Hartnell College learned on Sept. 3 that it will receive a five-year, $3 million grant
from the U.S. Department of Education to support the academic and career success of
Hispanic/Latinx and low-income students.
The funds were awarded through the department’s Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions (DHSI) Title V program, which provides competitive grant funding to institutions of higher education to strengthen programs, facilities and services and expand opportunities for Hispanic Americans and other underrepresented populations.
As a long-standing designated Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), Hartnell has significantly benefited from this program by receiving numerous past awards.
This latest successful proposal, with the Spanish name “Ganas” (“You Win”), seeks to increase the number and proportion of Hispanic/Latinx and low-income students who graduate from college and pursue careers in high-demand fields. About 70 percent of Hartnell students identify as Hispanic/Latinx.
The Ganas project will guide students toward success within career-oriented groupings of academic programs known as meta-majors and partner with four-year institutions to help students navigate the journey from high school into sustainable employment. The grant also will fund training to help students make financial decisions that improve their long-term security.
The project’s primary goals, as outlined in the grant proposal, are:
- Student success: Increase retention rates, graduation rates and degree attainment by removing obstacles, supporting students in gateway courses, improving technology and infrastructure and providing advising and intervention strategies that support success.
- Career and transfer: Expand career-aligned Pathways through the development of meta-majors and collaboration with four-year institutions to support Hispanic and low-income students along the full continuum from high school to career placement.
- Job placement: Develop a system building upon career-aligned pathways to provide greater access to high-demand jobs and help students transition from postsecondary education into careers that support sustainable living and feed regional economic growth.
Those objectives closely align with the college’s new Strategic Plan for 2019-2024. The five-year plan seeks to increase the number of students who successfully and efficiently complete a degree or certificate and then either transfer to a four-year university or immediately enter a well-paying career.
“This new federal grant will directly serve our mission of providing students access to a truly transformational education,” said Aurelio Salazar Jr., president of the Hartnell Community College District Governing Board. “The combination of classroom instruction and workplace experience is invaluable, and we want as many students as possible to have that opportunity.
“When they graduate, they will be better prepared, more competitive in the job market and more able to contribute to their communities and the local and state economy.”