Hispanic Outreach and Leadership at Armstrong (HOLA)
Institution:
Armstrong State University
State:
Georgia
Academic Level:
Baccalaureate
Issue Area:
Access
Program Focus:
Parental/Family Engagement, First Year Support
Key Personnel:
Nashia Whittenburg
Contact Info:
Overview
Armstrong’s success in advancing Latino education in Georgia goes back to 2003, when the university established the HOLA (Hispanic Outreach and Leadership at Armstrong) program to provide a comprehensive Latino outreach, recruitment, progression and graduation initiative on campus. In the ten years since, the Latino enrollment on campus has increased 200 percent to the current 7.3% percent of total enrollment. Currently, Armstrong enrolls over 513 Latino students (Fall 2015)—many of who are first-generation students who are building bright futures for themselves and their communities.
HOLA has received $1,146,250 in grants and cultural performance contracts to further its mission.
Program Description
The mission of HOLA is to help Hispanic-Latino students succeed at ASU by providing support services and culturally sensitive programs engaging students in learning and enriching their university experience. HOLA is a recruitment, retention and outreach program serving Latino students at the university from enrollment to graduation and beyond.
Outcome
During the past ten years, Armstrong has accomplished the following:
Awarded more than 180 Goizueta Foundation Scholarships to Hispanic/Latino students;
Gained recognition and trust among Hispanic/Latino communities in Georgia;
Spearheaded the first Latino Heritage Month Celebration at Armstrong and in the City of Savannah, which hosted 31 events and impacted over 1,600 students and community attendees
Established an annual fundraising gala for the past three years, which had awarded over $10,000 dollars in scholarships for students.
Retained Hispanic/Latinos at a 72% rate, compared to the national 57% average for 4-year institutions;
Increased the enrollment of Hispanic/Latino students by 200% since 2003; and
Increased graduation rates of Hispanic/Latino students to 34%, or 11.24% above the average Armstrong graduation rate of 29.7%.
