Dates: October 1, 2019 — June 30, 2024

Award Amount: $600,000/yr

The Abriendo Caminos grant intentionally centers Latina/o/x and Chicana/o/x students and their intersectional experiences in the design and scaling of Guided Pathways at PCC.

The Abriendo Caminos Grant will:

  • bring Latina/o/x and Chicana/o/x and other underserved students into PCC through an engaging, dynamic, and accessible intake process
  • create Career Communities that are hubs of exploration and empowerment for Latina/o/x and Chicana/o/x students and their peers
  • provide the degree maps and predictable schedules needed to clearly identify a timely path to completion
  • redesign gateway courses through an equity-minded lens with a focus on culturally sustaining pedagogy; and
  • deploy technology that keeps students connected and supported through their journey.

"My late uncle, Angel Altamirano (fitting name) told me something I carry with me in my work in supporting students. He said that as Latinos, ‘nosotros no somos de los de abajo, si no de los de arriba. We aren't people from the bottom; rather, we are people from the most high.’ I choose to help our students, reminding them that they are worth being helped."

— Carlos Altamirano

“Este mundo no va a cambiar a menos que estemos dispuestos a cambiar nosotros mismos.”

— Rigoberta Menchú

“You, the student, are the priority for us! Reach out in times of conflict and uncertainty, you have a community here at PCC that cares about your well-being and success! You can do this, take it one day at a time! We believe in you!”

— Danielle Rapue

Abriendo Caminos

Project Goals

  1. Academic Programs: Develop and implement a coordinated campus-wide initiative that reflects an institutional priority and commitment to equitable degree completion through a learner-centered and integrated model of instruction and support.
  2. Institutional Management: Build and foster an educational ecosystem focused on realizing a new equity-minded vision of institutional operations through a coordinated care approach to student support that eliminates barriers to success.
  3. Fiscal Stability: Increase student outcomes and close equity gaps to ensure alignment with state-mandated performance-based funding focused on student equity and student success.

Competitive Preference Priority 2: This project will support students’ personal financial literacy through an evidence-based holistic approach addressing the entire student experience. 

Project Objectives

By Sept. 30, 2024, PCC will increase: 

  1. Access: Increase proportion of students completing the following critical onboarding steps: Financial Aid Application, Orientation, Student Educational Plan 
  2. 1-Year Transfer-Level Math & English Completion: Increase the proportion of students completing transfer-level math and English in their first year and close the equity gap
  3. Persistence: Increase the fall-to-spring persistence rate  
  4. Excess Units: Decrease the average number of excess units at degree completion among degree earners
  5. Completion: Increase the State-defined Scorecard completion rate and close the completion equity gap 

Personnel

  1. Project Director – Carlos "Tito" Altamirano
  2. Project Assistant– Wendy Snyder
  3. Strategy 1 Developer-Guided Entry Student Success Team Lead – Desiree Zuniga
  4. Strategy 2 Developer-Gateway Course Experience Developer  – Dr. Cristina Salazar Romo