College Enrollment Program Showcased
December 2011
An award-winning program that promotes the college success of Hispanic students was showcased December 7 by the president of Eastern Connecticut State University during a meeting of the Latino Endowment Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
President Elsa Núñez and two students reviewed the Dual Enrollment Program, which was established in 2008 with the aid of a $40,000 grant from the Latino Endowment Fund. The program has since received financial support from the Wal-Mart Foundation and the U.S. Department of Justice.
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Students find success transitioning to college with help from an innovative program supported by the Latino Endowment Fund.
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The program continues the Latino Endowment Fund’s focus on education. In 2010, nationwide, only 13 percent of Hispanic 25- to 29-year-olds had gained at least a bachelor’s degree, compared with 19 percent of non-Hispanic blacks in that age group, 53 percent of non-Hispanic Asians and nearly 39 percent of whites, according to the Pew Hispanic Center.
The Dual Enrollment Program, which received the 2011 Robert J. McKenna Award for Program Achievement from the New England Board of Higher Education, is in its third year. Partnering with Hartford Public High School and Quinebaug Valley Community College, Eastern co-enrolls 10 Hartford Public High School graduates each fall, students who have the determination and potential to succeed, but who had not planned to attend college.
The students take nine credits of remedial instruction at the community college in their first semester, while also taking one course at Eastern, living in Eastern’s residence halls and fully participating in campus activities. Most of the students then enroll at Eastern full time in the spring semester. Sixteen of the 19 students who enrolled in the program’s first two years are still enrolled at Eastern as sophomores and juniors.
Established in 2003, the Latino Endowment Fund works to increase philanthropy within the Latino community and to strengthen nonprofits working to improve the quality of life of Latino residents. Members examine issues affecting the Latino community and recommend grants from the fund to address these issues. Grants totaling $120,000 have been awarded to agencies that serve the Latino community. For more information about the Latino Endowment Fund, contact Betty Ann Grady at 860-548-1888 or bagrady@hfpg.org or visit www.hfpg.org/latino.
The Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for the 29-town Greater Hartford region, dedicated to improving the quality of life for area residents. The Hartford Foundation receives gifts from thousands of generous individuals and families, and in 2010, awarded grants of more than $29 million to a broad range of area nonprofit organizations, the largest amount granted in the Foundation’s 85-year history. For more information about the Hartford Foundation, visit www.hfpg.org or call 860-548-1888.