Ambiciones
Institution:
Howard Community College
State:
Maryland
Academic Level:
Associate
Issue Area:
Support Services
Program Focus:
First Year Support, Parental/Family Engagement
Key Personnel:
Wanda I. Colon Canales
Contact Info:
Overview
Ambiciones provides pathways to college completion for Latino students by helping high school students and their families navigate the Howard Community College (HCC) entrance process. Once students are enrolled at HCC, the program aims to increase the retention rates of first-year participants and increase graduation/transfer rates by providing intrusive, personalized advising, building community among Latino students, and connecting students to resources.
Program Description
In 2015, HCC saw a growth of Latino student enrollment and created Ambiciones to provide pathways for Latino student success. Ambiciones first started with 20 students and a dedicated bilingual completion advisor. The program has evolved and now primarily works in five county high schools with significant Latino populations to create a supportive, seamless pipeline for high school seniors and families applying to HCC. The program provides college presentations to Howard County Public Schools, meets individually with families, hosts an on-campus senior family night entirely in Spanish, and triages incoming HCC students over the summer.
In partnership with the Howard County Public Schools, Ambiciones provides JumpStart, a dual enrollment program that covers full tuition, books, and fees for low-income, Latino high school students to complete up to 60 credits towards a college degree. Ambiciones has also developed a close partnership with the Howard County Public School System Hispanic Achievement Liaisons. Program outreach includes Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and undocumented students. As of spring 2019, Ambiciones served 145 Latino student participants.
Outcome
Increased first-year retention: The retention rate for first-time/ full time student participants was 91% compared to 67% of non-participants.The retention rate for part-time program participants was 50% compared to 45% for non-program participants.
Increased degree completion: In fiscal year 2019, 16 students completed an associate degree and/or a certificate, with two students transferring to a four-year institution.
Increased academic standing: In spring 2020, 90% of program participants met the good academic standing goal compared to 81% of non-program participants.
