CSU-Pueblo Receives $3.75 Million Over Five Years from U.S. Department of Education, Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions Grant Programs

Colorado State University-Pueblo will receive $3.75 million over the next five years to develop an innovative cooperative grant program named LA CALLE, Communities Achieving Lifelong Learning Engagement. La Calle will create academic “roadmaps” and establish specific pathways that link 2- and 4-year academic programs at CSU-Pueblo and Pueblo Community College. The funding is provided by the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institution Program of the U.S. Department of Education.

Dr. Donna Souder Hodge, Grants Project Director and Special Assistant to the President for Visioning, explained, “This project will allow CSU-Pueblo and PCC to address systemic barriers to enrollment, retention, and completion for our students. Southern Colorado residents need access to quality educational programs, a direct and simple way to transfer between our campuses, and long-term professional support. La Calle will create new opportunities for collaboration between our two campuses and for the students and communities we both serve.”

The project’s overall, five-year budget of $3.75 million will include $3,298,067 to lead institution, CSU-Pueblo. Approximately $449,271 will go to Pueblo Community College, cooperative partner. La Calle will see funding of over $750,000 during the 2018-2019 academic year, which will be used to begin development of the three primary innovations of the program:

(1) establish transfer offices and expand student service retention initiatives at both CSU-Pueblo and PCC; (2) establish and/or update articulation agreements to ensure transparency and transferability of community college courses and programs to the four-year university, including the integration of transcription software to speed up transfer credit reporting; (3) establish models for campus-community collaborations, professional development, and student support services, including the creation of the a) Teacher Education preparation, placement, and retention program and, b) PRAXIS Test preparation program, including counselors and advisors open to students across campuses.

According to CSU-Pueblo President, Dr. Timothy Mottet, “These three activities emphasize the urgency and rising need to increase access and affordability to Associate and Baccalaureate completion for our first generation, minority students in Colorado. CSU-Pueblo is the “people’s university,” and as such, we are committed to creating a university-going culture in Pueblo, across the region, and for the Southwest United States. I am proud of the work La Calle will allow us to do with our most important partner in higher education, Pueblo Community College.”

To find out more about grants programming and La Calle, contact Dr. Donna Souder Hodge in the Office of the President, Administration 301, at 719-549-2282, or via email at donna.souder@csupueblo.edu.

Colorado State University - Pueblo is committed to excellence, setting the standard for regional comprehensive universities in teaching, research, and service by providing leadership and access for its region, while maintaining its commitment to diversity.

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