Five-Year Commitment to Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Fund
Cabrillo College announced that it is one of 40 colleges and universities nationwide that were awarded a $3 Million, five-year, U.S. Department of Education Title V: Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (DHSI) grant.
The grant will further a partnership between Cabrillo College and California State University Monterey Bay (CSU-MB) to focus on creating more seamless transfer pathways between the two institutions.
The grant builds upon a Cabrillo College/CSU-MB memorandum of understanding to improve time to degree and degree completion rates for transfer students.
The grant will fund activities that include creating a series of seamlessly aligned 2 + 2 (2 years at Cabrillo + 2 years at CSU-MB) program maps to facilitate degree completion and to limit students’ amount of non-transferable coursework.
Pilot work will be done in the following departments, including: Computer Science, Horticulture/AgTech, Business, Accounting, and Kinesiology.
“As a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) this grant will help us work more closely together with our partners at CSU-MB to create clear, efficient pathways for our students to start at Cabrillo College, transfer in two years, and then finish in two more years with a bachelor’s degree from CSU-MB,” said Dr. Matthew Wetstein, President and Superintendent of Cabrillo College. “This grant will be a tremendous boost for our students and for both colleges.”
As part of the Guided Pathways Initiative work Cabrillo College is already doing, it is integrating instruction and student services faculty and staff to address Cabrillo students who are struggling with their educational pathways.
Funding from this grant will help integrate student support services into instruction at key momentum points and will provide personalized support services through the deployment of peer-based tutoring support.
The grant will also fund revised curriculum work that will ensure that lower division courses are more closely aligned with upper division work in the degree programs. By faculty at both institutions participating jointly in professional development institutes, it will facilitate greater communication around course objectives and learning outcomes so that there is greater alignment.
“We are thrilled that Cabrillo College has received this significant grant to develop more effective transfer pathways to CSUMB,” said Interim Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs Fran Horvath, Ph.D. “We look forward to collaborating with our colleagues at Cabrillo in order to increase the success of students in ultimately attaining the bachelor’s degree.”
The grant activities were developed with input and guidance from a large group of CSU-MB and Cabrillo faculty, staff and administrators. The proposed work includes:
- Creating clear academic and career pathways through faculty collaboration around 2+2 program alignment, curriculum changes to build skills and knowledge, and articulation.
- Integrating student support services that are inclusive, peer-based, culturally responsive, and that create a sense of belonging.
Grant goals focus on: 1) increasing persistence, transfer, and degree completion; 2) creating a high-impact, cost-effective cross-institutional partnership; 3) closing achievement gaps in gateway courses; and 4) increasing the number of students served by Financial Aid. Grant activities began October 1, 2019.
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More information at www.cabrillo.edu