## U. S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education sealn Seal

**FY 2014 Project Abstracts for**

**New Grantees**

## 

## Funded under Title V, Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program (CFDA Number:  84.031S)

Office of Postsecondary Education

Washington, DC 20006-8517

**Introduction**

The Hispanic-Serving Institutions Division administers the Developing Hispanic–Serving Institutions (HSI) 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 receive a grant under Title V program, an institution of higher education must have applied for and been designated as an eligible institution.  The Notice Inviting Applications for the Designation as an Eligible Institution was published in the Federal Register on January 13, 2014 (79 FR 2161).  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 Hispanic-Serving Institutions Division awards Developing Hispanic–Serving Institutions Individual Development Grants (one eligible Hispanic-Serving Institution) and Cooperative Development Grants (one eligible Hispanic–Serving Institution in cooperation with one or more Institutions of Higher Education).  Although the allowable activities and the five-year performance period for the Individual Development Grant and the Cooperative Development Grant are the same, the maximum award amounts differ.  The maximum award amount for Individual Development Grants in FY 2014 was $525,000 per year and the maximum award amount for Cooperative Development Grants was $650,000 per year.

The Developing Hispanic–Serving Institutions 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; improvement of telecommunication capacity; enhancement of student services; enhancement of administrative and funds management systems; establishment or improvement of a development office; creation or enhancement of community outreach programs for elementary and secondary students; 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) 2014 was published in the Federal Register on April 9, 2014 (79 FR 19604).  The deadline for the transmittal of applications was May 9, 2014. Applications for grants under the FY 2014 Hispanic–Serving Institutions grant competition were submitted electronically using Grants.gov. 

**Table of Contents**

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

**Cooperative Development Grants**

**Individual Development Grants**

**P031S140164**

**California State University – Channel Islands, CA**

Moorpark College, CA

Oxnard College, CA

Ventura College, CA

**Cooperative Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

California State University Channel Islands (CI) is the newest of the California State University (CSU) system campuses (established 2002) and the only public four-year university in Ventura County, which has a 41 percent Hispanic population. CI proposes to implement the **A**ligning **L**earning and **A**cademic **S**uccess Project (Project ALAS) to increase transfer student readiness and success. The region’s Hispanic population has a very low *university-going rate*and though the county has a high community-college going rate, the transfer rate from community colleges to four-year universities is also very low. When Hispanic students do enter CSU Channel Islands as first-time freshmen or as transfers they tend to be academically underprepared, which increases their time to graduation and increases their risk of dropping out of the university. 

With Project ALAS, CI will collaborate with the three community colleges in Ventura County to increase: a) enrollment of Hispanic and other minority students at all participating institutions; b) transfer readiness of students from these primary feeder campuses; and c) success of transfer students once they arrive at CI. The project will employ faculty development and cross-campus collaborations to improve articulation and increase high-impact practices in the classroom to align learning outcomes and better prepare community college students for transfer and for the four-year university. In addition, CI will develop a robust transfer student success initiative to increase transfer student retention and successful degree completion.

**P031S140163**

**Santa Barbara City College, CA**

California State University – Channel Islands, CA

**Cooperative Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) is a public community college located 90 miles north of Los Angeles in a community in which Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of the population and the largest ethnic group from feeder high schools in its service area. Over the past decade the College has served an increasing number of academically under-prepared students with diverse needs that severely test its ability to reach and maintain the levels of student progression and goal completion that it strives to achieve.

ACTIVITY: iPath: Pathways to Transfer Program will provide an alternate general education transfer option to students to efficiently and effectively complete their lower division general education and major field transfer requirements for transfer to California State University Channel Islands (CI) or another university. This highly structured and innovative program will increase persistence and reduce time-to-degree completion; attain general education learning outcomes; promote collaborative learning approaches; and foster students’ lifelong, independent learning.

The SBCC, CI iPath, Pathways to Transfer Program is a strong mix of best practices and innovation in learning. The two component, multi-faceted cooperative program will provide SBCC with the means to help more Hispanic students transfer to a four-year institution and CI to provide services for students transferring from a two-year college. 

The iPath General Education Learning Communities program is based on SBCC’s Express to Success Program (ESP) for students needing basic skills math and English instruction. ESP has proven to increase successful math and English basic skills course completion rates by 30 percent and 49 percent respectively for Hispanic students completing two English or math classes in the same semester, compared to the number of non-ESP Hispanic students completing the same sequence of courses in one year.

**P031S140197**

**Union County College, NJ**

Kean University, NJ

**Cooperative Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Through the STEMpact project, Union County College (Union) aims to improve the access and success of at risk, Hispanic and low income students completing postsecondary degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and teacher education majors, addressing President Obama’s call for a diverse 21st century STEM trained workforce. Union will partner with Kean University to develop a strong model of transfer and articulation in higher education to promote the success of Hispanics and low-income students in STEM and teacher education fields.  With the primary goal of improving retention, completion and transfer rates among high-need Hispanic and low-income STEM and education students, this cooperative agreement will consist of two primary activities:

Activity One will improve student retention, graduation and transfer through: 1) a joint admissions agreement; 2) development of student access and engagement centers at both institutions, enhanced high-impact undergraduate activities, and improved advising models; and 3) increased academic support through the implementation of a Peer-Led Team Learning Model.

Activity Two seeks to enhance teaching and learning in STEM and teacher education fields by: 1) implementation of a comprehensive faculty professional development series, promoting innovative pedagogy to increase student retention and academic success; 2) updated labs, equipment, software and instrumentation; and 3) increased student academic support though hands-on inquiry based discovery in instruction and a content and media management system.

The proposed project seeks to address the significant problems of the two competitive priority areas: 1) increase postsecondary success through a joint admissions program to ensure seamless transfer to Kean, enhancing high-impact student development activities and increasing academic support services through the integration of Peer-Led Team Learning Model; 2) improve productivity by providing increased access to academic support services, the joint admissions programs and by strengthening academic support programs and professional development infrastructure.

The overarching goal of the STEMpact is to increase the number of high-need, Hispanic and low-income students who complete an associate’s degree, transfer to a four-year institution and graduate with a bachelor’s degree, to enter the 21st century workforce in STEM and teaching careers competently.

**P031S140070**

**University of New Mexico – Taos, NM**

Adams State College, CO

New Mexico Highlands University, NM

**Cooperative Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

This Title V Cooperative Arrangement Project, “UNIDOS: Building Pathways to Access and Opportunity for the Upper Rio Grande Region,” combines the efforts of University of New Mexico at Taos (a two-year community college), Adams State College (a rapidly evolving regional university in southern Colorado); and New Mexico Highlands University (a comprehensive regional university with some graduate programs). Together, these three HSIs will address barriers of geography, distance and under-funded K-16 educational systems that keep the region’s communities and residents from having access to quality postsecondary opportunities. Simply, UNIDOS involves UNM-Taos building its capacity to support transfer-bound students and Adams State College (ASC) and New Mexico Highlands University (NMHU) building their capacity to reach those students with quality programs upon transfer.

The Title V Project will build upon the strengths of all three institutions, which will share expertise and resources, conduct joint planning and continuous improvement efforts, and focus Title V and institutional resources on “gaps” in the region’s secondary-to-graduate school pipeline. The Project’s single Activity will build Academic Pathways by strengthening distance learning capacities and joint efforts; increasing faculty proficiencies through professional development; and creating more effective academic and transfer advising services for students at UNM-Taos.

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

**P031S140088**

**City University of New York – John Jay College, NY**

Borough of Manhattan Community College, NY

Queensboro Community College, NY

**Cooperative Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

This project seeks to improve persistence and baccalaureate degree attainment of Hispanic students in the City University of New York Justice Academy (CJA), a model dual enrollment program among major HSIs within the City University of New York system. The planned activities, directed at sustained engagement, goal-oriented planning, and the acquisition of independent research skills, span from community college entry to graduation from the senior college partner, John Jay College.

The proposed activities take a holistic approach to student development and address the intellectual, social, and personal growth of Hispanic students. Activity I focuses on three core objectives. It will develop a joint entry experience for students in the CJA majors through online orientation modules and a series of linked welcome events supported by peer mentors to establish and strengthen cohort identity. By creating student-driven, integrated academic and career planning resources, it will also contribute to increased rates of academic progress and transition to John Jay. Finally, it will establish the structural framework necessary for continued planning and engagement of CJA students following their transition to John Jay College.

Activity II focuses on creating a cross-institutional program to scaffold the development of critical thinking and research skills. The curricular structures developed in this Activity will lead students from basic research skills in the early years to the advanced practice of analytical thinking, collaboration, and independent research at the point of transition. This will be accomplished through scalable online resources that can be utilized at all institutions. Faculty development initiatives are also planned within this activity to ensure the adoption and uniform implementation of these resources across campuses. Building on the research training resources, Activity II expands a successful program to engage students in mentored research as a capstone and professionalizing experience.

**P031S140160**

**Angelo State University, TX**

Southwest Texas Junior College, TX

**Cooperative Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Angelo State University (ASU), a four-year institution located in San Angelo, Texas, and Southwest Texas Junior College (SWTJC), a two-year institution with campuses in Uvalde, Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Crystal City, Hondo and Pearsall, Texas, have partnered to develop Strengthening the Engineering Pipeline in West Texas (STEP West Texas). This project aims to solve several problems in a 35-county area served by the two institutions: lack of a civil engineering program at any institution of higher education in the region; a high demand and expected growth for civil engineers in the next 5-10 years; and limited resources to develop such a program.

The targeted region includes a Hispanic resident rate of over 47 percent, a high school graduation rate of just 74.2 percent and a poverty rate of nearly 19 percent. STEP West Texas will work to overcome many of these challenges by developing a program that will assist residents in earning jobs that are currently in need of a trained workforce. This project is being undertaken as a partnership to enable community college students to obtain an Associate of Science in Engineering Sciences (ASES) degree before transferring to ASU for a new Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) degree. Students will benefit from distance learning, shared academic advising, dual enrollment, a Summer STEM Academy and shared resources.

