Monroe Community College will receive a $50,000 grant to expand its program aimed at improving the enrollment and retention rates of male Latino students. MCC was one of only 20 colleges and universities from across the nation chosen to receive the award from Excelencia in Education, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization whose mission is to accelerate Latino student success in higher education.
The SEMILLAS (Seeding Educational Models that Impact and Leverage Latino Academic Success) grants, supported by the Wal-Mart Foundation, are part of Excelencia in Education’s “Growing What Works” national initiative. The initiative aims to accelerate Latino student success by refining and replicating model educational programs that are proven to advance Latino achievement in two-year and four-year colleges. The long-term goal of the project is to increase the use of these effective programs for the country’s fast-growing Latino college-age population.
The grant will bolster MCC’s efforts to recruit male Latino students and strengthen their academic, vocational and technical skills. Since 2008 through its Doorway to Success initiative, MCC has been providing a broad range of support, services and programs to Latino males to increase their retention and academic success.
Colleges and universities received grants for work in one of four areas: 1) Helping first-generation, low-income Latino students gain college entrance, 2) Improving retention rates for students enrolled in college, 3) Helping Latino students transfer from two-year to four-year colleges, and 4) Increasing college graduation rates for Latinos.
A complete list of SEMILLAS grant recipients can be found at https://edexcelencia.org/programs/what_works/.
For more information, contact David Benitez at <<mailto:dbenitez@monroecc.edu>> or Ann Topping at <<mailto:atopping@monroecc.edu>>.
Dr. Ann V. Topping
DCC Student Services
09/11/2009 |