Pasadena City College Awarded Title V Grant for Design Technology Pathway, Increases Grant total to Nearly $7 Million for 2012

The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Pasadena City College a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Title V grant to strengthen and expand educational opportunities for Hispanic students. PCC was one of 19 colleges across the nation to receive this highly competitive grant, and only one of six institutions to be awarded a cooperative grant. The grant will provide the college $775,000 per year for the next five years.
“This grant represents a major step forward in our goal of transforming our current engineering and technology programs into 21st century workplace education programs,” said PCC President Dr. Mark Rocha. “Our programs will provide students the means to excel in today’s global workforce.”
An HSI is defined as an eligible institution of higher education that has at least 25 percent Hispanic full-time equivalent(FTE) undergraduate enrollment at the end of the award year immediately preceding the date of the application. PCC is more than 34 percent Hispanic FTE.
PCC has been very proactive in finding alternative resources for educational programs as state funding for higher education continues to decline. The college will secure more than $6.64 million in new grant funds for 2011-2012.
The HSI program provides grants to make college more attainable for Hispanic students and allows institutions to enhance their academic offerings, program quality and institutional stability. The grantsassist schools in furthering educational opportunities for students throughfaculty development, curriculum development, academic tutoring and mentoring, and other services.
“We know that Hispanics are the fastest growing ethnic group pursuing higher education, but we need to improve the graduation rate for Hispanic students and provide opportunities for them to achieve their higher education goals,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.
“This grant program will help more Latino students have access to quality higher education, which is key to building a highly skilled workforce to compete in a global marketplace.”
Through this grant PCC and California State Polytechnic University, Pomona will partner in a pathway project focusing on increasing Hispanic and underrepresented student participation, improving milestone achievement, smoothing transfer, and ensuring equitable degree completion for Hispanic and underserved high school students, who are most impacted by the transfer system.
Through a collaborativeeffort with high schools and industry, the two institutions will develop anaccessible, responsive, and innovative Design Technology Pathway that integrates a design-based curriculum with support services to prepare students for success in a wide range of programs and careers.
For more information about the Design Technology Pathway or other PCC grants, call (626) 585-7722

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