Seeking to identify and address barriers facing adult students of color, the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU) and Coalition of Urban Serving Universities (USU) has awarded a grant to Portland State University supporting a university-community partnership aimed at developing supportive programming for Black, Latinx and Indigenous adult learners.
PSU will develop a partnership with Portland’s Self Enhancement, Inc. to strengthen its pipeline of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx adult learners. The model includes the development of a system for financial access, relevant and accelerated curricula and holistic student support.
“This grant is a wonderful opportunity to continue to expand the work already being done to support BIPOC students at PSU,” said Perla Pinedo, director of Multicultural Retention Services. “We are excited to develop this collaboration with the Transfer & Returning Student Resource Center and partner with Self Enhancement Inc. through this grant that centers the needs of BIPOC adult learners. We hope to develop a program that can pave the way for future collaborations, with other community organizations, in the Portland Metro Area.”
Randi Harris, director of the Transfer & Returning Student Resource Center, added she hopes the model can be used for future PSU programs.
“This opportunity to co-design a program with SEI and Multicultural Retention Services at PSU will enable PSU to deepen our connection with the Portland community by ensuring that the programming we develop is centered on the needs and aspirations of working adult BIPOC students,” Harris said.
Seven other institutions are also receiving grants to undertake similar projects. Each institution will partner with a local organization, such as an employer, to build an ecosystem for helping Black, Latino, and Indigenous learners thrive. Additionally, institutions will critically examine their advising, enrollment and re-enrollment practices, and student support services to identify and eliminate barriers facing students. Lumina Foundation is funding the effort.
“Black, Latino/x, and Indigenous adult learners have an extraordinary set of assets and we’re thrilled to work with our institutions to address barriers they face to accessing and completing a bachelor’s degree,” said Christel Perkins, Assistant Vice President at APLU and Deputy Executive Director of USU. “These grants will help institutions develop and expand partnerships with community organizations to create an ecosystem harnessing the wealth of experiences and assets these adult learners embody.”
The other seven institutions receiving grants are: California State University, Fresno; California State University, Los Angeles; the University of Colorado Denver; Florida International University, the University of Illinois Chicago; University of Memphis and University of New Orleans.