In the next four years she hopes to build a stronger Web presence, get the word out in the community about the Maricopa to Arizona State University Pathways Program, and target Workforce Investment Act young people.
“It’s been successful, but it needs to be stronger,” she said of the college’s Degree Phoenix partnership. She also hopes to hire a director to oversee the project and collect data on it. Still, she said, “We had the structure in place that they [Lumina officials] were looking for.”
Eloy Ortiz Oakley, president of Long Beach City College in California, also sees the funds as a significant boost for LBCC’s Promise Pathways program for Latino students.
“We believe that this infusion will help us keep moving forward,” said Oakley, adding that Promise Pathways currently provides every area high school student with one free semester at the college if he or she decides to attend.
"The trick is to get them straight from high school to college,” said Oakley. “We’re not creating something new here.”
LBCC partnered with the Long Beach Unified School District to build a pipeline of Latino students. Along with providing a scholarship not contingent on grades, the Promise Pathways program aligns high school and college coursework.
Oakley hopes to build a sustainable model for Latino educational attainment. “We can no longer leave students of color behind,” he said.
