largest single-college districts (two campuses) within California’s 114 community colleges, with an average enrollment exceeding serving 34,738 students in 2017-2018. More than 85 percent of students are from minority ethnic groups and Hispanic students are consistently the largest group of students served by the college, currently representing 59 percent of LBCC’s student body.

The proposed DESTINO program will provide integrated support structures, collaboration between and across departments, improved STEM achievement for students traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields, and increased student outcomes measures including course success rates, retention, graduation, and transfer. The DESTINO program will support all students in STEM fields, but the strategies and implementation are designed to be focused on and supportive of our Hispanic student population.

The DESTINO project goals are to 1) innovate STEM teaching strategies to support historically underrepresented student groups; 2) ensure students are equitably welcomed into and supported in opportunities in STEM education; 3) provide focused and integrated academic and student services support throughout the educational life cycle for STEM students; and 4) invest in people and support structures needed for STEM transformation. Related project activities have been designed to lend towards institutionalization of high impact practices.

Expected five year program objectives are to increase declared STEM majors by 25 percent (including increases in Hispanic STEM majors); increase course success rates in entry and advanced level STEM courses that serve as barriers for students in achieving their educational goals by 14 percent and to close equity gaps between Hispanic and White students by 100 percent; increase completions in STEM programs by 25 percent; increase transfers in STEM programs by 40 percent; and to close equity gaps between Hispanic and White students in the three-year completion and transfer rates for students in STEM programs by 100 percent.

This proposal addresses Competitive Preference Priority 2, by developing a project *that supports instruction in personal financial literacy, knowledge of markets and economics, knowledge of higher education financing and repayment (e.g., college savings and student loans), or other skills aimed at building personal financial understanding and responsibility.*The DESTINO program will expand offerings of financial literacy workshops that cover debt (and debt elimination), credit, taxes, savings, and budgeting. In the second year of the grant, LBCC will offer the workshop series as a non-credit course that will allow for institutionalization of the content and expand access to family members of participants as well as members of the broader Long Beach Community to attend.

# P031S190289 Los Angeles Valley College, CA

**Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC),**is a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) two-year public college. LAVC students come from some of the most disenfranchised and underserved communities in the greater San Fernando Valley. LAVC serves 17,567 students, 76 percent attend part-time, 58 percent are 24 or younger, 58 percent identify as female and 42 percent as male; 40.7 percent identify as Hispanic; 54.2 percent receive Bog or Pell grants (Fall 2018 OIE).

LAVC’s mission is to serve as a leader in student success, with pathways for certificates, degrees, transfer and continuing education. Our goals are to foster student completion by supporting learning-centered environment, increase equity by identifying gaps in achieving outcomes and to maximize institutional effectiveness.

***Proyecto Adelante: Connect, Continue, Complete***(***PAC3***) is designed to make the most meaningful impact for LAVC to move forward/ahead (**adelante**in Spanish) by bringing about a transformation that **connects**students to the college, so they can **continue**their educational endeavors, and **complete**their education.

The following ***PAC3***goals provide the necessary framework for increasing student success: (1) Improve the rate of Hispanic and/or low-income student enrollment; (2) Improve Hispanic and/or low-income student retention, persistence, and completion rates; (3) Transform the College’s instructional environment and support services by offering all college personnel a year-round calendar of culturally inclusive and equity-minded professional development activities; and (4) Provide students ongoing guidance and training beyond transfer to increase their personal literacy and their knowledge of higher education financing and repayment, and their skills to aim building personal financial understanding and responsibility.

***PAC3***will implement the following components, which are supported by “promising evidence” as cited in the narrative and evidence form, to accomplish its goals:

1: CONNECT - Redesign onboarding practices to connect students to the college community with one-stop shop Monarch Welcome Center for onboarding, multi-language modular online orientation, strategic financial health information, and early connection with faculty and staff.

2: CONTINUE - Develop an integrated student support system using success milestones and student engagement encouraging students to continue and persist in their educational endeavors.

3: COMPLETE - Provide professional development activities to all college personnel and promote best practices in equity-minded and culturally inclusive pedagogy inspiring students to complete their education.

**This project directly addresses the competitive priority for Financial Literacy**by supporting instruction in personal financial literacy, knowledge of higher education financing, and skills aimed at building an understanding of personal finance and responsibility.

**Proposed Budget**: LAVC is requesting a five-year total of $3,000,000 in Title V funding.

# P031S190126 Mt. San Antonio College, CA

Mt. San Antonio College (Mt. SAC) is the largest of California’s 115 community colleges, with a total student enrollment of 37,359 in fall 2018. More than half (56 percent) of its students are Hispanic, and approximately 51 percent are first-generation college students.

Mt. SAC proposes a project titled: **Creating an Equity-minded Campus Culture to Improve Student Outcomes**. Its major components include: (1) support faculty in exploration of new research and teaching models that enhance student learning and improve educational outcomes for students from diverse backgrounds; (2) improve practices that integrate technology with academic excellence to create an enhanced learning environment for a diverse student body; (3) build the capacity of faculty to access, understand, and use data to measure the impact of pedagogies on student outcomes; (4) provide staff with the knowledge and skills required for effectively engaging students in meaningful and culturally responsive ways; (5) enhance students’ cultural awareness, personal development, and leadership skills; (6) increase students’ financial literacy, including awareness of financial aid options, financial planning, and debt management; and (7) improve campus-wide cultural competence and cross-cultural dialogue.

This project will provide a comprehensive set of activities to improve the academic achievement and personal development of Hispanic students, low-income students, and other students underrepresented in higher education. Specific activities include: an Equity Certification for faculty, a community of practice for equity, professional development in brain-based teaching and learning, universal design in syllabus creation, an instructional designer for professional learning, podcasts, an annual campus summit on equity, use of open educational resources, professional development for distance education faculty and staff, integration of technology tools to connect students with support services, data coaching, an onboarding process for student workers, equity workshops for student workers, infusing equity components into new employee onboarding, personal and leadership development workshops for students, online modules for student professional development and financial literacy, the creation of a Consumer Resource Center, financial literacy workshops for students and educators, an annual Consumer Resource Fair, a student-led conference focused on issues of equity, and various events (e.g., annual expert speaker, *One Book, One Campus*) that promote greater campus-wide cultural competence.

# **P031S190140 North Orange County Community College District - Cypress CC**

Cypress College, a public two-year community college located in North Orange County California, proposes to implement a project titled **Enhancing the Student Experience through Guided Pathways.**Cypress College students mirror the diversity of race/ethnicity, culture, language, national origin, and socioeconomic status of the surrounding communities it serves. In fall 2018, 49 percent out of its 16,042 Cypress College students were Hispanic, and 65.5 percent of these students received financial aid; nearly half of all students are first generation college students.

The proposed project aims to address two significant problems identified via the college- wide planning and evidence-based analysis process: 1) A low number of students enter and remain on the path to completion; and 2) Hispanic students demonstrate lower academic achievement than their counterparts. The overarching goal for this Title V grant is for Cypress College to transform its operations and model of serving students by fully implementing an updated Completion by Design through Guided Pathways model which based on early evidence, shows great promise in improving students’ graduation and transfer outcomes. The project’s three components -- with five distinct strategies -- were selected to address the current weaknesses that contribute to the identified problems. These strategies are organized around the Guided Pathways pillars to follow best practices established by leading community colleges.

Component One refers to Pillars 1 *Clarify the Path*and 2 *Enter the Path*and includes strategies to expand pre-college services, educational and financial planning, and career counseling for students undecided or undeclared during their first year of college. Component Two refers to Pillars 1 *Clarify the Path*and 3 *Stay on the Path*, which Cypress College will tackle through academic mapping and building completion teams to help students achieve milestones such as 15 semester or 30 annual units, and to complete transfer-level math and English within their first year. Component Three refers to Pillars 3 *Stay on the Path*and 4 *Ensure Students are Learning*. The component will integrate professional development into each academic community by utilizing faculty data coaches and faculty peer coaches to help full and part-time faculty address, develop, and implement strategies to reduce achievement gaps for minority and low-income students.

The proposed project benefits Cypress College’s Hispanic students, our current 16,000 students, and the thousands of students who will follow. Every student who attends Cypress College will have an improved institutional structure that facilitates achieving completion, in a shorter amount of time, and without spending their resources on courses and materials that do not get them closer to their goals. As the majority of Cypress College students are low-income, Hispanic, or the first in their family to attend college, the long-term results are likely to positively impact the most vulnerable communities in the college’s service area.

# P031S190273 Pasadena City College, CA

Pasadena City College (PCC), located in Pasadena, California, serves the greater Los Angeles area, which has the largest, fastest growing Hispanic population in America. The College enrolls approximately 30,000 students; 51 percent are Hispanic. PCC’s proposed Title V project aims to improve the degree completion of Hispanic students through strategies that (a) purposefully center Hispanic students’ experiences, strengths, and needs in their design, and (b) are likewise well-supported by extensive national and institutional research.

The project, ***Abriendo Caminos*– Opening Pathways to Institutionalize Equity**, includes four main Activity strategies. They represent essential next steps to close the equity gap in the completion rate of Hispanic and other underserved students, which in turn will significantly improve the completion rate for all PCC students.

**Project Goals**

***Academic Programs***: Develop and implement a coordinated campus-wide initiative that reflects an institutional priority and commitment to equitable degree completion through a learner- centered and integrated model of instruction and support.

***Institutional Management***: Build and foster an educational ecosystem focused on realizing a new equity-minded vision of institutional operations through a coordinated care approach to student support that eliminates barriers to success.

***Fiscal Stability***: Increase student outcomes and close equity gaps to ensure alignment with state-mandated performance-based funding focused on student equity and student success.

