Award supports national initiative to help minority group achieve success
Monroe Community College will receive a $50,000 grant to expand its program aimed at improving the enrollment and retention rates of male Latino students. MCC was one of only 20 colleges and universities from across the nation chosen to receive the award from Excelencia in Education, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to accelerate Latino student success in higher education.
The SEMILLAS (Seeding Educational Models that Impact and Leverage Latino Academic Success) grants, supported by the Wal-Mart Foundation, are part of Excelencia in Education’s “Growing What Works” national initiative. The initiative aims to accelerate Latino student success by refining and replicating model educational programs that are proven to advance Latino achievement in two-year and four-year colleges. The long-term goal of the project is to increase the use of these effective programs for the country’s fast-growing Latino college-age population.
The grant will bolster MCC’s efforts to recruit male Latino students and strengthen their academic, vocational and technical skills. Since 2008 through its Doorway to Success initiative, MCC has been providing a broad range of support, services and programs to Latino males to increase their retention and academic success.
“Our mission is deeply rooted in providing access to high-quality education to a diverse community,” said MCC President Anne M. Kress. “As the MCC student population changes, we need to enhance our services to ensure that every student thrives at MCC. Thanks to Excelencia in Education and the Wal-Mart Foundation, we can expand our efforts to recruit Latino students, increase their retention, and continue to help this growing segment of our student population excel.”
Colleges and universities received grants for work in one of four areas: 1) Helping first-generation, low-income Latino students gain college entrance, 2) Improving retention rates for students enrolled in college, 3) Helping Latino students transfer from two-year to four-year colleges, and 4) Increasing college graduation rates for Latinos.
Latino young adults are less likely to have earned an associate degree or higher than other young adults, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2008, 8 percent of Latinos ages 18 to 24 had earned a degree, compared with 14 percent of all young adults. Latino adults, ages 25 and older, were also less likely to have earned an associate degree or higher than other adults, with 19 percent of Latinos earning a degree, compared with 29 percent of blacks, 39 percent of whites, and 59 percent of Asians. Meanwhile, census data project that Latinos will be 22 percent of the nation’s college-age population by 2020.
“Today’s undergraduate population looks very different than it did a generation ago,” said Sarita Brown, president of Excelencia in Education. “All of the institutions selected to receive these grants understand this reality and have actively worked to create a climate on their campuses where Latino students are welcomed as an asset, regardless of their needs. This kind of supportive environment is critical to promoting Latino student success.”
A complete list of SEMILLAS grant recipients can be found at http://edexcelencia.org/programs/what_works/.
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