Institution Esperanza College of Eastern University State Pennsylvania Academic Level Associate Issue Area Support Services Website http://esperanza.eastern.edu Key Personnel Marilyn Marsh Overview Esperanza College seeks to provide members of the Hispanic and local communities a Christian faith-based education that is affordable and culturally appropriate so that they can continue their contributions to and leadership in their communities.The mission of this program is to ensure that students are prepared to confidently take college-level courses in the areas of math and English. Esperanza College is an Associate's Degree College with a student population that is over 70% Hispanic. They are a branch location of Eastern University located in the heart of North Philadelphia, purposely missioned to bring college education to Hispanic families living in the area. Program Description The mission of Esperanza College, a Christian college program dedicated to the service of the Hispanic and local communities, is to enhance the knowledge, skills, and outlook of young people and adults so that they can live even more thoughtful, positive, productive, and purposeful lives. In 2000, the non-profit Esperanza, Inc. and Eastern University forged a partnership to address the unmet educational needs of the Hispanic community, resulting in Esperanza College (EC), a Middle States Accredited branch campus of Eastern University, offering courses for credit towards an associate’s degree. The school is uniquely designed to address the barriers that limit access to higher education, including financial (every student receives 52% discount on tuition), linguistic, academic, and preparatory challenges, to provide a doorway to enrollment in a four-year degree-granting institution. They have a summer bridge program that takes place two times a year before each entry point. An internship/field experience within each concentration provides professional development and opportunities for jobs. The college offers an English institute with four levels of ESL and a Child Development Associates (CDA) program. Additionally, Esperanza provides students with a 1:20 or less student ratio, faculty and staff mentors, and tutoring for difficult subjects. Outcome By graduation, 90% of the Spanish dominant students score a 500 or above on the TOEFL exam with 10% scoring between 493 and 500. By the second year, all students are fully immersed in English-language coursework. EC students boast a retention rate of 65.4%, and graduation rates of 59.3% (two years) and 12.5% (three years). Of the students who have earned an AA from Esperanza, 518 students, (57%) have entered a Bachelor's Program at Eastern University, 64% of those students completed their Bachelor's Program, and 80 students, (28%) have entered into a graduate degree program at Eastern. Learn more about Latino College Completion in Pennsylvania Return to Growing What Works Database
