Purchase Awarded Major DOE Grant
The nearly $3 million grant over five years from the U.S. Department of Education will support programs for Hispanic and low-income students from all backgrounds.
Purchase College has been awarded a major grant of nearly 3 million dollars over the course of five years from the Department of Education.
Purchase was officially designated a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI), which means that more than 25 percent of students identify as Hispanic according to the U.S. Department of Education’s criteria.
It’s important that the college does everything possible to ensure student success. With this new funding, the college is poised to deepen its commitment to all students, especially those who are first-generation.
This transformative grant from the Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions Program is specially designed to provide institutional support for Purchase to expand its already existing educational opportunities, create new opportunities, and enhance program quality.
The grant-funded activities, in tandem with other resources, including scholarship support, will assist students on their paths to success.
Named Leveraging Impactful Strategies and Transforming Outcomes for Student Success (LISTO), this project will focus on Hispanic students and low-income students of all backgrounds from the time they enter their first year at Purchase until graduation.
The project’s goals are to:
- Increase academic success
- Provide additional support
- Reduce systemic barriers that lead to achievement gaps for Hispanic and low-income students of all backgrounds
- Improve the efficiency of institutional assessment, decision-making, and resource allocation
- Increase the number of staff needed to help support students and improve student retention
Through the LISTO program, Purchase plans on establishing and expanding opportunites that make a difference such as one-on-one support and community building, including:
- Peer mentoring
- Residential Learning Communities
- Summer Institute
- Expanded Cornerstone Connect program
The grant also supports opportunities for experiential learning through an Emerging Hispanic Leadership Program, activities honoring Hispanic Heritage Month, and Purchase in the City trips. Three new staff members will be hired to support program activities and provide professional development to improve cultural competency for faculty and staff.
The ultimate goal of these transformative activities is to bolster recruitment and retention in the coming years and ensure that students are able to succeed and thrive at Purchase and beyond.