**Five Year Measurable Project Objectives**

**By Sept. 30, 2024, PCC will increase**:

Access. Increase proportion of students completing the following critical onboarding steps: Financial Aid Application, Orientation, Student Educational Plan (*supports GPRA e*)

One-Year Transfer-Level Math & English Completion. Increase the proportion of students completing transfer-level math and English in their first year, and close the equity gap (*supports State performance funding formula*)

Persistence. Increase the fall-to-spring persistence rate (*supports GPRA b*)

Excess Units. Decrease the average number of excess units at degree completion among degree earners (*supports GPRA f*)

Completion. Increase the State-defined Scorecard completion rate and close the completion equity gap (*supports GPRA a*)

**Strategy 1**: Develop a next-generation guided-entry mechanism that supports Hispanic and other underserved students in developing the tools for success in a way that is responsive to their strengths and needs, placing them on a clear and seamless trajectory toward achieving their goals.

**Strategy 2**: Develop and foster a career community experience that empowers students to make meaningful connections between life goals and academic pathways.

**Strategy 3**: Develop a refreshed student experience in key gateway courses driven by support and academic programs that work in concert with one another and are strategically positioned within the student path for maximal impact.

**Strategy 4**: Leverage technology to improve communication, coordination and data integration.

**Competitive Preference Priority 2**: This project will support students’ personal financial

literacy through an evidence-based holistic approach addressing the entire student experience.

# P031S190125 Peralta Community College District, CA

College of Alameda (CoA), located in the City of Alameda in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, enrolls 10,000 students annually and offers over 60 associate degrees and certificate programs. The CoA student body is 25 percent Latinx, 30 percent Asian, 17 percent African American, and 15 percent white, representing more than 50 countries of origin. CoA’s growing Latinx student population and recent designation as an Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) led the College to embark this year on a nine-month planning process aimed at re-designing opportunities for Latinx students to achieve their academic and career goals, and preparing CoA to deliver and consistently improve upon evidence-based programs and services responsive to the needs of these students. The proposed project – *Adelante con Comunidad, Excelencia, Sabiduría y Opportunidad,*or, *ACCESO*– is expected to demonstrate impact on student success (persistence, completion of 30 units in year one, and attainment of a certificate, degree or transfer within three years) and institutional capacity to deliver and consistently improve evidence-based programs responsive to the needs of Latinx and low-income students.

Informed by the What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide, “Strategies for Postsecondary Students in Developmental Education - A Practice Guide for College and University Administrators, Advisors, and Faculty” (2017) and responding to HSI Competitive Preference Priority #2, CoA will implement a comprehensive, integrated, and long-lasting support program with the following three activity components:

1. Support Latinx students to plan for and attain a certificate, degree, or transfer within three years. CoA will conduct dedicated internal and external outreach to prospective Latinx students, including students in dual enrollment classes and in community-based courses.  All Latinx CoA students will receive initial counseling and orientation to ACCESO and long-term, direct support from a counselor throughout their CoA journey. The new ACCESO Center and Club will shape an embracing campus community.

2. Deliver high-quality instructional models to ensure Latinx students’ academic success. CoA will partner with the Puente Project to institute a cohort-based Latinx learning community, offering English and counseling courses, embedded tutoring, and mentoring, and supporting students’ attainment of at least 30 transferable units in their first year. “Smartshops” - free and flexible micro-lessons on academic preparation topics - will be offered and promoted through ACCESO. Professional development for faculty and staff will support Latinx student success campus wide.

3. Equip Latinx students with the knowledge and financial assistance they need to remain financially stable through college and beyond. In response to focus group findings on the high levels of stress and financial difficulty faced by CoA students during their college years, ACCESO will deliver smartshops and integrated instruction on financial planning, budgeting, and college financing; offer career coaching and employment assistance; and market resources to improve college affordability.

# P031S190326 Reedley College, CA

Reedley College (RC) is a fully accredited California two-year college located in the heart of California’s Central Valley serving Fresno and Tulare counties. As a Hispanic Serving Institution with an enrollment of 16,000 students and 65 percent of its students designated as low- income, the service area faces challenges of unemployment, endemic poverty, and low levels of educational attainment. RC is the pathway to better lives for its students and with this responsibility, requests a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to implement its ***Scaling Applied Learning to Guided Pathways***program.

Reedley College proposes an innovative and integrated approach to outreach, alignment, and student support structures by scaling existing Dual Enrollment (DuE) efforts and aligning them with the Central Valley Promise (CVP) and Guided Pathways (GP) programs. The RC Title V project has One Activity and three (3) supporting components that guide the implementation of the proposed strategies: *Career Exploration, Applied Learning, and Student Engagement.*

**ACTIVITY: *SCALING APPLIED LEARNING TO GUIDED PATHWAYS*($2,750,000 over**

**five years)**Strategies will increase the number of Hispanic and low-income students that enroll, complete transfer-level math and English, and succeed to meet the requirements for certificate/degree and/or transfer to a four-year university within two to three years. *Project outcomes include a five percent increase in the number of students with a student education plan, a 20 percent increase in the completion of transfer-level math and English, a 10 percent decrease in the number of units completed toward an associate’s degree, and a 35 percent increase in the number of students who transfer to a four-year university.*

· **Component One: Career Exploration**to increase access and enrollment of Hispanic and low-income students through career-focused onboarding and expansion of College Promise and Dual Enrollment opportunities.

· **Component Two**: **Applied Learning**to increase success in transfer-level math and English sequence, and to improve time to completion for Degree/Certificate and Transfer through First-Year Experience engagement programs, embedded Financial Literacy curriculum and contextualized learning opportunities in non-CTE Guided Pathway majors.

· **Component Three: Student Engagement**to improve classroom success for underrepresented populations and mitigate financial and academic barriers to success through enhanced and supported Professional Development activities, undergraduate research opportunities, and service learning for two-year college students.

# P031S190318 Riverside Community College District/Norco College, CA

This Title V Project, ***Project PACES: Pathways to Access, Completion, Equity and Success***will greatly enable Norco College to expand and enhance the support it provides to its underprepared, socio-economically disadvantaged and rurally marginalized Hispanic and low-income students. The Project enables us to implement best practices services and mechanisms to address the challenges Norco is facing as it expands into a comprehensive associate-granting, regional post- secondary institution. Norco College meets the designation requirements for Hispanic-, and Minority-Serving Institutions. The college’s largely first-time college student population is academically underprepared (over 90 percent of Hispanic students test into remedial classes) and only a small minority graduate within a six-year period (18 percent).

Norco – an intentional HSI and MSI - has adopted three goals for ***PACES***: 1) Increase Hispanic and low-income retention and graduation by implementing Guided Pathways that includes the establishment of meta-majors, restructured student success teams, and clear pathways to careers and further education.; 2) Increase Hispanic and low-income enrollment and access through college-wide coordination of equity-related programs; and 3) Implement professional development around Guided Pathways and an Equity framework to foster a culture of ongoing improvement.

The fundamental elements of reform proposed by ***PACES***require **$2,754,383**in Title V funding over the next five years. This investment puts in place key mechanisms for greater student success: 1) Career-aligned guided pathways; 2) Meta Majors; 3) Co-requisite course structures; 4) Case Management advising; 5) Expanded professional development in equity and pedagogy; and 6); Financial Literacy.

Major Project outcomes include:

· 61 percent increase in number of FTFT students enrolled

· 10 percent decrease in average credits taken to degree completion

· 11 percent increase in percent of students receiving financial aid

· 5 percent increase in the first- to second-year persistence rate of Hispanic students

· 12 percent increase in the annual number of Hispanic students earning an associate degree or certificate

· 85 percent increase in the four-year graduation rates of Hispanic students

· 150 faculty will be trained in equitable advisement approaches and teaching practices to address the needs of Hispanic and low-income students

· 165 percent increase in the four-year transfer rate of Hispanic students

*The **PACES**Project directly addresses Competitive Preference Priority 2, Financial Literacy.*

# P031S190342 Santa Monica College, CA

The Title V-funded Navigating the Pathway to Success project will develop a peer coaching/pathway navigator program at Santa Monica College. The Pathway Navigator Program will utilize a combination of college staff and peer coaches to help ensure that first year students have the information and support they need to complete the first year of study, persist to the second year, and ultimately complete their educational and career goals. Included in the What Works Clearinghouse, Coaching is nationally recognized as a best practice for improving first year student outcomes at the postsecondary level. SMC will utilize existing research on effective coaching programs to develop its program, which will complement and strengthen SMC’s efforts to redesign the student experience around the guided pathways model. The peer coaches will serve as a critical resource not currently in practice at SMC to improve student success. In doing so, this project will address several institutional weaknesses, including:

· Unclear educational and career pathways and the resources available to assist: While SMC is working to clarify its educational pathways, there remains a great deal of uncertainty among students, as well as faculty and staff. As second- and third-year students enrolled at SMC, peer coaches have already navigated many of the first-year obstacles and are ideally situated to help guide first year students through those obstacles; and

· Lack of diversity among SMC faculty and staff: The use of peer coaches that reflect the racial/ethnic backgrounds and experiences of SMC’s students will help connect students to SMC and create a sense of belonging that students may not find in the classroom.

· Underutilization of available financial resources: Peer coaches will encourage students to access available financial resources, including financial literacy coursework.

In addressing this third latter weakness, ***SMC will address Competitive Preference Priority 2 – Instruction in Financial Literacy***. SMC currently offers for-credit coursework in financial literacy, but it reaches on average only 2.5 percent of first year students. Through high touch outreach using tools and technologies familiar to students, the peer coaches will help first year students to access supportive resources, including both new and existing financial literacy instruction, develop positive attitudes and behaviors that promote academic success, and feel connected to the college community. In doing so, they will help improve first year success rates, strengthen student persistence, and reduce the time to completion by helping students avoid roadblocks that may deter progress.

Through this project, SMC will address its institutional goals to 1) increase the number of Latinx and low-income students who complete their educational goals; while 2) reducing both the time to completion and cost of education for Latinx and low-income students. In addition, this project will help reduce, if not eliminate student success and equity gaps for Latinx and other racially minoritized students, thereby achieving SMC’s Five-Year goals for Latinx students. SMC will offer peer coaching to all first-year students regardless of program of study during the award period (an estimated 20,000 students over five years) and has outlined a comprehensive plan to institutionalize the program in each pathway by the end of the grant award period.