STEP West Texas has been developed with a single activity. Based on a sound analysis of strengths, weaknesses/challenges and opportunities at ASU and SWTJC, the activity has two components: development of new engineering programs and related support services for students.

**P031S140099**

**Our Lady of the Lake University, TX**

San Antonio College, TX

**Cooperative Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU) – a small, coeducational liberal arts institution – and San Antonio College (SAC) – the largest single-campus community college in Texas – educate approximately 26,000 students in San Antonio, Texas, the nation’s seventh-largest city located 150 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border. In San Antonio, more than 60 percent of all 1.6 million residents are Hispanic, and 75 percent of all residents 25 and older have less than a bachelor’s degree. In the neighborhoods that surround our campuses, one-third to one-half of all families have incomes below poverty.

At least half of all SAC students and 75 percent of all OLLU undergraduates are Hispanic, low-income and/or first-generation. Less than 10 percent of SAC students and only a third of OLLU undergraduates graduate within three to six years because of the many barriers they face, perpetuating low educational attainment and poverty in San Antonio. The Exito project will help reverse this trend by significantly increasing our institutions’ capacity to provide the guidance, engagement and academic support Hispanic and low-income students need to succeed in higher education. Funding will allow us to:

Serve at least 1,000 additional potential and existing transfer students each year with academic advising and personal counseling support to increase their likelihood of timely graduation and/or transfer.

Increase low-income and underprepared student enrollment, performance and persistence in 10 of our most popular associate and bachelor’s degree programs by placing additional courses online, hiring and institutionalizing additional personnel to expand the availability of tutoring and online learning materials, and acquiring new technology to improve student learning and engagement.

Improve student persistence and learning through professional development opportunities that build students’ professional networks and disseminate best practices in teaching and student support to faculty and staff.

Exito will serve as a catalyst for long-term improvements at both our institutions that will address the disproportionately low rates at which Hispanic and other low-income students achieve, persist and succeed in postsecondary settings. The innovative strategies we employ in our Activity Components will directly address our institutions’ weaknesses and will pave the way for positive, systemic changes that will enable OLLU and SAC to achieve our respective Institutional Goals and Objectives. Every strategy is targeted to Hispanic, low-income and/or first-generation college students who need the most guidance, who have the largest deficits in academic preparation and who most need to be engaged in their education to persist and succeed.

By the end of the project:  1) undergraduate enrollment at OLLU will have increased by at least 16 percent; 2) fall-to-fall persistence rates at SAC will have increased by at least 12 percent, and fall-to-fall persistence rates for OLLU undergraduate transfer students will have increased to at least 72 percent; 3) SAC’s average three-year first time in college graduation rate will have increased by at least 34 percent; 4) OLLU’s average six-year graduation rate will have increased by at least 9 percent; and 5) both HSIs will have strengthened the transfer pipeline to OLLU by developing and implementing at least five articulation agreements in Exito’s targeted associate’s and bachelor’s degree programs.

**P031S140130**

**Texas Agriculture & Mechanics International University, TX**

Laredo Community College, TX

**Cooperative Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

The Building Scholars****project will provide the resources at both Texas A&M International University (TAMIU), with a total undergraduate enrollment of 6,585 (94 percent Hispanic, Fall 2013), and partner institution, Laredo Community College (LCC), with a total enrollment of 8,726 (96 percent Hispanic, Fall 2013), needed to implement a plan for student research and education, skill-development, faculty development, and infrastructure enhancements which is coordinated, comprehensive, and applicable at the university and community college levels. This project flows from goals outlined in both institutions’ strategic plans focusing on student development, engagement, retention and graduation. The project will provide students with a structured curriculum of progressively-rigorous and varied education, skill-development, research activities and presentation experiences that are specific to their field of study. 

Activity: Building Scholars:****The overarching goal is to develop scholars through project activities designed to enhance the preparation, retention, graduation, and transfer of Hispanic and other minority students to the skilled workforce or baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate programs. Other specific goals for the Building Scholars activity are to: 

· Create new academic pathways for students to obtain bachelor’s and master’s degrees at TAMIU 

· Strengthen academic programs through faculty development activities focusing on academic rigor, improving teaching and learning, and undergraduate student research 

· Increase the use of technology to improve student success (increase retention and graduation rates) at both institutions 

· Develop and improve student tracking and mutual sharing of student data to smooth the transfer of students to baccalaureate and post-baccalaureate programs 

· Address the important needs of all students from the lowest achieving (developmental) to the highest (honors) 

· Increase opportunities for students and faculty to better utilize resources and support services on both campuses 

· Increase the full-time enrollment at both institutions 

· Reduce the number of semesters it takes for LCC and TAMIU students to graduate 

· Maximize federal grant resources to address the needs of low-income, underserved Hispanic students 

The Building Scholars project will meet competitive priority one****by preparing students from LCC and moving them through a specialized pathway to a four-year degree, a graduate program, and a career in the workforce, thus significantly impacting the number of high-need, Hispanic students pursuing higher education goals. 

The Building Scholars project will meet competitive priority two****by increasing efficiency and improving productivity through the use of data collection and analysis obtained through multiple sources of assessment such as a new student activity tracking program. Also by collaborating on faculty development, and by sharing ideas, best practices, and data on students, thereby improving student outcomes at lower costs for both institutions.

**P031S140023**

**Big Bend Community College, WA**

Columbia Basin College, WA

**Cooperative Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Big Bend Community College (Moses Lake, WA) serves a vast two-county (4,601 square mile, population 110,798) rural area of East Central Washington characterized by poverty (21 percent, 30 percent Hispanic poverty) and low educational attainment (14 percent adult baccalaureate degree attainment, four percent for Hispanic adults). The rural region at the southern edge of our service area border, where up to 72 percent of residents are Hispanic, is characterized by particular socioeconomic struggle, with 74 percent of residents living in poverty. This corridor of disadvantage extends into the two-county area (3,025 square miles, population 268,243) served by Columbia Basin College (Pasco, Washington). The region of Washington our institutions collectively serve is projected to experience 18 percent population growth by 2022, with most of that growth among Hispanic adults, aged 18-44. 

To expand postsecondary access across this region, Big Bend Community College (lead) and Columbia Basin College propose *A Partnership for Advancing Health Professions,*a Title V cooperative project designed to increase educational opportunity while improving productivity of both institutions through the leveraging of shared strengths and resources. Project initiatives will establish access for students at both institutions to new certificate, associate, and Bachelor of Science options in Simulation Technology, Medical Records and Health Information, and Healthcare Administration – areas promising particularly strong employment opportunities across the region. All curricula will be designed for flexible, broadly-accessible online and blended (online content combined with on-campus labs) delivery, supported by appropriate facilities and instrumentation. New support in the form of program-specific healthcare advising will be designed to promote persistence and credential completion. Our cooperative approach fulfills both Competitive Preference Priorities established for this competition, in that it will increase postsecondary success and improve productivity for both of the cooperative partners.

**P031S140183**

**Pima County Community College – Desert Vista Campus, AZ**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

One of the six campuses that comprise Pima Community College, Desert Vista Campus (DVC) is located in Tucson, Arizona and serves a region of South Tucson characterized by high poverty and low educational attainment. Residents of DVC's primary service area are 79 percent Hispanic and 52 percent low income. Less than four percent of adults have a bachelor's degree and more than 40 percent did not complete high school.  Mirroring the area, DVC's student body is 65 percent Hispanic and almost three-quarters low-income. More than four out of five DVC students (87 percent of Hispanic students) enter DVC severely deficient in basic skills and few are able to successfully complete remediation, transition to college-level courses, and ultimately complete a college degree. 

This application has been prepared after a careful analysis of challenges facing DVC. We submit this proposal for a project titled *CIMA - Campus Integrated Model for Attainment.*We request funds to implement an innovative project focused on: 1) Revising high risk developmental and college gateway courses via infusion of active learning, contextualized learning, supplemental instruction, and innovative use of technology strategies; and 2) Improving student success and retention via creation of a state-of-the art, technology-rich, collaborative *Center for Integrated Learning*offering students and faculty creative learning spaces where design is driven by pedagogy and technology supports learning by being embedded, seamless, and on demand. Through this project, we seek to transform the way we interact with students. 

The proposed project directly addresses the Title V purpose of *expanding opportunities for and improving the academic attainment of Hispanic students*as well both competitive preference priorities of the 2014 Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions competition.

**P031S140089**

**Allan Hancock Joint Community College, CA**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Through *Advance, Innovate, Maintain (AIM),*Allan Hancock College (AHC) will address identified weaknesses in programs and services, institutional management, and fiscal stability to become a stronger, more effective Hispanic Serving Institution serving a student population that is 52.3 percent Hispanic. The project is comprised of two activities: *Increasing the Success of Basic Skills and ESL Students*and *Aligning Resource Development Strategies*. *AIM*will increase the advancement rate (progress and completion) of students underprepared for collegiate-level work and will implement structural changes to coordinate and integrate the college’s multiple resource development components, including a “total resource development” plan to ensure support for underserved students and for each mission-critical area. 

The project will result in: 

· A 20 percent increase in the advancement of ESL and Basic Skills students from noncredit to credit programs; 

· A 20 percent increase in the number of Hispanic students graduating and/or transferring to four-year universities within three years of initial enrollment (baseline n=354); 

· 70 percent of faculty who serve developmental learners (n=50) will have attended professional development activities, and 40 percent of them will incorporate new strategies in their courses; 

· A 100 percent increase in the number of first-time students who participate in online or onsite orientations;

· A 10 percent increase in annual resource contributions per staff FTE and a 20 percent increase in the number of community supports who make a contribution;

· At least $12,000 savings as a result of realignment of resource development units; and

· An annual campaign to raise at least $15,000/year. to support the needs of basic skills/ESL students who are ineligible for financial aid or traditional scholarships. 

