Oct. 3, 2022 - The U.S. Department of Education Thursday awarded CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) more than $6 million in Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) grants to launch programs and expand services designed to increase the number of students, particularly Latinos, who enroll in and graduate from college and who successfully pursue careers in education.
CSUCI is receiving $3 million to implement the Caminos (Pathways) for Future Counselors, Psychologists, Teachers and Leaders project and $3 million for Project Student Outreach, Academics and Retention (SOAR) at CI. Under an HSI grant awarded to Oxnard College, CSUCI is also receiving $187,000 to hire a staff member dedicated to helping students who transfer from Oxnard College to CSUCI. This brings CSUCI’s total federal HSI grant funding to more than $42 million since 2010.
Through the Caminos project, CSUCI’s School of Education will begin offering a Master of Science degree in Counseling and the coursework and experience necessary to earn a Pupil Personnel Services Credential. The project will prepare students, especially those who are Latino and bilingual, to serve as counselors and psychologists in pre-K-12 schools. This would provide a well-paying career option for the more than 1,100 psychology majors at CSUCI.
“We have a severe shortage of guidance counselors and school psychologists in our region, and the mental health needs of our children are only growing,” said School of Education Dean Elizabeth Orozco Reilly, who will lead the program with Associate Professor of Education Charles Weis and Psychology program Chair Kimmy Kee-Rose. “This is a phenomenal opportunity to support the workforce needs of our region.”
Other components of the Caminos project will impact the entire School of Education. The grant will provide $600,000 in scholarships and fund the expansion of support initiatives, including mentoring and career counseling, to increase retention and graduation rates. Professional development activities will help graduate faculty members provide more culturally and linguistically responsive instruction for Latino and low-income students and access to the tools they need to be successful.
SOAR at CI will be a three-pronged program targeting the external community in addition to CSUCI students and faculty. Staff and faculty members will organize culturally responsive outreach activities designed to build relationships with high school and community college students and their families. They will provide information about college and career readiness, paying for higher education, and choosing majors. The second part of the program will focus on increasing the academic skills and motivation of those who are struggling and transferring from community college through CSUCI Initiative for Mapping Academic Success (CIMAS) and preparing first-generation college students to become successful first-generation professionals. The third component will help faculty and staff members learn about the best equity-based practices and implement them.
“This will move our campus forward exponentially in our work to advance diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Principal Investigator Michelle Hasendonckx, Assistant Vice President for Student Academic Success & Equity Initiatives. “It will enable us to both promote a university-going culture in the region and better serve our Latino students and all our students.”