# P031S190113 Ventura County Community College District - Oxnard College, CA

***Project Acceso y Progreso***

*Project Acceso y Progreso*will increase Oxnard College’s institutional capacity and impact three key areas: 1) Student Access 2) Student Retention 3) Student Completion which includes transfer to a four-year institution and/or job placement as identified by the student’s educational goal. A strong integration of Financial Literacy Education is woven into all of *Project Acceso y Progreso’s*activities for students and parents.

More specifically, this project includes the creation of a strong outreach plan that includes year- round K-12 activities to increase college-preparedness; expansion of Oxnard College’s First-Year Experience and the integration of a First STEP (**S**uccess **T**hrough **E**ntry **P**athways) Center to increase student’ retention and success.

Oxnard College will also engage in enhancing and expanding peer mentoring throughout the college and will structure this activity to meet the *“Moderate Evidence of Effectiveness” What Works Clearinghouse Evidence Standards with and without reservations*; utilizing “The Effects of Student Coaching in College: An Evaluation of a Randomized Experiment in Student Mentoring” Eric Bettinger & Rachel Baker 2011.

To assure achievement of *Project Acceso y Progreso’s*CDP goals and objectives, as well as maintain continuous quality improvement (CQI), a full-time researcher has been incorporated into this grant to develop an evaluation plan for each activity. This includes an activity-specific logic model, creation of evaluation tools, evaluation implementation using a timeline, reporting and providing recommendations for continuous quality improvement and/or institutionalization of high-impact practices created under *Project Acceso y Progreso*.

An Endowment has been included in Project Acceso y Progresso which will be matched by Oxnard Colleges’ Foundation, to fund and sustain high-impact practices upon completion of this grant in 2024 and beyond.

# P031S190217 Woodbury University, CA

**Woodbury University**is a private, four-year, nonprofit Hispanic-Serving Institution in southern California founded in 1884 to prepare its students to **participate in the area business community**, an historic link that has lasted through the years. While many regard the area as glamorous and affluent, Los Angeles is the second largest city in the country, and the metro is the ninth most diverse of the largest 150 in the U.S., and disadvantage is both widespread and concentrated among people of color. Only 26 percent of residents are white, and Latinos, **48 percent**of the population, are projected to become the demographic majority next year *(USC 2017)*. Nearly a quarter (21 percent) of LA County Hispanics live in poverty compared to 10 percent of non-Hispanic whites, and Hispanics’ per capita incomes average just a third of non-Hispanic whites. Income disparity has been growing for the past 40 years: from 1979 to 2014, real income **grew only**for high-wage workers (e.g. +13 percent for the top 10 percent) while it **fell 25 percent**for those in the bottom 10 percent. While Woodbury students are very successful (e.g. **77 percent**retention, **52 percent**six-year graduation), many reflect this disadvantage; **83 percent**receive financial aid and **almost half**receive Pell Grants. **Two-thirds**are minority members, **52 percent**are female, and **75 percent**are first-generation college students, all groups underrepresented in many high-opportunity fields.

Among such fields are **applications of computer science/information technology**, currently addressed at Woodbury only in some courses and a single degree program in Media Arts. The proposed Title V project, ***Computer Science Programs for Liberal Arts, Business, and Architecture,***will develop **three new bachelor’s programs**in the College of Liberal Arts and Schools of Business and Architecture. The new programs will share five Core Courses—two incorporating interventions with **promising evidence**of support for **underrepresented students’ performance and retention**—and apply computer science within arts and sciences, business, and architecture to prepare graduates for technology-oriented careers in their chosen fields. In response to the 2019 **Competitive Preference Priority 1**, the project will also embed discipline-specific support for enrolling in Woodbury’s graduate and professional programs. This

proposal includes robust staffing (e.g. Specialists in common aspects of instruction such as best practice and evidence-based pedagogy and research/reference support) and renovation of three shared facilities to provide flexible spaces that meet a range of needs. Outcomes include 80 percent pilot participant success (grades of C/+) and retention with new enrollment growth to sustain the programs’ operation and build Woodbury’s institutional strength.

We will conduct ongoing evaluation of the project to support its achievement of Activity and Institutional Objectives, Institutional Goals, and the **purpose of Title V**, “to expand **educational opportunities**for, and improve the academic attainment of Hispanic students, and to expand and enhance the **academic offerings**, program quality, and **institutional stability**of . . . universities that educate the majority of Hispanic students.” Requested Title V funds total **$2,998,681**for five years.

# P031S190138 Community College of Aurora, CO

**Overview**: The Community College of Aurora (CCA) is a public, two-year community college serving Aurora and east metro Denver in Colorado. CCA enrolls 11,000 students annually, over 62 percent of whom are students of color, including nearly 32 percent Hispanic students. 65 percent of CCA students receive some type of financial aid, including 52 percent of whom receive Pell grants, and nearly two- thirds are first-generation college students.

Through the ***Asegurando todo el potencial de nuestros estudiantes: Ensuring Our Students’ Full Potential***project, CCA will scale and sustain culturally-responsive pedagogy practices and curricular enhancements in targeted associate of science and associate of arts gateway and second- level courses. CCA will develop and scale Guided Pathways communities as well as imbedded Learning Communities in order to eliminate equity gaps and increase retention, completion and transfer outcomes for Hispanic and other students of color, as well as low-income and first- generation students. CCA will also build the data analysis and evaluation practices needed to effectively monitor leading and lagging outcomes on an ongoing basis and make timely adjustments to programs and strategies where needed. The project design is based on best practice research, including the study by MDRC of Kingsborough Community College’s Freshman Learning Community Program (Sommo, et.al., 2012) from the What Works Clearinghouse.

## 

**Project Objectives:**

· **Objective 1-Implement culturally-responsive pedagogy practices**: By Sept. 30, 2024, reduce equity gaps for Hispanic and Black students enrolled in BIO 111 by nine percentage points, CHE 101 by eight percentage points, BIO 201 by three percentage points, ENG 121 and 122 each by five percentage points.

· **Objective 2-Implement Guided Pathways communities and imbedded Learning Communities: 2a:**By Sept. 30, 2024, increase fall-to-fall retention by eight percent. **2b:**By Sept. 30, 2024, increase three-year graduation rates by three percent. **2c:**By Sept. 30, 2024, increase transfer rates by three percent.

· **Objective 3-Estabilsh data-informed culture and practice:**By Sept. 30, 2024, collect and analyze data on 100 percent of students in targeted program areas.

**Budget**: CCA is requesting a total of $2,850,620 for the five-year project. Personnel costs are requested in the amount of $1,846,775 over the five-year grant period, comprising 64.8 percent of the total project request. Fringe costs for personnel total $669,295, 23.5 percent of the budget. Travel is requested in the amount of $51,250, comprising 1.8 percent of the budget. Supplies costs are requested for a total $146,300, 5.1 percent of the budget. Contractual costs are requested in the amount of $97,000, comprising 3.4 percent of the budget. Other costs include $40,000, 1.4 percent of the budget, for 25 faculty and instructors to complete the Association of College and University Educators Effective Teaching Practices course series. No funding is being requested for equipment or construction. 23.5 percent of project costs are for project management expenses.

# P031S190160 Morgan Community College, CO

**Overview:**Morgan Community College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and offers an Associate of General Studies and two transfer degrees (Associate of Arts and Associate of Science). Most students (including 78 percent of Hispanic students) are Pell-eligible and 91 percent of Hispanic students are first-generation. The college has a low student-teacher ratio of just 15:1 and strives to develop programming that will support its unique student population.

**Proposed Project:**Morgan Community College is proposing **Su**pporting a **C**ollege **C**ulture of **E**quity for **S**tudent **S**uccess (SUCCESS) to address goals of increasing underrepresented student access to transfer degrees, increasing student attainment, reducing student financial strains through financial literacy, and improving the overall college culture of educational equity. The project has been developed through extensive structured planning resulting in four project activity priorities: Summer Bridge; Intrusive Advising; Supplemental Instruction and Tutoring; and Inclusive Professional Development.

**Objectives:**MCC has established eight objectives for this project:

***Objective 1a:***By Sept. 30, 2024, Morgan Community College will increase the percentage of all students earning a degree by five percent.

***Objective 1b:***By Sept. 30, 2024, Morgan Community College will increase the percentage of Hispanic and/or low-income students earning a degree by 10 percent.

***Objective 2a:***By Sept. 30, 2024, MCC will increase the retention rate for all students by five percent.

***Objective 2b:***By Sept. 30, 2024, Morgan Community College will increase the retention rate for Hispanic and/or low-income students by five percent.

***Objective 3a:***By Sept. 30, 2024, Morgan Community College will increase the rate of transfer from a two-year HSI to a four-year institution of all students by three percent.

***Objective 3b:***By Sept. 30, 2024, Morgan Community College will increase the rate of transfer from a two-year HSI to a four-year institution of Hispanic and/or low-income students by five percent.

***Objective 4a:***By Sept. 30, 2024, Morgan Community College will serve 1,200 students who will participate in services supported by the grant.

***Objective 4b:***By Sept. 30, 2024, Morgan Community College will serve 600 Hispanic and/or low-income students who will participate in services supported by the grant.

**Budget:**The total five-year budget request is $3,000,000, with an annual request of $600,000. This budget represents about 70 percent for salaries and fringe benefits; 10 percent for travel; eight percent for supplies; five percent for contractual; and seven percent for other costs, including an endowment. Project management includes the salaries for a 50 percent time project director, full-time project support coordinator, and for external evaluation. The total amount set aside for project management is approximately $716,000 (23 percent of the five-year cost).