*Priority #1*– *AIM*will establish a virtual Pathways Center to provide focused, well-researched interventions, including Open Educational Resources, that increase high need students’ chances of success and acceleration in basic skills and ESL classes. Pedagogy symposiums will engage faculty in Inquiry Groups to research effective instructional approaches to improve outcomes for students in developmental courses. Innovative uses of technology in instruction and support will increase access, progress and completion for Hispanic and other basic skills students. To further the goal of increasing postsecondary success, *AIM*will realign resource development strategies to better support the college’s various mission areas, especially basic skills and ESL where financial resources and services are less than optimal. 

*Priority #2 –*By integrating student services and open educational resources in one portal, basic skills students will more quickly achieve key momentum points in their educational development and accelerate through the remedial levels in English and ESL. Productivity will be improved as a result of comprehensive professional development for faculty and staff and through the innovative use of technology in both instruction and planning for resource allocation.

**P031S140154**

**Antelope Valley College, CA**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

As one of California’s oldest community colleges, Antelope Valley College (AVC) has made strides serving students across a vast 2,000 square mile service area. Promising, though piecemeal, efforts have not adequately closed the equity gap for its underprepared Hispanic and low-income students who rarely achieve the watershed full year of college-level transferable credit. Rigorous institutional planning and research by AVC led to this multifaceted, single-activity project marshalling college wide stakeholders into a common vision for student success in the vital first year. Using the evidence-based AVID *for*Higher Education (AHE) as a cornerstone, AVC will build a better bridge to completion via critical momentum points, optimally serving its high-need students and fully addressing both Title V priorities.

Competitive Preference Priority 1**:**The project will increase postsecondary success****by increasing the number and proportion of Hispanic and other low-income students successfully transitioning into college and reaching momentum points toward degree completion.

Competitive Preference Priority 2:****The project addresses the productivity****priority by aiming planned improvements directly at the place where productivity matters the most to HSIs – increasing the number of Hispanic students who complete college.

**P031S140161**

**Cañada College, CA**

**Individual Development Grant**

**Abstract**

The Expanding Student Opportunities (¡ESO!) Project: The leadership team at Cañada College is leading the college in a new direction to better serve entering Hispanic and high-need students.  The ¡ESO! Project will kick-start these efforts.

The ¡ESO! Project will address the unacceptably low transfer rates for Hispanic and high-need students and systematically address problems of high assessment into developmental courses, inadequate and under-utilized academic support services and ineffective transfer programming.  This will be accomplished through extensive and comprehensive use of peer mentors to:  1) engage students after application and at entrance; 2) encourage entering students to participate in academic preparation programs; 3) encourage them to utilize academic support services; and 4) then guide them through the transfer process. 

The project will also expand and build on existing assessment preparation programs, expand academic support services and develop transfer programming.  An external evaluator (working with the college Office of Planning, Research, and Institutional Effectiveness) will assess project effectiveness as it relates to proposed activities, objectives, goals, and institutionalization of successful practices.

Activity: The ¡ESO! Project

Component One:  START STRONG – Get Connected to Your College (GCTYC)

1. Student mentors will encourage increased participation in assessment preparation programs (Math Jam & Word Jam).

2. Develop an extended orientation program (Jams Plus) that will coincide with Math Jam and Word Jam.

Component Two:  STAY STRONG – The ¡ESO! Center

1. Expanded and improved academic support services.

2. Student mentors encourage increased usage of ¡ESO! Center services.

3. Faculty participation and affiliation is increased.

Component Three:  FINISH STRONG –Get Connected to Your Future (GCTYF)

1. Student mentors will encourage participation in expanded transfer program.

2. Develop Transfer Jam (Student Education Plan, Transfer Pathways).

Increased exposure to four-year colleges and universities and career pathways.

**P031S140092**

**College of the Canyons, CA**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

The Santa Clarita Valley in Northern Los Angeles County, California, is an ideal location for a Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions program. The region has been among the fastest growing areas of Los Angeles County, with the population increasing by 17.5 percent between 2000 and 2010. Latinos are the fastest growing segment of the Santa Clarita Valley population, and this is reflected in the student demographics at College of the Canyons, the only public institution of higher education in the area. Since 2000, the Latino population at the College has nearly quadrupled to 43 percent of the student body. Additionally, College of the Canyons (COC) has seen a significant increase in the number of students receiving financial aid. Since 2007, the percentage of the student body receiving aid (grants, scholarships, and loans) has increased 104 percent: from 24 percent to 49 percent. 

The rate at which Latino students complete, graduate, and transfer from College of the Canyons is lower than that of their peers, particularly for the growing number of students who enter college unprepared for college level coursework. Eighty-six (86) percent of students entering COC place below transfer-level in mathematics and 87 percent of incoming students place below transfer-level English which severely impacts transfer and degree completion. Only 26.8 percent of COC’s Latino students will complete a certificate or associate degree program and nine percent will transfer to a four-year institution within three years. 

This project is designed to better serve Latino and low-income students who are currently not succeeding equitably in college. COC’s planning was informed by internal and external research on the gap in Hispanic student achievement. The project will consist of five activities: 

1) Improve educational planning services with the addition of an online comprehensive student educational plan and online counseling. 

2) Build comprehensive student services and programs to facilitate student success. 

3) Provide faculty with knowledge and skills required for effectively teaching and engaging students from diverse backgrounds. 

4) Expand outreach efforts to increase Latino student participation and success in postsecondary education. 

5) Expand and improve institutional technology infrastructure to increase the capacity of the college to better communicate with and serve students. 

Title V grant funding will create a positive impact on the ability of College of the Canyons to improve educational opportunities for Latino, low-income and other underserved students. The COC Office of Institutional Development and Technology, in partnership with external evaluators, will conduct a comprehensive program evaluation to ensure that the College employs a systemic approach to capacity building, periodically reviews information, and, as necessary, makes changes to further the goals of the project. The plan will measure the impact this Title V investment has on the College’s attempt to build comprehensive systems for institutional change. This project fulfills Competitive Preference Priority 1: Increasing Postsecondary Success and Competitive Preference Priority 2: Improving Productivity.

**P031S140018**

**San Diego Mesa College, CA**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

San Diego Mesa College (Mesa) is one of three two-year community colleges that make up the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD). Almost 60 percent of its 25,280 students are minorities, and the Latino enrollment is 8,090, 32 percent of the total. More than 40 percent of all students are low income and about a quarter are the first in their families to attend college. Three-fourths are part-time, and nearly two-thirds are academically underprepared.

Sixty percent of students are from the designated service areas for Mesa and City College, another SDCCD member, where only 62.2 percent of Latino adults have completed high school and a mere 15.9 percent have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Median Latino household income is $42,547 (20 percent below the national average), and a quarter of Latino families live in poverty (American Community Survey, 2012).

Mesa’s five-year average for fall-to-fall retention is only 47 percent. The completion rate for those retained over a six-year period has been only 53 percent for underprepared students, the bulk of the student body, compared to 75 percent for the prepared. Faculty and students also report that they experience a sense of disconnectedness. Low persistence translates to lost enrollment-related revenues—on top of large state funding cuts over the last seven years. The funding drop has prevented Mesa from extending instructional technology to older classrooms and upgrading Wi-Fi services to provide connectivity across the campus.

Mesa will address these problems by providing the following:

· *Faculty and staff professional development in best practices in pedagogy and student services:*faculty training for redesign of Basic Skills, ESL (called ESOL at Mesa), Personal Growth (freshman seminar), and selected general education courses. Development of Learning Communities and infusion of engaging practices into instruction. Staff training in retention-related practices. Faculty and staff training in understanding and working with diverse students.

· *Development of Structured Learning Assistance support in Basic Skills and gateway college credit courses*: providing out-of-class support for students in courses with historically high failure rates, thus increasing their success.

· *Development of an innovative peer mentoring program for at*-*risk students:*training of Peer Navigators to provide personal support and academic guidance, focusing on entering Latinos.

· *Creation of supportive spaces:*Faculty & Staff Engagement Center, where professionals can gather for professional development, share experiences, work on assessments of student learning and program effectiveness, etc., and Student Engagement Center, where students, especially Latinos, can access personal and academic support, exchange ideas, work collaboratively, form study groups, and have a centralized meeting space.

By the end of the grant period, Mesa expects to see the following changes: success in completing Basic Skills and ESOL requirements and enrolling in passing college-level English and math improving by at least five percentage points over baseline (improving student outcomes at lower costs through an accelerated curriculum); D/F/W rates in historically-difficult courses dropping by at least five percentage points over baseline; at least 250 students enrolling in Summer Success program; improved retention and completion rates, which will translate to additional enrollment-related revenues.

**P031S140156**

**San Jose City College, CA**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

San Jose City College (SJCC) is a California-state funded community (two-year) college located in Santa Clara County, California. SJCC serves a region that has very high incomes thanks to an influx of technology companies, but also has a Hispanic population where close to half of all adults over age 25 do not have a high school diploma. SJCC has over 12,000 students and a Hispanic population of over 30 percent. 

SJCC’s Title V project responds systemically to an increased need in recent years for support services to low-income and Hispanic students that will help them to be successful in college. This Title V grant project, *Caminos*will overcome weaknesses identified through a comprehensive analysis process and will put in place student-centered support services based on “high impact practices” and on our institutional experience creating academic opportunities for our highly diverse student population. 

*Caminos*has a single activity designed to help eliminate many problems identified at SJCC, including a need for additional support services that will assist students in being successful in college from entry through graduation or transfer. The results of these efforts are reflected in our four major objectives: 

· Objective 1: The completion rate (degree, certificate or transfer-related outcomes) for students in the Caminos Project will exceed the current rate of 34 percent for underprepared students to 50 percent in year 4 and 70 percent in year 5 in our effort to reach the current completion rate of 70.6  percent for college prepared students; 

· Objective 2: 79 percent of the students in the Caminos Project will persist (enroll in three consecutive semesters) and complete 15 units (current rate of 65 percent); 

· Objective 3: 70 percent of students in the Caminos Project will complete 30 units within two years of their initial enrollment; and, 

· Objective 4: 70 percent of students in the Caminos Project who complete more than 18 units of Career Technical Education Program within three years of their initial enrollment, compared to baseline of 54 percent.

