The U.S. Department of Education has awarded Pacific Oaks College a five-year, $2.5 million Developing Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) Title V competitive grant. Pacific Oaks was one of 40 universities nationwide and a handful of private colleges to receive the grant, which assists colleges in creating academic services, mentoring, faculty, curriculum, and other resources. Pacific Oaks’ project, the Latinx+ Student Success Initiative, will support Latinx and underserved student populations at the social justice-centered college.
Judy Castro, Ed.D., the incoming project director of the Latinx+ Student Success Initiative, speaks on the significance of this grant and what’s ahead for Pacific Oaks.
What is the importance of the HSI grant and others like it, especially during these times?
The Hispanic population is one of the largest and fastest growing non-white populations in the United States. Over the past several decades, the high school dropout rate of Hispanic students has been steadily decreasing, and the rate of college enrollment has increased. Unfortunately, college retention and graduations rates are low when compared to other ethnic groups. In California, Latinos are the majority of the populations, but when it comes to representation in the fields of education, health, and politics, they are in the minority.
Pacific Oaks’ Latinx student demographics make up is 55.2% of its full-time undergraduate population. The Department of Education’s eligibility requirement to apply for a Title V HSI grant is 25%. This is an opportunity for Pacific Oaks to advance the social, economic, and educational career opportunities of Latinx and underserved students.
The HSI grant is critical to supporting the academic needs of this student population. The COVID-19 pandemic caused institutions to rush their programs to be fully online. This illustrated the disparity in learning resources, technology, and internet access. This unfairly impacted the Latinx student body.
The $2.5 million HSI grant awarded to Pacific Oaks will support our Latinx undergraduate students through dedicated academic support services. This includes a dedicated center, bilingual academic staff, and a lending library for digital equipment. This will increase retention and graduation rates while closing student achievement gaps.
Ultimately, this HSI grant will strengthen and uplift the entire college community.
What will your role as grant manager entail? What do you foresee for Pacific Oaks moving forward?
As the grant manager, I have the responsibility to implement the goals and objectives defined in the approved HSI grant by the Department of Education. I will be monitoring the success of every program and event in support of each goal outlined in the grant. On a quarterly and annual basis, I will report objectives met and a control expense budget. More importantly, it will be my responsibility to ensure that we do not lose sight of our commitment to serve our Latinx students.
I will oversee the development of the Latinx+ Student Success Center that will serve as a one-stop shop for Pacific Oaks undergraduate students. Bilingual staff will be committed to the academic success of all students.
Developing and sustaining community relations is vital to the success of our local grassroots educational outreach efforts. It will give us the opportunity to share information on the value of higher education and address barriers keeping community members from continuing or starting their educational journey.
A professional development component will include pedagogical training and diversity through leadership workshops for staff and faculty. We will offer mini-grants that will incentivize faculty to apply for funding to develop new course programing or to try a new teaching technique.
We will also create a program designed to collect student data, implement predictive modeling to identify key risk factors, and alert students and their advisers when academic performance is below acceptable levels.
The final outcome of the grant is to institutionalize successful, sustainable programs that will increase retention and graduation rates for our Latinx undergraduate students.
Our vision is to empower Latinx and other underserved community members through these programs. My goal for Pacific Oaks is to be “the talk of the town.” I want the entire Latinx, African-American, Asian Pacific Islander, white, and Indigenous communities to recognize that Pacific Oaks College truly cares for the success of all our students. Our motto will be “Tu sueño … tu realidad. Your dream … your reality.”
What do you look forward to with this role?
I look forward to making a difference for our Latinx and underserved students, faculty, and staff at Pacific Oaks. There is an opportunity to help influence a cultural shift and bring the perspectives of Latinx and underrepresented students to the forefront within an institution with a strong existing commitment to diversity and inclusion. I look forward to providing support services that will academically benefit students and professional development opportunities to enhance multicultural perspectives for faculty and staff to incorporate into their course content. I also want to institutionalize successful academic programs that will support our Latinx and underrepresented students’ retention and graduation rates long after the conclusion of the grant.
In the past, you worked with JFK University on a similar grant. Any key learnings from that that you’ll take with you to Pacific Oaks?
During the five-year period that I managed the HSI grant, there were a number of key learnings that will support me in the implementation of the grant for Pacific Oaks.
The Department of Education has defined guidelines that must be met throughout the timeline. This includes the fiduciary responsibility of a balanced budget on a quarterly basis and at the end of each year with an accurate annual progress report detailing goals and objectives met.
I learned that the value of having an educated and committed bilingual staff proves to be beneficial for students who see them as cultural role models who have both empathy and highly developed skills.
The lending library proved to be very successful. The students signed a loan contract for the use and security of their digital equipment. This reduced the digital divide that kept them from failing their course work or dropping out of school.
We established a speaker series that was very successful. It provided our students, staff, and faculty opportunities to hear from Latino entrepreneurs’ personal stories and life struggles. They recognized the value of higher education and how it improved their quality of life.
Why is it important for you to do this kind of work?
I was the first in my family to graduate from college. I fulfilled a personal goal when I received my doctorate in education. I know firsthand how systematic exclusion and the lack of guidance from counselors can stifle a student’s desire to complete their education. I also understand how difficult it is to navigate through the educational system without a supportive role model. I was determined not to give up but to succeed on my own. But in today’s world where these challenges still exist, Latinx students are facing similar challenges.
I believe the Pacific Oaks’ HSI grant will be a turning point for all concerned. We will have comprehensive and innovative programs that will be both relevant and inclusive as our students strive to reach their educational goals.
Learn more about Pacific Oaks
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