# P031S190142 Dalton State College, GA

Dalton State College, located in Dalton, Georgia, serves as a point of access and destination for students entering the University System of Georgia. Offering 24 bachelor’s degrees along with associate degrees and certificates, Dalton State provides quality education for a unique student population. As Georgia’s only Hispanic-serving institution, the college provides an affordable opportunity for underrepresented, first-generation students to pursue higher education.

**Problems to be Addressed: Academic Programs—**declining retention and low graduation rates; inequity in degree attainment for Hispanic students; high percentages of underprepared students with extensive learning support needs; many first-generation and students from areas of high poverty; too many students not successfully completing coursework; inadequate advising; and not meeting student or faculty demand for academic tutoring and supplemental instruction. **Institutional Management—**chronic classroom usage and scheduling challenges and limited capacity to offer writing support. **Fiscal Stability—**high dependence on tuition revenue.

**Overall Goals: Goal 1—**Foster success, promote exceptional educational experiences, and encourage persistence to graduation; **Goal 2—**Seek and steward technology resources; **Goal 3—**Maintain solid foundation of institutional financial management**.**

**Outcomes: Academic Programs**—increased percentages of students who successfully complete coursework (Obj. 1); increased fall-to-fall retention (Obj. 2); increased percentage of degree awarded to Hispanic students (Obj. 3); increased six-year graduation rates (Obj. 4); and increased student satisfaction with advising (Obj. 5). **Institutional Management**—increased satisfaction with technology and software improvements (Obj. 6). **Fiscal Stability**—increased endowment (Obj. 7).

**Implementation Strategies:**(1) Establish a Comprehensive Advising Program; (2) Expand Tutoring and Supplemental Instruction Programs; and (3) Improve Technology Resources for More Efficient Advising and Student Support.

**Competitive Preference Priority**: The project addresses CPP 2.

**Funds Requested:**$2,131,499

# P031S190311 Saint Xavier University, IL

Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1846, **Saint Xavier University**(SXU) is a four-year, private Hispanic Serving Institution on Chicago’s south side that educates students to search for truth, think critically, communicate effectively, and serve wisely and compassionately in support of human dignity and the common good. This core mission, originally in service of women and the poor, has expanded to serve one of the most diverse student populations in Illinois. The proposed Title V DHSI Project – **Comprehensive, Aligned Supports for Attainment (CASA)**– will strengthen SXU’s capacity to enhance educational outcomes by eliminating equity gaps and increasing retention and graduation rates for Hispanic, low-income, and other historically underserved students.

The CASA project will enhance student academic achievement by:

1) Creating a comprehensive summer **Student Success Academy**, with cohorts spanning the course of students’ first academic year;

2) Increasing the capacity of SXU’s **Learning Center**through the addition of high-touch tutoring specialists and student Learning Assistants;

3) Establishing a robust **Sophomore Engagement**initiative focused on service and experiential learning;

4) Creating a **Personal and Career Development program**offering courses and advising in practical and career-oriented skills;

5) Developing a continuous network of **high impact practices**through the hiring of a High Impact Practice Specialist; and;

6) Integrating frequent **professional development opportunities**for faculty and staff centered on building cultural competency

The project will achieve three measurable outcomes: (1) maximize student success through improved retention, progression, and completion; (2) create clear and integrated academic and career pathways for students to reach their educational and career goals, in service of the common good; and (3) create a culture of equity based on the integration of best practices and culturally validating and inclusive high impact educational practices across curricula.

**The CASA project addresses Competitive Preference Priority #2: Financial Literacy**by building a network of **Financial Literacy**supports to better assist students with creating a solid financial foundation for both immediate finances and long-term money management. Financial literacy touchpoints are infused through all aspects of the CASA initiative, including through the creation of a **Financial Literacy Coach**and a new **personal finance online-course**.

The project’s overall budget of $2,998,326 is cost-effective and will yield strong outcomes for student success. Title V funds will largely support personnel costs for capacity building (61.8 percent), with the remainder covering fringe benefits, travel, equipment, supplies, external evaluation costs, and support for institutional endowment, for which SXU will provide dollar-for-dollar matching funds. All project costs will be institutionalized by the end of the grant cycle. 

# P031S190265 Donnelly College, KS

**Donnelly College**, a four-year private college, was founded in 1949 by the Benedictine Sisters of Atchison, Kansas and the Archdiocese of Kansas City with the goal of providing affordable, postsecondary educational opportunities and promoting college success for low-income students, racial and ethnic minorities, academically underprepared students, and students who are the first in their families to go to college. Donnelly provides the academic, personal, and financial support that enables their 418 students to realize their educational and career goals.

***Service Area Profile:***Donnelly College is located in the urban core of Kansas City, Kansas (KCK). KCK is both smaller and less affluent than Kansas City, Missouri, which is the population and economic center of the 5,400 square-mile Kansas City, MO-KS metropolitan area. In Donnelly’s primary attendance area, median household income is just $35,550, per capita income averages $14,782, and nearly one in five families lives in poverty (18.2 percent).

Hispanic residents face a particular hardship, with 26.2 percent of Hispanic families living in poverty. Hispanic median income and per capita income also lag behind at $30,635 and $13,417 respectively. Reflecting the demographics of the surrounding communities, Donnelly is ethnically diverse. Eighty-five percent of Donnelly’s students are minorities, including 30 percent African American students and 41 percent Hispanic. Donnelly is a federally designated Hispanic-serving institution (HSI) and a Minority Serving Institution (MSI).

***Growth and Stability Challenges:***While Donnelly has a tradition of identifying and meeting the postsecondary needs of at-risk students, various challenges threaten our ability to prepare our students to leverage the growing economic opportunities in our area. The declining rate of enrollment, driving down the enrollment-driven revenues that fund our operations is a significant problem. Since AY2013, credit hour enrollment has lost 30.7 percent. Due to declining enrollment, Donnelly has lost 23.4 percent of its revenue. The best long-term solution for these interrelated challenges is to build enrollment and associated revenue through academic programming that is responsive to students’ educational needs and to area industry demands. Regionally the healthcare industry is booming, and career opportunities abound in information technology. High-tech businesses thrive as KCK leads the nation in technology advances. All of these point to high demand in Nursing, Information Systems, and Business Leadership credentials.

***Title V Activity:***Two key Activity components, informed by research showing promising evidence, address the twin challenges of declining enrollments and lost revenues: 

*Component 1: Strengthening and Expanding Nursing Offerings*by creating a technology-rich Nursing Resource Center and conducting an intensive Skills Boot Camp. Current LPN and ADN curricula will be revised and improved; the programs will be made more accessible by expanding to daytime courses. A BSN program will be initiated to further career opportunities for ADN graduates. 

*Component 2: Realigning Offerings with Industry Standards*by (1) adding an AAS in Information Technology and by revising the BS in Information Systems with an emphasis on Information Security and (2) adding an AAS in Business and a BA in Business Leadership, with minors in Multicultural Leadership and Entrepreneurship.

***Competitive Preference Priority 2:***Our project addresses the priority related to increasing personal financial literacy by incorporating new financial literacy modules into our First-Year Experience course, extending invitations to professional guest speakers, and assisting entering nursing students with coordinating their academic plan with their financial aid eligibility.

**Donnelly College requests a five-year total of $3,000,000 for the DHSI Title V Project.**

# **P031S190260 Passaic County Community College, NJ**

Located in Paterson, New Jersey, Passaic County Community College (PCCC) is a two-year, public, urban institution. Accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, PCCC serves over 7,000 students, a predominantly low-income, Hispanic (54.5 percent) and minority student population.

Based on comprehensive planning and analysis, PCCC has identified a key problem that is threatening institutional growth and self-sufficiency: *Without opportunities for continuous improvement and reflective practice, together with poorly aligned support services and inadequate coaching and advising systems, PCCC faculty are feeling stymied in their efforts to keep students on track in obtaining the knowledge, skills, and credentials needed for further education and productive employment*.

To address this issue, PCCC proposes to implement a comprehensive project that will systemically engage the faculty in evidence-based teaching and learning strategies, improve the quality of instruction, increase faculty-student interaction, improve students’ access to holistic support services, embed career-ready skills into course curriculum and increase the number of Hispanic and low-income students completing their associate degree programs with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in further education and employment. PCCC’s project will implement the following three project components: *1) Increasing Support for New and Part-Time Faculty and Preparing them for Effective Teaching Roles; 2) Improving Instruction through Sustained Professional Development and Reflective Teaching Practice; and 3) Integrating and Aligning Academic and Support Services to Assist Students in Developing Career-Ready Skills.*

During the five-year project period, 175 full-time and part-time faculty and 2,560 Hispanic and low-income students will directly benefit from the project activities. The Project will address **Competitive Preference Priority 2**. The total cost of implementing this Activity is $2,828,335 over the five-year period.

# P031S190272Santa Fe Community College, NM

Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) is a two-year independent community college, located in northern New Mexico in the nation’s oldest capital city. In 2017-18, SFCC educated 7,684 students, and 69 percent of first-time full-time students were Hispanic. While Santa Fe shares a rich multicultural history, it struggles with intergenerational poverty and low educational attainment rates. Enrollment data reflect the region’s socio-economic challenges–81 percent of first-time full-time students are first-generation students; 61 percent are low-income, and the majority of low-income students (72 percent) are Hispanic.

The analysis is clear and compelling: the College enrolls a large number of underprepared students, particularly in math, too few progress to college level math courses, and yet the College lacks robust advising and intervention strategies; clear pathways to degree completion and transfer; consistently effective culturally responsive pedagogy; and uniform quality in coursework, scheduling and use of the learning management system (LMS).

SFCC’s proposed Title V DHSI Project ***Minority Academic Pathways to Success (MAPS)*** seeks to build systemic institutional capacity that removes barriers Hispanic and low-income students face in achieving post-secondary success. The ***MAPS*** Project’s three data-driven, equity-focused, and high-impact activity components, ***Guided Pathways, Student Support, and Professional Development***, directly address SFCC’s weaknesses and significant problems and will lead to increased retention, graduation and university transfer outcomes. MAPS will employ the following strategies to meet these outcomes: 1) establishment of meta-majors; 2) restructured developmental math education; 3) mapping of clear pathways to careers and further education; 4) enhanced support and advising systems; and 5) faculty and staff professional development.