**P031S140184**

**Santa Rosa Junior College, CA**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Santa Rosa Junior College (SRJC) is a publicly funded two-year Hispanic-Serving Institution located in Santa Rosa, California; 31 percent of its students identify as Hispanic. 

Many first-year SRJC students are underprepared and need a great deal of support to be successful academically. Many Hispanic students entering SRJC are often below college proficiency in reading, writing, and mathematics and therefore require special assistance to develop the skills they need to successfully complete their college-level courses and degree programs and/or transfer to four year institutions. 

In 2013, 21,203 students enrolled at SRJC each semester with a total annual unduplicated headcount of 26,833. 36 percent of SRJC students receive financial aid and almost 32 percent of SRJC families make less than $20,000 annually with 32 percent of families below the national poverty level. 

In an effort to increase academic opportunity and attainment for Hispanic and low-income students, SRJC proposes the Multi-cultural Education Transfer Acceleration or Meta4 Program. Meta4 will meet four specific goals. These goals are: 1) Increase access, retention, and degree or certificate completion for Hispanic and low-income students; 2) Increase the number of Hispanic English Learners students enrolling in, and successfully complete, transfer-level composition courses; 3) Provide Hispanic and low-income students access to new technology advising and planning tools will increase their academic success, retention and graduation rates; and 4) To improve the transition and continuing success of Hispanic and low-income students to the demands of college with an emphasis on improving student support and academic success. Achieving the goals of the proposed Meta4 Program will improve academic achievement, persistence, and career success for members of this vulnerable population. 

Meta4 directly addresses both Title V Competitive Preference Priorities. Meta4 Increases Postsecondary Success for Hispanic and low-income students by closing achievement gaps and increasing support through interventions including the Connections Degree Completion Program and Accelerated English Pathway as well as creation of the Multi-cultural Innovation Center for Academic Success and Achievement (Mi Casa) and integrating the Service-oriented, Higher Education Recommendation Personalized Assistant (SHERPA) system into SRJC. 

In addition, Meta4 Improves Productivity by utilizing institutional resources and making data-based decisions that will result in cost savings and time efficiency. SRJC has identified innovative technological resources that will facilitate promotion, recruitment, instruction, training, and staff communication. Improving productivity will be a high priority as Meta4 Program staff will continuously seek effective approaches that will serve Hispanic and low-income students.

**P031S140041**

**Southwestern College, CA**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Southwestern College (SWC) is a fully accredited Hispanic-Serving, public, two-year community college located in Chula Vista, California, specifically in the southernmost corner of the United States. The south border of our service area is the U.S./Mexico border. Historically, the majority of SWC students have been low income and under-prepared for college-level coursework. Low success rates in basic skills math and English/writing, reading, and ESL courses, which lead to transfer and degree programs, prevent students from attaining their educational goals and the college from attaining its strategic goal of retaining students to degree completion or transfer. In fall 2013 SWC served 19,658 students; 53 percent are Latinos (10,419). Given our location, many of the students served at the college live a bi-national life. 

To respond to the identified problems and improve the success of Latino and other low income students, SWC’s five year *Puertas al Futuro*proposal requests $2,547,158 in funding and showcases one activity that consists of two important components that seek to improve the college’s student success and completion rates: 

*Component One - Engaging Latino Students and First Year Experience*

· Proposes to develop and implement high school, parent and community outreach, mentoring, and targeted outreach to Latino and underrepresented males in order to support and sustain their utilization of the pipeline that provides access from high school into college (Competitive Priority Preference #1) 

· First Year Experience-proposes to serve a diverse population of developmental learners & improve the rate of persistence and overall completion rates through achieving education goals and incorporating support provided by the College Success Team and peer mentors. (Competitive Priority #1 and #2) 

*Component Two – Increasing Success, Persistence and Completion in Basic Skills and Developmental Programs*

· Improving success and shortening the time to completion for students beginning in basic skills and developmental level courses is the goal of this component. Utilizing a new approach to developmental Math as well as specialized tutoring for English/writing, ESL, math and reading are just some of the proposed approaches in this component (Competitive Priority #1 and 2). 

Key measures of success include:  a) increased progression and success rate in ESL, math and English/writing and reading basic skills courses; and b) increased student completion rates through FYE program and increased outreach to Latino males resulting in higher retention success rates. 

SWC will have on-going planning and evaluation process consistent with the management and evaluation plans detailed in the project. Annual external evaluations are included in the budget.

**P031S140208**

**Miami Dade College – Homestead Campus, FL**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

The Homestead Campus of Miami Dade College (MDC-HC) will implement *Strategic Improvements for Students in STEM (SIS-STEM).*The project is designed to improve student success in critical “gatekeeper” courses in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics—courses that many students fail to pass, significantly diminishing their chances of graduating. SIS-STEM will establish a technology-rich Integrated Learning Center to deliver mandatory tutoring, advisement, Student Success Workshops, and career-exploration presentations; provide professional development in integrated learning strategies and educational technology for all STEM faculty and advisors; and improve science laboratories at MDC-HC. 

Impacting all credit-seeking students at MDC-HC, the project will increase enrollment in STEM courses during the first year in college and increase pass rates and progression in STEM “gatekeeper” courses, promoting increased retention and graduation rates. Over the funding period, the project will serve a minimum of 1,200 students in STEM gatekeeper courses: impacting virtually all first-time-in-college students at MDC-HC. 

The project will achieve the following measurable objectives by September 30, 2019, compared to historical baseline data on STEM gatekeeper course enrollment, pass rates, and progression: (1) 20 percent increase in the number of students enrolling in and passing their first college mathematics class in their first term; (2) 30 percent increase in the number of students progressing to their second mathematics class; (3) 20 percent increase in the number of students passing their second mathematics class; (4) 20 percent increase in the number of students enrolling in and passing their first science course in their first year; (5) 30 percent increase in the number of students progressing to their second science class; and (6) 20 percent increase in the number of students passing their second science class. MDC-HC will conduct a rigorous project evaluation and will institutionalize proven effective project practices beyond the funding period.

**P031S140028**

**Miami Dade College – North Campus, FL**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

In 1960, Miami-Dade Community College opened its doors at the location now designated North Campus. Situated on a 245-acre site, the MDC North Campus is located in northern Miami-Dade County (just 12 miles northwest of downtown) and serves Miami’s most disadvantaged region. North Campus serves a student body that is 93 percent minority (49 percent Hispanic) and 65 percent low-income.  MDC-North also manages the Meek Entrepreneurial Education Center (MEEC) located in Liberty City in the City of Miami. The total full-time equivalent enrollment in 2013 was 11,432. 

Activity 1: Create an integrated system of three *Multidisciplinary Academic Learning Lounges*(MALLs) at the North Campus and MEEC that will serve as campus “sticky” spaces, enticing students to remain on campus and benefit from a range of curricular and co-curricular offerings. The MALLS will focus on four discipline-based themes: Science, Technology, Engineering & Math (STEM)/Liberal Arts; Entrepreneurship; and Performing and Visual Arts. The MALL system will integrate three evidence-based program strategies to improve persistence, retention and faculty-student engagement among Hispanic first-time-in-college, direct entry students: 

1. *Peer-Led Institute for Excellence in Engagement (PIE2):*A first-year experience “Passport” program will target students eligible for the MDC American Dream Scholarship (ADS) program. The ADS program averages approximately 500 students at the North Campus each year, since its inception in 2011. PIE2 will engage ADS students in a year-long first-year experience that expands upon the College’s formal orientation program and supports students in successfully implementing their Individual Education Plan (IEP), develops time management and study skills, and provides financial resources and planning aid. Campus senior advisors will collaborate with project staff to ensure coordination with students’ case management. 

2. *Co-Curricular Learning Academy (COLA):*A second-year program highlighting critical thinking and soft skills needed to enhance and strengthen students’ career readiness skills. The intense immersion program is modeled on programs available to students at some of the country’s elite institutions and focuses on core skills such as ethics, empathy, crisis management, strategic planning, ideation and design thinking, persuasive communication, collaboration, and negotiation. COLA will be offered through colloquia, symposia, and workshops. 

3. *Institute for Collaboration and Engagement (ICE):*A faculty professional development designed to expose faculty to new models and best practices in pedagogy and instructional delivery models (i.e., learning communities, paired classes, flipped classrooms, service learning). ICE will also serve as a source for best practices on strategies related to persistence, engagement and co-curricular learning models targeting Hispanic students. 

**P031S140007**

**Miami Dade College – Medical Campus, FL**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

*Miami Dade College Medical Campus (MDC-MC)*was built in 1977 and is one of seven autonomous campuses of Miami Dade College, located in Miami-Dade County. Renowned for its specialized medical programs in nursing and health sciences, the campus prepares over half of the county’s health care practitioners and is one of the top ten providers in the nation for degrees awarded in the health professions. Located in an impoverished, medically underserved enclave in downtown Miami, the campus is in the heart of the Miami health district. MDC-MC enrolled 9,200 credit and non-credit students in 2013; 60 percent were Hispanic and 56 percent low-income. 

Over the past two years, MDC-MC has undertaken a thorough internal examination of its institutional strength and weaknesses, as they impact upon retention and completion of Hispanic and low-income students. Based on the findings of this extensive institutional review, Medical Campus stakeholders produced the *Comprehensive Development Plan (CDP),*which contains a campus-specific *Action Plan*and *Plan to Improve Services for Hispanic and Low-income Students*based on the campus’s annual strategic priorities. 

*¡Communidad!*Communities of Interest (COI) in Health Care is based upon a single, yet significant activity that incorporates three-interrelated components: (1) early engagement and support; (2) curriculum development; and (3) career and transition guidance infused with evidence-based strategies. Through health care communities of interest the campus will align services, faculty, staff, and administrators with student’s career interests in an effort to promote academic success and college completion. *¡Communidad!*targets approximately 3,800 health care preselects (student not formally accepted into an associates of science program) and enrolled in-program students (who are accepted and taking courses towards degrees). 

