Bunker Hill Community College Designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution with $2.9M Grant
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) has received a $2.9M grant from the United States Department of Education’s Title V: Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) program and is now designated as a HSI. The grant was created to assist institutions to expand education opportunities for Hispanic students by expanding and enhancing academic offerings, program quality and institutional stability. The funds, awarded over five years, will impact the College’s self-sufficiency and capacity to improve outcomes for its large and growing population of Hispanic/Latinx and low-income students.
Among the 118 new awards nationwide this year, BHCC was the only award in Massachusetts. This HSI designation is in addition to the College’s 2016 designation as an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAIPISI).
BHCC anticipates that the grant will deliver significant positive outcomes on enrollment, achievement, retention and completion rates and improved service to students through the funding of academic pathways, alignment of wraparound support services, and integration of new and existing technologies.
“We are extremely pleased to be recognized as a Hispanic Serving Institution and being a recipient of this prestigious HSI grant,” said BHCC President Pam Eddinger. “Through this funding, BHCC will be able to implement a multipronged approach to improve service and support for our Hispanic and Latinx students.”
The grant will be launched under the title “Pathways to Success through Culturally Responsive Programming,” and is designed to improve student achievement and engagement through two interrelated components: Integrated Support Services and Enhanced Teaching and Learning.
The Integrated Support Services component will revitalize the continuum of support for Hispanic/Latinx students, including onboarding and enrollment with defined Guided Pathway on-ramps. Student support will continue through Pathway coaching, career exploration, goal setting, and financial-academic-career planning in a culturally responsive and equity-minded environment.
The Enhanced Teaching and Learning component will establish the Guided Pathways with contextualized introductory courses, bringing together similar majors and programs of study to share content and outcomes to create synchronicity within the first year of study, and enable students to explore career options and participate in internships, co-ops and shadowing experiences.
Learn more about the HSI grant.
Read the press release in Spanish.
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About Bunker Hill Community College
Celebrating 50 years of excellence, Bunker Hill Community College (BHCC) is Massachusetts' largest community college, annually welcoming a diverse community of around 16,000 students. With campuses in Charlestown and Chelsea, BHCC extends its reach across several locations in Greater Boston. BHCC is celebrated for its diversity, boasting a student body where 65% identify as people of color and more than half are women. The College also embraces a global perspective, with over 600 international students representing 90 countries and conversing in more than 65 languages. Our commitment to diversity is further reflected in BHCC's designation as a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) and an Asian American Native American Pacific Islander Serving Institution (AANAPISI).