The Project will achieve systemic and sustainable impacts on Hispanic and low-income success by September 30, 2024, such as: (a) the current retention rate for first-time full-time students will increase from 41 percent to 57 percent; (b), the transfer rate to four year institutions for these students will increase from 15 percent to 25 percent; (c) the graduation rates for these students will increase from 21 percent to 31 percent; and (d) 100 percent of incoming students will receive financial literacy training.

The MAPS Project also addresses **Competitive Preference Priority #2**: Financial Literacy to give Hispanic and low-income students the tools and knowledge to make informed financial decisions.

**Amount Requested**: The Project’s overall five-year budget of $2,968,000 is cost-efficient, reasonable, and necessary. MAPS will have a lasting impact as SFCC will sustain and institutionalize grant initiatives beyond the five-year funding period.

# P031S190283 The University of New Mexico, NM

The University of New Mexico – Taos (UNM-Taos) is a two-year community college serving the unique tri-cultural communities of northcentral New Mexico. This proposed Title V DHSI Project, “***Cultivamos***” will address economic and educational barriers that keep the region’s communities and residents from having access to quality postsecondary opportunities.

The ***Cultivamos****Project involves building systemic capacity to increase our persistence, graduation and transfer rates in response to significant regional needs and challenges.*

The Project will develop sustainable capacity to support ***Academic Pathways*** and ***Student Success Initiatives*** and will (a) improve the college readiness of high school students for postsecondary education through the Bridge to College Pathway, (b) develop the Guided Pathway model to reduce student time and cost to baccalaureate degree, (c) create Meta-Majors to give students the flexibility to move between majors, (d) improve complete rates in transfer- level English, math, and core gateway courses, (e) integrate academic support system with case management practices to keep students on track to graduation, (f) establish a faculty professional development program focusing on the learning needs of Hispanic and low-income students, (g) create a Transfer-Going Culture that promotes transfer as an institutional priority, (i) increase the capability of students to make informed financial decisions, and (j) expand course offering in Biology and Chemistry to improve access, completion and transfer rates of Hispanic and low- income students in the STEM disciplines.

The Project will have measurable outcomes in three areas: (1) Increases the number of Hispanic and other low-income students enrolled in and succeeding in postsecondary education, (2) increases the capacity of faculty to teach effectively to Hispanic and low-income students, and (3) increases the persistence, graduation and transfer rates of students at UNM-Taos.

**Amount Requested**: The Project’s five-year budget of $2,679,961 represents a cost- efficient approach. Only 13 percent of the budget is allocated to project management ($361,991 over five years). This budget request includes 84 percent for salary and fringe benefits, three percent for travel, five percent for equipment and supplies; and eight percent for other (professional development and external evaluation).

**The Cultivamos Project addresses Competitive Preference Priority #2: Financial Literacy**

# P031S190191 LaGuardia Community College, NY

**Project *CONEXIÓN:*Comprehensive Support for Student Success**

**LaGuardia Community College, CUNY**

LaGuardia Community College is a powerful success engine for Hispanic and low-income students. Each year LaGuardia serves 18,000 credit students: 80 percent of them “minority,” 40 percent Hispanic, 70 percent low-income. To serve these students, LaGuardia has implemented an array of innovations and doubled its graduation rate. Stanford’s *Mobility Report Card*ranked LaGuardia in the top five community colleges nationwide in moving low-income students to the middle class.

Yet LaGuardia has vital work to do in order to fulfill its mission. Thousands of our admitted students fail to navigate the registration process, dramatically undercutting access to the benefits of a LaGuardia education. We must more effectively support students through the registration process. At the same time, to further improve persistence and completion rates, we must advance new strategies to help students pursue their paths to graduation, transfer, and meaningful careers.

Guided by rigorous, What Works Clearinghouse-accepted research and the theory of Integrative Design, *CONEXIÓN*will extend and strengthen LaGuardia’s Guided Learning Pathway. It will advance both access and success via three interlocking Major Tasks:

**Major Task 1 - Connect to College:**LaGuardia will expand access through improved pre-registration activity, engaging digital media, peer mentors, and accessible career and workforce information to reduce “enrollment melt.”

**Major Task 2 - Connect to Completion:**LaGuardia will build success via improved advisement with new digital media and advance purpose-driven, competency-focused learning through assessment, curriculum design, and faculty development.

**Major Task 3 - Connect to Career & Transfer:**LaGuardia will engage alumni, employers, advisement and Capstone courses to reinforce purposeful transfer and career planning, preparing students for successful futures.

Building financial literacy (Competitive Preference Priority #2) is central to *CONEXIÓN*. Yet it is not set aside as a discrete activity. Rather, financial literacy and career development activities are woven skillfully through each Major Task, building students’ career plans and money management skills as they progress through College. Similarly*, CONEXIÓN*will deploy digital tools across the project, using them to connect students to ideas and information; to connect them with faculty and advisors; to connect them with learning and success.

Leveraging extant institutional strengths and resources will enable *CONEXIÓN*to mobilize an array of evidence-based innovations and quickly go to scale. Yet *CONEXIÓN’s*true power is the way it will combine these innovations to create clear, purposeful pathways to completion, advanced education, and rewarding careers for more than 60,000 high need students.

The promise of *Project CONEXIÓN*is underscored by its name. In Spanish, *conexión*means connection. Connection can mean an internet link, an airline connection, a transfer point linking destinations. Connection involves community, a sense of belonging. Purposeful connection is vital to learning, the ability to integrate ideas and information and apply them to new tasks. At LaGuardia, *Project CONEXIÓN*will help us connect thousands of students to education and career pathways and demonstrate new institutional strategies for meeting the challenges of 21st century learners.

# P031S190172 SUNY Rockland Community College, NY

Rockland Community College (RCC) is committed to implementing Guided Pathways and the supporting structure that is the focus of the Title V Activity – Conexión: Connecting students to programs and resources through Guided Pathways to increase success and completion. RCC, part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system, is located in Suffern, New York, and serves more than 6,800 community college students, many of whom are Hispanic, low-income, and first-generation college students.

RCC is already investing in the implementation of Guided Pathways with the development of five Guided Pathway teams and has made progress developing the plans for five Guided Pathway schools that include a holistic approach to serving students from onboarding through completion. Full implementation of Guided Pathways is an institutional goal, and this goal formed the basis of the Title V Task Force analysis of RCC’s strengths and weaknesses. The results led RCC's Title V Development Task Force to focus on building the institutional infrastructure to support Guided Pathways implementation including a holistic approach to student success by improving advising and support services, access to information, utilization of technology, and faculty and staff development. Evidence-based strategies to be implemented are designed to increase student success and are aligned with the four pillars of Guided Pathways: clarify the paths, help students get on a path, help students stay on their path, and ensure students are learning. The primary strategies to be implemented include the following:

· Fully implement Guided Pathways through additional resources to monitor and coordinate progress (Title V Project Director);

· Redesign First Year Experience (FYE) to include a required Introduction to the School course (as a First Year Seminar) that is contextualized to the Guided Pathway School and embed peer mentors for added support;

· Expand and improve financial literacy instruction to begin during the first semester and extending through to completion. (CPP-2);

· Redesign advising from onboarding to completion to create holistic approach by creating Student Success Teams and creating Student Success Collaboration Labs to facilitate student engagement with faculty, advisors, and other students;

· Transform Somos el Futuro from a Hispanic student serving club into a full program with support services, such as peer mentoring;

· Improve the use of technology tools, including those for onboarding, communicating with students, building class schedules, degree planning, and early alert; and, develop robust faculty and staff development focusing on Guided Pathways, holistic advising, pedagogy, and related topics.

Outcomes to be achieved include increases in participation in FYE activities; student success in targeted high DFW courses, particularly for Hispanic males; retention; use of technology tools; satisfaction with services and technology; faculty engagement in professional development; and enrollment. The primary goal of the project is to improve services to Hispanic and other students while supporting the full implementation of Guided Pathways.

The budget requested ($2,999,547) reflects reasonable and justified expenses to achieve these objectives. The personnel category is the largest (74.5 percent) and includes a project director, three coordinators to plan and deliver project activities, peer mentors, and faculty stipends. A small travel budget (less than one percent) is included as well as Supplies (2.8 percent). Contractual (17.1 percent) includes software licenses and external evaluation, and Construction (4.1 percent) includes necessary renovations to create the Student Success Collaboration Labs.

2

# P031S190120 Atlantic University College, PR

Atlantic University College (AUC) had a total undergraduate enrollment for 2017-2018 of 1,540 (100 percent Hispanic). AUC proposes an **Individual Development Grant**to improve the academic attainment of Hispanic students and other low-income individuals. The proposed Project addresses **Competitive Preference Priority 2**, by providing students with instruction in personal financial literacy, entrepreneurship skills, knowledge of higher education financing and repayment aimed at building personal financial understanding and responsibility**.**In addition, the Activity has been designed to strengthen the academic programs, increase students’ services, and enhance the teaching and learning environment.

The proposed activity ***“Enhancement of AUC’s Learning Environment through Academic Programs and Technological Improvement***intends to: 1) Increase access to state-of-the-art technology-based laboratories by renovating facilities to established four new technology-based laboratories and six classrooms to support the instruction of AUC academic programs; 2) Strengthening of programs and the teaching learning environment by upgrading 17 instructional laboratories, Medial Lab and Virtual Library to support delivery of technology-based instruction; 4) Expand the university’s technological infrastructure to support academic programs, faculty and students; 5) Provision of faculty professional development activities; 6) Strengthening of academic support services (provide Peer tutoring services for at risk students); and 7) Establishment of a Financial Literacy Program. These initiatives will bolster students’ academic outcomes, improve recruitment, retention, and graduation rates, reduce the number of withdrawals per course, foster better grades, increase financial literacy skills, and increase students’ satisfaction. The Project is central to AUC’s Comprehensive Development Plan to improve the teaching and learning process of Hispanic students and low-income individuals who comprise 96 percent of the student population at the University and the service area. AUC does not currently receive funding from an HIS Individual Development grant, and it is not the lead institution in any current HSI Cooperative Arrangement Grant.