Activity One: The project specific objectives that measure the effectiveness of *¡Communidad!*include: (1) increasing the percentage of students persisting term-to-term; (2) increasing the percentage of students earning benchmarked college credits; (3) increasing the percentage of students entering a program of study; (4) increasing percentage of students receiving credentials within five years; (5) decreasing the percentage of students earning excess credits; and (6) decreasing the average number of excess credits. 

The project embeds evidence-based strategies such as peer-led team learning, early engagement and support, and course contextualization to accomplish these objectives. Characteristics of this activity include evidence-based strategies such as: development of academic maps, early engagement and structured advisement, contextualization of gateway courses, peer-led team learning and virtual (cyber) peer-led team learning, internships, and community building activities such as service-learning, health-themed colloquia, events, and connections to Single Stop USA social support services enabling high-need students to access federal benefits.

**P031S140066**

**Palm Beach State College, FL**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Palm Beach State College (PBSC), founded in 1933 as the first public community college in Florida, is a comprehensive, equal access, multi-campus institution governed by a local board of trustees. PBSC, the seventh largest of the 28 colleges comprising the Florida College System, serves the southeastern region of Florida within the county of Palm Beach. The county, with a population of over 1.3 million people, contains 37 municipalities and spans over 2,386 square miles in an area that dwarfs the states of Rhode Island and Delaware combined. Serving more than 47,000 students annually, PBSC is the largest institution of higher education in the county, providing Bachelor Degrees, Associate of Arts degrees designed for baccalaureate transfer, Associate of Science degrees, professional certificates, career training and lifelong learning. Palm Beach State offers more than 150 programs of study at locations within Palm Beach County in the cities of Lake Worth, Boca Raton, Palm Beach Gardens and Belle Glade. PBSC is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and ranked by Community College Week as the 11th largest producer of associate degrees in the country. PBSC employs more than 2,400 full-time and part-time faculty and staff including 306 full-time faculty and 1,099 adjunct faculty. 

Pathways to Success Components**:**The project has four integrated components to improve retention and completion of Hispanic and low-income students:  1) integrating open source Student Success Plan software with PBSC’s Enterprise Resource Planning system to improve student advising, tracking and communication; 2) implement a comprehensive and intrusive case management advising system for 1,000 students per year; 3) pilot linked learning communities for underprepared first-time-in-college students; and 4) engage faculty in Professional Learning Groups (Communities of Practice) to improving teaching, learning and student success. 

This application addresses Competitive Preference Priorities #1 and #2. 

Key Outcomes:  1) Increase fall to fall retention for the case management cohort to 70 percent (a relative increase of 8.9 percent). 2) Increase the four-year completion rate of the case management cohort to 36 percent (a relative increase of 16.5 percent). 3) Increase the fall to fall retention of learning community cohorts to 75 percent (a relative increase of 16.6 percent). 4) Increase degrees/certificates awarded per $1 million of E&G expenditures (IPEDS) to 45 (a relative increase of 11.7 percent).

**P031S140138**

**Universidad del Turabo, South Florida Center, FL**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Universidad del Turabo - South Florida Center (Turabo-SFC or SFC), an accredited branch campus (Middle States Commission on Higher Education) and part of the Ana G. Mendez University System, is a private non-profit Hispanic Serving Institution located in the Miami metropolitan area and serving a tri-county area. Our service area has high poverty (29.5 percent, nearly double the U.S. rate), reflected by a median household income of only $29,762. With a particular focus on serving adults that would otherwise not have an opportunity to earn a degree, Turabo-SFC’s student population is 100 percent Hispanic, 80 percent working, average age of 38, and 67 percent have incomes below $30,000. 

Institutional Problems: Turabo-SFC has an opportunity to capitalize on the current and increasing demand for nurses and community health workers, particularly professionals with bilingual (English/Spanish) skills. SFC is well poised to prepare students to enter these promising healthcare fields for two key reasons: 1) our geographic location, where being a bilingual and biliterate professional is highly marketable; and 2) our proven success in generating graduates with competencies in their field of study in both English and Spanish. However, Turabo-SFC must overcome significant institutional challenges before it can provide more Hispanic students increased access to employment opportunities in high-demand healthcare professions. Our weaknesses and challenges revolve around two primary issues: a significant gap in academic programming and instructional facilities and resources that are not adequate to prepare students to succeed as 21st century healthcare professionals. 

Proposed Solutions: Turabo-SFC’s deficiencies will be strategically addressed through this Title V Activity, which proposes the following: 

· Develop a Bachelor of Science degree program in Community Health (CH); 

· Adapt the new CH curricula to a hybrid format to provide increased / convenient access; 

· Equip SFC’s existing nursing lab with state-of-the-art simulation technology equipment; 

· Revise existing nursing curricula to integrate instructional approaches for using advanced simulation equipment and review strategies to promote success in national Nursing exam; and

· Develop two media-rich science labs (biology and chemistry) with appropriate equipment and innovative educational resources to enable virtual biology and chemistry instruction, in support of the nursing program. 

These solutions are designed to meet our students’ needs as we help them succeed. In the process of designing this Activity, Turabo-SFC researched similar programs at top tier universities to identify creative or innovative approaches from which our students can benefit. As a result, this Title V project will build on identified successful instructional models as we develop the initiatives described above, enabling our University to create up-to-date, relevant, and engaging programs of study to benefit a large number of Hispanic students. 

**P031S140094**

**Universidad Politecnica de Puerto Rico – Orlando, FL**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Universidad Politecnica de Puerto Rico - Orlando (UPPR-O) is a private, nonprofit, four-year Hispanic-serving institution specializing in engineering programs. It is the Orlando Branch Campus of the Universidad Politecnica de Puerto Rico, which is in San Juan, Puerto Rico. UPPR-O serves predominantly older student population (average age of 34) within the Orlando metropolitan area. Ninety-seven percent of our students are Hispanic and 70 percent are Pell grant eligible. Poverty rates in our service area are high (18.4 percent, higher than both Florida and the U.S.) and median household incomes are low ($42,218, lower than both Florida and the United States). We have a strong focus on serving the needs of our target student population (working adults). As a result, UPPR-O currently provides only evening/weekend academic programs. 

Institutional Problems:****Located in the midst of Florida’s High Tech Corridor and in a city that has the largest research park in Florida and is the hub of the nation’s military simulation/training programs, UPPR-O has a vast opportunity to produce qualified professionals needed to fill a myriad of positions in the region. However, serious institutional problems prevent the University from properly educating/training its students in areas of engineering that are especially promising for its primarily Hispanic student population. The most pressing problems center around several key areas: gaps in programming and academic services, insufficient and inadequate instructional facilities, and limited faculty capacity for integrating 21st century instructional modalities. These shortcomings limit the institution’s ability to increase student access to new promising academic programs and to properly prepare our students to compete in the current engineering labor market. Furthermore, these problems prevent the institution from having programs that are accredited by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET), which engineering students seek. 

Proposed Solutions: In designing an appropriate and effective solution to institutional problems, UPPR-O researched existing, successful engineering programs in top-tier engineering institutions to identify successful and innovative approaches that will benefit our students. As a result of that research, we intend to build on a model used in the nation’s top engineering university to address institutional deficiencies, as we institute or develop the following: 

• A new Bachelor of Science degree program (Mechanical Engineering) to expand options for students in academic programs that are in-demand and offer strong earning potential; 

• Appropriately equipped instructional facilities (lab equipment to support proposed ME program and revised Civil, Electrical, and Computer Engineering programs); 

• An academic support system geared to meet student needs, including face-to-face and web-enhanced academic support elements; and

• A faculty development program to increase skills among faculty for infusing technology and interactive instructional methods, thereby creating engaging learning opportunities geared to meet the needs of 21st century learners. 

**P031S140171**

**Eastern New Mexico University – Ruidoso, NM**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Eastern New Mexico University-Ruidoso (ENMU-R), located in the Village of Ruidoso, is a public community college branch of Eastern New Mexico University (ENMU). Located in the Sierra Blanca Mountains, Ruidoso is a tourist destination, but for residents of our Lincoln County service area, (4,831 square miles), a host of challenges prevent access to postsecondary opportunities. With per capita income of $12,735 (NM $21,586; U.S. $26,178) Hispanic residents (population +23 percent since 2000) face particular hardship; Hispanic family poverty (31 percent), soars to 64 percent in some communities. Just eight percent of Hispanic adults hold baccalaureate degrees. Postsecondary access is critical to improving socioeconomic status. 

ENMU-R proposes *Climbing the Ladder: New Programs for First Responders,*to develop credentials uniquely suited to a region that was the site of 2012’s Little Bear Fire – the most destructive wildfire in New Mexico’s history. The College will develop three new programs using best practices and competency-based curricula – a Certificate/AAS in Wildland Fire Science, Certificate/AAS in Fire Science, and AAS in Emergency Medical Services. To promote access to high-demand programs for non-traditional learners (average student age is 30; 76 percent attend Part-time; 68 percent work), curricula will combine on-campus with online and hybrid (online content plus on-campus labs) instruction. Program access and completion will be supported through new online services (Advising/Career Advising, Registration, Admissions, Orientation, Financial Aid, Degree Audit). Five-year outcomes include a 15 percent increase in headcount enrollment. 

The proposed activity addresses Competitive Preference Priorities (CPP), increasing high-need students’ postsecondary success (#1) by promoting flexible instructional and service access, and improving productivity (#2) through technology to promote cost-efficient outcomes, including enrollment growth and credential completion. 

