The U.S. Education Department awarded San José City College a $2.9 million Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) grant to fund the college’s new ¡Si Se Puede! Program. It aims to help Latinx high school students transition to college, thrive in SJCC’s certificate and degree programs, and successfully transfer to four-year programs.
The investment is a “vote of confidence in HSIs,” U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said in an online press briefing on Thursday, reported Community College Daily. “These funds will help drive Latino student success in higher education by helping HSIs build up their capacity to support these students,” he said.
SJCC is one of 13 California community colleges to be awarded the grant funding. SJCC says the grant is needed because the COVID-19 pandemic caused food, housing, educational insecurity, and significant emotional distress, especially among the city’s Latinx families.
“Students who don’t persist can’t graduate or transfer, which means they’re also settling for a lower-earning career. Arguably, this is limiting their lifetime outcomes and underachieving their potential. It’s on us to change this,” SJCC wrote in its grant application.
The ¡Si Se Puede! Program has established five goals, including:
- Strengthen Hispanic and low-income students’ successful transitions to postsecondary enrollment within SJCC’s community and service region through Dual Enrollment and Summer Bridge Experiences.
- Strengthen Hispanic students’ academic success and sense of belonging through pre-college outreach and First Year Experiences (FYE), SPOT pathways, Honors Courses & co-curricular activities.
- Close academic equity gaps for Hispanic and low-income students by addressing completion & transfer success.
- Strengthen institutional praxis through evidence-based professional development to yield a stronger sense of belonging in college for Hispanic and low-income students.
- Increase SJCC’s reputation for academic excellence and equity through increased completion of degrees and transfer success by members reflecting our community.
“Students who don’t persist can’t graduate or transfer, which means they’re also settling for a lower-earning career. Arguably, this is limiting their lifetime outcomes and underachieving their potential. It’s on us to change this.”
SJCC Grant Application
Half of SJCC’s students are Hispanic/Latinx (48%), and half are first-generation college students (46%).
“At a time when diversity in higher education is under attack, the investments we’re making now and the message we’re sending now is never better,” Cardona said.