**Performance measures**will include, but not be limited to (1) increasing the University ́s instructional computing capacity, (2) training faculty in the use of technology-based instruction, (3) Provision of Financial Literacy instruction, (4) updating the equipment in job training programs to better prepare our students. Sample of key measures: (a) the number of students and faculty connections to the Internet will increase by 60 percent, (b) 100 percent of the faculty will have received training in research-discovery-validation approaches***,***academic assessment, curriculum and instructional technology, and distance learning, (c) *improvement of 10 percent each year in financial literacy skills and knowledge of students*; (d) reduce the attrition rate by at least 10 percent over the five year duration of the Program; and (e) decrease the number of withdrawal and failure rates in basic and core courses by at least five percent each year. The proposed Activity’s budget dedicates: 29 percent for personnel and fringe benefits, .07 percent for consultants’ compensation; .003 percent for supplies; 47 percent for equipment needed to enhance the Campus’ technological infrastructure and to improve the academic programs’ technology-based laboratories; .01 percent for travel; and .03 percent for construction (renovation of facilities). Around 13 percent of the total funding request ($3,000,000) will be assigned to the Project Management and Evaluation.

# P031S190190 Inter American University of Puerto Rico – Guayama, PR

Background/ Service Area: Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Guayama (IAUPR- Guayama) is a private, nonprofit, four-year HSI located in the southeast region of Puerto Rico. Total enrollment in Fall 2018 was 1,726 (1,634 undergraduates), 99.7 percent Hispanic and 84 percent Pell grant recipients. IAUPR-Guayama serves residents from Guayama and nearby municipalities, an economically distressed area with high levels of poverty and low educational attainment. The median household income for Guayama residents is less than one third that of the U.S. ($15,296 vs. $57,652) and more than half live in poverty (55.1 percent). In addition to residents in the region, interested students from outlying cities and towns have inquired about IAUPR- Guayama’s Agricultural Technology program. Thus, the institution has the potential to serve additional disadvantaged students (Puerto Rico’s Island-wide poverty rate is 44.9 percent) [Data source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2017].

Institutional Problems: IAUPR-Guayama has an opportunity to connect underprivileged students with opportunities for well-paying, secure careers (e.g., Nursing, which is in high demand in the US and PR; Agricultural Technology, an expanding field in southern PR, where numerous companies have established seed research facilities) and two other high-growth fields (Computer Forensics, with documented job shortages; Video Games & Mobile Apps, ranked #1 among top growing occupations in Puerto Rico) [Data sources: BLS, 2019 and PR Dept. of Labor & Human Resources, 2019]. Strong interest in these fields is coming from students requiring non-traditional instructional options. But despite bright prospects for students in specifically identified fields, IAUPR- Guayama must overcome serious problems before it can provide its students access to employment within promising occupations. Our most urgent problems are limited online offerings/curricula in high-demand fields, limited faculty expertise in online/hybrid education, insufficient financial literacy instruction, inadequate IT infrastructure, insufficient computer labs, limited online services, and limited Ag. Tech. facilities. Those critical issues are superimposed upon fund vital initiatives required to address the problems and thereby strengthen the institution (due to financial constraints).

Proposed Activity: Guyama’s significant problems will be strategically addressed through this Title V Activity, which is guided by a well-designed logic model to facilitate project planning, implementation, and evaluation. Additionally, the proposed strategies are supported by research studies, and a specific project component (hybrid/blended instruction) is further supported by promising evidence, based on research reported in a What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guide and backed by evidence from a validated study. IAUPR-Guayama will: Expand access to high-demand programs convert two existing (Nursing/Ag. Tech.) and develop two new (Computer Forensics/Video Games & Mobile Apps) associate degree programs in online/hybrid format; provide required technology and lab infrastructure, and faculty development in best practices for online/hybrid course development and delivery; Strengthen online student services develop flexible (online) support services (tutoring, help desk, success modules, orientation to online learning, advising, early alert, coaching); Provide financial literacy instruction develop new financial literacy instruction system, to be provided both online and on-campus (addresses Competitive Preference Priority 2).

Title V Proposed Budget: Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Guayama requests a five-year budget of $2,999,963 for this Title V project.

# P031S190152 Inter American University of Puerto Rico Fajardo Campus, PR

**Project Title:** Increasing Hispanic STEM Degree Completion-A Guided Pathways Approach.

**Target Area:** Increase the number of Hispanic and low-income students who have access to and complete articulated STEM degrees in Puerto Rico’s Eastern Region area that is one of the most economically disadvantaged in the nation, where educational attainment is low. 

**O1:** Increase by 15 percent the number of Hispanic full-time STEM degree-seeking undergraduate

students enrolled. Baseline: 549 Hispanic

**O2:** Increase by 10 points the percentage of Hispanic first-time, full-time STEM field degree seeking

undergraduate students who were in their first year of postsecondary enrollment in the previous year and are enrolled in the current year who remain in a STEM degree/ credential program (GPRA b - retention). 2017-18 baseline: 68 percent.

**O3:** Increase by 15 points the percentage of Hispanics, full-time degree-seeking undergraduate students graduating within six years of enrollment with a STEM degree (GPRA a – native baccalaureate graduation). 2017-18 baseline: 32 percent

**O4:** Increase by 20 points the percentage of Hispanics who participated in grant-supported services or programs and completed a degree or credential *(GPRA a - completion)*. 2017-18 graduation baseline: 32 percent Hispanic

**Services to be Provided/Activities to be Conducted:** FC’s Guided Pathways STEM program will be designed according to the recommendations of Complete College America’s GPS program and will serve as FC’s first model guided pathway. Development of the pathway services will be linked to instructional improvements in gateway STEM courses including supplemental instruction, peer mentors, incorporation of High Impact Practices, personalized student coaching, summer bridge, effective early alert, and financial literacy workshops.

**Competitive Preference Priority 2:** A well designed correlational study will be one of the activities of this project following the encouraging results observed by Castleman and Page (2014). The “nudging” intervention uses a widely adopted texting app to encourage students to refile their FAFSA application at the end of their first year. This study is contained in the What Works Clearinghouse as one of the studies that meet the moderate evidence standards. 

# P031S190130 Universidad Central de Bayamón, PR

## 

**UNIVERSIDAD CENTRAL DE BAYAMON** (UCB), a private, nonprofit Hispanic-Serving baccalaureate and master’s level postsecondary institution, is located in Bayamon, the second largest city (pop. 208,000) in Puerto Rico within the San Juan Metropolitan Statistical Area (pop. two million). Students enrolling at UCB (Fall 2018 enrollment: 1,159) are 99 percent Latino/a, 74 percent first generation college and 96 percent low-income. The University offers four academic degree levels: Certificate/Diploma, Associate Degree, Bachelor’s Degree and Master’s Degree distributed among four Colleges: Health Science and Sciences; Education and Psychology/Social Work; Business Development and Technology; and, Liberal Arts and Humanities.

**INSTITUTIONAL PROBLEMS:** The Project will address high student attrition (contributing to loss of enrollment revenue); low degree completion within 150 percent of time; limited reach of student advising; fragmented support system; and, inadequate automated student support services.

**INSTITUTIONAL GOALS SUPPORTED BY THE TITLE V PROJECT:** (1) Academic Programs: Engage students in guided pathways toward degree completion with an individualized advising and support system; (2) Institutional Management: Enable a deeper and sustained reach to students at every point on the path of baccalaureate degree completion leveraging automated technologies; and, (3) Fiscal Stability: Reduce student attrition that negatively affects enrollment revenue.

***GUIDED PATHWAYS: INTEGRATED, AUTOMATED AND INDIVIDUALIZED***

Our Project will develop an individualized student support system and custom design academic advising specific to each of our four Colleges, reaching the entire baccalaureate degree-seeking student population. The Project will acquire efficient, reliable technologies to support automated student planning and early alerts and will develop a Pathways Center (housing a Pathways Coordinator, Pathways Assistant, Pathways Coaches and Peer Mentors) for a variety of services (individualized academic advising and planning; student coaching services; access to technology resources; peer mentoring; and, financial literacy education and planning).

***EVIDENCE OF EFFECTIVENESSINTERVENTION-PATHWAYS COACHING***

The ”coaching” component will address non-cognitive barriers with the goal of supporting students in persisting to timely completion. This intervention (Bettinger, E. P., & Baker, R. 2011. The effects of student coaching in college [Working Paper No. 16881] Center for Education Policy Analysis) is cited by What Works Clearinghouse as showing strong evidence of effectiveness.

***COMPETITIVE PREFERENCE PRIORITY (CPP) #2:*** Our financial literacy and planning intervention is an integral part of our Title V Activity for addressing the problem of high attrition and low completion rates. Financial distress is often the reason cited by our students for not persisting in their studies. Our University will collaborate with a digital provider EVERFI and the Institute of Financial Education in Puerto Rico to develop an online financial literacy and planning course.

# P031S190165 Del Mar College, TX

***Project SENDA*: Students Engaged in Direct Advising**

**Del Mar College**

Del Mar College will undertake a $2.8 million program of interventions intended to expand the number of Hispanic and low-income students attaining postsecondary degree and participating in the growing regional economy. This goal will be achieved by decreasing the time to completion rate, increasing persistence from first to second year, and improving the three-year graduation rate of Hispanic students. 67 percent of Del Mar’s students are Hispanic, while over 70 percent receive some form of financial aid.