**P031S140180**

**New Mexico State University – Grants, NM**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

New Mexico State University-Grants is an open door; two-year college located in Grants, New Mexico and is part of the New Mexico State University (NMSU) system. Located in rural, central New Mexico, NMSU-Grants’ diverse service region population is 37 percent Hispanic and 41 percent Native American from four distinct tribal groups. Our chronically poor service region experiences a median family income of only $39,264, or just 63 percent of the median income of the United States of $63,105. Only 63.1 percent of our region’s Hispanic residents hold a high school diploma, and only 6.3 percent have earned a higher education degree, significantly less than both the state (25.7 percent) and national (28.6 percent) averages.

NMSU-Grants offers associate degrees for direct transfer into the NMSU system and certificates for direct employment in high-employment regional industries such as Automotive and Welding technologies. Enrollment demonstrates high percentages of students with at-risk characteristics. Student’s average ages are 25, most are low income (73 percent), and work (70 percent) while attending classes part-time (73 percent). 60 percent self-identify as first-generation college students. The region is characterized by long-term under-investment in elementary and secondary education and parents often are not able to support their children in math attainment resulting in only one out of every eight students entering NMSU-Grants math ready. The college is often the only higher education portal available to our region’s at-risk students.

Currently, NMSU students are experiencing very low course completion rates (complete with a grade C or better) in developmental education, critical college gateway and high-demand technology courses resulting in very low Associate degree and certificate completions, only 233 over a seven year period. This despite the fact that NMSU-Grants is experiencing increasing enrollments. Analysis of these low student success rates indicates developmental education, college gateway and technology courses do not address the real learning needs of our service population. Courses are faculty-centered and lecture based. Pedagogical innovations such as collaborative and culturally-responsive learning, technology-enriched instruction and relevance of course work to a student’s community that have been proven by research to be effective in increasing success of high-need, at-risk students are not part of the curriculum. Students struggle to understand course materials without the benefit of support outside the classroom such as tutoring, self-paced labs and small group study. Additionally, automotive and welding technologies that have provided strong direct employment are no longer current with national standards.

The proposed Activity, *Cambiando Nuestros Paisajes de Aprendizaje, Changing Our Learning Landscape,*will support a major paradigm shift to a campus-wide, student-centered, activity-based learning environment that:  1) creates a Faculty Learning Community for curricula innovation; 2) innovates course deliveries with selected strategies and instructional technologies demonstrated to increase the success of low-income, at-risk students; 3) transforms classrooms into collaborative learning spaces through learning pods that support linked classroom technologies; 4) develops state-of-the-art Simulator/Trainer Labs for Automotive and Welding technologies; and 5) develops collaboratively based Math and Writing Centers to provide additional out-of-class instructional contacts. This comprehensive approach to student success will fully support the Activity’s goal of increasing Associate Degree and certificate completions by at least 25 percentage points (*Competitive Preference Priority #1)*. Implementation strategies also demonstrate institutional strengthening through improving productivity (*Competitive Preference Priority #2).*

**P031S140055**

**University of New Mexico, NM**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

The University of New Mexico (UNM) proposes a single HSI Title V Program Activity: *Development of a STEM Collaboration Center to Maximize Efficiency and Improve STEM Achievement for Hispanic, Low-Income and High-Need Students.*UNM proposes to develop a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) Collaboration Center to implement strategies that: 1) Improve STEM degree attainment for Hispanic, low-income and/or high-need students by creating collaborative student support programs designed for first-and second-year students; and 2) Improve STEM institutional efficiency by creating a University-wide infrastructure designed to reduce duplication of services, monitor and achieve STEM goals, and develop shared collaboration and accountability tools.

The STEM Collaboration Center (STCC) will sponsor four strategies designed to improve STEM student achievement for Hispanic, low-income and high-need students: 1) a summer STEM experience for first- and second-year University students that includes undergraduate research, service learning, civic engagement, internships and career planning; 2) a STEM degree planning service that develops return pathways for STEM students who have left UNM prior to earning a degree, and acceleration strategies for students who are taking longer than anticipated to complete their STEM degree; 3) a STEM career planning and emerging-technologies student conference; and 4) a STEM Student Leadership Academy.

In addition, STCC will sponsor three strategies designed to increase collaboration among University departments and to improve efficiency: 1) a provost committee on STEM success; 2) online collaboration and accountability tools; and 3) an annual UNM STATE of STEM report. Together these strategies will result in improved STEM graduation rates, especially for students traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields. In addition, STCC will expand capacity for UNM faculty, staff and community to share their findings and best practices with others within the University as well as state and nationwide.

Upon full implementation of the program, more than 600 students will receive STCC services each year. For Hispanic, low-income and high-need STEM students, retention rates will increase by 15 percent and graduation rates will increase by 10 percent. These outcomes are critical within UNM’s context as in 2012 Hispanic students comprised 43 percent of undergraduates and 49 percent of incoming freshmen enrolled on UNM’s main campus while comprising only 28 percent of STEM graduates.

UNM is one of only four Carnegie Research University Very High institutions in the nation also designated a Hispanic-serving institution. It is the only state flagship university in the United States that is also a majority-minority undergraduate institution. UNM is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission with special emphasis to work with students from diverse backgrounds. In 2012 Hispanic students comprised 43 percent of 20,008 undergraduates (and 49 percent of incoming freshmen) enrolled on UNM’s main campus. UNM is positioned to enroll and graduate a large number of Hispanic students in STEM disciplines to supply the New Mexico workforce and to provide Hispanic candidates for graduate and professional schools nationwide.

**P031S140077**

**College of Mount Saint Vincent, NY**

**Individual Development Grand**

**ABSTRACT**

The College of Mount Saint Vincent (CMSV) proposes to improve retention and achieve greater academic success among all students, and particularly Hispanic students. Located in New York City, 45 percent of first-year students are Hispanic, half of whom come from NYC, with many more coming from adjacent Westchester County. 

Too many students are leaving during or after the first year. In addition, students are less satisfied with career services than peers at other institutions: a 2013 retention study found that while CMSV retains more students than the national average, the rate has been dropping. Of the 486 first-year students entering in fall 2012, one-third were lost by fall 2013. CMSV lost one-third of the entering class of the fall 2012 cohort. 

CMSV students enter with a range of academic preparedness and college-readiness skills, and academic performance varies. Students who do not successfully complete a baseline number of credits each semester are at risk of losing financial aid, and therefore at risk of attrition. Among all students who entered in fall 2011, 65 percent were in good academic standing at the end of the first year and 57 percent and the end of the second year; for Hispanic students, 60 percent were in good standing at the end of the first year and 55 percent at the end of the second. 

Students at CMSV find programming on careers and internship opportunities to be below their expectations. Faculty and staff at the College find student career expectations or aspirations to be unfocused or unrealistic. 

Project objectives include:  1) increase the percentage of first-year students who end the year in good academic standing from 61 percent to 66 percent; 2) increase the percentage of first-year Hispanic students who end the year in good academic standing from 58 percent to 63 percent; 3) increase the fall-to-fall retention rate for first-year students from 69 percent to 79 percent; 4) increase the fall-to-fall retention rate for first-year Hispanic students from 67 percent to 77 percent; 5) increase retention of first-year cohort students to the fourth semester from 61percent to 69 percent ; and 6) increase retention of first-year cohort Hispanic students to the fourth semester from 54 percent to 62 percent. 

Since the proportion of Hispanic students among incoming students at CMSV is so high, all of the activities have been designed to meet the needs of first-generation students and low-income Hispanic students. The models being adopted by the college have been shown to be effective with Hispanic and other low-income and first-generation students. 

The overall innovative concept of the activity is that the College must address both a student’s *capacity*to achieve college-level work and the *underlying rationale*for attending college. The *capacity*will be addressed through supportive services that begin for the highest risk students before their first semester and continue for three semesters. The *underlying rationale*will be addressed through early and frequent integration of career services into the curriculum. 

The activity comprises three major components: 1) a summer program for high need first-year students; 2) expansion of academic support services; and 3) integration of career development programming into the college’s dual-advising system.  CMSV is applying for all competitive priority points. The entire proposal relates to improving postsecondary success. Productivity will be increased through greater efficiency and more students are retained through the use of online tutorial systems.

**P031S140044**

**Hostas Community College, NY**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Founded in 1968, and located in a three square block, urban campus, in the South Bronx, New York (NY), Hostos Community College is a 7,000+-student, two-year, 60 percent Hispanic enrollment, public institution. Hostos offers 29 AA/AS degree programs and five certificate programs, enables students to transfer to the City University of New York’s (CUNY) four-year colleges or other baccalaureate institutions, and provides Adult Continuing Education and Workforce Development to 12,000 enrollees. 

Through the Title V grant, Hostos seeks to accelerate and improve the academic success and increase the persistence, retention and transfer of Hispanic and other low-income students enrolled in developmental mathematics, developmental English, and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses through supplemental instruction, self-paced computer-assisted modules, course redesign, first-year freshmen seminar, capstone courses, and research. 

Goals:

· Goal 1: Increase two-year academic degree and vocational degree/certificate completion rate. 

· Goal 2: Increase students’ successful transfer to four-year colleges after two years. 

· Goal 3: Accelerate students’ progress through and completion of all Developmental Education courses/activities. 

· Goal 4: Improve the College’s academic productivity: enable faculty to conduct research, publish in peer-reviewed journals, infuse their courses with research content, practicum, and clinical opportunities, and secure competitive grant funding. 

· Goal 5: Improve Hostos’ Management productivity by fostering coordination and communication among institutional divisions and units. 

· Goal 6: As enrollment increases, ensure stabilization of Hostos’ financial status. 

· Goal 7: Improve Hostos’ fiscal stability by bolstering advancement, grantsmanship, and student retention. 

Key Objectives: 

1. Hostos will improve its two-year AA/AS graduation rate by two percent per year. 

2. Hostos will improve its College Transfer Rate by two percent per year. 

3. Students will complete their Developmental/ Remedial Education (DE) sequence in less time. 

4. Each year 10 faculty will undertake professional development that yields more effective courses—measured by 25 percent increase in students’ course grades. 

5. Each year 10 faculty will attend discipline-specific professional meetings and participate in academic research. There will be a 20 percent rise in number of students who participate in research with faculty and thereby improve their course grades and completion rates. 

