Unemployment rates generally decline with higher levels of education. In 2006, the unemployment rate for Hispanic college graduates was 2% while the rate for Hispanics with less than a high school diploma was 6%.
Retention
Retention
The Scholars Academy
Institution:
University of Houston-Downtown
Academic Level:
Baccalaureate
Issue Area:
Academic Program
Issue Area:
Retention
Year:
2011
Designation:
Examples of Excelencia
Designation:
Finalist
Key Personnel:
Parker, Mary Jo
Address:
University of Houston-Downtown
Address 2:
One Main Street, N725
City:
Houston
State:
TX
Zip:
77002-1001 Website:
The Scholars Academy (SA) is an academically competitive scholarship and mentoring program housed in the University of Houston-Downtown College of Sciences & Technology supporting exceptional minority and female, first time in college (FTIC), first generation, and transfer students pursuing baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). By providing tuition support scholarships and year-round mentoring with both peer mentors and STEM PhD faculty mentors, a scholar's community forms the foundation for success in this program. The Scholar Academy's inception was the result of an initial Army Research Office grant in 1999 authored by two UHD STEM professors.
Goal/Mission:
The Scholars Academy mission ten years ago focused primarily upon increasing underrepresented students in the undergraduate STEM university experience. Now, the Academy also focuses upon increasing on-time graduation rates and greater retention rates and how many enter graduate/professional programs, after having completed the baccalaureate STEM major at UHD.
Outcome:
The Scholars Academy maintains membership of 150 students per semester. In 2009 the SA membership was comprised of 79% minority and 55% female. Currently, over 82% of SA students are first generation entrants (first-time in college-FTIC). SA currently has a FTIC retention rate of 69% and an FTIC six-year graduation rate of 49%. Over 86% continue in STEM through continued graduate studies or the workforce following graduation. Over 57% maintain a grade point average between 3.5-4.0, while over 29% maintain grade point averages between 3.81-4.0 supporting the premise that while in the SA, members improve study skills and intellectual capacity as associated with rising grade point averages.
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| The_Scholars_Academy.pdf | 517.13 KB |
The Scholar’s Academy
Latino Student Services and Outreach (LASSO)
Institution:
Georgia State University
Academic Level:
Baccalaureate
Issue Area:
Outreach
Issue Area:
Retention
Year:
2011
Designation:
Examples of Excelencia
Designation:
Finalist
Key Personnel:
Molina, Amy
Address:
Georgia State University
Address 2:
75 Piedmont Ave, Suite 368
City:
Atlanta
State:
GA
Zip:
30302 The primary function of the Office of Latino Student Services and Outreach (LASSO) is to recruit Latino students to Georgia State University (GSU) and to assure that Latino students persist to graduation. The mission of the LASSO office is to engage in the recruitment and retention of Latino students. This mission is accomplished by providing students with academic support services, advising, advocacy, mentoring, and referral services that compliment the personal and career development of Latino students.
Goal/Mission:
The goals of LASSO provide order and structure to our daily interactions with students. They also allow us to measure our progress towards achieving success. • Increase Latino student retention and success • Provide support for completion of the student's educational and professional goals • Increase academic, social, and leadership opportunities • Increase collaborative efforts amongst faculty, staff, and students • Develop and cultivate relationships with surrounding schools and community agencies • Provide students with a quiet study space and sense of community • Increases internal and external awareness on the Latino student experience. • Identify educational issues and resources related to Latino/a student success. • Raise awareness about college access • Help students make an informed decision when choosing what college to attend • Encourage Latino students to make GSU their college choice.
Outcome:
Through a partnership with The Goizueta Foundation, GSU has been able to increase the percentage of Latino students on campus from 4% to almost 8% and improve graduation rates by 25 percentage points. Latino students now graduate at a higher rate than any other student ethnic category on campus. In the 2010 Report of the Education Trust, GSU ranked third in the nation of public institutions narrowing the graduation gap between Hispanic and white students. Enrollment rates have also dramatically increased since the inception of the LASSO office. When the program began, 845 Latino Students were enrolled at GSU. For the 2010-2011 academic year, Hispanic student enrollment was at 2,142.