***Activity 1: To improve student retention, persistence and graduation rates by creating Guided Pathways, and transfer readiness to two or four-year institution.***Activity 1 will overcome challenges experienced by Hispanic and low-income students and systemic institutional deficiencies through three strategies: 1) Create guided academic pathways; 2) Effectively transitioning new students into the community college environment through a one-stop guided pathways welcome center; and 3) Improving transfer maps, career exploration, and articulation agreements.

***Activity 2: To increase the academic success of Hispanic and low-income students at critical***

***points in the two-year and four-year pipeline. from first year to transfer to four-year institutions.***

Activity 2 will improve the persistence and retention rates of Hispanic and low-income students through four strategies: 1) System-wide implementation of an embedded advisement model 2) A two-tier faculty advisement training and certification process; and 3) Creating a culture of financial literacy

*Project SENDA*Objectives include:

• 16 percent increase in the annual number of Hispanic students earning an associate degree

• 19 percent increase in the three-year graduation rates of Hispanic students

• The annual number of Hispanic graduates successfully transferred to baccalaureate

programs will increase 68 percent.

• Eight percent decrease in average time to degree completion

• Five percent increase in the first- to second-year persistence rate of Hispanic students

• Four percent decrease in average credits taken to degree completion

• Nine percent decrease in average student debt

• 140 faculty will be trained and certified in academic, financial, and culturally inclusive

advisement approaches to address the needs of Hispanic and low-income students

• Virtual Reality career exploration videos

• A new, two-tier faculty advisor certification process and training program

• Faculty advisor community of best practices

• Peer financial coaching; onboarding financial literacy; mobile credit improvement apps

• New Guided Pathways One-Stop Welcome Center for complete onboarding experience

# P031S190153 Houston Baptist University, TX

In order to meet the nation’s call for a well-prepared and technologically advanced industry workforce in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields, Houston Baptist University (HBU) is dedicated to improving student success by enhancing academic and research-based programming in the sciences, engineering, and cyber/computer sciences areas through the execution of the Title V project: Building Successful Students in STEM.

As a four-year private institution serving more than 3,400 undergraduate and graduate students in Houston, Texas, 67.5 percent of HBU students are minority (including 36.8 percent Hispanic and 18.9 percent African American) and 63.2 percent are women. In Fall 2018, Hispanic students made up 43 percent of incoming freshmen, and 47.8 percent of enrolled undergraduates received Pell grants. The student population at HBU is changing rapidly, and the institution needs to adapt accordingly to accommodate its changing needs. It has achieved significant student success over the past five years, improving the overall fall-to-fall retention rate such that preliminary data shows Hispanic students nearly on-par with white students (HBU IRE, June 2019). However, institutional data highlights a sobering discrepancy experienced by Hispanic and under-represented students in STEM degree attainment, indicating a need to reinforce the academic preparedness of students interested in STEM and support them holistically through to graduation and beyond.

After conducting a comprehensive analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the institution, and leveraging strong community and industry support in the Houston area for increasing the number of highly qualified STEM graduates from HBU prepared to enter the high-demand industry workforce, the university has determined it must modernize and expand its current STEM infrastructure. This will allow the project-based and enhanced pedagogy unique to its Engineering and Cyber/Computer Science programs to be expanded to all STEM programs at HBU. To do this, HBU will implement four primary evidence-based strategies:

1) Broadening Institutional Capacity for STEM Programs by Improving Infrastructure; 2) Expanding STEM Pathways for Students; and 3) Enhancing Faculty Development Opportunities; which together, bolster the university’s fundamental mission to 4) Support Student Success.

A substantial portion of Title V resources will be dedicated to modernizing HBU’s infrastructure supporting the engineering and science programs, not only through improvements to STEM equipment, instrumentation, and technology, but also by expanding undergraduate and graduate programming in STEM to meet the incredible industry demand in Houston and across the country, as recommended by a 2018 EAB feasibility study. Simultaneously, HBU will build on its long-term goal of reinforcing the pipeline guiding undergraduate students into graduate and professional education by expanding the STEM-specific advising services on campus (CPP-1). Faculty development activities have been designed to empower faculty learning in pedagogy and learning outcomes for all students, especially Hispanic, first-generation, low-income, and other underrepresented students.

These innovative programs, along with others including STEM success coaching, launching a STEM Student Ambassador peer-tutor program, and implementing a STEM Summer Bridge, will target those students needing additional supports in foundational STEM courses. The resulting retention increases combined with improved long-term enrollment in STEM programs at HBU will narrow the gap experienced by Hispanic and other under-represented students to college degree attainment in the high-demand STEM fields, and strengthen the university academically, institutionally, and fiscally.

# P031S190137 Lamar State College Port Arthur, TX

### 

**Pathway to Success (Camino a la Excelencia)**

Consistent with Lamar State College Port Arthur’s (LSCPA’s) new strategic plan, LSCPA seeks to create systemic change to increase access to higher education and student success in higher education for all students in our community, with a particular focus on Hispanic and low-income students.

**Goals and Objectives**: Recognizing that Port Arthur is located in an economically disadvantaged region and that higher education can be difficult to navigate and access, the first goal of this grant is to establish an effective on-ramp to college for Hispanic and low-income students. As a result of multiple strategies designed to improve the admission and enrollment processes, the objectives associated with this goal include an increase in the number of applications to LSCPA as well as an increase in the percentage of eligible Hispanic and high-needs students enrolled. The second goal of this grant focuses on increasing college completions, particularly among Hispanic and low-income students. As a result of multiple strategies designed to increase student retention and completion rates, the objectives associated with this second goal include an increase in the number of students who transition to credit courses from developmental courses within one year, an increase in the rate of successful course completions annually, and improved retention rates (both fall-to-fall and fall-to spring).

**Contributions to Practice**: The achievement of the Title V goals will demonstrate how to increase student success via a comprehensive redesign of the student experience, with key elements including the simplification of processes, increased availability of support from peers, faculty, and staff, and collaboration with the community, the local school districts, and the college’s primary transfer partner.

# P031S190296 Lee College, TX

Lee College, a comprehensive community college in Harris County, Texas, proposes a Title V project with one goal: improve student success by strengthening pathways to three-year completion, especially for first time-in-college Hispanic and part-time students. After a nine-month comprehensive development process that involved teams of faculty, staff, administrators and students, the college community identified this emphasis on improving completion with its five associated measurable objectives as part of an intense focus on students’ first year in college.

Through two activities, new student orientation and first-year experience, the college will reach its goals. The new student orientation will be mandated for all students, a new online version designed and a three-week follow up implemented. The first-year experience will focus on student success course EDUC 1200, required for the college’s largest major General Studies, as well as for undecided majors and students who test into two or more developmental classes. That course will be redesigned with an emphasis on career selection and research and financial literacy. On campus supervisors of student workers will receive professional development in mentoring their student workers and giving them many opportunities to practice their soft skills. Other professional development for faculty will offer extended processional growth in financial literacy, career development certifications, and equity. Central to all of these initiatives will be the hiring of an additional data analyst to support the Title V grant and other grants at the college.

The budget of $2,142,799 is focused on success and increasing completion throughout the college system.

# P031S190315 Northeast Texas Community College, TX 

**Institutional Background:**Northeast Texas Community College (NTCC) is one of 50 public,

open-access community colleges in Texas. The small College is located on 375 acres in a rural

setting of gently rolling hills, streams, rivers and farms, in the picturesque and historic Chapel Hill

area. The main NTCC campus is located approximately equidistant between the county seats of the

three counties which make up the NTCC district: Daingerfield (Morris County), Mount Pleasant

(Titus County); and Pittsburg (Camp County). Over 36 percent of the service area population is minority.

**Competitive Preference Priorities.**NTCC will address Competitive Preference Priority #2 by

focusing on 1) increasing the quality of financial literacy education it provides to students and by 2)

increasing the number of students who participate in financial literacy education. The CPP

addresses all five of the U.S. Financial Literacy and Education Commission’s literacy and education

best practices for institutions of higher education (2019).

**Goals: Improving Student Success, Completion and Time to Degree.**This Title V project will increase within-term success; 1st fall to 2nd fall retention, two-year degree completion within 150 percent of normal time and decrease time to degree.

**Key Outcomes:**The project will 1) reduce inequities between face-to-face and e-learning

outcomes, 2) improve response time and track student engagement and interventions, 3) develop

an infrastructure to support a growing culture of data-informed decision-making and 4) improve

financial literacy education and participation.

**Contributions to Research, Policy and Practice:**While key research has focused on the efficacy

of face to face success coaching (Bettinger & Baker, 2011), this project furthers understanding

about the success of virtual success coaching used with online learners (for which there is little

research), particularly for Hispanic, low-income, rural and underrepresented students.

**Student Body Characteristics**

**Fall 2018 Headcount Enrollment:**Undergraduate: 3,154. **Ethnicity**: White-52 percent; Hispanic/Latino-30 percent; Black or African American-11 percent; Asian-one percent; American Indian or Alaska Native-one percent; Two or More Races-2 percent; Non-Resident Alien: three percent.

**Faculty Characteristics:**Faculty to student ratio: 1: 20. Full-time: 72; Part-time: 93.

**Five-Year Project Budget**: $6,000,000.

## 

## 

# P031S190252 San Jacinto Community College District, TX

Applicant: San Jacinto College (San Jac) is the Texas gulf coast region’s leader in higher education. Established in 1961 on the east side of Houston, San Jac is the ninth largest community college in Texas, and third largest in the Houston area. Surrounded by monuments of history, industries, and maritime enterprises of today, and the space age of tomorrow, San Jacinto serves more than 41,000 credit and non- credit students annually and offers eight broad pathways which can lead to 128 different degree plans that put students on a path to transfer to a four-year institution or enter the workforce.

San Jac is a public, two-year institution with three campuses and a Maritime Center on the east side of greater Houston; a fourth campus, Generation Park opens in Fall 2020. San Jac is under the governance of the San Jacinto College Board of Trustees and offers Associate in Arts degrees, Associate in Science degrees, Associate in Applied Science degrees, University Transfer courses, and career-oriented certificates and training.