The project will address the low persistence and retention rates of Hispanic and other low-income students in developmental mathematics, developmental English, and ESL. The overarching goal of the project is to increase Hostos College’s institutional capacity to improve the academic success and persistence of Hispanic and other low-income students.

**P031S140121**

**Humacao Community College, PR**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Established in 1978, having celebrated its 35th Anniversary in October 2013, Humacao Community College in Puerto Rico specializes in programs of study tied to real occupational opportunities for a population predominately and severely low-income (average per capita income = $10,834 with one in four individuals living in poverty). The College enrolled 763 students (100 percent Hispanic) during Fall 2013, offering certificate, associate and baccalaureate degree programs. Students are 66 percent female (82 percent single parents), 96 percent low-income and 71 percent first generation college. Most come from low-performing secondary schools and do not qualify for admission to the University of Puerto Rico government-funded system. Thus, they have limited access to high-demand, quality baccalaureate degree programs.

*Title V Activity Focus: Opening Doors to Life Science and Healthcare Baccalaureate Degrees.*

Two baccalaureate degree pathways - biotechnology and nursing – were identified through a SWOT analysis as having the most promise for disadvantaged students. More than developing new curricula and instructional resources, the proposed Activity will be forward-looking by designing learning and learning environments as experiential and technology-rich. A renovated two-story building will house a *Biotechnology Center*and a *Hospital Simulation Center*recognized by the National League of Nursing as a best practice for confidence- and competency-building). A strong *Undergraduate Research Component*will be designed for both programs at the upper division level. Finally, support for increasing *English Language Skills*for nursing and biotechnology majors, to better compete in a global economy, will be integrated into the curricula. Area *Healthcare and Biotechnology Industry Partnerships*will be nurtured, with Advisory Team representation. In the long-term, the hospital simulation and biotechnology center will lay the foundation for future development of other life science and healthcare degree programs. Furthermore, the hospital simulation center will support professional development for healthcare workers in the southeast region of the Island.

Competitive Preference Priorities: 

1. *Increasing Postsecondary Success -*A Nursing School

Hospital Simulation Center and a Biotechnology Center will be designed to support experiential learning and competency-building skills. The curriculum development includes an English language skills building component relevant to the discipline. Students will have access to Smart classrooms, Learn Labs, Virtualized Desktops and High-Fidelity Simulations.

2. *Improving Productivity –*Simulation Technologies*:*In Puerto Rico a portion of clinicals may take place in a simulation center. This reduces the investment in time to schedule clinicals at a hospital for students. *Virtual Faculty Training*: The National League of Nursing Simulation Resource Center offers a series of simulation training web modules. Training travel and trainer fees are not necessary, saving time and money. *Hybrid Course Design*: Seven nursing courses will be designed as hybrid with less seat time, delivering some of the instruction via web-based Learning Management Systems and Lecture Capture.

**P031S140038**

**Universidad Politecnica de Puerto Rico, PR**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Universidad Politécnica de Puerto Rico, (UPPR) proposes to carry out an innovative Title V project that will significantly improve career options and academic success for students while invigorating the institution’s  engineering curricula and developing a more stable enrollment and revenue base. The project reflects UPPR’s commitment to equip students with an education that meets current career opportunities; and to support success for Hispanic and low-income students. 

UPPR is a private, non-profit university located in the commercial center of metropolitan Juan, in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory. UPPR enrolls approximately 4,000 undergraduate students in each of three academic terms each year. More than 98 percent of students are Hispanic, and nearly 80 percent of first-time, full-time students qualify for, and receive, Title IV federal financial aid. The university offers baccalaureate degrees in engineering, technology and business. Eight programs in engineering and geomatic science are specially accredited by ABET, the accrediting authority for programs in engineering and technology. UPPR is regularly among the top U.S. institutions in the number of engineering degrees awarded to Hispanic students. 

UPPR currently faces challenges, but there are also significant opportunities by which the university can address its challenges, given resources for development of programs and services to meet student needs. Since the beginning of a prolonged economic recession in 2008, UPPR’s enrollment has declined steadily. The institution has lost at least 20 percent of its enrollment, in part because of financial distress that precluded updating of academic programs. In addition, UPPR serves a large population of at-risk students, many of whom are working adults. Many are also English-language learners, and many come to UPPR underprepared in the basic academic skills for engineering, including mathematics. In discussions with its partners, UPPR has identified promising directions for expansion of curricula and services to prepare students for success. 

UPPR proposes to improve its academic programs and institutional management, as well as achieve significantly improved fiscal stability, through three complementary initiatives: 

(1) *Developing new curricula to meet emerging employment opportunities*. In response to these opportunities, UPPR will develop a B.S. degree program in biomedical engineering with a pre-medical option, to train engineers for work in a growing medical device industry and provide a pathway for students interested in attending medical school. UPPR will also update engineering programs to qualify graduates for work in an emergent industry in aerospace design and testing. 

(2) *Developing technical and human capacity to ensure that new curricula reflect current content, practice, and pedagogy*. This involves providing training to faculty members who will develop and/or teach portions of the new curricula; renovating laboratories to accommodate new programs; and purchasing, installing, and testing equipment needed in the new content areas. 

(3) *Developing academic support services to help students succeed in course completion, persistence, and graduation*. UPPR will develop specialized in-person and online STEM tutoring and make use of learning communities to increase first-year retention of engineering majors. The project will create a summer bridge program to increase math success among entering students. 

The project includes responses for both competitive priorities, *Increasing Postsecondary Success*and *Improving Productivity*. The first response builds on Initiative 3 above. The second involves use of open educational resources (OER), use of simulation devices, and introduction of other economies to conserve time and resources and provide an efficient path to graduation.

**P031S140142**

**University of Puerto Rico at Humacao, PR**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

The University of Puerto Rico-Humacao (UPRH) is part of the public University system of Puerto Rico, located in southeast Puerto Rico in an economically depressed region. In Fall 2013, the enrollment was 3,495 undergraduates, at least 87 percent underrepresented Puerto Ricans, 80 percent on Pell grants, 50 percent first generation. UPRH provides unique programs for the UPR system, with a strong evaluation component at the programmatic and institutional levels.

The campus experiences extremely limited resources due to decreasing government revenues. In spite of this limitation, the campus provides quality education in the natural and health sciences. UPRH ranks sixth nationally as the bachelor’s source institution for Hispanic PhDs in science. Graduates from its Nursing, Physical Therapy Assistant, Occupational Therapy Assistant programs are quickly employed in Puerto Rico and the US.

These gains occur because faculty have been very resourceful in providing students with hands-on learning experiences in spite of urgent needs for laboratory equipment and better labs. We propose to correct the deficiencies in laboratory resources for the Nursing, Physical Therapy, and Occupational Therapy departments. Equipment for these departments has not been replaced in over 20 years and is worn out or obsolete, and many key items were lost in a recent flood. Innovation for UPRH health science instruction will include simulation and skills centers for these three programs that will use technology to increase student learning through computerized demonstration, review, simulation, and feedback for improving performance on required skills.

We will also renovate four essential laboratories in the Department of Biology that were placed in space originally designed for classrooms, and that are in urgent need of redesign for improved safety, accessibility, and instruction. Through providing required basic courses, the Biology laboratories serve all students in the natural and health sciences at UPRH. The renovation will be innovative in that these will be among the first academic labs in Puerto Rico that comply with LEED standards for energy efficiency and sustainability. Moreover, the spatial redesign will improve interaction between students and the professor. Institutionalization for all UPRH laboratory resources will be safeguarded through inventory and student sign-out policies, contracts for equipment maintenance, and increased external funding.

Through these activities, we will help meet UPRH goals for:  1) enhancing student success; 2) contributing to socioeconomic development in the service area through quality education programs; and 3) enhancing the campus as a secure and respectful environment through improved physical infrastructure and financial resources for improving UPRH productivity.

The expected outcomes for the Health Sciences include improving student acquisition of competencies required for maintaining or obtaining program accreditation, improving pass rates of practice and licensing exams, and reduced time to graduation. The outcomes for the biology lab renovation includes more efficient and effective instruction through increasing laboratory capacity, and new and improved laboratory experiences, thereby reducing waiting lists for courses, improving student performance, and reducing time to graduation.

**P031S140068**

**Houston Baptist University, TX**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

What does it take to improve academic success for Hispanic, low-income, and First Generation College students? Houston Baptist University (HBU) is answering that question through the planning and implementation of *HBUengage: Building a Comprehensive First Year Experience.*Located in Houston, Texas, HBU is a four-year, private institution that is recognized as a leader in delivering high-quality educational programs to more than 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students, many of whom are minority students (68 percent). Though the institution has achieved success in helping most students persist to graduation, there has been a steady decline in retention due in part to the increasing numbers of incoming Hispanic, low-income, and first generation college students. After careful analysis, HBU determined the need to build a holistic system of services to support first-year students and increase retention.  

In collaboration with Credo Higher Education, HBU embarked on an in-depth assessment and analysis of student academic performance, persistence, and interventions currently in place. The result was a comprehensive framework of recommendations that will allow HBU to “Move the Needle” (MTN) on increasing student success and retention. The MTN recommendations along with the Ten Pillars HBU vision document serve as the foundation to the *HBUengage*Title V project plan. 

The strategies to be implemented are evidence based and designed to increase student success and retention. The primary strategies planned include the following:

· Create a leadership structure focused on student success 

· Improve first-year academic advising and engagement through First Year Mentors/Advisors and training for academic advisors 

· Integrate technology throughout the first year and across campus 

· Create active learning spaces that facilitate out-of-class academic activities and that foster connections to faculty and other students 

· Expand academic support services through Supplemental Instruction, tutoring, improved learning communities, access to OER, and summer/pre-Spring bridge programs 

· Redesign orientation to incorporate student engagement activities that carry forward through the full first year 

· Increase capacity in institutional research to support data-driven decision making 

· Deliver faculty development in the areas of pedagogy, teaching Hispanic and low-income students, cultural diversity awareness, and integrating technology 

The anticipated outcomes of the project include increased retention for all first-year and Hispanic students; increased passing rates (with “C” or better) in high DFW courses; increased financial literacy among Hispanic students; increased participation in First Year Experience (FYE) activities; increased integration of best practices in instruction through faculty development; demonstrated student satisfaction with FYE activities; and increased enrollment as a result, in part, of improved first year activities and services. The overarching outcome is increased capacity of HBU to help first-year students, including Hispanic and low-income students, to persist and complete college. 

