“Examples of Excelencia”
Latino Success in Education
University of Texas at El Paso & Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona Win
National Award
WASHINGTON -- “Excelencia in Education,” a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization that works to accelerate higher education success for Latino students, has recognized the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) and the Maricopa Community Colleges in Arizona, as the 2006 “Examples of Excelencia” (Examples of Excellence).
The two winners were chosen from a total of 42 nominations and the winning programs were announced at the Excelencia Symposium, held at the National College Access Network annual conference, in Orlando, Fla.
“These programs, which improve Latino student access and success, are true national models for broadening educational opportunities for our fastest-growing population,” said former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, an honorary board member of Excelencia in Education. “The 2006 Examples of Excelencia and the other semifinalists demonstrate that targeted efforts to bolster the success of under-represented students work. The opportunity now is to spread their success by expanding similar programs nationwide.”
“Improving Latino student success in higher education is in the national interest,” said Sarita Brown, president and founder of Excelencia in Education. “While Latinos are the nation’s largest and fastest-growing minority group, Latino students lag behind other major racial and ethnic groups in educational attainment. Shining a spotlight on solutions that can help to correct this disparity is an academic and economic priority for our nation.”
“Examples of Excelencia,” which is supported by Sallie Mae Inc., UNIVISION and the Lumina Foundation, is one of a number of programs offered by Excelencia in Education to link research, policy, and practice to serve Latino students and the institutions and programs where they participate, at a time when the overall college-age population in the U.S. is changing rapidly. By 2025, 22 percent of the U.S. college-age population will be Hispanic, a level already reached in four states: California, Florida, New York and Texas.
“State leaders should take note that the types of programs we are recognizing today pay enormous dividends not only to Latino young people but to the economic success of their communities,” said Raul Yzaguirre, Presidential Professor and Executive Director, Center for Community Development and Civil Rights, Arizona State University and an Excelencia honorary board member.
Maricopa Community Colleges’ Achieving a College Education (ACE) is a concurrent high school/college enrollment scholarship program that targets "at risk" students who generally do not consider attending college. The program offers counseling and full scholarships to area community colleges and supports Latino students as they make their way from two- to four-year institutions.
A Ford Foundation-sponsored study identified several essential elements that make the ACE programs a success with students and parents, including the creation of student cohort groups, family involvement, collaboration between institutions, high academic standards, and other factors.
The effects of the program are substantial. As of 2002, 88-96 percent of participants had graduated from high school, and 83 percent of ACE graduates had enrolled in college. ACE graduates also outperform the general college student population.
The average ACE graduate’s college grade point average is 3.1, while the average for the general student population at Maricopa is 2.81.
Like ACE, the Model Institutions for Excellence at UTEP builds a pathway for Latino academic success, in this case by bridging undergraduate and graduate education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).
MIE began in 1995, supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, to create new models for STEM achievement among under-represented minorities.
At UTEP, MIE has fueled the design and implementation of the ‘Pathways to Success’ model, which combines student and faculty development, outreach to the Latino community, curriculum reform, expanded undergraduate research, and infrastructural improvements to improve retention and graduation rates.
The success of this model has propelled UTEP’s MIE to national prominence. First-year retention rates and first-semester grade point average have increased relative to comparison groups.
Moreover, graduation rates have improved and retention rates in science and engineering disciplines have increased. UTEP now ranks among the top 10 institutions in the nation for awarding baccalaureate degrees to Latino students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics disciplines.
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