In 2018, Hispanic Outlook in Higher Education Magazine ranked San Jacinto as the #6 community college for Hispanics in the U.S. With more than half of San Jac’s student body being of Hispanic or Latino origin, and being a Hispanic Serving Institution, the college continues to position itself as an advocate of Hispanic/Latino student success.

Over the last 10 years, San Jacinto College has increased the number of certificates and associate degrees awarded by 169 percent. In 2017-8, 7,019 students earned a certificate or degree from San Jacinto College. This increase is due to laser focus on student success and the various levels of support students receive along their path from when they first arrive at San Jacinto College through graduation.

**Project Goal**: Reform institutional advising capacity and delivery with bilingual and evidence-based intrusive student success strategies underpinned by technology-mediated solutions that streamline communication and access to information across campus to create an integrated planning and advising system (IPAS).

**Project Description**: San Jac is proposing a Title V Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions project that aligns with the college’s new strategic priorities for the next five years, underpins their ability to implement key strategic initiatives and builds overall institutional capacity to improve outcomes for Hispanic and other underrepresented populations (i.e., low-income, first generation, etc.) served by San Jac. Key project activities include:

· redesigning the advising model to include virtual advising and hiring additional advisors;

· optimizing utility and extending utilization of existing IT and software solutions via a new student portal;

· improving student/faculty communication with an institutionally-funded CRM; and

· facilitating faculty and staff training development around new advising model, curricula restructure (input, SJC funded), and new IT capacities.

**Competitive Preference Priority #2**: San Jac IPAS provides students and prospective students with a portal that connects them to relevant campus resources, including San Jac’s suite of financial aid, student loan default prevention, and personal financial literacy resources. The financial aid resources are specific to borrowing and cover the types of aid available (including both federal, state, and private grants, scholarships, and loans); eligibility requirements and documentation; how and when to submit financial aid applications; and borrower rights and responsibilities. Loan default prevention covers required exit counseling, repayment options, deferments, money management, and default resolution options, including loan forgiveness for qualified borrowers.

While these resources are already in existence, they are found and accessed on the financial aid website and with the exception of the required exit counseling, are completely optional. Notwithstanding, San Jac’s advisors still work with students on matters related to planning and paying for college and refer students to these resources through the advising process. The advising redesign, coupled with a student communications plan and deployment of the CRM, will guide advisors towards a standard approach that connects every student to the appropriate financial aid and financial literacy resources. With the portal, students will have one click access to these resources through the mobile app and will receive notifications from their advisors reminding them of these resources at key intervals.

# P031S190118 St. Mary's University of San Antonio, TX

**St. Mary’s University (StMU), a four-year institution in San Antonio, Texas and Bexar County**, was founded to bring education to the underserved in South Texas. It has a mission to provide a quality, integral education of liberal arts, STEM, and the Marianist faith tradition, educating for academic excellence, service, justice, and peace, with an emphasis on adaptation and change. The undergraduate student body reflects the regional population: 48 percent from Bexar County, 73 percent minority in 2018 (66 percent Hispanic), 44 percent low- income, and 35 percent first-generation college students. Because of the high needs, StMU offers tuition discounts, and its endowment provides scholarships. In 2019, it educated 3,648 students (2,373 undergraduates) in four schools, including the School of Science, Engineering, and Technology (SET), which increased enrollment in 2018 by 13 percent from 2014 (up seven percent for Hispanics). This reflects success of the previous federally-funded initiatives to execute the University s Gateway Strategic Plan and SET Vision, which is guiding this proposed project: ***Building Capacity for Excellence in STEM Education.***

Through the grant-funded project, StMU proposes: Expanding academic offerings, including new curriculum in Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (SUAV) or drone technologies; an enhanced and accreditable Engineering Management (EM) Curriculum; and new Construction Management (CM) Certificate Curriculum. Embedded throughout is faculty development, through a variety of methods: Conferences on student learning outcomes (SLOs) assessment and evaluation through ABET; workshops and on-campus trainings focused on an assets-based framework for pedagogy/student support for inclusion of diverse StMU students in STEM; and connections with industry professionals to develop high-quality academic programs and post-graduation opportunities. To strengthen the pipeline from undergraduate to post-graduate success, StMU will also focus on student leader development and programming for career and post-graduate education exploration and attainment (Competitive Preference Priority 1).

Over the five-years of the grant, StMU intends to: **A)** build capacity through physical improvements and resource development to support curriculum in three Engineering programs; **B)** develop 20 new courses with ABET SLOs; **C)** train all Engineering faculty for new curriculum and student programming; **D)** engage 70 percent of Engineering students (35 percent Hispanic) from each cohort in new programming; **E)** increase enrollment in SUAV, EM, and CM from AY 17-18 baseline of four students to 108 students (50 percent Hispanic);

**F)** graduate 35 percent of Engineering students (32 percent Hispanic) within four years from 2014 baseline of 27 percent (26 percent Hispanic); **G)** achieve at least 25 Engineering students (50 percent Hispanic), who apply for graduate or professional school.

StMU requests **a five-year total of $2,996,350** in Title V funding for ***Building Capacity for Excellence in STEM Education***.

2

# P031S190304 Texas A&M International University, TX

The **Advanced Curriculum and Research (ARC) Program** at Texas A&M International University (TAMIU) will provide resources and program innovation to a Hispanic Serving Institution with a 94 percent Hispanic and 79 percent low-income student population. The proposed Title V initiative, **The TAMIU ARC Program**, will increase the number and quality of well-prepared Hispanic students completing graduate degrees at TAMIU.

The primary objective of the TAMIU ARC research program is to conduct rigorous research to explore models of success for TAMIU graduate students. The centerpiece of this research project will be a long-term study of all graduate student program enrollment, retention, graduation, and career placement and/or admission to other post-graduate programs.

Within this framework other specific activities and goals for the **TAMIU ARC Program**, which all seek to improve graduate student retention and completion at TAMIU, include the following:

· Offering targeted orientation sessions to promote graduate student success.

· Developing a first-year program within science and mathematics graduate programs (Mathematics, Sociology, Criminal Justice, Psychology, Communications) to improve student success in quantitatively difficult gateway courses.

· Providing support for graduate writing both within courses and for theses.

· Greatly expanding professional development opportunities for TAMIU faculty, staff, and graduate students.

· Enhancing support for graduate research and the master’s biology program.

· Over a five-year period, the **TAMIU ARC Program** will act as a catalysis increasing the number of TAMIU graduate students with a target increase 30 percent. This project also will increase the number of students completing their degrees in a timelier manner.

**Competitive Preference Priority 1**: The **TAMIU ARC Program** will meet this priority by increasing the number of Hispanic graduate students served by the institution through rigorous research on all aspects of graduate student metrics, expanding and enhancing courses, new academic support services, additional institutional resources, and professional development. Specifically, **TAMIU ARC** will add to existing literature on student success by conducting rigorous research that identifies best practices for graduate students within a dominantly Hispanic population. The first-year program has multiple elements (orientation, technology enhancement, intellectual resources, mentorship, and professional development) that are mutually supportive and designed to improve success in the targeted science and mathematics graduate programs. Other components will have expanded focus, potentially benefiting all TAMIU graduate students, both current and future, which include coaching to improve graduate writing, summer faculty development, support to increase dissemination of graduate research at professional conferences, and the establishment of an endowment to support future generations of graduate students at TAMIU.

The impact of this program will be a game changer. TAMIU has the aspiration goal of becoming a highly research active (R2) institution within the South Texas underserved region. The **TAMIU ARC Program** will serve a vital role in making this goal a reality and at the same time will develop the next generation of highly educated minority professionals.

# P031S190336 University of St. Thomas, TX

UST will develop and pilot three new graduate degree programs in the School of Nursing, MSN degrees in Healthcare and Nursing Simulation, Nursing Leadership and Education. Additionally, UST will create a new access point on the nursing pipeline by developing and piloting a new RN-to-MSN program for licensed RNs with Associate degrees. These new programs will increase the number of Hispanic and  underrepresented  graduate students  served by UST,  meeting  the  **Competitive Preference Priority 1**: *“Projects that are designed to expand the number of Hispanic and other underrepresented graduate and professional students that can be served by the institution by expanding courses and institutional resources.”*

This project will create a Graduate Nursing Student Success Center (GNSSC) to provide face-to-face and online student support services to graduate students. Services will include specialized student coaching, coaching and advising training and cultural diversity training for faculty members, peer mentoring and on-demand tutoring.  The GNSSC will also provide focused coaching and advising support for RN-to-MSN students transferring directly from a two-year school or coming from the workforce in order to make their challenging transition to upper-level and graduate coursework a successful transition. Services will also be offered to MSN students. These focused, wrap-around support services for the RN-to-MSN candidates will feature proactive counseling focused on the best practices from Betting and Baker’s coaching

theory (2011), a theory that meets the evidence of “moderate evidence of effectiveness” by the What Works Clearinghouse. Faculty and program staff will be trained to deliver these wrap- around coaching techniques to students, providing culturally-appropriate advising and impactful coaching support.

The EGNP program will also enrich and upgrade technology in the School of Nursing. Upgraded simulation mannequins, video equipment that permits faculty to record simulation scenarios and teaching modules and broadcast for online course or web access, and a teleconferencing system for better online course delivery will be obtained. Funding for peer mentors and tutors will also be provided through this grant program. Five classroom-based and online courses will be developed and piloted in both Years One and Five, and seven classroom and online courses will be developed and piloted each year in Years Two through Four of the grant. An endowment component requiring a 1:1 match will create UST’s first graduate nursing scholarship fund for Hispanic and low-income students.

**Strong Supporting Theory Used:** Bettinger and Baker (March 2011). *The effects of student coaching in college: An evaluation of a randomized experiment in student mentoring.*

**Total number of students served by this project:** By September 2024, at least 776 students will participate in this grant, at an average of $773 per student per year.

2