**P031S140067**

**South Texas College, TX**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

South Texas College (STC) a traditional Hispanic Serving Institution serving over 31,000 students in Hidalgo and Starr counties along the U.S.-Mexico border has a student body that is 94 percent Hispanic with more than 70 percent qualifying for some level of financial aid and first in their family to attend college. STC is comprised of five campuses and one virtual campus, offering 112 degree and certificate options, 20 on-line Associate degrees, and four Bachelor degrees. STC strives to prepare its students with an education aligned with the evolving workforce markets and with further higher education degree pathways. 

STC proposes a district-wide program to increase student success and institutional productivity. *STC in FOCUS*will place the Focus on Creating Ultimate Student Success through a: (1) FOCUS on Learning. Faculty will receive professional development in Active Learning pedagogy to heighten student learning; and, Active Learning Classrooms (ALC) will be added to facilitate student engagement in learning through collaborative team work. (2) FOCUS on Advising will redesign the Faculty Advising (FA) Training program and develop a system to expand the FA reach because proper advising is key to student success. This model builds on the Faculty-Student relationship to strengthen the students’ commitment to their pathway while increasing productivity by expanding use of strong, existing talent at a significantly lower cost (approximately $185,600/year). (3) FOCUS on Infrastructure STC’s IT structure is being used beyond capacity. In order to support the projects’ proposed as well as daily functioning of the College, the infrastructure must be enhanced. This is a productivity project. The investment will be almost paid for by the end of the project and continued cost savings will support the infrastructure. The student benefit increases exponentially access to courses across campuses, provision of on-line students support services, and connection to STC faculty and staff.

**P031S140074**

**St. Mary’s University Texas, TX**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

St. Mary’s University (StMU) is a private, four-year institution located in San Antonio, Texas, about 150 miles from the Mexico border. Offering graduate and undergraduate programs, StMU’s total Fall 2013 enrollment was 3,868. StMU embraces diversity—78 percent minority and 72 percent Hispanic undergraduate population—and serves a local area, Bexar County, marked by disadvantage for a predominantly Hispanic population (59.1 percent), 22 percent of whom live in poverty. 

Despite static enrollment, the University has experienced significant enrollment gains in undergraduate STEM programs since 2010, especially among Hispanic students (up from 150 in 2010 to 208 in 2012). At the same time, San Antonio has embarked on a mission to build STEM industry in the city. Historically a liberal arts institution, StMU is primed to strengthen and expand its STEM pipeline in order to connect students with growing professional opportunities while building enrollment, but to do so, StMU will have to address several institutional challenges: low STEM retention and graduation rates, high failure rates in STEM courses, outdated STEM lab facilities and instrumentation, programming gaps in high demand STEM areas, and insufficient support services for STEM students. 

StMU’s proposed activity, *Fostering Success in STEM Education,*has three initiatives: 1) redesign high risk foundational and STEM gateway curricula and tutoring, renovating and adding updated instrumentation to core science labs; 2) develop a Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering program, with new industry-standard labs; and 3) develop intrusive advising, academic skills workshops, and a summer bridge program for STEM students. By the end of the project, StMU anticipates increasing the postsecondary success of our high-need students (*competitive preference priority #1*) and improving the University’s productivity (*competitive preference priority #2*). 

**P031S140120**

**Sul Ross State University, TX**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Sul Ross State University (Sul Ross), a Hispanic-serving institution in Alpine, Texas, stands at the gateway to Texas’ Big Bend Country, a multifaceted region encompassing vast expanses of the great Chihuahuan Desert, the rocky pinnacles of Big Bend National Park and the Davis Mountains, and a number of historic sites that vividly depict the region’s diverse Indian, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo backgrounds. Yet for the people who live here, this is a land of hardship as well—frontier, geographically-isolated, sparsely populated, ethnically-diverse, impoverished, and undereducated. 

The residents of the Sul Ross service region face not only geographic isolation, but also economic and social barriers that impede the attainment of many educational and career ambitions. The 2010 U.S. Census data illustrates that the service region counties have a population which is largely minority, is overwhelmingly low-income, and has a baccalaureate degree attainment level that is significantly lower than state and national averages. The demographic breakdown for the 19 county Sul Ross service region reveals overwhelming social and economic gaps. 74.9 percent of the target population is Hispanic and overall 77.5 percent of the residents are ethnic minorities. Census data shows that 67.7 percent of the residents speak a language other than English in the home (U.S.: 20.1 percent; Texas: 34.2 percent). 25.8 percent of the residents in the service region live below the poverty line, which is nearly double the U.S. figure of 13.8 percent. The demographics of the Sul Ross student body reflect this 19 county service region. 

**Project Description**

In response to student needs and to the gaps and weaknesses in Sul Ross services and infrastructure, Sul Ross has established clear, specific activities with realistic and measurable objectives that relate to the institutional problems and goals defined in the Sul Ross Title V El Camino del Lobo al Éxito Comprehensive Developmental Plan (CDP). The overarching outcome to be achieved by this project is to improve the academic attainment of Hispanic students and to expand and enhance the program quality and Sul Ross’s institutional stability in its mission to help Hispanic and low-income students complete postsecondary degrees. Specific goals for Sul Ross’s Title V El Camino del Lobo al Éxito Program are:  Goal 1: increase undergraduate retention rates; Goal 2:  increase undergraduate six year graduation rates*;*and Goal 3:  increase Sul Ross State University’s fiscal stability. 

To achieve these three goals the project will complete two activities: 1) Develop a comprehensive educational career program; and 2) Develop a comprehensive student success environment. Through the successful implementation of these strategic activities Sul Ross will significantly increase its undergraduate retention and graduation rates and, with its renewed fiscal stability, will be able to enhance the affordable, quality education it offers to the underserved populations in southwest Texas. 

**P031S140110**

**The University of Texas at El Paso, TX**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

Situated along the U.S.-Mexico border, The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) enrolls primarily from its surrounding community, allowing us the privilege to serve a predominately first-generation, Hispanic and low socio-economic student population. Our students are intelligent, motivated, and ready to learn; therefore, we understand that if we provide them with well-scaffolded, structurally sound support, they can move from the idea of a college education and career, to an earned degree and professional ventures that match their aspirations. 

Working from this fundamental standpoint, UTEP has made strides in increasing our six-year graduation rates from 31.5 percent in FY 2009 to 39.5 percent in FY 2013, but there remain great student success opportunities to realize, particularly with students who are at high risk in terms of academic progress. In response to these challenges, this proposal targets students who graduated in the third quartile of their high school classes. Specifically, this program will focus on increasing academic performance, decreasing stop outs, and propelling this cohort of students to graduation.

These goals will be realized by three activities: (1) creation of a joint Academic Affairs and Student Affairs partnership unit to lead the development of cluster areas of academic support and response teams to identify and engage at-risk students early in enrollment; (2) enhancement of current interventions in large lecture courses to help students connect with their instructors, peers, and the cluster leads/response teams; and (3) investment in the design and deployment of integrative technologies to facilitate communication among students, support team members, and cluster leaders, and to serve as a data collection infrastructure for tracking students. From these activities, we expect to optimize our students’ chances at success by reducing withdrawals and failing grades in large lecture courses, decreasing stop outs, and building a fully networked student support and Early Alert system.

**P031S140132**

**The University of Texas at San Antonio, TX**

**Individual Development Grant**

**ABSTRACT**

The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) is a Hispanic- and minority-serving institution that prides itself on its success in graduating high numbers of Hispanics and high-need students. UTSA is committed to work with community colleges and high schools in its service area to ensure that the pool of Hispanic and high-need students is college ready. The purpose of this grant is to ensure that Hispanic and other high-need students are provided enriched educational experiences to enable their continued success in obtaining a university degree. We have been encouraged by the University’s administration to develop this application in an effort to supplement activities that the University already has underway to increase the participation of more Hispanic students. This project supports the University’s efforts by primarily focusing on increasing the pool of Hispanics and other high-need students who are college ready, to researching and addressing ways of retaining and graduating more of the freshmen Hispanic students at the college, and developing a culturally responsive support system to ensure these students who have traditionally been underserved have the opportunity to enroll and graduate from UTSA.

UTSA proposes goals designed to strengthen the pipeline from high school through community colleges leading to higher enrollment and retention of Hispanic students at UTSA with a vision of lifelong learning for students. A task force involved in this grant has closely connected the proposed project with the UTSA 2016 strategic plan and the Graduation Rate Improvement Plan (GRIP) to guide and ensure that this application creates synergy between ongoing efforts and established project goals. 

These project goals are related to the following: UTSA institutional goals in the 2016 strategic plan: Goal A: Enriching Educational Experiences to Enable Students Success; Goal C: Promote access and affordability; Goal D: Serve the public through community engagement. 

Project goals are: Project Goal 1:  increase the number of Hispanic and high need students enrolling at UTSA by 20 percent; Project Goal 2:  increase the number of Hispanic and high need students graduating by 25 percent from 12 percent baseline retention rate data; Project Goal 3:  increase the number of Hispanic and high need students majoring in critical teaching shortage areas; Project Goal 4: support 75 percent of participating project students in finding employment or enrolling in graduate school within six months after graduation (before student loan repayment begins); and Project Goal 5:  evaluate and study best practices in increasing Hispanic and high- need student’s college completion rates, teacher preparation in the critical teaching shortage areas, and disseminate that information.

(10/14/2014)

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