Lack of direction is an obstacle that can derail a person's life journey, let alone an educational journey. At Norco College, the institution has used a federal Hispanic-Serving Institution Title 5 grant to increase support services for counseling and advising.
Since being awarded $2.7 million in October of 2019, NC has seen an increase in average units successfully completed in year one (increased from 11.87 units in 2017-18 to 13.40 units in 2019-20). Also, there has been an increase in Hispanic student success when it comes to completion of transfer level math and English in year one for Hispanic students — Math increased from 9.3 percent in 2016-17 to 23.8 percent in 2019-20, and English completion increased from 19.9 percent in 2016-17 to 29.51 percent in 2019-20.
“The Title V Project PACES grant funds have been instrumental in advancing our efforts to address equity, access and success at Norco College utilizing the Guided Pathways framework" Tenisha James, dean of Student Services, said. “The grant has enabled us to redesign our onboarding process to ensure first-time college students are provided personalized support to get on the path through an engaging orientation process, a Holistic Student Support survey, and career-focused developmental advising."
Monies from the grant have also been used to launch peer advising initiative and provide equity-focused professional development. Students are also connected to special programs, affinity groups, and learning communities, as well as Peer Ambassadors through the College's newly launched peer advising model.
“Our efforts to strengthen support for Latinx and low-income students have included on-going, equity-based, professional development for counseling faculty, student success coaches, and educational advisors, as well as the College's forthcoming Financial Literacy Peer Coaching model, which will launch in the 2021-22 academic year," James said. “The grant has allowed us to take huge steps forward in transforming our college to meet the needs of all students."