Students interested in studying math and science now have a new program available to help them achieve their goals. Allan Hancock College recently received a multimillion-dollar federal STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) grant to help boost its science and math curricula. The STEM grant will help create a pathway from local high schools to Hancock to four-year universities—especially Cal Poly in SLO. The program will also focus on Hispanic and low-income students who pursue careers teaching math or science.
The five-year, $4.3 million grant was one of 97 awarded across the country to federally designated Hispanic Serving Institutions. Such grants are awarded to colleges to expand educational opportunities for Hispanic and low-income students. According to college officials, Hispanic student enrollment at Hancock is about 39 percent.
“This grant, at this time, is one of the best things that could happen to Allan Hancock College, our students, and this region,” Superintendent/President José M. Ortiz said in a press release. “The global economy and California, in particular, need more students pursuing science- and math-related careers, including teaching.”
The grant also calls for increases of up to 25 percent in the number of STEM degree-seeking students at Hancock; the number of high school students enrolling in STEM courses; and the number of STEM majors who transfer to a university within three years.
Although Hispanic student enrollment is relatively high at Hancock, enrollment doesn’t always result in completion and transfer. Nationally, 80 percent of Hispanic high school graduates go on to postsecondary education by age 26, but fewer than 25 percent finish a bachelor’s degree, and 66 percent end up without a credential. In California, only 2 percent of Hispanic adults have a bachelor’s degree. In Santa Barbara County, because of the high immigrant farmworker presence, 86 percent of the Hispanic population doesn’t have a high school diploma.
School Scene is compiled by Managing Editor Amy Asman. Information should be sent to the Sun via fax, e-mail, or mail.
This article appears in Oct 6-13, 2011.