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America’s Economic Future Increasingly Depends on Graduating More Latinos from College
INDIANAPOLIS – Latinos are the fastest-growing student population in America and a new effort is now focused on leveraging the critical connection between their educational attainment and the future of our national economy. The Lumina Foundation launches a collaborative partnership designed to strengthen ventures in key metropolitan areas that show promise in improving the postsecondary attainment of Latino students.
Under the project, Lumina will provide a total of $7.2 million over a four-year period to 12 partnerships in 10 states with significant and growing Latino populations. The partnerships will leverage community leaders across key policy, education, business and nonprofit sectors to build, implement and sustain successful “place-based efforts” that capitalize on their local talents and ingenuity.
One of the participating organizations is Southwest Texas Junior College (SWTJC) will partner with regional, state and national organizations to develop a four-stage pathway program (Introduction to College, Progression to Degree Attainment, Transfer and Graduation, and Career Success) to improve the graduation and transfer rate of Latino students in southwestern Texas. Strategies of its Increasing Latino Student Success (ILSS) project include: 1) intrusive student advising upon enrollment with specific, individual guidance in the creation of a degree plan; 2) increased focus on Core Completer Certificates that indicate a student has completed all core requirements for their field of study; 3) revisions to articulation agreements with partnering institutions; and 4) expansion of support services geared toward degree attainment and career readiness. The organizations that will engage in collective impact through action to increase Latino Student Success are: Sul Ross University, Intercultural Development Research Association (IDRA), Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), The University of Texas at Austin and The Workforce Solutions Middle Rio Grande.
The projected outcomes are to provide affordable, accessible educational opportunities and to create a culture of success resulting in a 15 percent increase in graduation and transfer rates throughout the course of the grant period.
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