Increasing Latino College Success

Cal State Fullerton has been selected to serve as a mentor institution in a two-year project focusing on the retention and graduation of Latino students.

The university has been awarded $50,000 in first-year funding for the project — with the expected grant award totaling $100,000 — from the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities.

The Walmart Foundation provided grant monies to HACU and two other higher education organizations for a student success collaborative involving 18 colleges and universities. Cal State Fullerton is the only four-year public Hispanic-Serving Institution chosen by HACU to serve as a mentor campus.

“The university was chosen to participate because we have made it a priority to serve the Latino community and have relatively good retention and graduation rates among our Latino student body, as compared to many other campuses across the country,” said Kandy Mink Salas, associate vice president for student affairs.

Caption: Kandy Mink Salas, associate vice president for student affairs. Download Photo

“We’ve worked hard to reach out to our surrounding Latino community to make sure as many families as possible are aware of higher education opportunities,” Mink Salas added. “We also have a welcoming campus environment with students from a broad range of cultural backgrounds.”

Mink Salas and Alexandro J. Gradilla, chair and associate professor of Chicana and Chicano studies, will work on the project to mentor New Mexico Highlands University, located in Las Vegas, N.M., a four-year public institution.

“Cal State Fullerton will benefit in this project by enhancing our best practices and sharing this information with all of the campuses involved,” Mink Salas said. “It’s also an opportunity to examine and improve our programs and services, and to help us create new programs and assess the work we're doing in serving our Latino community.”

The other institutions participating in the project are St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas, a four-year private institution, and Community College of Denver. The two other mentee campuses are San Bernardino Valley College and Universidad del Sagrado Corazon in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

The American Indian Higher Education Consortium, representing tribal colleges and universities, and the National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education, representing Historically Black Colleges and Universities, also are collaborating with HACU on the project and have selected schools from its member institutions to participate, Mink Salas said.

A website will be developed to share information and results will be presented at a national conference to disseminate lessons learned and best practices. A final report also will be released.

Oct. 13, 2011