Latino Student Services and Outreach (LASSO)
Community Scholars Program
Institution:
Georgetown University
Academic Level:
Baccalaureate
Issue Area:
College Prep
Issue Area:
Retention
Year:
2011
Designation:
Examples of Excelencia
Designation:
Finalist
Key Personnel:
Correa, Vanessa
Address:
Georgetown University / CMEA - Georgetown University
Address 2:
511 Leavey Center
City:
Washington
State:
DC
Zip:
20057 Website:
The program consists of five core components: 1) Summer Bridge Program; 2) Continuation of Humanities and Writing course into the Fall semester; 3) Fourth hour study group for core Courses; 4) Freshman year support; 5) Ongoing support until graduation. Most Community Scholars participants self-identify as African American or Latino. This year's class is 43% African American, 30% Hispanic/Latino, 8% White, 2% Asian and 1% Native American.
Goal/Mission:
Nationally, only about 11% of first generation college students graduate college. The Community Scholars Program seeks to provide support to this crucial student population. Participants are selected during the University's Admissions process. These students are identified and considered for the program based on their high school academic and extracurricular achievements. They attended high schools that did not have the same access to college preparatory courses (such as AP or IB courses) as private or parochial schools. Nevertheless, these students took advantage of all of the best their high schools had to offer, and are often class presidents, mentors, and valedictorians with stellar grades. The program was developed in the late 1960s as a mechanism for enrolling more local Black District of Columbia residents. The program has evolved over the years to include other students of color and to serve primarily first generation college students from across the country.
Outcome:
1) Retention of first year students from first to second semester - Class of 2014 Scholars across all ethnic groups: 98% (n=60; percentage reflects 59/60) - Class of 2014 Latino Scholars: 94% (n=18; percentage reflects 17/18)
2) Retention of first year students from their first to second year - Class of 2013 Scholars across all ethnic groups: 95% (n=55; percentage reflects 52/55) - Class of 2013 Latino Scholars: 100% (n=25)
3) Graduation rates (over a six year period) - Those students who began their Georgetown Career in 2003: 87% (n=46; percentage reflects 40/46) - Those Latino students who began their Georgetown Career in 2003: 100% (n=10; percentage reflects 10/10).
| Attachment | Size |
|---|---|
| Community_Scholars_Program.pdf | 517.81 KB |
Community Scholars Program
Diversity Programs in Engineering
Institution:
Cornell University
Academic Level:
Baccalaureate
Issue Area:
Outreach
Issue Area:
Retention
Year:
2010
Designation:
Examples of Excelencia
Designation:
Finalist
Key Personnel:
Hernandez, Sara
Address:
146 Olin Hall
City:
Ithica
State:
NY
Zip:
14853 Website:
The Diversity Programs in the Engineering office operates programs at the undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels to facilitate the outreach, recruitment, retention, and overall success of underrepresented minorities, women, and other underrepresented groups in Engineering. Latino/a students represent over 20% of the participants in the program.
Goal/Mission:
The vision of the Program was to create an office that would operate and develop programs at the pre-college, undergraduate, graduate, and faculty levels to facilitate the outreach, recruitment, retention, and overall success of underrepresented minorities, women, and other underrepresented groups in Engineering.
Outcome:
The 5-year graduation rates of Latino/a engineering students increased from 58.9% for the 2002-2007 cohort to 69.4% for the 2004-2009 cohort. Additionally, it is important to note that many of the Latino/a students that did not ultimately graduate from the College of Engineering still went on to graduate from another college within Cornell University. Of the Latino/a students that entered the College of Engineering in 2002, 72% of them went on to graduate from any college within Cornell University within five years. For the Latino/a students entering Engineering in 2004, their 5-year graduate rate from any college within the university rose to 79%. The structure of CU EMPower has been presented as a best practices model at national conferences.
Diversity Programs in Engineering
Events
Ex-Citings
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Feb 1, 2012Medill Reports - Northwestern University
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Jan 30, 2012NBC Latino
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Jan 4, 2012iconoculture Jan 2012
Fast Facts
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Charting the U.S. Labor Market in 2006
