In The News
LAREDO MORNING TIMES: LCC Support Services Grant
Laredo,
January 28, 2016
LCC support services grant U.S. Congressman Henry Cuellar and Laredo Community College President Juan L. Maldonado announced a $1.1 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Education to LCC Student Support Services. The grant will be distributed over five years — $220,000 per year — and will help continue to increase the academic success of students at LCC who are low-income, first-generation or those who have learning disabilities. Joining Cuellar and Maldonado was Manuel L. Garcia, student support services director at LCC. The grant, which has just been renewed for the third time since Cuellar started in office in 2005, could help many of the students at LCC, where in the fall of 2013, enrollment averaged 8,726 students. Sixty-two percent of these students were low-income, 89 percent were first-generation and 2.7 percent had a disclosed disability. The grant proposes to serve 300 eligible students per year and aims to improve student outcomes and four-year graduation rates through tutorial interventions, semester grade checks, supplemental instruction, financial aid counseling, academic advising and other individualized counseling services. “As a graduate of LCC myself, I know the successes this institution can prepare students for,” Cuellar said. “Higher education is the pathway to success in life, and I believe that it’s an opportunity that should be made available to everyone in our community." “The system can be difficult for students with unique backgrounds and abilities, and by making these new grant funds available for students’ success, LCC will further prepare students to do great things both here at home in Laredo and beyond.” Maldonado added: “We are extremely grateful to … Cuellar and the Department of Education for their continued support for Laredo Community College. This $1.1 million grant for our student support services program will go a long way towards providing our students with the academic support they need to succeed at LCC and beyond. We look forward to continuing to help our students in our community.” Researchers at Northwestern University and Stanford University have previously found that intervention projects like student support services have proved successful with first-generation students. |